I know this is my family blog but I'm going to use it for something personal. In the last year I have been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Pelvic Adhesive Disease (PAD.) I've had surgery and taken hormone pills as treatment. In the end, they only offered temporary releif as the pain has always returned. My doctor has now diagnosed me with Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP) which occurs in about 4% of women. The exact cause of the pain is unknown so it is almost impossible to treat except for with pain medication.
The treatment my doctor is prescribing is pregnancy. Ha! PCOS and PAD are both associated with infertility. You might ask, how can pregnancy aleviate unexplained pelvic pain? That is the same thing I asked my good doctor (no sarcasm there, he is really amazing.) The effect of pregnancy on CPP is as much a mystery as the cause of CPP. Clinical history shows that, for some reason, going through a pregnancy reduces CPP in some women. I have no problem with that since we've been trying to have another baby for more than a year now. So, now the real conundrum: how to get pregnant.
Yes, I know HOW to get pregnant. The problem is every other time I ovulate (which only happens about every three months) I get massive cysts. I also have so much scar tissue that there is a chance my tubes are completely blocked anyway. Despite all this, my ever optimistic doc still thinks I have a chance to get preggo on my own. Yeah, right. Well, we'll give it a try.
So, when I DON'T get pregnant on my own then the next step is checking for blocked tubes. IF those are clear, then its clomid. Clomid is not a great option for someone with a history of cysts because it can cause even bigger cysts to form. But hey, worst case scenario, I lose an ovary. Good thing I have 2! When, I mean IF, that doesn't work well, then what? I don't even know.
Probably the worst part of all this is that I can't exercise the way I used to. Every form of cardio is painful except for swimming. Too bad my gym doesn't have a pool. My doc said to keep exercising if I can. It helps elevate endorphin levels and makes it easier to cope with pain. Plus, exercise is good for overall health. The least painful form of cardio is the elliptical machine. I used to make fun of elliptical users because I figured they were too wimpy to run. Yes, now I am a wimpy elliptical user. My hope is that I will someday be able to run another distance race. It might take a miracle.
