Update on Me

I've gotten a lot of grief from blog readers, friends and family that I haven't provided any updates on my hair since my dramatic post a month ago about my hair. The good news is that you were right: the toner did fade after a few vigorous washings and some time in the sun. I no longer lood like Loretta Lynn. And I still don't and never will look like Pamela Anderson...my lips are too thin. Still, I'd be happy for a bit more lightness around my face, more like Sarah Jessica Parker, which I have been told I resemble, especially in her curly days. (it's the hair and her face; we both have that long, horsey face)

In any case, I'm going to wait and go to a bargain option at a local upscale salon and chose their "mantra" option, basically newbie stylists who will die my hair purple, I mean, highlight it the way I want, once I'm past the first trimester.

Ok. So just even writing that makes me start to hyperventiliate. No, there is no miraculous, money saving news I have to post here about being pregnant. I'm on too much medication for any slip up to occur. Instead, I'm freaking out because everything is going to go down next week. They've had me on drugs to stop everything for a month and now they are starting to ramp things up again.

AHHHHHHHHH!

It does freak me out.

Things are looking better this cycle. The antral follicle (resting egg count) count is higher. They have me on my auto-immune drugs now, which the other clinic waited until after retrieval to start. Stims are starting.

It's been a little weird to see how different the protocols are for each clinic. They are not massively different; that is, one clinic isn't calling for new meds while the other sacrifices goats. Still, it's clear that ART is more of an art than a science. I'm hoping we're heading to the "Monet" clinic, which we're hoping is just a little bit more successful than Cassat.

Oh, speaking of art and how my feet are not pretty, I went back to my podiatrist last week because my feet are about to fall off. Despite having my new orthotics, my poor left foot is miserable. I cannot wear much beyond my sneakers (I look so pretty in a dress now! Sassy!!! ) and I have not been able to run because my foot hurts so much.

He is designing new orthotics for me, even dressy ones that might let me wear less hideous shoes. But the goal is for me to have the surgery as soon as I can, after (hopefully) this next pregnancy. It's obvious that it's getting worse and we need to correct it. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'll even be able to walk in a few years time.

OK. Now you're up to date on me from head to toe, which a nice detour around the middle sections. Fingers crossed that everything turns out the way it's supposed to over these next few weeks.

My Big Fat Freaky Ass Feet

So I went to the podiatrist today.

I went because I'm not pregnant and my left foot has been hurting when I walk. Although to the normal population those two facts have no connection, here in the world of gnarly feet, they do.

I have ugly feet. Butt Ugly Feet. My feet are BUF. I have a humongous bunion on my right foot complete with a hammer toe (which sounds much better when you call it Hammer Toe! a la MC Hammer). I have a smaller bunion on my left foot, but it has been the one hurting recently. It has been hurting so much that I've worried about being able to walk from my car to my office without limping.

I know that the "cure" for bunions is surgery. One of my colleagues has had such a thing last spring and was quickly up and at 'em within days. So I figured since I am not pregnant (this week), I might was well run on over to the doctor's office and get the word on fixin' my tootsies. The scoop is either that I do it now when I'm not pregnant or, the best case scenario, I do it a year from now 3 or 4 months after I've given birth. It just worries me that if my feet get worse, I may have a hard time getting around if I am happily and luckily pg again.

Well, that's the scenario for normal ugly footed people.

I am the abnormal ugly footed person. The unusual case. The rare ugly toe, as it were.

Whereas most bunions come from a problem with the first toe knuckle, my problem comes back in the foot---it's a "deformity" in the middle of my foot at the joint so that basically my big toe is unstable and can wiggle around and get into trouble. Here's an article.

So, instead of getting the regular surgery where you're back to weightbearing in a walking cast in 24 hours or so, this is a specialized surgery that requires no weightbearing at all for 6 weeks! The good news is that if I stay off the foot for 6 weeks after surgery and don't smoke (?!), then there's about a 95% chance that the surgery will work. Otherwise, there is a strong probability that the "bones won't fuse" and I'll go back to having the same problem.

So, just to point this out, having this surgery with a newborn is sort of OUT OF THE QUESTION. And because this is somewhat more complicated than other surgery there is a potential for infection (low, but above 0%) which could mean up to 5 weeks of IV antibiotics which puts having the surgery before I get pregnant is out of the quesiton, too!

And in case you were wondering how rare this is: my doc has done "2000" of the regular bunion surgeries and only 20 of these. (I question the accuracy of 2000, but do believe "a lot" is appropriate)

I really don't mind walking around with ugly feet. That's fine. I can wait for years until I have the surgery done based on my acceptance of how butt ugly my feet are. But I am concerned that I'm getting more pain in just regular day-to-day activities. Nonethelss, no surgery for me.

I will, however, be getting orthotic inserts. They are "big" and will probably only fit in my sneakers and "dress flats" which would be nice if I owned any. They won't help the bunion but should take the pain away with the feet. Whoopee!

So there. Now you know more than you ever wanted to know about my feet. And I have learned that truly, my feet are exceptionally ugly.