I Have What?!

Written at the end of February 2015:

Nathan and I decided it was time to start a family and we were super excited about it! But I wondered how it would work out...

I was put on birth control in High School because my body stopped having a period. For real it just up and disappeared. Which was nice, but stressful at the same time. What was wrong with my body? I went to the doctor and they just put me on the pill and we called it good. However, in the back of my head I've always wondered if I would be able to get pregnant later in life.

Flash forward to present time. I go off the pill in October and... nothing... I'm not pregnant, but I'm not being visited by that wonderful monthly friend either. After three months I went in to my awesome doctor. We did some blood work, which came back normal. That's great and all, but doesn't help me any. Next, I do a not so fun ultrasound, and it comes back abnormal. I've never heard that word over my results from the doctor. I get called back in and we go over the ultrasound.

"You have PCOS.", the doctor tells me. What in the world is that?! "Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. You have a ring of cysts all around the inner lining of your ovary. You have quite of few. When it looks like this we call it a string of pearls." That doesn't sound good. 

This is an example of what mine looks like. All those black spots shouldn't be there....

Long story short, apparently sugar messes with my body. I've been put on a very low sugar, low carb diet. No more potatoes, breads, rice, sweets, and treats. I check with the Glycemic Index to see if what I eat is considered a low glycemic food, and I need lots of protein. Thankfully I can still eat fruit and dairy, but I do have to be careful of what I eat. Meal planning has gotten a lot more intense at our house. I'm also taking fancy medicine (Metformin) to help with my blood sugar, even though I'm not diabetic. It's weird.

When I first found out I had PCOS I honestly felt broken. Why doesn't my body work correctly? I'm healthy, and fit, and active! Why can't I easily get pregnant? The more I've researched it, and the more I've talked to friends and family, I've discovered I'm not alone. I'm surprised how many people I know that have PCOS, and they have cute little babies too. Being able to talk to, get food ideas, and motivation from them has been incredibly helpful.

I never thought I'd go so long without ice cream, a little sweet treat, or delicious Jimmy John's bread, but wanting to have a baby is super motivating. Guess we'll just have to wait and see how things go.