TTC Thursdays

It worked!!!  I'm Pregnant!!!!!!!  I'm so excited and happy!!!  It is very early still in the pregnancy, I will be 6 weeks along on Friday.  Although most people say you should wait 3 months, we learned after our son was stillborn at 7 months that you are never safe, therefore we are sharing this news and enjoying every minute of this pregnancy!  I am considered high risk for this pregnancy since my son was stillborn, but it means they will watch me very closely this time, which is a good thing.  We already have done 3 blood tests to ensure my numbers were doubling and we had our 1st ultrasound on Monday and the baby was right where it should be for how far along we were.  We are going to be followed by a regular doctor as well as a high risk doctor.  So after 8 years and 7 months of trying and our only pregnancy resulting in our son being stillborn, we are now pregnant with our 2nd child!  I love Pregnitude!!!  I would be the spokesperson for them if they wanted.  We were actually getting to the point of starting to give up hope, the first 2 months I didn't ovulate and we were getting nervous that we were wasting time.  Then on my 3rd month, I ovulated, which was a miracle and then we got pregnant, a double miracle!!!  I just can't believe it. I have never ovulated on anything besides Clomid before. I am considered anovulatory and I ovulated and got pregnant on Pregnitude.  It is a miracle supplement.  I think everyone with PCOS who is trying to conceive should consider giving it a chance, just check with your doctor first to make sure it is safe for you to be on it, it does interact with some medications and things.  If it could work for me after 8 years and 7 months, my hope is it would work for you too.  So my message is never give up hope, we almost did. There is always hope, keep trying, take Pregnitude, eat healthy, exercise, track your ovulation (we use ovulation predictor kits), and time your TTC.  I am wishing you all lots of luck in your TTC and hoping to hear about many more Pregnitude babies.  This could be a miracle supplement for women with PCOS.


Disclaimer: Please note that Pregnitude is an official sponsor of Power Up for PCOS 5K. However, the individual listed below is not affiliated with Pregnitude or a volunteer for Power Up for PCOS. Power Up for PCOS posted a request for someone starting Pregnitude to blog their personal experiences for the Power Up for PCOS blog. This should not be construed as medical advice. Please see your doctor for further information.*

Written by: Lauren Williams

Power Up for PCOS which provides support to women with PCOS and their families through educational Power Up Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other specialized events to raise money for PCOS research. She can be reached by visiting http://www.powerupforpcos.com, emailing Beth@powerupforpcos.com or by calling 810-545-PCOS (7267)

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

*Please note that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*

TTC Thursdays

I am now 3 months into the Pregnitude, getting ready to start my 4th box and I have some very exciting news to share.  I ovulated for the first time on Pregnitude and it's also my first time ovulating without the help of Clomid!  This was so exciting for me, I never thought I would be able to ovulate without the help of fertility drugs and now the Pregnitude has helped me to ovulate! It is definitely working and on my 3rd month, I was so excited!  Getting the positive ovulation test was almost as exciting as if it had been a positive pregnancy test.

So here's what happened, I started  testing with OPK's on Day 9.  On Day 14 my OPK gave a positive digital result but when I looked at the two lines they were not the same darkness, plus my cervical mucus was not indicating ovulation, so I had the feeling it was a false positive.  But we still TTC'd every day for the next 3 days in case it was a real positive.  In the meantime, I kept testing with the OPK to see if we would get another positive.  Then on Day 19, I got another positive and when I checked the lines, they were of equal darkness indicating ovulation plus my cervical mucus was indicating ovulation, so I knew this was the real ovulation and the other one was a false positive.  Since the OPKs indicate you will ovulate in the next 24-36 hours, we TTC'd for another 3 days in a row.  We are now on Day 26 and we are hoping for a miracle!  We are going to take a pregnancy test in 8 days if I don't get my period by then, so keep your fingers crossed that this cycle will be the miracle we have been waiting for over 8.5 years.  I feel hopeful but don't want to get too excited either.

So I hope my message can be of hope to you.  Keep the faith, keep trying, never give up hope and Pregnitude can work and hopefully make you ovulate too!  Wishing you all the luck of ovulation as well!

Disclaimer: Please note that Pregnitude is an official sponsor of Power Up for PCOS 5K. However, the individual listed below is not affiliated with Pregnitude or a volunteer for Power Up for PCOS. Power Up for PCOS posted a request for someone starting Pregnitude to blog their personal experiences for the Power Up for PCOS blog. This should not be construed as medical advice. Please see your doctor for further information.*

Written by: Lauren Williams

Power Up for PCOS which provides support to women with PCOS and their families through educational Power Up Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other specialized events to raise money for PCOS research. She can be reached by visiting http://www.powerupforpcos.com, emailing Beth@powerupforpcos.com or by calling 810-545-PCOS (7267)

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

*Please note that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*

TTC Thursdays

I am well into my 3rd box of Pregnitude and I have had an interesting couple of weeks.  My light period that I had after a 42 day cycle wasn't really a period at all.  It all started when I started testing for ovulation around what I thought was cycle day 10 of my new cycle.  Every time I tested, my 2nd line was always nearly invisible which means I was no where near ovulating and had no LH Hormone for ovulation. I tested for about 8 days and the line was always near invisible.  I also track ovulation through cervical mucous and I had absolutely no mucous, which also indicates no where near ovulation.  Then my breasts started to become sore which usually happens before I get my period, but didn't happen before my short period.  So with sore breasts, no cervical mucous and a nearly invisible OPK line, I knew I was either getting my period for real this time or pregnant.  I took another pregnancy test but it was negative, so I just waited.  After about another week and a half, my period started 4 days ago.  I am confident this is a real period as all signs point toward it plus having the sore breasts this time.  Since this period was only 3weeks after my last one, I am assuming that was just 9 days of light bleeding and this is my real period.  That means I actually had a 63 day cycle so I am guessing this is just my body's way of trying to regulate my hormones from the Pregnitude.  So I feel like the Pregnitude is working hard to try and get my hormones more regulated.  So I am now on Day 4 of this cycle and really hoping that since I am on my 3rd box of Pregnitude, that maybe I will ovulate this month.  I guess we will have to wait and see.


Disclaimer: Please note that Pregnitude is an official sponsor of Power Up for PCOS 5K.  However, the individual listed below is not affiliated with Pregnitude or a volunteer for Power Up for PCOS.  Power Up for PCOS posted a request for someone starting Pregnitude to blog their personal experiences for the Power Up for PCOS blog.  This should not be construed as medical advice.  Please see your doctor for further information.* 

Written by: Lauren Williams

Power Up for PCOS which provides support to women with PCOS and their families through educational Power Up Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other specialized events to raise money for PCOS research.  She can be reached by visiting http://www.powerupforpcos.com, emailing Beth@powerupforpcos.com or by calling 810-545-PCOS (7267)

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

*Please note that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*

TTC Thursdays

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  So I am almost at the 2 month mark on Pregnitude and I just bought my 3rd box.  This past week my period ended, it lasted for 9 days, but it was very light the entire time.  The thing that concerns me with that is I am afraid if I didn't shed enough, then my lining might be too thick & implantation may not be able to occur if it is too thick, so that is my concern with this new cycle.  I am feeling very hopeful that we will ovulate this cycle, I would really love to be pregnant for Christmas, I've asked Santa for a baby for Christmas for 8.5 years.  We were pregnant with our son 2 Christmases ago and we had the ultrasound to determine if he was a boy or girl early december and had them put it in an envelope and then we opened it as our Christmas present to find out he was a boy and gave that present to everyone else in our family as well.  It was a great story to tell him until he passed away.  Last year was Baby's 1st Christmas for him and that was really hard and all the holidays are extremely difficult without him, so it would be so nice if we could have something happy this Christmas like being pregnant with another baby.  A new baby won't replace our son, but we would still like to have more children. The holidays are such a child centric time and that's really hard for people with infertility and even harder with a stillborn baby and infertility.  I say a special prayer for all of you going through infertility or child loss that you have a peaceful Thanksgiving and hopefully there are babies in all of our futures.

Disclaimer: Please note that Pregnitude is an official sponsor of Power Up for PCOS 5K.  However, the individual listed below is not affiliated with Pregnitude or a volunteer for Power Up for PCOS.  Power Up for PCOS posted a request for someone starting Pregnitude to blog their personal experiences for the Power Up for PCOS blog.  This should not be construed as medical advice.  Please see your doctor for further information.* 

Written by: Lauren Williams

Power Up for PCOS which provides support to women with PCOS and their families through educational Power Up Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other specialized events to raise money for PCOS research.  She can be reached by visiting http://www.powerupforpcos.com, emailing Beth@powerupforpcos.com or by calling 810-545-PCOS (7267)

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

*Please note that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*

TTC Thursdays

I have now been on Pregnitude 1.5 months.  On Cycle Day 43 I started spotting and Day 44 I started a very light period.  So that means I had about a 42 day cycle with the Pregnitude.  This is very encouraging as I don't usually have cycles this short unless I am on Clomid, so I am very happy to have had a 42 day cycle on my own.  The only thing I am worried about is my period is extremely light, so light I'm not even sure I can count it as a period.  I'm not sure what that means or how that will affect ovulating on my new cycle and TTC.  I know you need to shed a certain amount with your period to ensure your lining isn't too thick for implantation, so I am worried my lining will be too thick this cycle if my period doesn't get heavier.  At the same time though, I am ready to start a new cycle and hoping that the Pregnitude will help me ovulate this time.  I really hope this will be a good cycle for us as we are now at 8.5 years of TTC  and going on 22 months since our son was stillborn. My patience with waiting is wearing out, I feel I've been very patient and I long to get pregnant and have an alive healthy baby. 

*Disclaimer: Please note that Pregnitude is an official sponsor of Power Up for PCOS 5K.  However, the individual listed below is not affiliated with Pregnitude or a volunteer for Power Up for PCOS.  Power Up for PCOS posted a request for someone starting Pregnitude to blog their personal experiences for the Power Up for PCOS blog.  This should not be construed as medical advice.  Please see your doctor for further information.* 

Written by: Lauren Williams

Power Up for PCOS which provides support to women with PCOS and their families through educational Power Up Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other specialized events to raise money for PCOS research.  She can be reached by visiting http://www.powerupforpcos.com, emailing Beth@powerupforpcos.com or by calling 810-545-PCOS (7267)

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

*Please note that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*

TTC Thursdays

I have now been on Pregnitude for 5.5 weeks.  Today is Cycle Day 39 and I still haven't gotten my period yet.  I am hoping that it will come soon so we can start another cycle of TTC.  Even though we didn't ovulate this month, we still tried to conceive, so yesterday in hopes that my OPK's were wrong and that maybe I had ovulated, we took a pregnancy test but unfortunately, it was negative.  So I have no idea when my period is coming or what to do now except wait and hope that we ovulate next month.  I have no new symptom improvements to report on, but I am still hoping that as I get closer to 3 months on the Pregnitude, that I will see more symptoms improve.  Hopefully, my period will come soon and I can report on a new cycle and I pray that I will ovulate this time.

*Disclaimer: Please note that Pregnitude is an official sponsor of Power Up for PCOS 5K.  However, the individual listed below is not affiliated with Pregnitude or a volunteer for Power Up for PCOS.  Power Up for PCOS posted a request for someone starting Pregnitude to blog their personal experiences for the Power Up for PCOS blog.  This should not be construed as medical advice.  Please see your doctor for further information.* 

Written by: Lauren Williams

Power Up for PCOS which provides support to women with PCOS and their families through educational Power Up Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other specialized events to raise money for PCOS research.  She can be reached by visiting http://www.powerupforpcos.com, emailing Beth@powerupforpcos.com or by calling 810-545-PCOS (7267)

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

*Please note that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*

TTC Thursdays

Today is 32 days on Pregnitude.  I have completed my first month and I started my 2nd box this week.  I still didn't ovulate this month so now I am hoping that the Pregnitude will help bring on my period.  I am currently on Cycle Day 32 and I can sometimes go up to 3 months without a period, so I am at least hoping I will get a period soon and we can start another month of TTC.   I haven't had any other changes in symptoms in the past week so nothing new to report there.  I am hoping to see more changes and hopefully ovulation as I embark on my 2nd month.  I am trying to work on patience as I know it can take 3-6 months for the full effect, but it is so hard when we have been trying for 8 years and 6 months now.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the hurricane.

*Disclaimer: Please note that Pregnitude is an official sponsor of Power Up for PCOS 5K.  However, the individual listed below is not affiliated with Pregnitude or a volunteer for Power Up for PCOS.  Power Up for PCOS posted a request for someone starting Pregnitude to blog their personal experiences for the Power Up for PCOS blog.  This should not be construed as medical advice.  Please see your doctor for further information.* 

Written by: Lauren Williams

Power Up for PCOS which provides support to women with PCOS and their families through educational Power Up Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other specialized events to raise money for PCOS research.  She can be reached by visiting http://www.powerupforpcos.com, emailing Beth@powerupforpcos.com or by calling 810-545-PCOS (7267)

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

*Please note that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*

TTC Thursdays

Today is 25 days on Pregnitude.  I have almost finished my first month on it.  I am still noticing the facial hair on my chin is growing in blond, so you can barely see it.  I have still been plucking it though.  The hair in other places is still dark, but that may change as I'm on the Pregnitude longer.  My weight is now exactly the same as when I started, so no real measurable weight changes.  

Now on to TTC, as of Cycle Day 24, I still have not ovulated.  That has been very hard for my husband & I.  Although, I know it takes 3-6 months to see the full benefits of the Pregnitude, I was really hoping we would ovulate the first month.  The thought of knowing it is impossible to conceive this month and still having to wait it out not knowing how long it will be before I get another period and another chance to try for ovulation is extremely painful.  I want to stay hopeful, but I'm really struggling knowing I just lost another month TTC without even the hope of becoming pregnant.  The hope during the 2 weeks waiting is when I feel the most positive all month, so losing that hope this month is going to be really hard.  For me, since I don't ovulate on my own, getting a positive ovulation with Clomid has been almost as exciting as waiting for a positive pregnancy test.  I can't wait to get a positive ovulation in the future from Pregnitude and I really can't wait to hopefully someday get a positive pregnancy test!

*Disclaimer: Please note that Pregnitude is an official sponsor of Power Up for PCOS 5K.  However, the individual listed below is not affiliated with Pregnitude or a volunteer for Power Up for PCOS.  Power Up for PCOS posted a request for someone starting Pregnitude to blog their personal experiences for the Power Up for PCOS blog.  This should not be construed as medical advice.  Please see your doctor for further information.* 

Written by: Lauren Williams

Power Up for PCOS which provides support to women with PCOS and their families through educational Power Up Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other specialized events to raise money for PCOS research.  She can be reached by visiting http://www.powerupforpcos.com, emailing Beth@powerupforpcos.com or by calling 810-545-PCOS (7267)

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

*Please note that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*

TTC Thursdays

It has now been 18 days on Pregnitude!  Here is what I have noticed so far.  My facial hair has been growing in much slower and it even grew in blond instead of dark brown and it felt soft instead of coarse.  I have gained 1.5 pounds but I haven't been doing the exercising enough, so my goal for this week is to get back into my walking routine.  I have had only 1 episode of loose stool.  I did however, have headaches 2 nights in a row, I used to get migraines on Clomid, so I will settle for only headaches.

Now for the ovulating, as of Cycle Day 17, I still have not ovulated based on the OPK's I have been using.  I am however starting to get signs that ovulation is coming, for example, my face breaks out in acne around ovulation and my period and I am starting to break out with some acne, so I am hoping that ovulation is in my near future.  Based on when I have ovulated on Clomid, it is usually between Cycle Day 18-24, so I am hoping to ovulate within the next week.   Even though this is only my first month on Pregnitude, I am desperately hoping to ovulate this month, as we don't want to lose a month TTC.

On a more somber note, I thought it would be appropriate to mention that October is National Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month.  I find this important to mention as I have read that PCOS has a higher miscarriage rate than the general population, so many of us may have experienced this devastating loss.  I also know it can be really scary to TTC again after the loss of a baby.  This past Monday October 15th was National Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day.  Every year on October 15th, we light a candle from 7pm-8pm in our time zone in memory of all babies gone too soon to create a wave of light across the world.  I lit a candle in memory of my son Colin, who was stillborn, and all his angel friends and family.  We remember all babies no matter how short their time on earth was.

*Disclaimer: Please note that Pregnitude is an official sponsor of Power Up for PCOS 5K.  However, the individual listed below is not affiliated with Pregnitude or a volunteer for Power Up for PCOS.  Power Up for PCOS posted a request for someone starting Pregnitude to blog their personal experiences for the Power Up for PCOS blog.  This should not be construed as medical advice.  Please see your doctor for further information.* 

Written by: Lauren Williams

Power Up for PCOS which provides support to women with PCOS and their families through educational Power Up Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other specialized events to raise money for PCOS research.  She can be reached by visiting http://www.powerupforpcos.com, emailing Beth@powerupforpcos.com or by calling 810-545-PCOS (7267)

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

*Please note that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*

TTC Thursdays

Hi my name is Lauren Williams and I'm going to be blogging on Thursdays about my personal experiences with taking Pregnitude.  First some background information on me. I have PCOS and have been trying to conceive for 8 years and  5 months.  In that time, we have had 1 miraculous pregnancy which devastatingly ended in our son being stillborn. The PCOS symptoms I currently experience are:

• Infertility
• Anovulation
• Irregular periods - can go for months without a period
• Much lighter menstrual flow than when younger, it was very heavy when I was younger
• Extreme fatigue & lack of energy
• Weight gain more in waist than hips
• Difficulty losing weight even with healthy eating & exercise (Have not been able to lose any of the weight from my pregnancy and it's been 20 months)
• Hair loss
• Decreased sex drive
• Excess hair growth on face, chest & stomach
• Acne
• Anxiety & Depression which I take anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication to control

My only pregnancy was conceived with Clomid since I don't ovulate and since our loss, we have been using Clomid again with no success.  I just finished another unsuccessful cycle of Clomid on Monday and started my period and started Pregnitude. I've only been on Pregnitude 2.5 days now, but I would like to share my personal experiences with it and share my journey of Pregnitude with you.  So far, all I can report on is I've had diarrhea but I also had that on Clomid as well, plus I have been sick this week, so it could be from that, I will update next week once I feel better.  I was very nervous to start the Pregnitude as it is still so new but I did a lot of research on myo-inositol to see how it had helped others & when I read the research it really gave me hope.  I was nervous to stop Clomid as I know it makes me ovulate & I don't know yet what will happen when I take Pregnitude, but the side effects of the Clomid were wearing me out & I am pretty close to maxing out my use of Clomid, so it was time for a change.  I look forward to what may happen as I continue on this journey.

*Disclaimer: Please note that Pregnitude is an official sponsor of Power Up for PCOS 5K.  However, the individual listed below is not affiliated with Pregnitude or a volunteer for Power Up for PCOS.  Power Up for PCOS posted a request for someone starting Pregnitude to blog their personal experiences for the Power Up for PCOS blog.  This should not be construed as medical advice.  Please see your doctor for further information.* 

Written by: Lauren Williams

Power Up for PCOS which provides support to women with PCOS and their families through educational Power Up Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other specialized events to raise money for PCOS research.  She can be reached by visiting http://www.powerupforpcos.com, emailing Beth@powerupforpcos.com or by calling 810-545-PCOS (7267)

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

*Please note that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*