Hello lovely ladies
I am hoping that anyone who reads this who is going through the same process will comment so I don't feel like I am the only one with this particular scenario of TTC because as we know, everyone's version is slightly different.
DH & I are both in our 20's and have been married 20 months. We have been TTC for 1 year (June 2012). I went on the pill 7 years ago (2006). I was diagnosed with PCOS 4.5 years ago (2008) when I came off the pill. I came off on a trial to give my body a break from it (not to TTC). I went almost a year without getting a period and thought that was not normal, which lead to my diagnosis of PCOS. Bear in mind that prior to even going on the pill 7 years ago, I actually ovulated and had regular AF on 28 day cycles! Best treatment at the diagnosis stage was to go back on the pill which is what I did until a year ago. Anyway, that covers my past history and all.
Now onto my TTC mission so far... I knew that by coming off the pill a year ago I wasn't going to ovulate without help so I went straight to my OBGYN who initially diagnosed me with the PCOS who wanted me to try Clomiphene. I did 3 monitored cycles with her. The first one 50mg, second 100mg and third 150mg (200mg is the max dose). I didn't respond to any of those which caused her concern. She added 500mg Metformin 2x daily on the third cycle in combination with 150mg of Clomiphene. These cycles ran from July to February. I know you’re probably wondering 3 cycles over 7 months doesn’t add up, but that’s because there was a lot of waiting around, lots of blood tests etc so each cycle was like 50 + days.
After that I ended up being referred to a Fertility specialist in Auckland who may I add is absolutely fantastic and highly recommended!!
She wanted me to try another round of Clomiphene 150mg monitored which I did. This started at the end of February. She combined this with a higher dose of 850mg Metformin 2x daily. Again, nothing. She came to the conclusion that I am anovular (don’t ovulate naturally) and was unresponsive to Clomiphene which happens to like 15-20% of women. I was hoping that by doing Clomiphene with my specialist it'd at least make me ovulate as they said if my levels of Oestrogen came up high enough they'd give me a trigger shot to make me ovulate.
Just to recap, since starting to TTC with Clomiphene mid last year I haven't managed to ovulate at all in those 4 monitored cycles and because I haven't ovulated they've had to induce bleeds with Provera to actually start a 'fresh' cycle of Clomiphene each time. This brings us to March this year (end of 4th cycle of Clomiphene).
She said that from here that I had the option of taking daily injections (similar to the IVF ones) which they monitor and once at the right level they give you the trigger shot. My second option was to have Laparoscopic Ovarian Drilling surgery (http://women.webmd.com/laparoscopic-ovarian-drilling-ovarian-diathermy-for-pcos) which at the same time they then check my tubes with dye and have a good look. My third option was IVF which I cannot go on the waiting list for until we have been TTC for at least 1 year.
IVF was out of the question until this month anyway, so I had the choice of the other two and I decided to have the Ovarian Drilling to start with as she said it was more effective with more chance of helping me ovulate by myself. I had that at the beginning of April. She did the drilling & also confirmed that there were no signs of endometriosis or blocked tubes. I finally ovulated for the first time naturally in 7 years 3 weeks post surgery!! DH & I were so shocked at how quick it worked that we didn’t get the timing right so that lead to AF in May. I have urine OPK’s that I bought in bulk which I’m taking daily as I have no idea when and if I will ovulate again by myself. Day 27 at present and just detected LH surge so things seem to be working!!
We are applying for IVF later this month, and have that as our back up if I stop ovulating naturally. My specialist also said that I could start Clomiphene again if I wanted, and have the trigger shot if things slowed down again.
I am still taking the 850mg 2x daily of Metformin in conjunction with Vitex & Evening Primrose Oil as they both show signs of helping in a natural way.
Also, DH sperm count and motility is absolutely perfect, nothing to worry there. My egg store was the highest she’s ever seen, quote ‘off the chart’ which is a big positive.
Anyone out there like me at all? I feel like I’m the only one