Let’s Make like a tomato and ketchup (tee hee)
Josh and I have, as many of you know, been trying to have a baby for a WHILE now. We are having problems because I have Poly-cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). This syndrome is mostly due to crazy hormones being out of whack. So one would think, “fix the hormones, fix the syndrome.” but that’s not always the way it goes. They can treat the symptoms of PCOS, but there isn’t a cure. yet.
So in attempt to get pregnant we have been put on a drug called Clomid. Clomid doesn’t really add any hormones to your body, it fools your brain into thinking you don’t have enough estrogen, thus making your body produce more. The side effects are killer, but over-all really not that bad to be able to have a baby. If it worked for us. It is not working.
This is my third cycle on Clomid, if it was going to work for me it would have by now. But my follicles aren’t maturing. So the next step are with drugs called Gonadotropins. They are lovely, little steroid shots. Not the baseball player kind. The “make my body function like it should” kind. I start with a shot of Follicle Stimulating Hormones (fsh), guess what they do? Then I get to inject a hormone found in the urine of menopausal women called hCG. That will release my eggs once the fsh has caused them to mature.
The catch is (there is ALWAYS a catch in infertility) your ovaries can become over stimulated cause 10 or more eggs to develop. It’s a disorder called Ovarian Hyper-stimulation syndrome (ohss). It can be fatal. But I can certainly see God’s hand in the mix because he led me to a wonderful Dr. He is one of the best. He monitors me very closely and we are hoping to stave off OHSS. The other catch with this medication is, as I am sure you have seen on TV, is multiple births.
Most people think of multiple births for someone with fertility problems as a good thing. I am sure anyone who has had a successful multiple fetal pregnancy says that it is a gift from God. I am sure that it is but it is not the desired outcome. Pregnancy is very hard on the body. With PCOS my miscarriage rate is already 50% why add to the stress of pregnancy. That being said even if we had Quads (4 babies) we would praise God for each one and put them into His hands. We know the risk of multiples is high, 20%, but we trust that God’s will is more perfect than our own.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:30 am
OK, so I was looking for tee’s trying to buy my niece a ketchup tee and I found this blog… still wondering about that! Anyway… I also have PCOS, and after 5 years of no Babies, even with Clomid, We were literally offered a baby! After a very long and somewhat painful adoption, we have the most beautiful and incredible little girl. She will be 3 in March and we have had her since the second she was born. We have been married for almost 9 years with no birth control till recently. Because I didn’t follow my doc’s suggestion of taking better care of myself I now have Diabetes. Which in some strange twist of fate works in my favor. The meds I am on suddenly make it possible to get pregnant. I have 2 good friends, both with PCOS, both got pregnant using the meds I am on for the Diabetes. Crazy! Anyway, I want to wish you the best. We KNOW God gave us our daughter. I trust Him to know whats best for our family, because we finally have a family. Which was His doing. If His will for us is one of our own, we can’t wait, but am PERFECTLY content with the miracle He has already provided. I actually took a pregnancy test today. It was negative, of course. But one day it might not be…. not that I will know how to read it since all I have had are dozens of negative. But I pray you will soon experience a positive. A single positive, lol….. Best Wishes!!