KNOWING THE SYMPTOMS OF POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME (PCOS)

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hand
Psalm 127: 3 & 4

I have posted previously on this subject and will post information from time to time, as PCOS is the condition that caused my infertility and it is my desire to use my experience in this regard to help others manage and treat this condition and most of all, like I did, have the family they so desire.


What is PCOS – PCOS is a condition in women with ovaries which secrete excessive amounts of male hormones (mostly testosterone) into their blood. A polycystic ovary is one with many cysts – the remains of follicles that never released mature eggs.

Have you recently been diagnosed with PCOS or think you might have this condition, based on symptoms you are experiencing, but has not yet been diagnosed. Listed below are popular symptoms associated with PCOS.

Irregular periods

Excessive hair growth on face and body

Scalp hair thinning

Acne

Excess weight, sugar craving and inability to lose weight (plus abnormal blood lipid levels and a tendency to an apple shape).

Darkening of skin areas, particularly on the nape of the neck, known as acanthosis nigricans

Skin tags

Grey-white breast discharge

Sleep apnea

Pelvic pain

Depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances and other emotional disorders

Infertility

Please note that these symptoms vary among individuals but some will experience the above symptoms.

Please also note that you can get pregnant even though you have been diagnosed with PCOS, ask your doctor and read widely about this condition as this will greatly help you to understand what you are up against and therefore positively impact your treatment process. There are a lot of websites with information on this condition as well as books that are available to help you with proper management.

Please note most of all that you can be treated for the above symptoms to have you feeling well again, just ask your doctor.






Source: A patient’s guide to PCOS by Walter Futterweit, M.D., with George Ryan

WHO SAYS CHRISTMAS IS ONLY FOR THE CHILDREN?

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hand

Psalm 127: 3 & 4

Christmas was always the happiest time of the year for me and as the first Christmas breeze reached me, I began feeling this happiness and I would wait in anticipation as Christmas drew near. This usually happened whether I had money or not.

Sadly, this gradually changed, as my struggles with infertility intensified, as I found that as Christmas drew near, I began feeling more and more depressed, so much so that sometimes I did not feel like even putting up any Christmas decorations. I remember one Christmas, shortly before I migrated, my neighbor was so excited about putting up her Christmas tree and asked me if I would be putting up any. I told her no, what’s the use when I have no children to share this special task with, because by then my mind had become infiltrated with the notion that Christmas was just for children. She looked at me in astonishment, “whatever do you mean? she asked.” It was hard to explain further to her, because I believe one has to experience infertility or any other unfortunate circumstances like it, to really understand the emotional issues that can result in this regard.

I notice a lot of infertility blogs share this same sentiment. These individuals are so sad especially at this time, because they have no children of their own to share this special time of the year with and I totally relate, but I find that I am now scolding myself for ever feeling this way, for ever cheating myself like this and allowing myself to fade in the background, because I was so convinced that Christmas was only for the children. I should have known better because I know all too well what Christmas is really about, but situations can cloud our judgement and leave us falling short.

I would therefore like to encourage these individuals and others who find themselves also childless because of infertility or other reasons. Your pain is all too familiar to me, but I challenge you to make the effort to do something special for yourself, because Christmas is for you too, not just for the children.

I challenge you most of all to remember that Christ is the reason for Christmas and he came for all of us, to save us from this sinful world. Sadly, many of us do not celebrate Christmas for this reason, we become consumed with the commercial side of it. We empty our pockets to buy the latest toys and gadgets for our children, when all that Christ really wants from us is to reflect on the unselfish reason for his birth and to try to align our lives in the path that he has chosen for us.

I think the reason that this mindset came about, that Christmas is for children, is because children do seem to be the ones who are happiest at Christmas, and this, I think is because their childhood innocence allow them this privilege, while we as the adults are so bugged down with everything else, that we have no energy left to show any happiness at all or even to reflect at this time of the year.

Why not stop this Christmas and focus on the reason for the season. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. What precious gift, should’nt our eyes be all aglow, just like the eyes of those tiny tots, when they retrieve those special gifts they ask for, from under the Christmas Tree.

A reflective Christmas to you all, and until next time, keep clinging to hope.

FOODS THAT ENHANCES FERTILITY

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hand
Psalm 127: 3 & 4

I have always heard that there are certain foods that enhances fertility overall. For men, I know that there are certain juices available in my locale, one of which I have heard referred to as ‘strong back,’ made with peanut and molasses, which is known to enhance fertility in men. My father, every now and then used to make his form of ‘strong back’, made with guiness stout, eggs and milk. We always asked that he shared it with us, even though it was known as a man’s drink because it was surprisingly very good. Little wonder my parents have seven of us. I guess this drink really works on men only because I had to battle infertility.

Someone suggested that I tried garlic, taking the pegs like you would take tablets, (ofcourse cutting them into pieces that are safe to swallow). I did try it and a couple months after, I did became pregnant but sadly, that was the pregnancy I lost in 2006.

Below is the link to a fellow blogger's site with link to another site, which list quite a number of foods (all natural), which are said to enhance fertility in men (and women), some of which are Cauliflower and Ginger, to name a few.

If you are reading this post and you are having infertility issues, it does not hurt to give these foods a try.

http://infertility-fertility.blogspot.com/2009/11/sperm-enhancing-foods-for-fertility.html

ALL THE BEST, and until next time, keep clinging to hope.