Making The Decision To See A Fertility Specialist

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When my husband and I decided to start a family we knew we faced some challenges... Having PCOS and very irregular cycles would always prove difficult to pin point my most fertile times of the month, if they occurred at all... I remember in the early days purchasing OPK's (ovulation predictor kits) and trying to track the physical signs of pending ovulation with very little success but non the less it was all new to us, so in we jumped. 

I went off to see the GP and had the usual pre pregnancy check ups and from there was sent for yet another specialist internal ultrasound to check my ovaries and ensure all was ok... the Gynecologist saw nothing out of the ordinary and sent me on my way with the news that I was about to ovulate and if we were trying the next few days would be a great place to start. OMG, I thought, this is it, IT HAS TO BE OUR TIME!. Having had both sisters conceive in a flash I thought perhaps this would be me and the timing of this ultrasound meant it was fate... we had a BFN 15 days later and AF arrived within 24hours!.

After 6 months of trying on and off, and promising myself I'd lose weight first and then we'd really give it our best we conceived and had our first m/c 3 weeks later. After the shock and devastation passed almost a year later we found ourselves pregnant again this time miscarrying at 6.5 weeks. There was no where to hide now, I needed to do something, so after a few months rest I began losing weight in preparation for our consultation with a Fertility Specialist.I remember thinking I'll be damned if I was going to have anyone tell me to lose weight and come back to see me or that my weight was the reason for my miscarriages and that I couldn't seek treatment until my BMI was under a certain level, it would have crushed me...

So I did as best I could, lost 25kg and went into the specialists rooms feeling cautious but optimistic... We had our third miscarriage under the care of our specialist at 9 weeks... In one way it kind of made me feel a bit better to know I'd really tried this time, I'd completely changed my lifestyle habits and it still happened... I didn't hate nor blame myself quite as much and having the care of a specialist made me feel like we were getting closer to the solution and that perhaps one day I may have a healthy child to call my own.

 If I had my time again I would have seen a specialist much sooner. I think they say after one year of TTC with no pregnancy you should see someone but with PCOS especially if you have irregular periods I would get a referral for a fertility specialist after 6 months of  trying to conceive without a BFP.