Reproductive specialists: Round one!

The first time that I was told I was going to have to see a "specialist" freaked me out! My OB/GYN telling me that she wasn't able to help me kind of gave me low hope right off the bat. It just so happens that a couple we went to church with were going through some fertility issues themselves and had referred us to a doctor. A call was made and an appointment was set. We were officially seeing a specialist.

Our first appointment was the basics... how old are you? How long have you been trying? What kind of "trying" have you done? (How do you answer that one?) What tests have you already had done? (At that point, just my initial PCOS testing when I was 14) What kind of health issues do you have? What kind of health issues run in your family?  We had very basic answers. Outside of my PCOS, neither one of us had any health issues (that we are aware of). The doctor ordered a round of blood work for myself and a semen analysis for Chad. (Sorry babe, I know this can be embarrassing)

My blood work showed what I expected: elevated male hormones, elevated blood sugar, and elevated liver enzymes. Typical blood work results for someone with PCOS. The doctor then ordered a hysterosalpingogram or an HSG to check to make sure my uterus and tubes were in good shape. NOT my favorite test to have done, but the results showed everything to be in working order.

Chad went in for his semen analysis. Due to the location of the doctors office and our home, Chad had to produce a sample in the office rather than bringing in a sample. It was really hard on him and myself. I wasn't able to go with him because I had to go to work, which was an hour in the opposite direction of the doctors office. Neither one of us was comfortable with the idea of being thrown in a room filled with pornography so he could fill a cup, but at this point being as young as we were, we weren't aware that we had any other option (and there are other options!). God knows our hearts and I believe that if we were truly headed in the wrong direction, that the door would be closed. 

It took a week or so to get the results. With one phone call, we were told that his analysis showed low count and low motility. WOW! Really? We knew that I had some issues that were going to make this difficult for us, but neither of us expected that Chad would also contribute to our difficulties. We were both in shock and it definitely was a hard reality for both of us.

It wasn't long before we both were getting overwhelmed and feeling a bit beaten down. We felt God leading us in a different direction. We decided to take a step back from the specialists and try some natural and homeopathic measures. Chad and I prefer to live a more natural lifestyle and I prefer to resort to homeopathic measures when it comes to our health and our ailments. I have seen a lot of good come from this.

 I started on a PCOS diet that helped some. I was able to lose a little weight and feel better. My cycles didn't come back and I was still showing all signs of PCOS. I also started a Fertility Cleanse. With this, I also didn't see any real changes with my PCOS. Disclaimer: just because I didn't see results with the diet or the cleanse, doesn't mean that they don't work or that they won't work for you. 

We weren't sure if there was anything that Chad could do. For the time we were just praying that everything would be fine with him. The doctors had told us that being nervous can affect the sample that you give. I held on to hope that this was the reason.

It's all for a reason and only for a season!