@seeds_of_joy I was just looking at getting one of these yesterday, but I didn’t talk myself into it yet!! So exciting!! Are you hoping one way or the other??
Weird random: Our family ate lunch out this afternoon and spotted actress Brigitte Nielsen at a coffee shop with her husband and young daughter. I thought she looked slightly familiar, but my husband confirmed and then I looked up her Wikipedia and totally recognized her husband, too. She had her youngest when she was in her mid-50s!!! 😳😳😳
@cpk3535 it was a bit of a pain to try and keep male DNA out of my testing area considering we have 5 males in the house. That being said, can you guess what I'm praying and hoping for? 😆 My daughter helped me ward off the "contaminators" while I tried to figure out the test. It was a bit complex but glad I got it. With the snap, it's supposedly 99.9 percent accurate! It didn't hurt but freaked me out seeing the blood. Still not sure what exactly went down.
Mid 50s?! Was that naturally?! A little unsettling... Lol
Good random topic for any fellow STM+: Any homeschooling moms here besides me? Quick question- I'm on the brink of jumping to unschooling, and I wanted to know if anybody has any experience with it. I have an 11 year old, and we're currently enrolled in a charter program here in California, but I think we'll be jumping ship if we go the unschooling route. Thoughts?
@cpk3535 yes! Me! We've been homeschooling since my 11 year old was 3. I'm a bit too organized to do the "unschooling" approach perhaps, but I guess that depends on your definition of it. Wisconsin laws are probably way more laid back than California so we're pretty flexible. I love the curriculum we use and that also is flexible. What exactly is the charter program?
@seeds_of_joy the charter program has been great- we have a wonderful teacher and it’s been very flexible and allows us to have a school supplies budget. However, our daughter isn’t very into traditional curriculum and is way more of a free spirit when it comes to what is interesting her at any given time, which I think is going to be tough over the next few years with testing and stuff. Which curriculum do you like best? We’ve tried a lot, but maybe I should give it one more shot. She’s going into 6th grade.
@cpk3535 my son is also going into 6th grade and is similar. He and our 4th grade daughter also love learning things individually. I love watching my kids learn independently. I myself didn't do much of that in the public school system. Having them home all day allows them freedom to do that. We use Sonlight, which is a lot of "living books" for history. It's basically learning history through stories and some fun history books that the curriculum doesn't come up with themselves but they put them together. Same with science. For math, we use a Math You See and there are teaching videos so I don't have to figure it all out. Sonlight is faith based but if you don't like that aspect of it, you have the flexibility to leave that part out and suppliment with whatever your kids are interested in. That might be trickier for some years so it might not be a good fit for everyone. This year my older kids will be learning about the Eastern Hemisphere. I just really get excited about the read out loud books that we do together but that can be a big commitment if you work outside of the home or lose your voice a lot 🤣
Another random thing- my epilepsy kicked in today. I forget if anybody else mentioned having seizures, but I have seizures on a monthly basis based on hormone fluctuations (sometimes at ovulation and sometimes at menstruation). Today, I got thinking, as I’m having my final geriatric pregnancy and I’m probably in line for a scheduled c-section, I’m seriously considering asking my doctor to tack on a hysterectomy to balance my hormones out finally. Anybody else (probably my fellow older gals) thought of doing this?
I feel like this would be really smart. My grandma and my mom both had to have hysterectomy around this age, my mom started having super painful fibroids. I don’t want to deal with that! 😣
@cpk3535 that's rough. I'm sorry my mom also had a hysterectomy in her 40s because of large benign fibroids. I know I already have some so it's a bit unsettling! I hate to even think about it. There's so many hormonal changes with getting a hysterectomy too. Hard to know what to do!! Have you tried cutting out gluten? I just remembered a friend with a seizure disorder who went gluten free and I guess it drastically changed things.
@cpk3535 I also have epilepsy, but am totally controlled. I haven't noticed them kicking in hormonally. I'm glad you mentioned it though, now I'll pay attention. Are you on medication for it?
@nwshay@seeds_of_joy Yes, I’ve been on meds since I turned 19 (now 41) and started having seizures after puberty. My meds just don’t do anything around those times of the month for me AT ALL. Pot gummies help more than seizure meds honestly. As for elimination, @seeds_of_joy, I’ve tried everything. I’m a health nut and a yoga teacher, I’ve practiced Ayurveda for years. The biggest impact has been when I’ve been committed to yoga on a super regular daily basis, but even that only really helps me relax through the seizures versus eliminate them.
As for the hysterectomy, I’ve been thinking of it for years, but wasn’t sure if we were done with kids. Knowing now that we’re done after this baby, I want to do whatever I can to be the best mama/version of me and not have to take my weird off-days/weeks every month to recover. It blows. My older daughter had to see me once while I was experimenting with alternate treatments experience a grand mal (which I don’t remember) and asked my husband if I had died. It’s weird and traumatizing, you know? I normally only have petit mal seizures, thank god, but it’s still weird and hard for my whole family to deal with. For me, I think the adjustment to the hysterectomy will be worthwhile bonuses ❤️
@cpk3535 Having chronic seizures is tough. I’m sorry your daughter had to witness you going through a grand mail seizure. That would be so scary for a young child. Have you tried the ketogenic diet to control seizures? There are good studies that show it can be effective in managing epilepsy.
If you do choose surgery, you wouldn’t necessarily need a hysterectomy (removal of uterus) but an oophorectomy (removal of ovaries) since the ovaries are more responsible for secreting the sex hormones. However, that would cause you to go into early menopause. Make sure you do your research on menopause and you are ok with those symptoms. Menopause will create a whole host of other potential issues as well - hot flashes (usually triggered by stress), night sweats, vaginal dryness that can cause pain and discomfort with sex, fatigue, insomnia, brain fog, etc… I just want to make sure you are aware of the potential trade offs if you do decide to move forward with surgery.
@ttc3y I have tried a devoted ketogenic diet as well, yes. While it had some benefits, it still didn’t correct my issue. You may already know this, but the history of the keto diet with epilepsy is primarily for children (pre-hormones), which totally makes sense why a low to no sugar, high fat diet would help control these poor kids who get sometimes dozens of seizures everyday. Thank goodness I’m not in that category!! Intermittent fasting and ketosis both help, but don’t fix my issues.
My last ditch effort before a surgery would be to approach about progesterone treatment again with another doctor. Last time, it didn’t seem to make any difference, but perhaps I could get a second opinion of how to use the progesterone. As for sending myself into menopause, I’ve discussed with my mom and she found the transition to be a generally good thing for her. Yes, she deals with some vaginal dryness, but a lot of the other issues weren’t really a problem for her. My MIL on the other hand went the natural menopausal route and I witnessed her suffering through it for over 10 years.
There’s a lot to consider, and after having seizures I just can’t control for this long, I’m just done with it. I’ve dedicated a huge amount of my life to accommodating this problem, and I’m ready for it to come to an end if possible. I just want to be mama and wife, and be my best self uninterrupted for a few years of my life. However I can do that, I’ll continue to strive for the answer ❤️❤️❤️
@cpk3535 I hope you find a solution that works best for you. Dealing with any chronic health issue is difficult and only you know what the best answer is. ❤️
@ttc3y Thank you ❤️ I had another chat with my mom this morning about her experience and she was super helpful and supportive. I’ll keep you guys posted on here, too!
Re: Weekly Randoms July 25th
So nervous!! 😬💙💖💙💙💙❓
Mid 50s?! Was that naturally?! A little unsettling... Lol
@justkp 🤣
I feel like this would be really smart. My grandma and my mom both had to have hysterectomy around this age, my mom started having super painful fibroids. I don’t want to deal with that! 😣