I came off the pill after 15 years and started getting long-hidden symptoms

Sitting successful the objective consulting room, I waited for the sonographer to interruption the tense silence.

She was looking astatine my ovaries connected the surface and I was hoping she’d beryllium capable to archer maine wherefore I hadn’t had a play since coming disconnected the pill 7 months ago. 

And past she uttered immoderate words that made my bosom sink.

‘I tin spot tons of cysts connected some your ovaries’ she said and I instinctively knew what this could mean – that I whitethorn person polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

This full happening had started successful December 2022 erstwhile I’d made the determination to halt taking contraception truthful that my husband, Rob, and I could effort for a baby.

Having a household was truthful important to us. We emotion children and I person ever wanted to beryllium a mother.

But we had to hold trying for a babe for a portion owed to Rob sadly losing his dada to encephalon crab successful July 2020. Now though, we were ready.

We’d been joined astir 4 years and, astatine 34 years old, I knew clip was not precisely connected my side.

So, for the archetypal clip successful 15 years, I came disconnected the pill and waited excitedly for my assemblage to get backmost to ‘normal’ and for my play to arrive.

I hoped I would autumn large with our archetypal kid quickly, yet a period passed with nary quality from Aunt Flow, past different and past another.

Before I knew it, astir 7 months had passed with nary motion of my cycle’s instrumentality – and no, determination was nary accidental I was already pregnant.

That wasn’t adjacent the strangest happening though. I besides started to announcement immoderate excess hair maturation connected my look and hormonal acne. And someway I’d gained value contempt not changing my diet.

Concerned, I spoke to my GP who past referred maine for humor tests and the ovarian scan successful June 2023.

In the meantime, my GP said my humor tests showed I had debased enactment hormone binding globulin (SHBG) – a macromolecule that binds hormones – which tin pb to an excess of either testosterone oregon oestrogen. 

Walking successful for my scan I was highly nervous. My mum came to the assignment to enactment me. 

Although the sonographer could not corroborate astatine that infinitesimal that I had PCOS, I knew that having cysts was 1 of the cardinal symptoms. 

PCOS has 3 main defining features; irregular periods, precocious levels of ‘male’ hormones successful your assemblage called androgens and fluid-filled sacs that situation the eggs meaning sometimes ovulation cannot instrumentality place.

This scan meant I had the signs of PCOS. The humor tests confirmed that I had a hormone imbalance and the scan finalised my diagnosis.

The quality devastated maine but determination was anticipation with imaginable treatments. However, I was disquieted astir telling Rob. He was bittersweet but also extremely supportive. 

Now, we were faced with a diagnosis that could interaction our chances astatine conceiving. As a result, I felt highly anxious, sad, frightened and frustrated for a agelong clip afterwards. I inactive bash astatine times.

How could this person been missed? What did it mean for our aboriginal and having a family? 

We’d been truthful prepared for different parts of starting a household – the cost, the alteration successful manner and not to notation the information that, arsenic idiosyncratic surviving with bipolar disorder, we whitethorn look other challenges giving commencement – but it ne'er entered my caput that I could person different chronic information that could impact my quality to conceive people oregon via IVF.

But I was not going to springiness up. Although the quality was truthful upsetting and PCOS is simply a chronic, beingness agelong condition, I knew that I wanted to modulate my periods again if I could and commencement being much active.

I began to alteration my manner done workout and steadfast eating and started taking assorted supplements specified arsenic myo-inositol, vitamin d and omega 3, which helps to modulate menstrual cycles.  

Luckily my periods returned successful August 2023, but they are each 2 months.

I’m present 35 and I’d beryllium lying if I said that didn’t interest me.

Technically speaking I americium considered a ‘geriatric mum’ – chiefly due to the fact that by property 37 a woman’s ovum reserves totals astir 25,000 remaining (down from 2million astatine birth) – and due to the fact that my PCOS raises the hazard of assorted things including miscarriage, even if I autumn pregnant, determination are inactive nary guarantees, though I americium hopeful.

I commune that everything volition beryllium alright, but I’m besides prepared for the information that we whitethorn request further fertility attraction down the line.

My lone regret is not knowing astir PCOS sooner. The pill is not to blasted for that, but contempt it being specified a communal information – 1 successful each 10 women successful the UK has it – I personally don’t consciousness it is talked astir enough, particularly erstwhile you spell connected the pill arsenic I did for my intelligence health

There is hope, of course. It tin beryllium treated and galore radical with PCOS spell connected to person beauteous families. I conscionable anticipation that we get to beryllium 1 of them.

This nonfiction was primitively published 20 April 2024

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