Thanks... But No Thanks!

If you ever encounter someone with infertility, please do me one thing. If they are not talking about surrogacy, please don't offer up your uterus. I can recall someone doing this shortly after we started realizing we might have issues with trying to conceive. First off, we haven't even exhausted all the fertility options, so why would you think that we would even be close to that step? Secondly, my uterus is just fine, thanks! Finally, if I'm going to cough up all the money to do IVF, I'm going to put it in my own body, not yours! It is so funny to think that people can be so ignorant as to offer this, yet they don't have the courtesy to listen to you explain the disorder. If they were listening, they would know that surrogacy is probably not the best option.  Furthermore, what makes you think you're worthy of carrying my kid for nine months? 

There are days when I just want to smack people in the head and ask if they think before they speak. I know it sounds mean, but there are just certain things you don't say. So for all of you reading this, if someone is facing infertility, the last thing she wants to hear is that you're willing to put your uterus on loan. If she comes to you at a later time speaking specifically about surrogacy, then pipe up. Until then, thanks.... but no thanks! 

A Place to Call Home

I figured while I'm at it, I might as well continue this anatomy lesson. Next in line- the uterus. The organ that a fertilized egg will nestle into and call home for nine months (calendar months not by weeks of course- another blog post for the future maybe?). The uterus is pear shaped and about the size of your fist on an average day. Once you are in your later stages of pregnancy it is a heck of a lot bigger than that. Here's where it gets interesting- technically it's a two-part organ. In addition to this pear shaped portion we are most familiar with that is actually called the corpus, it continues as your cervix. This is the yellow brick road for sperm to follow to get to the prized possession, and also the freeway to get Aunt Flo the heck out of there.

Here's the exciting part- my uterus is in working order. Always has been! Here's the bad part. Since my ovaries never released an egg, the uterine lining was extremely old. While everyone else renewed their lining typically every 28 days I went as long as 550 days without renewing it. This can lead to some serious problems down the road including uterine cancer. Now don't panic if you aren't getting Aunt Flo every month. It is completely normal to not have a period every once in awhile due to a random annovulatory cycle or because of breastfeeding. These are things the body is aware of and can manage. It's when the cause is from an external factor such as PCOS that you run into problems. Here's to hoping we have finally figured out how to make my ovaries work, which will finally keep my uterus safe. Who knows, maybe we'll get a fertilized egg, and our lil' bean sprout will eventually find a place to call home.

O-vary Important

So what's so very important about your ovaries? Well, a lot actually. This almond-sized organ is the home to our eggs, and without these o-vary important organs, you've got yourself a problem. Good news is that mine are finally working with a little help from modern medicine. I can only imagine the turmoil and pain I would have endured had I been facing this thirty years ago. Now that we've got all my eggs in a basket- pun intended - I now get to hopefully experience the miracle of life. In fact, did you know that a human egg is visible to the eye, but it is only the size of a period. Yep that's right, we all began as >.<this big! When the sperm and egg meet, it is the size of a poppy seed. Um, have you seen a poppy seed? Those things are insanely tiny! Hard to believe we came from that! 

Sometimes I want to brag about my ovaries finally doing what they are supposed to, but then I think about the fact that it's not really that special since most women do it from the age of 12 to 50. Although, I can brag in the fact that I understand how it works and where it comes from. I know a heck of a lot more about my reproduction organs than anyone without a doctorate should know! ;-)

Super Swimmers

Part of the PCOS and infertility treatment plan is to have the male partner have a semen analysis. I'm not sure what it is about boys, but they sure have some issues with getting tests done. I have to spread it wide and have my doctor poke and prod at my hoo-haa, so why can't he just put his sample in a cup and be done with it? lol So anyways, after months of bugging him to do the test, we finally got the analysis done. I was terrified that we are spending all this time and money on treatments for me only to realize he had his own set of problems as well. Good news is that he has super swimmers! The doctor said that his results were exactly where they should be and an ideal example of what someone would want. I was relieved to say the least. I came home and told my husband to which he responded, I knew it!

Everything seems to be falling in place. I am still doing preliminary work, but it looks like we're going to be in the clinical trial! We are looking for work closer to family- although I will be bummed to be further away from Mama J. I guess all the more reason for weekend trips! I am hoping that this is exactly what Baby Bear needed to find his way into the world.

Misdiagnosis

Sorry for being MIA again... what a busy busy week! I guess tornadoes will do that to you! ;-) Today I was reading up on PCOS again, and I saw an article with this information in it: "Other signs of PCOS include acne, high blood pressure, obesity, and abnormal facial and body hair growth (due to too much testosterone). One of the less recognizable symptoms of PCOS is depression, which can be misread as a bipolar illness."

 When I was 15 I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.... not a commonly known fact because of the next statement. I honestly think I was misdiagnosed, and the article above helps me confirm that. Every other symptom of PCOS that I have seems to be another misdiagnosis as well. I remember my doctor giving me a terrible time about my insulin levels and weight gain, but he failed to notice that it was because I have PCOS. My current doctor seemed to think that my high blood pressure was just outrageous, but again, he failed to notice that it is also a symptom of PCOS. Now, I hate to point the finger, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that all these things I've been given a hard time about at the doctor's isn't my fault after all. Sometimes I wonder if I should have been a doctor because at this point, the internet seems to know more information than my doctors did.

On a side note, I have been looking into participating in some PCOS medical trials. I found one that is at the University of Michigan, and they actually pay for all your testing and fertility treatments. I figure it benefits me because I already would have been doing this stuff anyways, and it benefits all of us by giving us medical information and understanding of the process.