Fertility Options Coach

This post was originally written when I was pregnant with my daughter. I added it here since it gives so many women so much hope.

Every week I get emails from women who have recently been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Almost all of them say the same thing, “I’m terrified that I’ll never be able to have kids.” I understand that fear because I lived it for more than 15 years. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 19. Just 4 1/2 months ago I peed on what must have been the 100th pregnancy test strip. To my shock and surprise, I found myself staring at two purple lines. I had just remarried 5 months before, how could I have gotten pregnant so quickly without medical help when surgeries, drugs and other interventions had failed?

Within the next 4 hours I repeated that experience with 3 more test sticks. By test number two I was starting to believe I was actually pregnant, but then the fear set in…what if I could not carry this baby to term? Was it safe to get my hopes up? Would I really have this baby? What if this was some kind of weird hormonal thing making the tests come up with false positives?

A trip to my local hospital that evening for a blood test soon confirmed that I was indeed pregnant. Waiting for the test results was the longest two hours of my life. I was so afraid that this test would dash my growing hopes. When the lab technician finally answered the phone and told me that the test was positive I started crying. She asked, “Was this what you wanted to hear?” I managed to complete a sentence between my tears, “I’ve been waiting 15 years to hear those words.”

Pregnancy, for me, has not been easy but now that I am 20 weeks along I am feeling better and the little pokes and kicks I feel from time to time let me know that everything is going to be ok. At 10 weeks, I experienced sudden bleeding and I was again terrified that I was not going to see this baby come to term. The ultrasound brought fresh tears as I saw a perfect tiny baby bouncing around like a ping pong ball, not just “wiggling” like the pregnancy books said it would. The bleeding was not affecting the baby at all, though there was a large blood clot in my uterus.

I spent the next several weeks on bed rest as much as possible, a reality that was made easier to endure because I was so incredibly nauseated that I was throwing up several times a day. Even sitting up in bed or looking at a computer screen made me lose my lunch (or breakfast, or dinner, or anything else I dared to eat or drink). My businesses suffered as I went from working 18 hours a day to barely managing to get out of bed for most of 3 months.

Just as the nausea started to diminish (still sick to my stomach a lot, but way better than before), the pregnancy hormones made my carpal tunnel syndrome so severe that it wakens me several times throughout the night. Through it all, I just keep looking at that ultrasound photo of my baby and reminding myself that this little one is worth it. At 16 weeks an ultrasound showed that the blood clot was gone, and that our little girl (yes, it’s a girl!) is growing perfectly.

Why am I pregnant now instead of when I was trying so hard to get pregnant? I have thought a lot about this while I suppress the desire to punch the people who keep saying things like “All you needed to do was relax!” I was not particularly relaxed when I got pregnant. I was frustrated and angry that my body was not cooperating. My periods were like clockwork, yet that month I did not ovulate on day 14, or 15, or 16…I did not ovulate until day 24, based on my due date. While I am sure there is an element that is beyond my comprehension, I believe that my body was finally ready for a baby. I was taking my herbs, vitamins and Omega-3 EFA I was at a good weight for me. I was sleeping more than I used to. I was finally in a relationship without conflict. I believe that these and many other factors are what made my body ready for a baby.

Having experienced infertility for so long, I know that I’ll cherish this child. People say things like, “Wait until she is two!” I can’t wait until she is two, or even 13! I am so excited to meet this little one. I am under no illusions that parenting will be easy, but I do know that every day of her life I will thank God that I have gotten the chance to mother this child.

Heavy menstrual bleeding is a major inconvenience. If you suffer from heavy periods, you might be wondering how to cope with this. Every woman has a different cycle, including differences in the number of days between periods, the number of days her period lasts, and how heavy her flow. Most women experience a few heavier than normal periods from time to time. However, a significant number of women experience heavier than normal periods regularly. How can you cope with a heavy period and when should you seek medical help?

It is “normal” to have a period every 28 days for 4-5 days. Normal blood loss is from about 4 tablespoons to as much as 1 cup. Obviously this will vary a great deal from woman to woman. Here are some ways you can tell if you are having very heavy periods:

* Periods that last longer than 5 days.
* Bleeding that soaks through a pad or tampon every hour for several hours.
* Need to change your pad in the middle of the night (or waking up soaked in blood)
* Fatigue or other signs of anemia
* Large blood clots
* Needing to use a tampon and a pad at the same time to prevent leaks

Heavy bleeding can be caused by a hormone imbalance such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), thyroid problems, uterine fibroids, ovarian problems or even a miscarriage. It is possible to have an early miscarriage before you even know you are pregnant. Obviously, if your period is on time every month this is not the case, but if you have an occasional late period that is very heavy it may be an early miscarriage and is worth talking to your doctor about (a blood test can prove if you have recently been pregnant).

If you experience heavy bleeding that continues for several hours (soaking through a pad or tampon every hour for several hours) or if you feel weak or very tired it is important to talk to your doctor immediately. Keep track of how many pads or tampons you are using and how often so your doctor can estimate the amount of blood you are losing.

If you regularly have heavy periods your doctor may want to test for PCOS, thyroid problems, check for uterine fibroids, endometriosis or other underlying problems. Irregular and very heavy periods can contribute to infertility.

In addition to seeking medical advice, here are some things you can do to cope with heavy periods:

* Consider using cloth menstrual pads. You will save money and be much more comfortable. I found that the overnight cloth pads I use are the only ones big enough to contain my flow during my heavy periods or at night. I also found that wearing a plstic and paper pad, or tampon, for 7 days or more made me VERY uncomfortable. Cloth pads are more breathable and never give me a rash the way disposable pads do.
* Rest! Your body is working hard and you are losing blood. While it may be “normal” blood loss, it can still be very taxing to your body and you will feel better if you give yourself enough rest.
* Talk to an herbalist or midwife about using sheperd’s purse herb to reduce bleeding.
* Take an iron supplement or multivitamin with iron to keep your iron stores up.
* Use aceteminophen (Tylenol) for pain instead of aspirin. Aspirin increases bleeding.
* Use heat packs to reduce cramping. I could not live without my rice filled microwaveable heat pack during my worst periods. The heat relaxes my muscles and works as well as pain killers to treat the pain. When I get back cramps as well as uterine cramps I use two!

Cloth Menstrual Pads are easy to use, super comfortable and better for the environment. I also found that my periods went from 8 days to 5 when I started using cloth pads. Other cloth pad users tell me they have had similar responses. Even if you don’t experience a reduction in bleeding, you will be much more comfortable and save a lot of money. If you use 2 boxes of pads or tampons a month you are throwing away about $14 a month. A complete set of cloth pads would cost you about $150 and will last 5-7 years. Click here to learn more about cloth menstrual pads.