Lots of people have asked, "Did you use fertility drugs?" The answer is, yes. I know lots of people don't like to talk about these things, but as a person who went through fertility problems it helped just knowing I wasn't alone. It seemed like my friends were getting pregnant left and right. They would say, "We weren't even trying" or "It happened the first month we tried." Well, for us it didn't.
If you don't know me well, I am the type of person that does my research and tries to be as effective as possible. So from the very beginning, I used ovulation tests and basal body temperature charts. It would have helped if I had a normal cycle, but that didn't happen. Some would be around 47days others upwards of 120+ days. I bought ovulation tests in bulk because I was not going to miss that egg when it dropped. Needless to say, I never once had a normal basal body temperature chart or a positive ovulation test the whole time we were trying on our own. Other strange things started happening too. My hair started falling out and getting super thin. I started getting facial hair and my acne was in full blown attack. So not only was I not getting pregnant but I also felt like I was turning into some kind of monster. Kip just loved this time (sarcasm.)
After a year of trying, I made an apt. with my doctor. I took the body temp charts, my calander of ovulation test results and my cycle information. After some consideration, and blood work to check my hormone levels, I was diagnosed with Polycycstic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS.) This is when my body doesn't produce female hormones that mature and egg to release it. Instead I produce a lot more male hormones, which explained all the strange side effects. The doctor then told me that it would be very hard to get pregnant and that if I wanted to have a baby we needed to start some fertility meds.
I began my first cycle of clomid in March 2010. I took 50mg on days 5-9 of my cycle. On day 24 they checked my progesterone levels. The normal level of a woman, if she ovulated should be between about 10. My levels came back at 0.4. So the first round didn't work. The doctor gave me provera to have a period (because if you don't ovulate you don't get a period.) This round I started in April I took 100mg on days 5-9. This time when I went for blood work on day 24 my progesterone levels were 30. I actually ovulated. Now I just had to wait to see if my egg found a friend to make a baby. On Mother's Day I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. The rest is history.
I feel very blessed that it only took two rounds of fertility drugs. Other women with my disease go through many rounds and usually have to go to other procedures to have babies. God has been very good.
