Back to the doctors...and the start of Metformin

When I made my follow up appointment I decided to bring my husband with me so he could be there when the doctor  explained what was going on with me and it gave him a chance to ask any questions he may have too. When the doctor came in she went over my lab results again and told me she would like to start me on a prescription called Metformin. Metformin is often used by people who have diabetes. I don't have diabetes but the drug also helps control my insulin levels since I am resistant. She wanted me to be on it for 3 months and return in October for a follow up and if I didn't get pregnant they would start me on Clomid. I started Metformin 500 mg 3 times a day in June. The doctor warned me about certain G.I. problems that come along with starting Metformin. Bascially I was going to have horrible diarreha but if I could just get through the first two weeks I would be home free and it would get better once my body got use to it. I took my first pill and in about 2 hours I could tell the medicine was already taking a toll on me. I felt extremley dizzy and light headed. That night I went to jazzercise class and it was all I could do to make it through the class. I felt awful and completely out of it.  I looked at Metformin as a "miracle drug" its what I thought was going to make me have regular cycles and get me pregnant, so I continued on with taking it. Oh, and P.S....the diarreha hit on day 2 of being on the medicine and it was awful. TMI, I know but really it was awful! After being on the medicine for about 4 days I decided to call my doctor. I had been feeling so sick and I guess because I felt so sick I started feeling depressed. All I wanted to do was sleep because I felt so weak and dizzy, and body aches also started. When my doctor called me back she basically told me "I never said this was going to be easy, make sure you are eating good carbs because it sounds like your blood sugar is dropping too low." For other reasons I wont get into I ended up having to go back to my ob/gyn office on a last minute appointment and I saw a different doctor. He was absolutley amazing and I felt really comfortable with him. He also told me I didnt have to continue taking 3 pills of Metformin a day. If I wanted to I could just take 1 a day for a week, then work my way up to 2, and then eventually I could started doing 3 a day. I took his advice and it was the best thing I ever did. I am now up to 3 pills a day like I should be and I feel completley normal again. Ever since I started Metformin I have had a period once a month like I should be having and I am REALLY happy about that! Its giving me more oppurtunities to get pregnant, but....I'm still not pregnant. I've had positive OPKs, done the baby dance, waited that horrible 2 week wait, and nothing! Its now October and I have my follow up appointment scheduled for the 28th of this month to see about moving on with Clomid. I know my husband will need to be checked before I go on Clomid so I called my doctor and he is giving me a lab slip and a container to give to my husband so he can give a sample. The sample has to be taken to the lab at our local hospital within 30 minutes of being deposited and they will check his semen there. I think my husband will be doing that next week so we have the results by the time my appointment comes around on the 28th! I dont think he is the problem, I really belive its just me, but wish us luck! I will let you know what happens!

My doctors appointment

When I decided to make my first doctors appointment with a new doctor I called and spoke with a receptionsit. When I explained to her what was going on with me she told me I would need an "infertility consult." When she said the word "infertility" my heart sort of sank. I never thought of myself as being infertile. I just thought I was a girl who had irregular periods. I made my appointment, and was extremley eager to get in and speak with the doctor. When I got their they did the typical work up where they checked my weight, blood pressure, and urinary analysis. When the doctor came in she asked me questions about my exersice, caffine intake, family history, and my history regarding my periods. She also asked me if my husband had ever gotten a women pregnant in the past. My answer was "god, I hope not!" =) She did a pelvic exam as well just to make sure my cervix was okay and to make sure she didn't see anything questionable. That exam was okay. Afterwards she told me she wanted me to get an ultrasound, a sonogram, and bloodwork to check for something called Poly Cystic Ovarian Sydrome. Once I left I went ahead and made all my appointments to get the tests done. I had the sonogram and the ultrasound done first and a few days later I had the bloodwork done. About a week later all my reports came in and the doctor called me and told me my insulin levels were very high and follicles were found on my ovaries. So I did have PCOS. Bascially, I am insulin resistant. My body produces too much and it messes up my hormones. My eggs dont mature and release monthly like they should and they stay back and turn into cysts on my ovaries. The doctor told me to make another appointment and we could talk about my options.

How it all started!

Hey everyone. Well, this is my first blog! For awhile I was considering doing youtube videos but the thought of seeing myself on camera made me nervous!!! =) So basically I will be talking a lot about pcos and my journey in trying to have a baby. My husband, Nick, and I got married on October 24th, 2009. We had discussed having children for a while before we got married and had basically became set that we would try to conceive starting in June of 2010. I had feelings in my head that it would not be easy for me to get pregnant because as long as I can remember I never had normal monthly cycles. I started birth control pills when I was 18 and stopped them about 4 months before I got married. Of course, being on b.c. pills I did have normal cycles but once I stopped them I had a cycle maybe once every two months. Before I got married I saw my gynecologist for my annual check up and told her about my concerns. She assured me they could get me pregnant if I wanted to be and they don't typically worry about irregular periods unless they are more then 3 months apart. Hearing her tell me they could get me pregnant did put my worries at ease. Once my husband and I got married we started talking more about having a baby and decided what was the point in waiting? So we started! I started doing research on how to track ovulation and went to Rite Aid and bought the ANSWER brand OPKs (Ovulation Predictor Kit) Basically all you have to do is pee in a little cup and dip the stick into the urine. The test has a control line and if your body is is having a LH surge the test line should be just as dark as the control line. LH is the type of hormone your body produces when you ovulate. Since my cycles were irregular I would often go through two boxes of the OPKs and never have a positive reading. For anyone interested in using OPKs I wouldn't recommend the ANSWER brand. Often times I had questionable readings, and the lines often looked similar in color to me even if I wasn't ovulating. I went on Amazon and bought OPKs in bulk! I got like 100 tests and 50 pregnancy tests for about $25...which is about the same price for one box of OPKs at any drug store or Target. Once I started tracking my ovulation I noticed my periods were becoming even further apart. I was having one maybe every 3 to 4 months. This was when I decided to make an appointment with another ob/gyn to talk about what was going on...