My Fertility Journey: TTC With PCOS
The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult your doctor for the most appropriate treatment.
When my husband and I first started trying to grow our family, I went to my OBGYN. I had stopped birth control a few years prior and had irregular cycles, never seeing a positive result on my ovulation tests. I didn’t know where to begin with attempting to get pregnant.
After my initial blood work and ultrasound, I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, commonly known as PCOS. All I knew then was that it would likely be harder to get pregnant than we thought. I had surgery, and planned to do ovarian drilling, which the doctors were hoping would help me ovulate. During the surgery (laparoscopy), we found out that I also had stage 3 endometriosis. So, we decided to remove that, and not proceed with ovarian drilling. We then decided with our doctor that we would continue trying naturally. I was so discouraged, but I was told I would get pregnant.
After a few months of trying without success, we decided to seek treatment through our local fertility clinic.
Going through infertility was the hardest thing I have ever been through. Grieving each month was a type of heartbreak I wouldn’t wish on anyone. When you start treatment, and everything looks “perfect,” and you still don’t end up pregnant, you wonder what you could have possibly done differently, and you worry that maybe being a mom is never going to happen for you.
Luckily, our last medicated cycle before we were going to transition to in vitro fertilization (IVF) ended with a successful pregnancy that led to our first wonderful child, Levi. After my positive experience at our fertility clinic, and with the support of the amazing nurses I got to know who grieved with us when our cycles weren’t successful, I knew that I wanted to work there one day.
After my positive experience at our fertility clinic, and with the support of the amazing nurses…I knew that I wanted to work there one day.
As fate would have it, while on maternity leave, a position opened up and I left my nursing job in the ICU to work at the fertility clinic. It has been the greatest joy of my life aside from being a mom. We celebrated the birth of our second child, Valerie, a year ago after using the same medicated protocol yet again.
If there is one thing I have learned, especially since working in the fertility space, it is that there are so many women that have various degrees of PCOS and it is not a one-size-fits-all diagnosis. We are all different: we may look different, have different symptoms and even come back with different blood work and ultrasound results. And going through infertility is not easy, no matter the severity of your PCOS. It does help to know though that you are not alone on this fertility journey, and that you can seek the help of a fertility specialist.
