Cycle 16 : Day 30 - symptoms remain consistent

Confirmed still no flushing. But my mind is firing. Overheated with anxiety. All that waiting  and bloating are killing me. I still can't understand why am i having consistent luekorrhea and bloating ? I am still religiously gulping down 3 tablespoons of raw garlic every morning, which really worked with reducing bloating the past 10 days. Please, please don't be like its usual pre-menstrual bloating pattern.

My basal temperature fell low at mid afternoon today. I did not take a termometer. I just went cold and i had to make myself hot green tea to heat up my body. Was very  sleepy this morning despite good 8 hours sleep last night. Believe it or not, i think i have had sleep on my back till morning, the same position i went into lumber the night before. Funny, all tiredness and coldness went away approximately around 4pm when my breasts started its tendering pattern.

Ok. Tomorrow appointment with Sinseh. Also 'the-day' for she will tell i am pregnant or not. At least i hope she can tell with her advertised experiences.

Cycle 16 : Day 29 - Still no flushing but more leukorrhea

Happy is happy, but the waiting is driving me nuts. Been wiping leukorrhea more than 20 times a day. Why? This whitis dischrage has never ever happened before. If to base on 28-day cycle, i should be flushing now. And i am reluctant to buy the test kit. Having had been constantly disappointed with 'that' single line. NO! Not buying any test kit. (But the waiting is killing...arrrggghh)

To base on the last period first day will mean crossing the final line - Nov 2. To cross that without mensus would definitely means pregnant finally. By Nov 2 would be a 31-day cycle, could happen but its rare in my mensus history. My breasts tenderness remain mild and light throughout these few days and they get stronger only in the late afternoon between 4-5.30pm. Though mild but consistent. Nipples' diameter remain slightly larger than normal but nothing absolute to call it pregnant. Basal temperature remain consistently high but could be due to the weather too. It has been dry for more than 5 days.

Time to visit Sinseh this coming Saturday. I sure hope she can tell if i'm pregnant but feeling on my pulses. Meanwhile, i keep driving myself mad 

Cycle 16 : Day 28 - Still no flushing

Yet another new symptom - mucous discharge pre-mensus days??? Never happened before. Well, still thank god for no sign of red yet. Breasts tenderness still hanging around, most tender especially late afternoon and near midnight. Don't know why. Have not read something like this anywhere. A small voice tells me i might be experiencing a 50%-50% chance of success in this cycle based on all current symptoms. I even stole a few little moments imagining that Sinseh might say "You are pregnant!!!!" when i return for a consultation this Friday. BUT BUT BUT i must, i absolutely must NOT linger on daydreaming. Too many cold splashing happended in the past cycles bring crude reality. Now the time to pray.................pray, pray, pray..............

Cycle 16 : Day 27 - Scrap-engine and bird nest business gearing

A confirmed order for scrap engines to China today!!! Wow wow wow. The scrap-engine business seems to move much faster than the advertising business. Could this really be the classic case of geng 'yang metal' chopping jia 'yang wood' to produce usefullness??? Dino dad is a very strong Jia person and as stated in most Bazi books that the strong requires 'controlling elements' in order to bring out the potentials destined in one's life.

The bird nest though not going as fast as the scrap-engines but now it eventually closing up on a buyer from HongKong too. Both new ventures only started seriously in mid August 2008. Joey Yap said the birds belong to the fire element. Thus, fire and metal are the controlling element to a wood. We really really hope to see more of this classic elements evolve more clearly from now on.

Cycle 16 : Day 27 - Ssssuspending

And still counting........  Slight clear mucous discharged for the past 3 days. Got very confused over it as it looked more like ovulation mucous than the earliest part of mensus like any other past months. Please don't let me see red again.!!!!!

I felt very cold despite mid afternoon on between Oct 22 and 23. Thats was day 8-10 after ovulation if based on 28-day cycle. yeah, i should base on 28-day cycle because i was 28-days in September. Breast tenderness has reduced to mere discomfort only when deliberately cupped. My neighbor adds blow to my mental-case because they are expecting their 2nd baby boy by mid of November 2008. Worst of all, its the last of month of Autumn. The Bazi Master said Autumn months are my best chance and looks like i am running out.

I told Dino dad if we fail again this month, we should take a break and go skiing in Myanmar.

Boleh Jadi

Can study, continue STUDY
Can't study, work FACTORY
Cannot rely on CHARITY

Earn a little SALARY
Just enough 4 daily ROTI
Go work no WIRA but LRT.

Colleagues formerly FRIENDLY
Daily treated to KOPI
Now gradually get CRAZY
Behind me say I LAZY.

Boss has no SYMPATHY
Work always must HURRY
Say I not enough BUSY
Often ask me do OT

Midnight go back by TAXI
TAXI surcharge KILLING ME

Now i pokai and NO MORE MONEY
Borrow from chettia kena EXTRA FEE
Coz money is never FREE

Boy/girl-friend go STEADY
Serious, and then MARRY
Ceremony and PARTY
Joker-friends give PANTY
No money sure no HONEY

10 months later be DADDY
Wife at GH give birth a BABY

Borrow from chettia kena EXTRA FEE
Coz money is never FREE

Monthly pay back RHB
Earn not enough FEEL GUILTY

Jump down suicide and MATI
No money 4 funeral how to BURY

Because MALAYSIA BOLEH, SEMUA JADI

Christine Beaudry talks about her battle with infertility.

Christine Beaudry is a BabyZone editor and writer specializing in pregnancy and parenting topics. She has also written for local and national publications, and is a wife and mother of two daughters. Christine Beaudry talks about her battle with infertility.

Since I was a young girl, I dreamed of my future: finishing college, getting married, starting a family. I wanted it all—the husband, the kids, and the white picket fence. Even when I was newly wed at age 22, having a baby was only a question of "when" and never of "if." But at 25, a diagnosis of endometriosis turned my world and all my plans upside down.

Since my early teens I had endured excruciatingly painful periods and never quite believed each physician as he or she explained that many women have cramps; try a hot water bottle, take an Advil, and call me in the morning. Instinct told me it was something more, but I didn't know what that something was until I had a laparoscopy to treat painful ovarian cysts. My doctor discovered endometriosis during my surgery and promptly told my husband, waiting in the post-op area, that if we wanted children we had "better start now." The time had come, but we had no idea what was in store for us. My diagnosis was merely the beginning of an invisible disorder and the cruel experience of infertility.

We didn't know about the infertility right away. We were so excited about beginning our family. I loved imagining how it would feel to be pregnant, to break the news to my husband and family, to watch my belly grow, to feel my baby kick. Yet month after month, the periods came, and the plethora of pregnancy tests were all negative. After years of trying not to get pregnant, sex was now a chore instead of something enjoyable.

The treatment began—pills, shots, sonograms to see if I was ovulating—and my body began to pay the price. I gained weight, and my face broke out. My ovaries produced large cysts so painful that I had to quit my step aerobics class because it hurt too much. Yet the physical stress was minimal compared to the emotional suffering. I often found myself crying uncontrollably, angry with myself, God, my husband, and anybody who said, "Just relax. You're young. You have plenty of time." How could they know the devastation—the failure—in knowing my body could not do something as natural as conceive? I believed I was a faulty woman. And I hated living with the continuous cycles of hope, failure, and trying again; the weeks of waiting were agonizing.

I did find some comfort in knowledge. I read everything I could get my hands on about conception, infertility, ovarian cysts, and endometriosis. I sought solace online from other women desperately trying to become pregnant. We followed one another's cycles and waited hopefully (and impatiently) as each friend neared her monthly moment of truth. We dared to ask one another, "Do you feel a little nauseous? Are your breasts tender? Do you think this could be it?" Many times we cried together as the tests failed to show that plus sign, that blue line, that tell-tale pink circle. A few times we rejoiced when one in the bunch finally conceived. Happiness mixed with jealousy and renewed frustration. "Why not me this time?"

After a year and a half, I'd had enough. Although we hadn't tried the "hard core" infertility treatments such as egg retrieval and in vitro fertilization, I needed a break. My body, extremely sensitive to hormonal changes, reacted poorly to even the smallest dosages of Clomid, leaving me in pain. And frankly, I just didn't feel like myself anymore. The desire to get pregnant had taken over my life. I needed some time to snap back and give my body a rest. My husband and I were preparing for a big cross-country move, anyhow. It was time to leave my doctor and my infertility behind, at least for a while. Time to regain some sanity.

And then it happened, just four months after our move. Armed with my medical records, I met my new doctor, prepared to discuss treatment for my endometriosis. The nurse asked me the standard, "Could you be pregnant?" question and I mumbled something about it being technically possible yet highly unlikely. Even as I handed her my cup of urine, I never once, not for a second, thought, "Well, maybe I'm pregnant this time." And so I found myself in utter shock when I heard the news. A baby?!? A baby!! I'm having a baby!! I cried and laughed and cried again. I sat on the exam table in disbelief when my doctor—now my OB!—told me my due date. Of all things, I had a due date at last!

And now, I have not one but two beautiful daughters, ages three and one. They are here, they are wonderful, they are mine—and I am forever grateful and unbelievably blessed. The endometriosis seems to be in remission, and infertility treatments are a thing of the past. I still don't know why it took so long to conceive my children, why the drugs didn't work, why we struggled. I think it was all part of a greater plan for my life and have come to believe—to know—that it was truly God's timing and certainly not my own. While I'll never forget the sorrow, the grief, and the heartache of thinking I could never bear a child, I'm grateful for the awe-filled appreciation I have for my daughters and the miracle of pregnancy and birth. My family is complete. Now, about that white picket fence…

IKEA Korea is fur-kids friendly

Look!!!! Shoppers can bring along their pets to IKEA. How nice. Well, your pet might catch a flea or tick, but what the heck, give your pets a break for staying within the 4 walls of your house whole day and many more days.

Cycle 16: Day 20 - Garlic seems to work

Definitely feel less bloated, especially after long hours at the computer. I have been swallowing fresh chopped garlic every alternate days for 4 days. 1 quarter of a big clove every time. Down with hot water.On the other hand, breast tenderness seemed subsided a lot. Starting to stress now....

 

Candida Cleanse Program

The candida cleanse is not designed to eradicate candida but to restore it to its normal healthy levels. Candida albicans is a yeast-like fungus that naturally lives in healthy balance in the body. It is found mostly in the intestines, but also in the genital tract, mouth, and throat. However, if the balance is upset and the candida grows too much it can make you quite ill. It can move from the intestines into the blood stream and throughout the body. This is called candidiasis and it is estimated to affect about 70% of the adult population of North America. Symptoms include bloating, lack of energy, faltulence, diarrhoea or constipation, constant tiredness, fungal infections.

The following candida cleanse program will help to rid your body of this overgrowth of candida albicans.

Step 1 - Citricidal
Citricidal kills parasites, fungus and bacteria and is made from the seeds and pulp of grapefruit. It is quite powerful so you only need to use it for a week or two, preferably before you begin the probiotics. This will help kill off the Candida and any fungal growth in your intestines. It is the jump start to any candida cleanse program. Usually you buy it in a small bottle and add 4-12 drops to a glass of water. It tastes quite bitter but resist the temptation to sweeten it. It is worth using this for a week or so before you begin the probiotics. You will only need a 50ml size for the candida cleanse unless you are also using it to treat another condition such as crohn's disease. Citricidal does help to remove parasites, although the colon cleanse treats parasites more effectively.

Step 2 - Probiotics
Probiotics combat the overgrowth of candida. My advice would be to continue taking these well after any candida symptoms have gone, especially if you have relaxed your diet. This is probably one of the most important ingredients in the whole candida cleanse program. A healthy human gastrointestinal tract contains trillions of bacteria and other microbes. In fact you will find several hundred different types. Man has evolved with these microbes always present in the digestive system and they have become a necessary part of healthy digestion and the immune system.

"Probiotics" are live bacteria that can supplement this ecology of microbes in the gastrointestinal tract, and improve health. At present, there are only a handful of products on the market worldwide with bacteria that have proven clinical benefits. After a few years of looking and trying, there is one product, produced in Japan that seems to stand out and that is Threelac - Five years in development. Millions are sold each year. It is probably the most effective product in the marketplace to aid any candida cleanse/yeast cleanse of the body. Supports favourable pH levels so helps in the restoration of internal alkalinity. Enhances intestinal microbial flora balance.

Step 3 - Candida Cleanse Diet
Follow the diet given below. It is designed to make your body a place where the candida cannot thrive. Be rigorous for the first few weeks. It is normal to experience cravings and a slump in your energy at first. After about three weeks you will find your energy levels will improve. You will feel better than you have for a long time.

Beneficial Foods for Candida Cleansing
Increase your intake of essential oils especially those rich in omega-3 These include:
Fish oils
Oily fish like salmon and trout
Flax-seed
Borage
Evening primrose oils
Avocadoes
Olives
Olive-oil
Garlic
Harmful Foods for Candida Cleansing

If you can, I would recommend that one of your main life goals should be to completely eliminate sugars and refined carbohydrates from your diet. Not easy, but you will find that as the candida recedes you will lose your cravings for sugary, starchy foods.

1. Sugar
Eliminate all forms of sugar. It feeds the yeast and it can grow rapidly. These foods include: white sugar, brown sugar, sweeteners, fruit juice, honey, treacle, all syrups (e.g. maple, corn, rice), maple sugar, molasses, date sugar, turbinado, raw sugar, demerrara, amisake, sorghum. If you are buying pre-prepared or canned food then watch out for the sugars in these. They include: sucrose, fructose, maltose, lactose, glycogen, glucose, mannitol, sorbitol, galactose, monosaccharides, polysaccharides. So, no cakes, cookies, candies, desserts, sodas, fruit-juice and ice-cream. After 3 days on the candida cleanse it will become easier to resist sugars as the body starts to correct any thyroid, chromium, and manganese deficiencies.

2. Refined Carbohydrates
Eliminate White bread, cakes, cookies, white pasta, white rice, potatoes, and all refined flours. Whole-grain flour, bread and pasta, Brown rice, basmati rice are all allowable after the body rebalances.

3. Fruit
Fruit contain natural sugars that support the growth of yeast. This includes fresh, dried, canned, and frozen fruit and all fruit juices.

4. Yeast
Yeast and all food that contains yeast should be eliminated. These include all baked goods raised with yeast such as bread, rolls, crackers, bagels, pastries, and muffins. You can eat baked foods made from wholemeal flours or sprouted grains that have been levened with baking soda/powder.

5. Vinegar
Vinegar is made with a yeast culture. These include: White vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, mayonnaise, salad dressing, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, BBQ sauce, shrimp sauce, soy sauce, mustard, pickles, pickled vegetables, green olives, relishes, horseradish, mincemeat, chili sauce. You can use soy sauce substitutes like 'Bragg's Liquid Aminos' that are not fermented.

6. Mushrooms
Mushrooms are fungi. Eliminate all mushrooms.

7. Peanuts, Peanut Butter, Maize (sweetcorn), popcorn, and Pistachios
They often contain a lot of mold and should be eliminated.

8. Alcohol
Eliminate all alcohol. At least until you have rebalanced and the candida overgrowth has gone.

9. Coffee and Black Teas

10. Cheese especially Moldy and Processed Cheese
Blue cheeses and other aged, moldy or blue cheeses should be eliminated. Eliminate all processed cheese. Avoid pizza as many commercial brands are made from processed cheese.

11. Processed, Dried, Smoked, and Pickled Meats

12. Refined, packaged, and processed food
Whether in cans, boxes, bottles or packages, nearly all of them contain yeasts and sugars.

13. Dairy products other than cheese
It is not necessary to totally eliminate all dairy Products but candida can make fat digestion difficult, so dairy products should be restricted. After a few weeks on the candida cleanse program you will be approaching a more normal balance in your system. So as not to waste the benefits of the candida cleanse you will need to maintain a healthy diet. Don't revert to the same old habits that got you into trouble in the first place.

Overgrowth of candida symptoms
There are 3 ways that Candida overgrowth can cause illness.

1. Candida overgrowth in the intestines can cause
Bloatedness
Celiac sprue
CFIDS
Constipation
Crohn's disease
Diarrhoea
Flatulence
Giardia
Heartburn/Esophagitis
Hypothyroidism
Hypoadrenalism(Addison's disease)
Itchy anus
Regurgitation
Small bowel bacterial overgrowth
lethargy

acne

2. Toxins passing through the intestinal wall due can cause
Concentration Problems (Foggy brain)
Depression
Food allergies and intolerances
Migraines
Muscle aches

3. When candida enters the bloodstream it damages the endocrine system and can cause
Allergies
Asthma
Chronic tiredness
Cystitis
Ear infections
Fatigue
Fungal infections (especially skin)
Hayfever
Irregular Menstruation
Joint pains
Joint swelling
PMS (mood swings, bloating, swollen/tender breasts, headaches, cramps)
Sensitivity to odours
Sinusitis
Skin rashes
Thrush (me on very-mild)
Weight gain/weight loss

The Causes of Candida Overgrowth
Antibiotics
Chemical poisoning
Diets rich in sugars and refined carbohydrates
Heavy metal poisoning e.g. lead
Hormonal changes during puberty, pregnancy, or menopause
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Immuno-suppressive drugs
Mercury amalgam poisoning from dental fillings
Oral Contraceptives
Progesterone cream
Steroids
Stress

Cycle 16: Day 15 - Breast Tenderness Begins

The twins are beginning to pain me. Kinda of late. According to the ovulation calculator on a 28-day basis, i should have ovulated yesterday. Why 28-day? I actually had a 28-day cycle in September, and its the first 28-day cycle ever since i was diagnosed with hypothyroid in August 2008. How glad i was to be back on track. 

The mucous was absolutely clear yesterday. I have had quite a pleasant 3 minutes testing and playing with it making sure it stretched like it would never break as mentioned in many fertility websites, and it did stretched wide and long. Ok, that's comforting enou

gh for now. But i noticed i was much drier this cycle, even during fertile days like now. Giving me another aspect to concern of. Or maybe it the sudden project loads that surges my stress level. And the candida issue. Hoping for aggressive popping of raw garlic in the morning and vitamin C at night would work 3 shifts without complaining.

Cycle 16: Day 13 - Mucous spotted

Another round of anxiety. Starting symptoms tracking all over again. Serving our 'missions' monotonously. Taking our herbs diligently. Observing taboos carefully. Till eyes beady.

I think i've have Candida!!!

I feel like i'm bloating forever. Ever since i have started trying for a baby, my stomach has been consistently bloating, without fail, after each meal. These past 3 months i even bloat over a glass of plain water, a cup of coffee and even an orange. Worst of all, i wake up feeling bloated every morning. I can even belch right after sitting up on the bed before heading for my toothbrush. So severe, i cannot indulge in my love - tomyam, korean BBQ and seafood. i ate with half-full tummy.

Candidiasis (Candida Yeast Overgrownth), a name not unfamiliar to me. I was diagnosed with candida last August 2007 and treated. Why do i suspect Candida? Its point black. I have been experiencing constant fatigue despite good 8 hours of sleep daily, brain 'fog', excessive bloati

ng, severe indigestion, inconsistent bowel movement, craving for coke, mild heartburn when jogging, mindless weight-gain and consistent expanding waist line despite 100 sit-ups nightly, urinary infestion once, tiny bit of colored discharge, bad hair loss and feeling low with plenty of mood-swing. Thanks to dear Dino dad for ignoring my sour faces when the mood kicked in. (Gosh! how did he survived this wife? First hyperthyrodism, then hypothyroidism and now candida possible) Oh my, that's 10 out of 19 symptoms listed at www.candidasupport.org.

My blood test on 30 Sept 2008 documented my TSH at 2.17, the number i so wanted to see for almost 14 months. BUT I"M STILL NOT PREGNANT!!!!!!! Could the candida be the next cause?

Tama is the purr-fect antidote to financial gloom

This is an amazing news. Love this cat. It looks exactly my Tortoiseshell Booda at home.

TOKYO (AFP) - As the economic might of Japan faces up to the global banking crisis a single cat has boosted the finances of a small Japanese city by millions of dollars, according to a study.

Tortoiseshell Tama is the master of the unmanned Kishi train station where she was born and raised, on the provincial Kishigawa Line.

But it is not her labours on the platform which have seen the cash rolling in.

It is rather Tama's irresistible charm which has brought tourists flocking in their thousands to the western city of Kinokawa to see the feline worker patrolling in the uniform of her office -- a Wakayama Electric Railway cap.

With 55,000 more people having used the Kishigawa Line than would normally be expected, Tama is being credited with a contribution to the local economy calculated to have reached as much as 1.1 billion yen (10.44 million dollars) in 2007 alone, according to a study announced last week.

Katsuhiro Miyamoto, a professor at Kansai University's School of Accountancy, said picture books and other merchandise featuring the feline stationmaster also produced significant economic effects.

A television appearance and other publicity surrounding Tama -- who receives cat food in lieu of a salary -- was worth 280 million yen, according to Miyamoto.

Tama was born from a stray cat brought to the station by a cleaner and kept by Toshiko Koyama, a local who runs a grocery store next door.

The station went unmanned in April 2006 as the line was losing money. But Tama stuck around.

She rose to national stardom in January 2007 as the railway company formally appointed her as "stationmaster".

Cycle 15, Day 28 - Official Failure

5:30pm : Mensus started flowing. Whatever left of the 5% hope is crushed by that crimson staining my panties. I am 3 days earlier. Biological clock has revered from the 30-32 days cycle to 28 days now. Its another 'first' symptom noted. Got to call Sinseh tomorrow. Back to square one again.

Cycle 15, Day 28 - Abdominal Cramping

4:20pm : arrgggg...cramping in the lower abdominal area. The exact feeling of the mild contraction usually happens on the first day of the period. Just now there was once bleeding. 

This cramp is makes me feeling like there's a war going on inside my uterus - to implant or to shed, to implant or to shed. No flushing yet could indicate my baby-to-be is trying to implant. The cramp is saying my body does not accept my baby-to-be. Its trying to get ride of it. 

I am still not willing to wear a pad. There's still 0.5% hope.

Cycle 15, Day 27 - Spotting

I am in a deja-vu - same time every month - getting real tense up once spotting is sighted. Its been 2 days, spotting but not staining. There are so many recalls flashing at the back of my minds every time i visited the toilet to wipe-out the pinks. Keep telling myself its the implantation process. Keep telling myself refrain from running, jogging and everything physical activities that could impact the possible-implantation process. Luckily, i am blessed with a never-complain-Dino dad fulfilling those insatiable energy expressed-without-reserve at every evening when its time for the furkids to go out. I move around like an apatosaurus (here's the picture, in case you haven't seen one).

"The egg is still beautiful." This phrase is practically helping me to balance out my tension since the first spotting was detected. On Sept 27, Sinseh smiled and told that my 'egg' is still 'around' after 2-4 minutes feeling on the pulses concentrating on the left side of my right palm. She added, "Otherwise, the 'egg' might have 'exploded' by now". She understood her meaning. She meant 'dissolved'. However, she did not give me the assurance that i am gonna make it this cycle. Instead, she bent over her desk to pick up a 4R size album and started flipping through pages and pages of newborns, showcasing her passed and recent success records and encouraging me not to beat myself up mentally. Well, those babies were cute. But i was too occupied with my own anxiety to the extend i cannot bring myself to appreciate others. The 'chocolate' pills was prescribed again. So was Dino dad's. We went home hopeful that day but was crushed when spotting started 2 days later.

At this point, all breast tenderness gone. Been feeling bloated the past few days. My stomach is sending out wrong impression to others who might see me as 5 months pregnant. Gassy. Belching. Lack of appetite. Lazy. Thank goodness, its Raya break till Monday.