From The Beginning

I wanted to start blogging about our journey from the beginning, and I wish I bought a journal or downloaded an app from the day we found out we were expecting. I took pictures of my “bump”, which I roll my eyes at now. Quite honestly, it looked like I just ate too many slices of pizza (until I was about 6 months pregnant). Because of that, I didn’t take very many. I didn’t keep tabs, at all. So I’m going to have to write this all from memory….

So, what was the beginning?

I had been having terrible menstrual cycles, forever. Missing cycles. Short cycles. Pain in between cycles, too. I got the Depo shot, in hopes that that would help organize my ovaries and uterus. Randomly, after having been on the the shot for quite some time, I experienced breakthrough bleeding and pain, like I never had before.

Even though that was common, I felt like something wasn’t right. I moved, so I stopped getting the shot from my regular OB. I was in pain, felt sick, and couldn’t keep track of my menses. Reluctantly, I went to a new doctor in my new town. I told her what had been going on, and come to find out, I had a hormone imbalance. What do you know? Birth control is one of the solutions to that. Before sending me on my merry way, she brought up my family history of cancer.

Our family is riddled with all different types of cancers caused by all different reasons. One of the cancers that concerned her was family history of breast cancer. For those who don’t know, breast cancer and ovarian cancer can be “genetic”. It’s caused by the inherited mutation of a gene, “BRCA”. BRCA genes are tumor suppressor genes, and there are BRCA1 and BRCA2. If your parent tests positive for the mutation, it’s possible that you could be too, thus increasing your risk of cancer.

She rattled all this information to me, and explained that there could be links between this, hormone imbalances, infertility and autoimmune disorders. She urged me to get the test done, and talked about my fertility, because with the issues I was having I wouldn’t be able to get pregnant or the pregnancy wouldn’t sustain. But, she urged that it’s better to do everything sooner, so that I can take proper preventive measures-like having a hysterectomy.

I took her warning with a grain of salt, I wasn’t going to get the test done, asked her for the prescription for Ortho Tri-Cyclen and went on my way. One month later…I felt miserable. I was depressed, in terrible pain, and having sporadic bleeding. I said screw it-I was done messing with my hormones, and stopped taking the birth control. It was going to be what it was.

Until it kept happening for five more months, with more things going wrong. I started growing facial hair. I broke out with acne around my chin. I had the sporadic, heavy bleeding worse than ever before. I caved again and went to a doctor. Honestly, if it weren’t for her warning with the family history of cancer, I probably would have been too stubborn to go.

At this point, I had new insurance, so I had to see a new doctor. Dr. Bean. I don’t know why, but I can’t forget his name. He gave me a pamphlet that read, “PCOS”. I had almost all the symptoms, besides the weight gain. He sent me out for labs, and gave me the same infertility spiel.

Two months later- I proved both of them wrong… TWICE.