PCOS and me!
After an extremely long hiatus of 8 years, I am re-trying my hands at blogging. Life has changed so much since my last (and only) blog, including my own priorities in life. A large part of the past few years have been riddled by my stint with PCOS and the related ups and downs. The alarmingly high number of fertility specialists and hospitals should force everyone of us to take a step back and think - why do we find ourselves in this scenario? The following are my two cents on this and if it helps anyone, I will be glad.
PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) is a condition where the female ovaries have 'cysts' (neerkatti in tamil) which essentially hinders our reproductive system from performing seamlessly. The common reasons for this include obesity, couch potato lifestyles, less exercise, heredity, yada yada yada. While these same reasons also cause a host of other new-gen ailments including diabetes, PCOS gets more popularity since it comes in the way of a newly married girl from becoming pregnant. And with our patriarchal society which doesn't wait even for three months before popping the question about 'good news', this is a more serious issue. While PCOS itself isn't a threatening disease, it hinders egg production and hence results in female infertility.
One year after marriage and still childless(!) I was referred to a DGO for consultation by well-meaning relatives. See the pressure mounting already? I was diagnosed with PCOS and had to go through few cycles of ovulation analysis - which technically means you will be put through scans in the doctor's clinic on a regular basis, at least 7 to 8 times within one menstrual cycle. This helps in the doctor analyse the production and release of the egg from the ovary and the rest is pure timing and good luck. We should be prepared for a few pricks along the way, in every cycle. After every unsuccessful cycle (meaning we don't get pregnant at the end of it), the whole process repeats. All this shoots up the stress level of the couple, which doesn't help our cause at all. And if we happen to consult a DGO (like I did), we are bound to come across pregnant women thereby adding to our anguish and the feeling of utter helplessness and desperation. With multiple surgical interventions like IUI, IVF available today, chances are doctors will suggest us some procedures pretty quickly. In my case, after three unsuccessful cycles and with no concrete reason why I will not conceive naturally, the doctor prescribed me IUI. We were contemplating it, while some family situations intervened and we had to postpone my treatment for a few months.
During this time, I was referred to a fertility specialist by our family doctor and when we decided to re-initiate the treatment, we thought we will consult with her. Hers was a private clinic and since she was a fertility specialist there were only very few patients (people who sailed the same boat as me). She confirmed the PCOS and had put me on different medication which I continued while I also moved to Bangalore. Call it karma or stress-free life or whatever, I conceived naturally in another 5 months. I called up the doctor and she prescribed me a tablet telling that the PCOS tendencies remain even after conceiving (the rate of miscarriage during PCOS is high) and to meet her after a month. We met her after a month and once we heard the baby's heartbeat and she pronounced the baby is well and good, were we able to relax and truly enjoy pregnancy.
My takeaways from this experience:
PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) is a condition where the female ovaries have 'cysts' (neerkatti in tamil) which essentially hinders our reproductive system from performing seamlessly. The common reasons for this include obesity, couch potato lifestyles, less exercise, heredity, yada yada yada. While these same reasons also cause a host of other new-gen ailments including diabetes, PCOS gets more popularity since it comes in the way of a newly married girl from becoming pregnant. And with our patriarchal society which doesn't wait even for three months before popping the question about 'good news', this is a more serious issue. While PCOS itself isn't a threatening disease, it hinders egg production and hence results in female infertility.
One year after marriage and still childless(!) I was referred to a DGO for consultation by well-meaning relatives. See the pressure mounting already? I was diagnosed with PCOS and had to go through few cycles of ovulation analysis - which technically means you will be put through scans in the doctor's clinic on a regular basis, at least 7 to 8 times within one menstrual cycle. This helps in the doctor analyse the production and release of the egg from the ovary and the rest is pure timing and good luck. We should be prepared for a few pricks along the way, in every cycle. After every unsuccessful cycle (meaning we don't get pregnant at the end of it), the whole process repeats. All this shoots up the stress level of the couple, which doesn't help our cause at all. And if we happen to consult a DGO (like I did), we are bound to come across pregnant women thereby adding to our anguish and the feeling of utter helplessness and desperation. With multiple surgical interventions like IUI, IVF available today, chances are doctors will suggest us some procedures pretty quickly. In my case, after three unsuccessful cycles and with no concrete reason why I will not conceive naturally, the doctor prescribed me IUI. We were contemplating it, while some family situations intervened and we had to postpone my treatment for a few months.
During this time, I was referred to a fertility specialist by our family doctor and when we decided to re-initiate the treatment, we thought we will consult with her. Hers was a private clinic and since she was a fertility specialist there were only very few patients (people who sailed the same boat as me). She confirmed the PCOS and had put me on different medication which I continued while I also moved to Bangalore. Call it karma or stress-free life or whatever, I conceived naturally in another 5 months. I called up the doctor and she prescribed me a tablet telling that the PCOS tendencies remain even after conceiving (the rate of miscarriage during PCOS is high) and to meet her after a month. We met her after a month and once we heard the baby's heartbeat and she pronounced the baby is well and good, were we able to relax and truly enjoy pregnancy.
My takeaways from this experience:
- In case a girl has irregular periods post marriage, it is better to check it out - whether or not the couple is trying to start a family.
- Many of us tend to add a lot of weight post marriage. If the weight is increasing at a very fast rate, please keep it in check. I was told that a reduction of even 5% of the weight increases our chances of conceiving significantly.
- Incorporate some form of exercise into your lifestyle.
- Consciously make some lifestyle changes like adding more fruits and vegetables into your diet etc. And definitely reduce junk food.
- Preferably meet a fertility specialist, since the way they approach the whole issue compared to a DGO is very different. Plus the stress levels are way low.
- Do inform your near and dear ones that every time they 'enquire' about the treatment etc, they are just reducing your chances. While relatives will enquire mothers and mothers-in-law, it will help if they don't keep us updated on the same.
- Try to keep stress at bay. Any kind of stress is a problem be it in office or at home.
- Stay positive.
- If any procedures are prescribed, do get one or two confirmations from other fertility specialists.
- Stick with the doctor with whom you are comfortable with. The most popular doctor might still make you feel uncomfortable, which might not help.
Today I am a mother of a 6 month old son, but I hope I never forget how the 'trying-to-conceive' phase was and never ever enquire another couple about having kids. Its their choice and definitely not my space to interfere. Hope the 'society' too starts following this stance.
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