Infertility

A lot of my friends and family are aware that Matt and I have been trying to have a baby for some time. We had a miscarriage back in 2014 and have struggled since. After having very inconsistent cycles since the miscarriage, I went to a family practice doctor being 2.5 weeks late to figure out what was going on. He tested my thyroid, kidneys, and blood sugar, all were perfectly healthy and running great. He said the issue sounded like I wasn't ovulating every month. 

This conclusion led me on a path I never thought I would have to face. With my parents moving to Oregon I was no longer covered with their insurance out of state which created it's own set of problems, let alone my infertility issue. I finally got my own health insurance, the best price I could afford which the benefits could be better but it covers me a decent amount. After that headache, I found an OBGYN my insurance covers and set up a family planning appointment. (Dr. Asay at Leavitt Women's Health Clinic)

Dr. Asay took a look at my history and pulled out this sheet of infertility treatments. I'm not going to lie, seeing that list and realizing I struggle with infertility was kind of a shock. She told me based on my symptoms and history, it looks like I suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). What that means in a nutshell is that I have an imbalance of hormones in my system which are causing small cysts on my ovaries, making my body not ovulate on time and when it does, the eggs are not top quality eggs. This makes getting pregnant very difficult. Luckily, Dr. Asay told me this form of infertility is the most treatable form. She also said it's really easy to diagnose. Right now I am awaiting the results of my day 21 progesterone which tells the doctor if I ovulated or not and confirms the diagnosis. 

With PCOS, it is not curable, but is treatable. The symptoms include painful periods, missed and infrequent cycles, acne on the back and chin, weight gain, hairs on the chin and stomach/back. I don't have hair on my belly or back but I have been noticing a lot of ingrown hairs on my chin as well as constant acne on my back and chin, I gained a lot of weight when I miscarried and while I'm healthy and in decent shape, I still weigh more than before my miscarriage. I also have very painful periods and I have missed my ovulation waaaay more than had it on time. (Basically my periods come at least a week late if I didn't ovulate.)

The treatment for PCOS is to take metformin or chlorid to induce ovulation which can result in multiples (which I'm totally fine with haha). The other treatment is to be on birth control when you're not wanting to get pregnant. So basically I'll always have to be medicated. Now, Dr. Asay does want to do a sperm analysis on Matt to make sure it's not just me or isn't me at all (though I highly doubt I'm problem free since I haven't had regular, normal cycles since my miscarriage.) 

One of the causes of PCOS is having a miscarriage. HA!!! Oh goodness. Not only do I have to suffer from loosing my baby just from the sadness and emptiness I've dealt with but now I'll always have a reminder of that event because my ovaries are forever messed up. 

It's definitely good that it's treatable and easy to deal with, I'm glad for that. I just know we have a long road ahead of us and I so want to be a mom, more than anything in the world. Having to deal with this is never ever something I would have imagined to happen to me or that people dealt with. They really should include infertility and issues that can come from trying to have children when they teach health education. I think if more people knew about infertility and how many people actually deal with it, maybe it would better prepare the women and men who suffer from it and could prevent unnecessary depression and shock when they find out they have it.