Thursday 28 April 2011

Hormones and follicles and scans, Oh my!

So I might be jumping the gun being excited about this, BUT we got some pretty exciting news this morning...
After seven months of wondering whether my ovaries would ever do what we wanted them to and pop a darn egg, my scan this morning showed that the medications have worked enough to produce follicles.  This doesn't sound like much, but a follicle is a pretty big step towards an egg, cos this is where your eggs come from.
Being a self-confessed dummy when it comes to all of this junk, I did a bit more research and thought you might find these pictures interesting.

So basically, PCOS is the commonest cause of ovulation disorders in women of reproductive age and is a familial condition. PCOS is a primary ovarian condition and is characterized by the presence of many minute cysts in the ovaries and excess production of androgens. PCOS can be found in apparently normal women and the full expression of the disease so-called “Stein-leventhal syndrome” is very uncommon. PCOS is frequently associated with weight gain, excessive hair growth in the face and body, irregular and infrequent periods or absent periods, infrequent or absent ovulation, miscarriage and infertility. The cause of PCOS is not fully understood. There are long-term risks of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer of the womb. Women diagnosed as having PCOS before pregnancy have an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes.



This is what my ovaries look like on ultrasound scan (before I started medication).

All those dark circles are cysts, they stop the production of regular follicle and egg development.






 
And now, due to the wonders of a fantastic fertility medication which I've been on for two cycles, my ovaries (well, the right one at least) looks like this!


The dark circles are now developing follicles, and that nice big fat one up top is due to ovulate and bring us our first egg in seven months!





You may be wondering what medication I'm on, and at the moment that's not something I'll talk about in specifics.  Mostly because we don't definitely know it's worked through to conception, and also because what works for me might not work for you!  I can tell you that the two cycles have changed my body almost completely!  I have gained about 3.5kg, I constantly feel water-logged, my hair colour and texture have changed (I was a definite ash blonde, I'm now mousy reddy-brown), I have developed adult acne and I've had some absolutely awesome hot flushes which lead to some super mood swings.
BUT like I said, you might already be on the same meds and not feel this way, so to each their own!

So, it's still VERY early days, but inside I'm getting excited about the idea that things may be changing for the good!  I've just got to keep up my cycle charts, watch my temperatures and pray that in the next four days my little follicle pops a little egg!

Wish us luck! Sunny xx
 







2 comments:

  1. Not sure why this wouldn't let you comment yesterday...

    ReplyDelete
  2. What my comment said before...


    WOOOHOOO!!!

    ReplyDelete