My Fertility Journey: The Hope of IVF After PCOS & Loss
The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult your doctor for the most appropriate treatment.
My OBGYN discovered I had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) when I was 21 years old (WAY before having kids was on my mind). I didn’t know it at the time, but being diagnosed so young was a blessing.
She told me to let her know when I eventually wanted to start a family and she would refer me to a fertility clinic right away, as I would most likely need assistance.
Fast forward 3.5 years (to 2019): I was now married to my amazing husband and we were thinking about starting a family. We got established with a fertility clinic immediately to start the process. Boy, was I naive about how long this journey would take.
From 2019 to 2020, we did multiple rounds of medicated cycles with no success. We wanted to try to avoid more expensive treatments—then COVID-19 happened. We decided to try naturally for the time being and gave ourselves a break since the clinics were shut down. We got to enjoy our time as a married couple and really focus on our finances and life together.
We got to enjoy our time as a married couple and
really focus on our finances and life together.
In September of 2021, we decided it was time to give treatments another chance. We jumped straight into trying intrauterine insemination (IUI), with no success. On our third IUI cycle we got our very first positive pregnancy test. This was such an exciting time, and I thought the hard part was over. But at 6 weeks and 2 days, I unfortunately miscarried our angel baby.
This was a very hard time for us, but with amazing support we got through it and attempted a fourth IUI just to see if my body would get pregnant again—it didn’t work.
I always knew in vitro fertilization (IVF) was a possibility, but I never thought we would end up needing it to have a baby. With our doctor’s guidance, we decided this was our best option to give us the highest chance at our dream of becoming parents.
In July 2022, we started IVF, and I had a very positive attitude towards it. This was our biggest attempt at starting a family and I felt like we were finally getting somewhere! Our egg retrieval was August 9th and from the 25 eggs retrieved, we ended up with 6 beautiful frozen embryos that are waiting to be transferred back into me for a chance at life.
We are about to begin our frozen embryo transfer (FET) this month. I have a great feeling about it and can’t believe how far we have made it in this journey! I know one day our rainbow baby will come home.
