PCOS & Fertility

Warning: Long (and personal) post! *FROM 9/17

PCOS, which stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is an endocrine disorder that affects 1 out of every 10 women. YES! 10% of us--that's a lot!

I was diagnosed with this when I was only about 14 years old; but this was so helpful that I could manage this appropriately and know what to expect. PCOS can affect a woman's:

• menstrual cycle
• ability to have children
• hormones
• appearance 
• overall health

So how did we (my mom and I) know? Wellllll, let's take a look back in time. I was 14 going on 15 and I still had yet to have any periods. I was also dealing with some androgenic symptoms which comes from my body making too much male hormone. (I know, super fun when you're also going through puberty!) So you can picture it: excess acne & hair growth, as a 14 year old who thinks she is the ugliest person in the world! Thankfully, my mom took me in to see our physician and they did an exam and ordered some tests and wah-lah! I had a diagnosis: PCOS.

For a strange reason, I was so thankful that it wasn't just that I was ugly or abnormal. It was helpful to know that something else was causing this and we could do something about it. So they put me on a birth control tablet and a medicine called spironolactone to regulate/give me some periods and decrease the androgens or male hormone and thus decrease symptoms. And it totally helped! For the next 10 years I honestly didn't think about it a whole lot...

Fast forward to 2015. My husband and I had been married for 2 years and were ready to start a family! This is where I knew things might get tricky. I stopped the birth control pill and just as I feared, no periods. Also no pregnancy. Now, I am super fortunate to have the knowledge that I do. I work as a PA and knew exactly what this meant: if I'm not getting periods, I'm not ovulating, if I'm not ovulating, I can't get pregnant. So I knew to reach out sooner rather than later. I feel sad thinking that many women go on for months and months with some abnormal symptoms thinking that they have to wait a full year of "trying" before getting any medical attention! That would have been so stressful to not have answers or a plan.

My OBGYN decided to give me a course of progesterone to stimulate a menstrual period followed by a medication called letrozole to induce my ovary to release an egg. So here we went! Counting days of the cycle, followed by LH testing, counting some more, and taking basal body temperatures daily. Then "just do it" and wait 10-14 days to see if it worked! I cannot tell you how many sticks I've peed on. It's insane people.

But guess what; IT DID WORK! It's the weirdest thing, I felt like it totally had to work, and was extremely surprised that it did at the same time. 10 days after ovulation, I got the faintest, positive pregnancy test. And here I am today with the sweetest 15 month old. You guys, God is good. 

What's crazy is I have found a few blogs over the years with normal, beautiful, awesome women with PCOS. I found them because I was looking for other women like me, to hear and read their stories and feel like I wasn't alone. I still follow them and it's what has inspired me to write down these thoughts today--so hopefully someone else can relate. 

So last bit, and take away points:

• you are not alone
• seek medical attention if something doesn't seem right
• find a provider who hears and you sets up a plan with reasonable time tables

Ok thanks for reading guys!