Pregnancy and PCOS

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a scary term to hear for the first time, especially at a young age. From the day I was diagnosed at the age of 17 after years of problems, the words “you may have problems with fertility” haven’t left my mind. My GP gave me a brief description of what PCOS is and left me to research the condition myself. It was a lot for me to take in, especially as I had read some pretty horrific stories online from women with similar symptoms.

Over 10 years later, the pure relief of seeing a strong pink line on three pregnancy tests was indescribable. I am ridiculously excited about starting my family, but on a personal level I feel as though I have won a battle against my PCOS.

I wish I’d have known about the work of Verity back then to reassure me that the symptoms were treatable instead of keeping me it bottled up and letting it eat away at my confidence and fill me with insecurities. This is why I have chosen to support this charity, so that I can give support to girls who are going through a similar experience as I did.

Verity is a registered, non-profit charity which is a self-help group for women with PCOS. The group was established in 1997 to share the truth about the condition and improve the lives of women living with PCOS. The charity is run by a dedicated board of trustees, a team of volunteers and thousands of women in the UK and internationally.

My biggest fear from the day I was diagnosed, like many other women with PCOS, was infertility and fertility complications. This fear had been with me for over 10 years and slowly faded away in November last year when my husband and I found out that we are expecting.

The first three months were harder than anticipated; I suffered from terrible tiredness, severe stomach cramps and had an awful water infection that knocked me off my feet. But I was very lucky with morning sickness, I was only poorly once and the nausea was fairly mild. PCOS gave me anxiety in the early days as I was constantly worried about all the statistics and figures relating to PCOS and miscarriage, but I felt like I’d climbed Everest when everything was perfect at our 12 week scan.

I’m now 26 weeks pregnant and I feel amazing apart from the aches and pains that come with carrying a baby. I feel so blessed and extremely lucky to have successfully started a family with my perfect husband. Our growing baby is happy, healthy and very active, I couldn’t wish for anything more than that!

I wanted to share my success story with ladies suffering from PCOS as there is far too much negativity out there about the condition, I wanted to bring a little joy to those that need to hear, like me, that there is hope, and PCOS doesn’t always mean infertility. I found that reading other peoples’ success stories about their journeys with PCOS takes the edge of the negative thoughts I had and gave me lots of hope, which, I’d like to share with other people who need it.

Here are a few statistics that back up my experience A 2009 study of 154 women with PCOS showed that:

• 86.7% of those who attempted to fall pregnant had given birth to at least one child (91% of women in the control group who didn’t have PCOS had at least one child).
• 67.5% of the women involved had at least one spontaneous pregnancy.
• Interestingly, this study did not show an increased rate of miscarriage in women with PCOS.
• Also, women with PCOS tend to have a higher ovarian reserve. As our cycle is often irregular, not all of our follicles mature, meaning that we have more viable follicles when we are older than women without PCOS do. Basically, age is not necessarily as big a hindrance to falling pregnant for women with PCOS.

My PCOS has led me to become a volunteer for Verity, a charity that supports women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). I help out with marketing and promotion of the charity in my spare time and get involved in fundraising. I also run a PCOS support for women in Lancashire. To join my group see our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/veritylancashire/

It’s taken me a long time to overcome the embarrassment and insecurity the symptoms have caused me over the years and to accept that although PCOS is treatable, it cannot be cured.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is the name given to a condition where a woman has small cysts usually no bigger than 8 millimetres each, located just below the surface of the ovaries. These cysts are egg-containing follicles that have not developed properly due to a number of hormonal abnormalities.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 5–10% of women in the UK and millions worldwide. It can run in families and is one of the leading causes of fertility problems in women. If not managed properly, this condition can lead to additional health problems later in life. PCOS can also affect a woman’s appearance which in turn can affect a woman’s confidence and self-esteem.

Symptoms can include:

• Irregular periods, or a complete lack of periods
• Irregular ovulation, or no ovulation at all
• Reduced fertility, difficulty becoming pregnant and recurrent miscarriage
• Unwanted body hair (Hirsutism)
• Oily skin and acne
• Thinning hair or hair loss from the scalp (Alopecia)
• Weight problems – being overweight, rapid weight gain, difficulty losing weight
• Depression and mood changes.

The condition has long-term health implications to as there is an increased risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.

So, I hope that my story and some of the information included here gives other ladies with PCOS the hope and determination to extend their family and not to give up the fight against PCOS.

If you can relate to anything mentioned above, I’d like to hear your views, thoughts and experiences.  No more suffering in silence, it’s time to open up and support each other.

If you would like to donate to Verity or offer your support in any way, please visit my fundraising page for more information:www.justgiving.com/MrsFaulknerPCOS

I’m sure that there are so many of you who are trying to conceive or have already conceived. I’d love to hear from you so that we can celebrate our victories and encourage each other when it’s needed! Leave me a comment below!