remember that time i talked about surgery

wow i have been so insanely lax here... the last time i wrote was in january (over nine months ago!) when i wrote about medical issues. i never wrote what happened after that - nor have i written ANYTHING since. so, here goes!

in january, the doctors mentioned SURGERY, and i just about had heart failure. i went back in february, and saw a specialist, and the first thing she said was that they absolutely did not want to perform surgery, because i'm too young and it's dangerous. she laid out all of the options:

1) surgery. don't want to do that.
2) nothing. really don't want to do that, either.
3) IUD. no no no no no.
4) hormones.

now, with the hormones, there were four options as well:

1) IUD. already nope.
2) the shot. kinda didn't want to do that.
3) the implant. didn't really want that, either.
4) the pill.

i've had some mixed results with the pill. i went on it when i was 19, and was on five different ones between then and 28 - nearly 10 years. by the end of that time, i was getting vicious, blinding migraines, and while i was terrified to not be on them - who was i, without them? - i was glad for the pain to stop.

well, it turns out, horrible migraines are a really bad sign when you're on the pill - in fact, it is a pretty clear indicator that the pill could cause a stroke. the doctor told me that it's the estrogen that causes that, so she wanted to put me on a progesterone-only pill. and so in february i went back on the pill again for the first time in seven years.

at first, it was horrible. i mean just the worst. my periods were painful and my flow was heavy, and i had moody PMS. now my period wasn't as painful, nor was it as heavy, but i was getting it once every two weeks instead of every four. then i was getting it every other week. then it would be just a few days in between periods. and my mood swings were absolutely crazy by that point. my hormones were out of control.

by july, i was at the end of my rope. i couldn't stand it anymore. i called the doctor, crying, and they told me to just hang in there until my ultrasound... which turned up fine. my cysts and fibroids were gone, meaning the pills were successful. my period was still coming fast and hard (and often), but i'm glad to say that - finally! - this month, it seems to have become somewhat normal. i got my period this weekend, and the last time i got it before that was a full month ago, so... yay!

in other health news, my stomach issues are seemingly more under control as well. i actually ate cheesecake today - CHEESECAKE!! i haven't had cheesecake in four years. i couldn't believe it. i think it's partially because - while i've still had a lot of stress - i've gotten my anxiety more under control. i've even been able to gain weight - i'm back to the 145 i was years ago before i was diagnosed with gastroparesis. sure, all the clothes i've been wearing don't fit anymore, and i could use some working out (i've been trying to walk to and from work when i can), but i'm actually happy.

there's lots going on in my life other than that - we're getting RESISTOR_ ready for kickstarter after showing it off at pax prime and boston fig, we've done lots of traveling, i've been playing tons of games/reading books/watching stuff (aaagh american horror story), and after having very little time to do so, i've been writing again - and hopefully will keep it up.

but right now, it's time to finish up some laundry and work on dinner. oh, and finalize our halloween costumes, because, you know, it's in two weeks. but i wanted to get my medical information out there, because people have been asking me about it. so, yay! :D