Two posts in one day!! Can you stand it?
So...I revealed back last summer that Goofball and I were planning to start trying to start our family. Well...things haven't exactly been going according to plan. To protect the innocent or those who don't care, I'm going to hide all the details behind a cut, but please feel free to read on if you're interested...
Just so everyone knows all of the essential details, I have had problems with my cycle since I first started getting my periods. More than once, my period started and then I just kept bleeding. The first time it happened, I bled for about a month before we went to the doctor. (I think after that when it happened again, we didn't wait as long..only a week or two.) To correct that, we had two options: birth control pills, or hormone pills. Since I was only 11 at the time, my mom and doctor decided to use hormone pills so I wouldn't have to worry about dealing with the fact that I was on the pill when I was so young. I was on the hormones for a few months, I think, and then everything got straightened out, but my cycles were always really long...about 6 weeks. Things would be ok for about a year, and thing things would go all crazy again. I went from having a full-blown period every 6 weeks to having one every 4 weeks and then every 2 weeks. I think I first went on the pill the summer I turned 15...I was on it for three months, and then I went off of it again and everything once again straightened out for a few months. And then things getting all jacked up again, so I went on the pill again for a few more months, and then my cycles would be ok for a few months, and then they'd start doing the crazy things again. I finally went on the pill for good the summer I turned 16 and decided to just stay on it. (I started having sex later that year, anyway, so it made sense for me to stay on it.)
Fast forward to last June. I'd been on the pill for 13 years, and Goofball and I decided that I'd go off the pill and we'd start trying to get me pregnant. So I went off the pill at the beginning of June, and we threw all forms of contraception out the window and waited for my next period to start. And waited. And waited some more. And while we were waiting, I was taking two or three pregnancy tests a week just so I'd know if it happened before I got my period. But I finally got my first post-pill period 14 weeks after the last on-the-pill one (at the beginning of September). It sucked, because it came right in the middle of our vacation, but at least I finally had one, and we could finally get down to business. Four weeks later I started expecting my next period, and it didn't come. I started taking pregnancy tests like crazy, but I wasn't pregnant. I finally got my second period 7 weeks after the first one (at the end of October), and although I was a bit disappointed that I got it, I kinda figured that at least I knew how long my cycle was. I decided that I would start charting during that cycle, which means that I'd take my temperature first thing in the morning every morning. If I saw a sustained rise in my waking temperature, it meant that I'd ovulated. Well, I took my temperature every morning and I got my next period 7 weeks later (in mid-December), but I never saw the temperature rise, which means that I never ovulated. And now it's been almost 9 more weeks, but I haven't gotten another period, I haven't seen a temperature rise, and I'm not pregnant.
The only thing I really know is that I'm not ovulating. I've made my appointment for my annual exam at the beginning of April, and when I go to the doctor, I'm going to discuss all of this with her. Hopefully we can get things straightened out within a couple of months. I'm not sure what is going on, but I'm guessing I have something called PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome. I have several of the symptoms, so it fits. I've talked to a couple of my friends that have dealt with fertility issues, and they both said that fertility drugs are pretty much the first thing that will be tried. I'm just hoping that I don't wind up having three babies as a result of it.
So...that's where things stand. If you could think fertile thoughts for me, I'd greatly appreciate it!!
Just so everyone knows all of the essential details, I have had problems with my cycle since I first started getting my periods. More than once, my period started and then I just kept bleeding. The first time it happened, I bled for about a month before we went to the doctor. (I think after that when it happened again, we didn't wait as long..only a week or two.) To correct that, we had two options: birth control pills, or hormone pills. Since I was only 11 at the time, my mom and doctor decided to use hormone pills so I wouldn't have to worry about dealing with the fact that I was on the pill when I was so young. I was on the hormones for a few months, I think, and then everything got straightened out, but my cycles were always really long...about 6 weeks. Things would be ok for about a year, and thing things would go all crazy again. I went from having a full-blown period every 6 weeks to having one every 4 weeks and then every 2 weeks. I think I first went on the pill the summer I turned 15...I was on it for three months, and then I went off of it again and everything once again straightened out for a few months. And then things getting all jacked up again, so I went on the pill again for a few more months, and then my cycles would be ok for a few months, and then they'd start doing the crazy things again. I finally went on the pill for good the summer I turned 16 and decided to just stay on it. (I started having sex later that year, anyway, so it made sense for me to stay on it.)
Fast forward to last June. I'd been on the pill for 13 years, and Goofball and I decided that I'd go off the pill and we'd start trying to get me pregnant. So I went off the pill at the beginning of June, and we threw all forms of contraception out the window and waited for my next period to start. And waited. And waited some more. And while we were waiting, I was taking two or three pregnancy tests a week just so I'd know if it happened before I got my period. But I finally got my first post-pill period 14 weeks after the last on-the-pill one (at the beginning of September). It sucked, because it came right in the middle of our vacation, but at least I finally had one, and we could finally get down to business. Four weeks later I started expecting my next period, and it didn't come. I started taking pregnancy tests like crazy, but I wasn't pregnant. I finally got my second period 7 weeks after the first one (at the end of October), and although I was a bit disappointed that I got it, I kinda figured that at least I knew how long my cycle was. I decided that I would start charting during that cycle, which means that I'd take my temperature first thing in the morning every morning. If I saw a sustained rise in my waking temperature, it meant that I'd ovulated. Well, I took my temperature every morning and I got my next period 7 weeks later (in mid-December), but I never saw the temperature rise, which means that I never ovulated. And now it's been almost 9 more weeks, but I haven't gotten another period, I haven't seen a temperature rise, and I'm not pregnant.
The only thing I really know is that I'm not ovulating. I've made my appointment for my annual exam at the beginning of April, and when I go to the doctor, I'm going to discuss all of this with her. Hopefully we can get things straightened out within a couple of months. I'm not sure what is going on, but I'm guessing I have something called PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome. I have several of the symptoms, so it fits. I've talked to a couple of my friends that have dealt with fertility issues, and they both said that fertility drugs are pretty much the first thing that will be tried. I'm just hoping that I don't wind up having three babies as a result of it.
So...that's where things stand. If you could think fertile thoughts for me, I'd greatly appreciate it!!