Good News...It Worked!

I went in yester for another mid-cycle monitoring appointment. Last Thursday, there were no follicles that were of "good" size so they had me come in again today to see if they would grow. I went in hoping that one was 16mm so that we could continue the cycle and not have to up the dosage. We were praying all weekend for good news and I'm happy to report that's just what we got!

I went in for my appointment and they found one 22mm follicle! That is super fantastic and I was so happy that it grew so quickly. In addition to the ultrasound they did more blood work to check my LH levels. In order to ovulate, your LH hormone has to surge and the egg will release. Imagine my surprise when they told me that if they weren't high enough, I would have to trigger...tonight. I was definitely not prepared for that and thought it would be a couple of days before that was needed.

I got the call that I needed to do the trigger shot and drove to pick it up from the pharmacy.

This is how I felt about it when I picked it up.

Truth be told, I hate needles. In fact, I cry and flip out if the doctor tries to give me a shot. I've gotten used to getting my blood drawn, but not shots. I was a bit nervous picking it up, but knew it needed to be done. The trigger shot is important because it causes your body to release the egg within 24-36 hours after the injection.

I managed to keep busy when I got home until after 6pm when I could do the trigger. I was super calm and when I gave myself the injection last night and it didn't even hurt! I couldn't believe it. I called my mom and was so excited that I did it!

The next step in monitoring is to go in November for a beta draw to see if we're pregnant. If it's positive, then there will be more beta draws to make sure the levels continue to go up and an ultrasound to check the heartbeat when it's appropriate. If it's negative, we start it all over again with monitoring.

Either way, I'm so happy that it worked and we're going to ovulate!

Living with PCOS and Follow-Up Visit

Being diagnosed with PCOS has given me a lot of answers. I used to wonder why I had twinges throughout my cycle, was exhausted no matter how much sleep I got, was hungry all of the time, had a hard time losing weight, why I gained most of the weight in my stomach, why I was irregular, and why I crave carbs and sugar like no one's business. Being diagnosed with PCOS gave me answers.

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Since being diagnosed, I've been doing a lot of research. I want to know what PCOS is and what we can do to manage my symptoms. I also want to know what we can do to help me get pregnant.

I saw my fertility doctor for my follow-up appointment last Thursday to find out what we can do. We decided to put me on Metformin ER to help manage my slightly elevated HbA1c levels so that I do not become diabetic. It will also help to regulate my hormones if it is successful because they all work with the insulin levels in my body. In addition, we are going to start treatment with Clomid. In two weeks, I will be going in for my baseline ultrasound and blood work to make sure that everything is good to start. If I respond to the clomid, we have a chance to get pregnant. If not, then we will change my dosage and pray that it works. They will give us 3-4 months of trying once we can get me to ovulate on clomid. If it works, then we continue care with my OBGYN, if not, we switch medications, which will likely include injections.

At this time, I am making sure to do what I can with eating well and working out until my appointment next week. It's so important to continue eating well and working out to help the Metformin work at its best to reduce any insulin resistance and to help me continue to lose weight since weight loss can help ease and control symptoms as well.

I am still learning a lot about my diagnosis and I have two books waiting for me at the library to continue to learn. I am doing my best to consider this a blessing. God made me this way and I strongly believe that I can use this as a platform to help others in some way.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as we work with the doctors to try to start our family!

Fit Fridays {Week 17}

This week has been a great week for me to really realize how much I have lost. This is the first week where I've really been able to appreciate and see how different my body looks! Last week I was a little frustrated with not being able to see the progress, but I can definitely see it now and that is a great feeling.

I'm still working on losing weight, but it's getting harder with the doctor appointments that I've been having. Not a good enough excuse, but I still stay in my calorie range and that's just as important.

According to my Wii Fit board/scale I have maintained my weight. I don't think it's super accurate, but that's ok. My new scale is on it's way and I should have it in the next week or so and I'm definitely excited about that.

I've also been doing some reading about my diagnosis of PCOS and it really explains a lot.

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I can identify with almost everything on this chart {except for the low thyroid, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and facial hair}. It's definitely been an eye-opener and explains so much. I used to wonder all the time why I was so hungry, had a hard time losing weight, and was so tired.

PCOS has definitely helped me gain weight and makes it difficult to lose it, but I'm doing it! My doctor did put me on Metformin ER yesterday to help with my insulin/Hb a1c levels and he hopes it can continue to help me lose weight along with my diet/exercise program that I'm doing.

It's no magic fix, but there's a plan and it could help so much more.

Follow-Up

Today is our follow-up appointment with the RE.

We're finished with all of the tests that needed to be completed before we find out our treatment plan. This includes: ultrasound to see the antral follicle count, initial blood work to see if I had ovulated, infectious disease blood work for both of us, a PCOS panel for myself, a semen analysis, cycle day (CD) 3 blood work to establish my LH and FSH levels, and an HSG.

Yes, there was a lot of testing to get done in order to have this appointment today. But, it's finally done and we get to talk to the doctor to see what he wants us to do in order to get me to ovulate.

I the results of some of the tests, but not all. I know that...

1. I am immune to chicken pox, rubella, and have no infectious diseases!
2. My husband's SA came out normal {praise the Lord!}, but I don't know the specifics.
3. My CD3 blood work was all in the normal range, but my FSH:LH ratio was off. It's supposed to be a 1:1 ratio and mine was a 2:1.
4. My antral follicle count is high {which is normal with PCOS} with 15 on one side and 18 on the other, if I remember correctly.
5. My hemoglobin {Ha1c} is a little elevated. Normal range is under 5.6 and mine is 5.8. Online reading suggests pre-diabetes, but that's ultimately up to my doctor.
6. My HSG came out all clear!

I am definitely interested in finding out what the doctor is recommending. With my husband's tests coming back normal, we don't have to jump to any extreme {or expensive} measures right away. Hopefully, we'll leave the doctor's office with a plan of action and God will work it all out.

So What Wednesday

  This week, I'm saying So What if...

•  We're keeping my in-laws in the dark with my fertility appointments. I've tried to open up and I'm told that I should "wait until you've been trying a year" no matter what. Yep, even after I mentioned that I have PCOS and the doctor doesn't think I ovulate at all. No ovulation = 0% chance of pregnancy.
• I was actually excited for my HSG. I figured that there was no guarantee of pain or something bad and it gets me that much closer to getting to know what our options are!
• I come across as super put-together and organized at church when my apartment is a hot mess. Hey, it's a work in progress.
• I got dressed to go to the gym and I decided to sew and take a nap instead. My allergies make me super sleepy and my allergy meds are no longer working.
• I want to like yoga a lot, but I don't. It's ok, but I find it super difficult for me. I do it because it's good for me, but when the yoga teacher says things like, "The universe and animals know when you're at peace because they sense it and will do something to disrupt your inner peace", I can't handle that.

Keeping it Real

I've mentioned briefly that my husband and I have been trying to find a family since March. Obviously, it hasn't been too successful yet and I've been working with my doctor to try to figure out what we can do to change this.

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I hate to admit, but I was super naive when we started this process. Sure, I had done my research and knew all about charting, ovulation, cervical mucus, and cycles. I had a basal body thermometer, ovulation test strips, pregnancy test, the fertility friend app, and was ready to go. I thought, hey, it might take a couple of months for my cycle to regulate, but it will all work out.

Until it didn't.

My doctor told me to call him if I hadn't had a cycle within 90 days after my last birth control pill. Over 100 days went by and I finally decided to call. I mean, what if it came on it's own and was a little later than 90 days? Girl, please. I reluctantly called my doctor to make an appointment. He confirmed that I had not ovulated {what?!} and tried me out on a low dose of clomid.

Again, I was super excited and thought that "this could be the month"! Ya, no. I did not respond to the medication and was so upset. That's when my husband and I decided to stop the clomid and I would work on getting healthy before we thought about it again. That was in June. My doctor and I said we would see how the summer went, and I would see him in August for my yearly visit.

Yesterday, I had my appointment. I went in super excited to tell him that I had lost 17 pounds and had a cycle on my own! It took 5 1/2 months, but it happened nevertheless.

The appointment was definitely not what I had expected. He was so happy that I lost weight and had a spontaneous cycle, but he was still concerned with my history of horribly irregular cycles. He told me that I have not yet ovulated {again} and to call him if I had not had a cycle within 4-6 weeks and we would do a higher dose of clomid. This was also not the first time he's mentioned the possibility that I might need to see an infertility specialist.

I left the office, got in my car, called my husband and burst into tears. I was so hopeful that losing weight would be it and it was so hard to hear that losing weight might not be enough. 

I knew that my irregular cycles could get in the way of having a baby someday, but never thought it would actually happen. Yes, I'm super naive when it comes to these things.

With this news from the doctor, my husband and I decided that if there's a good chance that I'll need to see a specialist, I might as well see them sooner rather than later.

I have my first appointment in three weeks and couldn't be happier with our decision. Our insurance covers diagnosis and treatment of infertility issues, but not artificial insemination of any kind (IVF, IUI, etc.). That's ok with us. We just want to know if there's something legitimately wrong or is it something we just need to be patient with.