Pregnancy with Lean PCOS

Infertility affects 1 in 8 women. Here is my journey to motherhood battling PCOS

Being as it is infertility awareness week and today has been exactly two years since Aria was conceived, it seems like the perfect time to share my journey to motherhood.

Preface: Everyone’s infertility journey looks different. I am grateful that I had success very quickly with medical intervention. I am also not a doctor, this is simply my experience. Some topics may be graphic.

It’s crazy that you feel like you spend the better part of your adult life trying NOT to get pregnant. And then when the time is right, it seems damn near impossible. And one thing I have learned in the last few years is how incredibly common this is.

Struggling with infertility is incredibly isolating. It is so painful to talk about, even with your partner. It feels like no one understands what you’re going through. It is all- consuming and makes you feel so many things you aren’t prepared for. At least I wasn’t.

Aside from sadness, you feel anger and emptiness, and the worst… jealousy. I hated how jealous I felt of things that I was normally so happy to hear. It felt like literally everyone around me was getting pregnant, except me.

When I knew it was time to seek help

I had been tracking my ovulation and periods for about a year. Mind you, I had been on birth control for over a decade and prior to going off did not have a period so I wasn’t really sure what that looked like for me. I noticed my periods were anywhere from 40-50 days apart. I would take the clear blue ovulation test every day that was recommended and I constantly got “high” levels but never “peak.” Month after month this continued to happen and something just felt off. I decided to reach out to a local fertility doctor, Reproductive Associates of Delaware, just to check in and see if they had any input as to how we should move forward.

My major takeaway from my first visit with my doctor is that it is never too early. She said so many times that she sees women come into her office that are broken and lost because they waited and waited and they are filled with so much sadness. I know some doctors require a certain amount of time of “trying” but it is never to early to call and see what they recommend.

I was told we had to wait for me to get my next period and then they would run a very regimented series of tests. [Including what felt like endless amounts of blood work.] However from our conversation she was thinking I had lean PCOS. Typically PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) typically presents itself with facial hair, acne, and obesity in women; so if you do not show those signs it can be more difficult to diagnose.

After about 2 months, and endless testing, she deemed that everything internally looks good (uterus, fallopian tubes, cervix, etc.) and it is likely lean PCOS. Essentially my eggs were not dropping when I was ovulating, they would stick to my ovaries like small cysts instead; which prevented them from being fertilized.

Treatment

Our doctor presented a few options to us and we all decided on a course of action. This worked well because the Virgo in me LOVES a plan 🙌🏻.

We would start with a medicated cycle and timed intercourse. Aka- we would use all of the medication you would for an IUI but instead of implanting the semen, they tell us exactly when to have sex.

We decided to start there for 2 months and then likely progress to an IUI. We are so fortunate to have health insurance that covers fertility treatment, I hope this becomes general coverage for all women eventually.

So I would start with taking Letrozale which inhibits the production of estrogen, which influences the action of the brain’s hypothalamus and pituitary on the functioning of the ovaries* [Read more here]. I was monitored every other day via ultrasound to ensure my eggs were growing properly. I was then told exactly when to give myself the “trigger shot” based off of the growth of my eggs, and then we were to have intercourse that night and two nights later. Following the shot, I was to take progesterone suppositories every day for the following two weeks to help thicken my uterine lining. We did exactly as we were told and sat back and crossed our fingers.

Side Effects

I think the worst part was the bloating. I felt so uncomfortable and full but it was bearable knowing what the potential outcome could be. Just a week after our timed intercourse I was registered for the Broad Street run in Philadelphia. I had been training for this 10 mile race for weeks and was so excited, but the days leading up to it I felt awful. Terribly nauseous and dizzy. The dummy that I am went to a walk in clinic the night before my race hoping for a cure to my nausea (as I thought I had a stomach bug) and they sent me home saying to wait it out. I threw up that night but was determined to kick it in gear the next day. We woke up super early and headed to philly, still feeling like shit, but adrenaline started to kick in.

Mile 3 into the race I wanted to die. This race has around 35,000 runners and tens of thousands of spectators line the streets. I wasn’t sure how to get back to the beginning if I bailed so I pushed on. I shockingly finished the race. We had planned an afternoon at a local bar to celebrate but I wasn’t feeling up to it. Everyone was feeling great because they crushed their times but I was being a sore loser because I had terrible time (not even close to my goal!) and felt like crap, so I pushed to just head home. All the while, it still had not occurred to me that it was the medication or potential pregnancy.

The Waiting Game

I had to wait the full 14 days before taking a test. My doctor stressed to not take an at home test because of the chances of a false positive due to the medication I was taking. My doctor also kept reminding me it was less than a 10% chance for the first time and to not be discouraged if it didn’t work. Well impatient Emily took over and the night before my blood test, I took an at home test.

And it was positive.

I freaked out. I called my best friend and she immediately said “WHY DID YOU TAKE A TEST?!” After debating for awhile if we thought it was real or not I tried to put it out of my mind because my blood test was the next day.

HAHAHAHA. sike.

After Evan went to bed I stayed up all night consulting Dr. Google about the half life of the trigger shot, like I had become a freaking chemist or something (ironically my husband is a chemist.) And I was convinced it was real. It should have been out of my body within 9-10 days (don’t quote me on that- that was my elementary chemistry mindset.)

The Big Day

I went in for my blood work and they called me that afternoon.

It was real.

I was pregnant.

I was the 10%. I couldn’t believe it.

I immediately left work and called my best friend to tell her the good news and try and think of a creative way to tell Evan, quickly!

I set up this display in our foyer so it would be the first thing he saw when he came home, and see the rest with your own eyes.

Here are a few photos from us sharing our big news with our family.

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We were INCREDIBLY fortunate to have it work for us the first time. I remember before we found out I cried to Evan on the bathroom floor that I don’t know how much I can do. I was emotionally exhausted and my body felt unlike my own. I am grateful to have had such a positive experience with my treatment. I know not everyone is as lucky but it is important to remember we all have our own journey. I am sending so much baby dust to those women losing hope right now. <3

XO, Emily

*Source is National Institute of Health