PCOS and TTC

Wow...so I havn't blogged in two months...oops! I read the blogs I follow daily, but keep forgetting to actually blog myself. Well now I have a story to tell and that story is called PCOS and infertility and what a PAIN IN THE ASS it is. Subtle much? Yeah I didnt think so. Anywho the last two months have been full of baby planning and meds. Since there are SOO many women out there struggling w/ this I thought I would share my story and thoughts and hopefully soon my successes :)

Infertility and trying to conceive (ttc) is so time consuiming and always in your head with EVERYTHING you do. Can I sign up to play softball this summer or will I get pregnant? Will I be pregnant on the next family vaca? Can I take a new job...what if it all finally works next month? These are the thoughts I deal with on an almost daily basis. Here is my story and where we are now:

Dec 2011 - went in for a yearly check up and told doc we wanted a baby. I had gone off birth control in October when we got married and still had not had a period. (I always had irregular periods, except when on birth control). Doc had me do blood work, but physically everything seemed fine.

Jan 2012 - After getting back in town from vacation (we REALLY thought we would be pregnant by this point and could tell family as a Christmas present..sadly that wasnt so). I still have not had a period since Oct and doc called and said all blood work was normal. So we went in to talk with her about now what. She told us to get some tests done (HSG and semen analysis) and in two weeks if still no period take Provera (to induce period) then start my first round of Clomid. If you are like me and Michael we had never heard of any of this stuff, but Clomid is the most common drug given to women who are ttc. It is taken for usually 5 days on certain days of your cycle and is suppose to make you ovulate. You time sex to hopefully catch that mother lovin egg. Its powerful stuff w/ LOTS of side effects...none of which are pleasant. I also started temping. Temping is taking your basal body temp every morning before you even open your eyes. Its tells you what your body is doing.

Feb - Began Clomid. Took cycle days (cd) 3-7. Had an HSG (hysterosalpingogram) on cd 8. The test consists of a doc inserting a cather into your uterus and taking xrays of your tubes and uterus to make sure there are no blockages.  Everything went smooth and looked perfect. So we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. Doc had me do blood work 7 days post ovulation (dpo) to check and make sure I ovulated. Well sadly I never ovulated that cycle...booo...so on to Provera and on to the next cycle.

March - Cycle #2 w/ Clomid. Did 50 mg of Clomid on days 3-9 this cycle was THE WORST! My total meds were 50 mg of clomid cd 3-9, estrogen patch cd 9-12 and progesterone cream cd 12 on.  From the moment I took the meds I felt bad and anxious. I had major depression for about 2 weeks and terrible anxiety. Plus anger...I was soo bad and felt so stressed and overwhelmed. I wouldn't recommend that on anyone! Sadly again I ovulated, but barely. My progesterone level was only a 5 soo boo...no baby and on to the next round

April/May - Cycle #3 w/ Clomid - I was super nervous to do this again. After the last cycle I was scared I would have the same side effects. My doctor (still w/ my regular gyno at this point) had me do the same med combo as last cycle. Again no luck. I did ovulate, but again only at a 5 (this was mid may by this point). Super bummed...Doc said I could do one more cycle w/ her at 100 mg or go see a specialist. We opted for the specialist. While I loved my doc I knew I needed more care.

At the end of May I saw my first Reproductive Endocrinologist. I will make this another post.

Its been a LOONG Journey and sadly full of dead ends and punches in the stomach. Good thing is I know I am not alone.