NFP Success Story #2: Living with PCOS
her chest. “I looked like something out of the X-Files,” says Laurie with characteristic humor. She went in for a pregnancy test, but couldn’t wait for the results. She took her temperature and it was 98.6. She knew long before the doctor called that she was indeed pregnant, and that she had successfully managed to conceive with only one ovulation in 4 years!
In September 2000, Laurie gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy. Laurie had severe morning sickness during her pregnancy, lost 60 pounds and now, 15 months later, is probably starting to ovulate on her own. “So weight loss IS a wonderful tool in dealing with the infertility side of PCOS,” believes Laurie. As we write this article, it appears that Laurie is having a normal, ovulatory cycle, and she is optimistic that she’ll be able to conceive again. To see a copy of Laurie's "textbook" chart, go to http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/f147/
Now that Laurie is on the road to greater health and fertility, her only regret is that it took so long to discover that she had PCOS. "Had I realized earlier that there was a medical condition underlying all my symptoms -- weight gain, acne, lowered sex drive, and infertility -- I may have been able to miss all the low self-esteem issues that affected me as a teenager, woman, and wife."
Although charting alone would not have made Laurie conceive – she needed medical intervention to deal with PCOS and anovulation – she does believe that natural family planning techniques helped her. “I LOVE knowing what I know now about natural family planning!!” says Laurie. “Especially now that my cycles look like they’re starting to become existent again, it’s much easier for me to figure out if and when I'm ovulating. NFP gave me knowledge about my cycles that alleviated the need for unnecessary bloodwork and tests. And that knowledge helped me to feel empowered."
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