Finding Out I'm Fertile
This whole journey or process started about a year ago for me, as I started to get my head around my condition and see the bigger picture in life, having children was my major and number one concern.
I was so worried that with all the medication I was now on and how ill I had become if my body would ever be able to cope with carrying a child and as time passed, my periods became a lot worse and more painful and with frequent trips to A&E, regarding ovarian problems, if I was even fertile was a huge risk that started playing on my mind. It came to the point where I was obsessing over it, researching different cases and googling my symptoms until early hours in the morning, I was freaking myself out. There was so many different types of problems I could of had and a thousand times more outcomes from that, it started to become such a big concern for me and my partner, we have been together for 5 years at the time and knew that at some point we really wanted children and to have a family of our own, knowing that we would spend the rest of our lives together was inevitable, we had been through so much together especially with my illness and disability that this just seemed like the final canon ready to blast and destroy something else in our lives. After countless conversations, arguments, agreements and worries, we decided it was time to speak to someone about it. On my next appointment with my consultant I brought up the issue of being able to have children and my worries and to be honest, it didn't make anything all that much clearer for me. There is very little research on pregnancy and EDS, so statistic wise there wasn't much to go buy, everything was a 50/50 chance and I still didn't even know if I was fertile or not. Again, more time passed and with my periods become worse and ten times more painful each month, I decided it was time to start doing proper research and finding out what could be done, what tests could I have and where could I get them. I knew that you could have fertility testing done, so I done some research on the NHS about how you get them and no clinic, doctors or hospital would offer NHS testing unless you had already been trying to conceive and failed, no tests could be carried out unless I was already trying for a child. This was so frustrating for me as I wasn't ready yet to start trying, as a couple we just wasn't ready, I wanted to know more about my health concerns first before I could even consider bringing a child into the equation. Going private seemed like the best option for us, but then there was the concerns of where to go, who to see, I didn't want to see someone who had no idea about my condition or a general idea of my health concerns, so finding the right person was proving very difficult.
Finally there was a breakthrough, a family friend recommended a great fertility consultant who knew about my condition and could help actually give me answers! So immediately I got in contact and made an appointment to see them. I had thousands of questions on my mind, I was excited and nervous at the same time, finally I could get my questions answered, but what if I didn't get the answers I was looking for. First things first was to check my fertility, if I knew I was fertile, my next thing was to find out if I could carry. I had my blood tests done and my appointment was the following week. I cannot tell you how many thoughts were running through my brain at the time, the anxiety and excitement sent crazy thoughts through my mind, I was trying to decide the answers for all options, I couldn't help going over every scenario in my head until finally the day came.
Sat down in the consultants office, everything finally felt real. I felt so comfortable, we spoke about my condition etc and then came the results ...
I was fertile! Not just a little bit, or average, I was super fertile! I couldn't believe it, I think had I smiled any wider I would of got the role for the Chesire cat in the next Alice film. I couldn't believe it, after everything I have been through and all the medications I was fertile over the average percent!
So now was the big question, could I conceive easily and without risk? YES!
Could I carry safely? YES!
Would I be okay with medications and other underlying conditions? YES!
I was so excited that for once, everything would be okay, then came the confirmation that the best option would to try as soon as possible. With my periods being at the stage they are, pain and heaviness, the only thing that would stop that is medications/hormones which I couldn't take, so the answer was to get pregnant. This was something my partner and I have spoke about for ages and it was hard to come to a definitive decision. Was there even a right one?
The right one was to go with what information we had been given and how my health was bearing up and we came to the conclusion that trying for a baby was the right move to make. This baby was going to be the biggest and best thing that has come out of everything we have been through and the start to our new chapter in our lives, it would be planned and we wanted a baby, it was just happening a few years earlier than we thought. But is there ever a right time?
So .... Now comes the time to go and try and conceive, wish me luck, this will be the waiting game of them all!
I was so worried that with all the medication I was now on and how ill I had become if my body would ever be able to cope with carrying a child and as time passed, my periods became a lot worse and more painful and with frequent trips to A&E, regarding ovarian problems, if I was even fertile was a huge risk that started playing on my mind. It came to the point where I was obsessing over it, researching different cases and googling my symptoms until early hours in the morning, I was freaking myself out. There was so many different types of problems I could of had and a thousand times more outcomes from that, it started to become such a big concern for me and my partner, we have been together for 5 years at the time and knew that at some point we really wanted children and to have a family of our own, knowing that we would spend the rest of our lives together was inevitable, we had been through so much together especially with my illness and disability that this just seemed like the final canon ready to blast and destroy something else in our lives. After countless conversations, arguments, agreements and worries, we decided it was time to speak to someone about it. On my next appointment with my consultant I brought up the issue of being able to have children and my worries and to be honest, it didn't make anything all that much clearer for me. There is very little research on pregnancy and EDS, so statistic wise there wasn't much to go buy, everything was a 50/50 chance and I still didn't even know if I was fertile or not. Again, more time passed and with my periods become worse and ten times more painful each month, I decided it was time to start doing proper research and finding out what could be done, what tests could I have and where could I get them. I knew that you could have fertility testing done, so I done some research on the NHS about how you get them and no clinic, doctors or hospital would offer NHS testing unless you had already been trying to conceive and failed, no tests could be carried out unless I was already trying for a child. This was so frustrating for me as I wasn't ready yet to start trying, as a couple we just wasn't ready, I wanted to know more about my health concerns first before I could even consider bringing a child into the equation. Going private seemed like the best option for us, but then there was the concerns of where to go, who to see, I didn't want to see someone who had no idea about my condition or a general idea of my health concerns, so finding the right person was proving very difficult.
Finally there was a breakthrough, a family friend recommended a great fertility consultant who knew about my condition and could help actually give me answers! So immediately I got in contact and made an appointment to see them. I had thousands of questions on my mind, I was excited and nervous at the same time, finally I could get my questions answered, but what if I didn't get the answers I was looking for. First things first was to check my fertility, if I knew I was fertile, my next thing was to find out if I could carry. I had my blood tests done and my appointment was the following week. I cannot tell you how many thoughts were running through my brain at the time, the anxiety and excitement sent crazy thoughts through my mind, I was trying to decide the answers for all options, I couldn't help going over every scenario in my head until finally the day came.
Sat down in the consultants office, everything finally felt real. I felt so comfortable, we spoke about my condition etc and then came the results ...
I was fertile! Not just a little bit, or average, I was super fertile! I couldn't believe it, I think had I smiled any wider I would of got the role for the Chesire cat in the next Alice film. I couldn't believe it, after everything I have been through and all the medications I was fertile over the average percent!
So now was the big question, could I conceive easily and without risk? YES!
Could I carry safely? YES!
Would I be okay with medications and other underlying conditions? YES!
I was so excited that for once, everything would be okay, then came the confirmation that the best option would to try as soon as possible. With my periods being at the stage they are, pain and heaviness, the only thing that would stop that is medications/hormones which I couldn't take, so the answer was to get pregnant. This was something my partner and I have spoke about for ages and it was hard to come to a definitive decision. Was there even a right one?
The right one was to go with what information we had been given and how my health was bearing up and we came to the conclusion that trying for a baby was the right move to make. This baby was going to be the biggest and best thing that has come out of everything we have been through and the start to our new chapter in our lives, it would be planned and we wanted a baby, it was just happening a few years earlier than we thought. But is there ever a right time?
So .... Now comes the time to go and try and conceive, wish me luck, this will be the waiting game of them all!
