My husband and I married in 1990. I never thought I'd ever have problems conceiving. But within months of getting married, my cycles were a mess. For 13 years, doctors tried clomid (different dosages), provera to induce periods, bc pills (which only messed me up further), and even shots (was almost hyperstimulated).
In the late 1990's, my ob's np put me on Resulin. But my husband was being transferred and we were losing our insurance, so I stopped the treatment within a month of taking it. By the time I had insurance, Resulin was off the market.
In 2003, I had heard about a new drug, Metformin and how many women with PCOS were becoming regular on it and actually conceiving. I made an appointment with an endocrinologist in town and asked him about it. He said he had heard of the treatment and he tested me for IR. With the 1 hour, I was fine, but with the 3 hour, I was slightly elevated and in the borderline range. So he agreed to work me up to 2000 mg of Metformin a day. I started Metformin in July of 2003. My gyn. (an older man) had never heard of the treatment and couldn't understand why I was on it as I did not have diabetes.
Oh my goodness!! The first few weeks were horrible as my body was adjusting! I thought I was dying from the cramps and loose stools. Dh was a sweetheart and kept encouraging me that it would be worth it all. Within 4-5 weeks, he was right!! I was completely regulated and all signs of PCOS (from facial hair, bad acne, crazy cycles, black ring around neck, etc) started to go away. I even was able to lose weight on a normal and healthy eating plan.
Due to doctor mistakes (I'd share them here, but this is for success stories), I lost my first two babies. I did learn the hard way that I had to stay on the Metformin during pg. though.
[Clomid side note: With my 2nd pg. my ob had put me on Clomid (along with the Metformin). At first I was on 50 mg. cycle days 5-9. But after 2 months and nada, I had heard that taking cycle days 3-7 had positive results for others. So without my doctor's knowledge, I took it the 3rd month on cd 3-7 and got pg. I lost that baby when I went off of the Metformin. Saw his heartbeat and that there was nothing wrong with him. I was hemorraging and my body was rejecting the baby.
M/C'd Tommy 45 minutes after seeing him alive and well on u/s.]
Two cycles after my 2nd m/c (in 2004), my obgyn put me on Clomid 50 mg.I was pg. with my daughter Sarah. I had done some studying up and shared some good research and info with my obgyn. He agreed that I needed to stay on the Metformin this time and so I stayed on it my entire pg. and Sarah was born healthy on June 24th, 2005, a month and a half before my 15th wedding anniversary. Her name, Sarah Elizabeth, means Princess Promised by God. Little did we know, back in 1990 when we had picked out the name, how accurate that would be.
Unfortunately, I lost 3 babies after Sarah (which makes her that much more of a miracle), before being treated for another disorder I have (MTHFR blood clotting disorder). Two of those babies were conceived without ttc on Clomid. I learned that I had to be on blood thinners, prednisone and extra folic acid when pg. with Ben and Caitie.
I was seeing an RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) when I conceived Benjamin. They had me take the 100 mg. of clomid on cycle days 3-7, but my estrogen was very low (as was my progesterone). They were going to up my dose, but I had been told by a nurse that the clomid was an estrogen inhibitor. So I asked if they would lower my dosage of clomid to 50 mg. They did and I conceived Ben that cycle. My progesterone was sooo low (only 6). After trying different progesterone supplements, I ended up on shots until week 12. Ben was born March 25, 2008.
We thought we were done. In fact, dh was going to get a vasectomy. We were preventing by using condoms within the 5 days before ovulation. But guess what...after years of being like clockwork on Metformin, I ovulated early. Two or three days early. It was a mad rush to get on all the progesterone and blood thinners when I found out I was pg. and thankfully, she stuck with me. Catherine was born on June 3rd, 2009, 6 weeks early. She is a happy and healthy 4 month old. I had my tubes tied with her c-section as our family is now complete.
There's so much more, between the lines of my "novel" lol. If anyone is interested, I'm more than happy to share my story.
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After 13 years of infertility due to PCOS....
You went down such a long road. Your children are absolutely beautiful.
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