So as you may already know (having read my previous posts or following me on twitter/facebook) that I suffer with a condition called PCOS - Polycystic Ovarian Sydrome. I was diagnosed in 2007 after a year of struggles trying to conceive our firstborn daughter. I didn't fit the usual characteristics of someone with PCOS, except for the irregular periods and infertility, so my doctor took a while to diagnose me. She sent me to a fertility specialist and that's where I was properly diagnosed. I am writing this post in hopes that someone out there that is reading this with unexplained infertility and irregular periods (amongst the other noted symptoms) will better understand what this condition is and get tested.
It's been such an emotional and exhausting roller coaster (that I'm still on), but I always have faith that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And that light will come with 2am and 4am feedings. :)
What is PCOS?
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a health disorder that often affects a woman’s ability to ovulate and conceive. Somewhere around one in ten women of reproductive age have been diagnosed as having PCOS. Some young women will receive this diagnosis during their teenaged years but many women will not realize that they in fact have this disorder until they try to get pregnant, and can’t. While the cause of PCOS has not as yet been identified, several factors do seem to play a role, including family history, ethnic origin and genetics.PCOS is technically a hormonal imbalance, earmarked by any two of the following three characteristics: overproduction of androgens (male hormones); irregular menstrual cycles; and an ultrasound demonstrating polycystic appearing ovaries. While all women have some level of male hormone in their systems, many women with PCOS produce an overabundance of them.
Some women with this disorder experience a degree of insulin resistance as well. Insulin is a hormone which is manufactured in the pancreas. Insulin’s job is to transport glucose (sugar) out of the blood and into muscle tissue, fat and liver cells. People who are insulin resistant need more insulin than usual to regulate the amount of glucose in in their blood and since insulin is also a growth hormone, insulin resistance causes many women who suffer from this disorder to gain weight as well. In addition, when too much insulin is present in the body the ovaries respond to this by pumping out even larger quantities of male hormones.
PCOS can develop or become more symptomatic after you have already had children. (This is known as secondary infertility.) With my daughter, I conceived with only metformin (the easy way!), but it wasn't until now since the beginning of this year have I realized I indeed needed more help in trying to conceive for my 2nd child. The metformin alone was not cutting it. Many failed Clomid cycles also didn't do the trick.
Also, while many women with PCOS deal with infertility, many of them can and do achieve pregnancy with treatment. Not everyone will have pregnancy success. But a good number will. There's reason for hope.
Learn more about PCOS, and common PCOS treatments, here:
You should definitely check it out!
Credits: http://infertility.about.com,
Photo Credits: PCOS Hope awareness image is courtesy of www.gifts4Awareness.com and merchandise can be purchased through this site.
Photo Credits: PCOS Hope awareness image is courtesy of www.gifts4Awareness.com and merchandise can be purchased through this site.
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