I went back to the fertility doctor yesterday morning to get the results of my lab work and glucose tolerance I did on the 14th. It seems that I have a metabolic disorder, and my hormones are not balanced at all. I have much more testosterone that I'm supposed to have, and the doctor said I am Insulin Resistant - which means that I am basically on the path to having full blown diabetes later in life. He said it is a genetic thing, and not something I could have prevented, but it is treatable, since we know now, in the early stages. Because of the insulin resistance, I have what is called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which again, goes hand in hand with being insulin resistant. The ovaries send out hormones to release eggs ( ovulation) and since my hormones are not balanced, they are not being released right, etc. which is why my cycles have not been regular since going off the pill.

Anyway - basically the bottom line is that we will have to wait 3-5 months to start trying to get pregnant. He wants to try to regulate my insulin and hormone levels, before he adds a pregnancy to the mix. People will polycystic ovarian syndrome have a 50% chance of miscarriage, and much higher rates of premature babies, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, placenta tearing away from the uterus, abnormal weight gain and a host of other very bad things in pregnancy. If we can regulate my body and get it in normal to low ranges, then he believes all of these risks will be lowered dramatically, to about 5-10%.

He said that he would rather have me at the optimum place to get pregnant and have all of these things as controlled as they can be, so that I will have the very best chance of getting pregnant, staying pregnant and having a healthy baby.

Sooooo, I will go back on birth control pills for the next few months, and I have also started taking a pill called Glucofage ( sp?). The biggest way to treat this is with nutrition changes, so I have 2 weeks to totally wean myself off of carbs - and then when we go back in 2 weeks, I will be on a Zero Carb Diet!!!! Zero, none. We will do that for a few months, see how things are progressing, what the levels are doing and then proceed from there.

I really hope it will be more in the 3 month range, rather than the 5 month range, but I am trying to be positive and just take one thing at a time, though it is very hard.

I was not expecting this news yesterday at all, I was quite shocked and confused, and just didn't even know what to say, other than to ask the few questions that came to my mind. I am frustrated that we have to keep waiting, and I feel like there are barriers all around, that we keep hitting, when we just want to start our family…but I have to trust that God has a plan for this, and I have to keep following it and trusting it.

So, please send strength and prayers our way. I am concerned about being able to stick to the diet, I am afraid I will not have the self-discipline to do it, but I am going to try my best. Billy says it's " not a big deal" but it feels like a very big deal, because it is a huuuuge lifestyle change for me, one I am willing to make, I am just afraid of not doing it good enough. But again, I can only try and try my best, and see what happens.

I will keep you updated on any other changes, but I wanted to pass along this info.
Love ya'll,
Beth

I'm sorry today is a crazy day for me, have not been able to log onto e-mail very much.

Everything went Ok. I'm not overly excited about the doctor, he was not very personable and I just didn't feel like he really answered my questions patiently and thoroughly. He was nice enough I guess, but Billy thought he was like a robot, lol...

Anyway, bascially, he gave me some info, asked a ton of questions, and we have some sort of plan. I really wanted a timeline, but I dont' have one. Basically, I have to go for lab tests first, whic I have an appt for next week and I will meet with him again in 2 weeks. After we meet again, he will put me on some sort of de-regulation/suppresive medicine that bascially puts my ovaries in a basal state ( sort of like birth control pills do). I'm not sure how long Ill do this, maybe a month? ( this is what I don't feel like he gave me a clear time line). Anyway, after I do the de-regulation thing, I will start the injectable hormones and again, not sure how long I do that. After that, they'll retrieve eggs and all that good stuff. He said the whole IVF process takes about 6 weeks, and I'm pretty sure he says taht the 6 weeks starts when I start the injectable hormones.

Billy has to do 2 semen analysis, and he has the appt for the first one next week.

Sooo, all of that being said, I hope to start the injectable stuff by maybe the first part of March? That is just in my head though, the doctor didn't actually give me any dates or anything. I think he wants to do the lab work first, make sure there is nothing else hormonal going on with me, and will then proceed.

It was very overwhelming and I felt tired when we left.