An Unexpected Bend **EDIT**

I thought I'd give a brief ttc update since I've had some time to think about things. I'm going to be praying earnestly over the next few days about our next steps, but I believe it's time to move on from the soy isoflavones. It's been 5 or 6 months since I've last ovulated. The soy stopped working after that cycle. I'm not sure why. I started loosing a little bit of weight and that seemed to get everything off cycle. I don't think I've lost any during my past cycle so I can't blame weight loss this time. Maybe the soy only works for a limited time. *shrugs* There's really no way to determine the cause of the change.

My only course of action now is to find another natural treatment that might help. There are few natural options; evening primrose oil, vitex or chasteberry, a complete shutdown with the aid of progesterone cream, acupuncture, etc. And then there's the other option, returning to fertility drugs. I want to stay on the natural treatments as much as possible. Fertility drugs are my last and finally option. We've decided that we won't even consider these again till my 29th birthday.

I am going to add evening primrose oil to my next cycle from cycle day 1 till the day of ovulation or cycle day 14, whichever comes first. I may try to combine the soy on CD 3-7, but I'm not sure yet. If I do add vitex or chasteberry to the mix, it will be taken everyday and the results aren't noticeable until at least 3 months in. I have used vitex in the past with minimal results. It took 6 months to see any improvement. I would prefer to use something with a more immediate result. Right now our goal is to have a regular cycle and to see ovulation again.

A complete shutdown with the aid of progesterone cream takes 3 months. The shutdown basically stops every aspect of your cycles and puts your body into a temporary pseudo menopause. I've researched this in depth and while the logistics make sense, I'm still very cautious about doing this. I know 3 months doesn't sound like a long time, but it is when you only have basically 2 years of time to work with. Remember doctors have predicted menopause to start around age 30 for me. Although recent research has shown that most women with PCOS have a peak of fertility at age 35. I don't want to take any unnecessary chances though. I'd love to believe the new research, but at this point there needs to be much more research before those findings can be labeled conclusive.

Acupuncture is definitely something I'd consider. However, right now there's no way I could afford it. There's also not any definite research that shows conclusive positive results from acupuncture on PCOS patients.

So I'm left back at almost square one. It is a familiar place though as I've been here many many times before. Just the other day I was thanking and praising God on a private forum about his blessings to my health. You see there are so many other aspects of my health and fertility that could be wrong, but they aren't. God has spared me from so many things and I thank Him for that. I feel like I was attacked a bit after sharing that praise, but that isn't going to stop me from praising God for those blessings, because they are MY blessings. No matter how long this road of infertility might be, I will NEVER stop praising God for His work in me. And though I can't see the end or even the next bend of this road, I will journey on and through this journey I will bless others because that's what God's instructed me to do. I can't control the journey or PCOS, but I can control how I take this journey.

~*Melody*~

**EDIT** I need to clarify something. When I mentioned above that I felt like I'd been attacked since posted the praise entry on a private forum, I WASN'T referring to being attacked by an individual. I meant that I feel like Satan attacked me in my personal life. I'm so sorry if I offended anyone over this. I'm sorry that I didn't make my point very clear in this post. Please know that I honor and treasure each of you that are on that private forum and I would never post that I felt attacked in my blog. I would first consult with you all about the situation. Oh dear....I feel so bad for not being clear in this post.
EEKS :-(

STELLAN

Please check out the news link below. I've been following this lady's blog for quite sometime. I remember praying for Stellan before he was even born. He was born a healthy baby, but this month he became ill again like he was in the womb. You know you think about your own situations and get down. But then you read and hear stories like these and realized how blessed you are.

News Link

~*Melody*~