Lauren's Infertility Journey
Hi warriors! I’m Lauren and I am writing this to remind you that you are not alone and that your journey is inspiring. My husband and I have been TTC for a little over a year now. We got married May 2019 and knew we immediately wanted to start a family. I am 30 years old, and my husband is 36 years old.
I have a long-sorted relationship with Aunt Flow; so, we started trying well before our wedding. Much like most women; for many years I thought it truly wouldn’t take much aside from having unprotected intercourse to get pregnant. However, in my gut I knew my story wouldn’t go right along the lines of Love, Marriage, Baby Carriage; but that my road to motherhood would be a bit of a rocky one.
Even if you had asked me at the beginning of our journey, I never would have imagined that getting pregnant would involve as much poking, prodding, testing, medication, Doctors, emotions, money, or stress. I want you to know that if you even have the faintest inkling that you may be infertile, you have options and you deserve to be heard and get answers.
I was diagnosed with PCOS in June 2019 after a 58-day cycle and lots of urging from a very good friend to see my doctor. I made an appointment with my gynecologist who after hearing that I had been trying OPK and basal body temperature testing along with unprotected intercourse for about 6 months with no luck and now having a 58-day cycle with no period in sight, recommended I seek treatment from a fertility specialist. Though I am so thankful that I was heard in that moment and was able to seek help from a reproductive endocrinologist, I am disheartened by the fact that I tried for many years to get answers regarding why my cycle was the way it was - so unpredictable and just generally rough but my concerns fell on deaf ears.
Here’s some backstory on my relationship with aunt flow. My cycles started at the age of 13. They were painful and unpredictable. I would have periods anywhere from 5-8 days long filled with clots and cramps that would make you wish you could remove any and all female parts that were responsible for the pain. This was normal, right? This was my period. This was my life. I grew up living with my dad and stepmom - so of course I would go to my Stepmom for advice however it was a lost cause - she had periods that were 3 days long with no cramping and came like clockwork. Unbelievable! I had no idea a period could be like that, so predictable and somewhat easy. Wanting to get more advice, I asked my biological mom how her periods were, and she stated that her cycles were heavy and painful; she further explained that one of her sisters would even faint during her period as well as need to take time off of school or work. Again, this was normal right? So, hearing these stories I thought to myself, my period isn’t so bad, I’m not fainting, I don’t need time off of work, there’s nothing to worry about.
Fast forward through years of agony each month as it worsened. My periods got more unpredictable even skipping a 6-month period as well as having a period for a continuous 3-month cycle, all while on birth control pills. All these concerns had been brought up to my gynecologist to which she responded saying stress can cause a lack of menstrual cycle and that continuing my birth control pills should be helping to control my cycle. Even though it seemed to me that the birth control pills were causing these irregular cycles - she told me they weren’t, I trusted her, she is a professional. (It’s clear now these were all issues from my undiagnosed PCOS) OK that was my answer - stress. I continued use of birth control pills which only caused me to have severe mood swings and gain weight.
After 2 years on birth control pills taken during the ages of 17-19 years old, I made the executive decision to stop taking them. When I was 23 years old, after much discussion with friends who were taking a birth control called the Nuva Ring, I decided to bring up the Nuva Ring birth control option up with my gynecologist. She stated it would work well for me, so I started it immediately. It seemed to really work, my cycles were completely predictable, I had periods that lasted 4-5 days and while I still had clotting and cramping it was much more bearable.
When I got engaged, I brought up my desire to have children right away after marriage and my gynecologist stated I should have no issues and wouldn’t need to take any specific precautions. Still having that gut feeling that the road to motherhood wouldn’t be easy I emailed my gynecologist about 8 months prior to my wedding date. Again, she stated that I could stop birth control at any time and shouldn’t have any issues getting pregnant but that she recommended waiting until after our wedding to stop using the Nuva Ring. At this point I decided to take matters into my own hands, and I stopped using the Nuva Ring. This was the beginning of what is now my journey to motherhood. I am so glad I decided to take matters into my own hands sooner than later and with encouragement from good friends pushed to get more answers and testing to get down to the root of my issues.
So here we are today 7 months into fertility treatments still hopeful that our miracle baby will come. After a hysteroscopy surgery and 3 unsuccessful IUI procedures with letrozole and ovidrel, my husband and I are moving on to IVF. Though we do have insurance coverage for IVF the cost is daunting. After the last 13 months going through two week wait after two week wait, I have to say this season of waiting to begin IVF while we figure out a way to add it into our budget has to be one of the hardest. If you are in a season of waiting know that your miracle is coming and that you are loved.
Sending you all the baby dust.
-Lauren
Medical Disclaimer:
The information provided in this blog is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your healthcare provider or qualified medical professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this blog.
