Editor's note: Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut (RMACT) is In Vitro Sciences Center of Excellence serving Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield Counties in Connecticut as well as Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties in New York. We are proud to call them a HamletHub supporter and sponsor.
In honor of National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW) and the 2015 theme, “you are not alone”, we have received a question from someone on their journey with PCOS that we are pleased to have presented to Dr. Joshua Hurwitz, (board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist at RMACT).
Dr. Hurwitz, who has a special interest as the head of RMACT’s PCOS team, answered the question and we are sharing it here in the hopes that it might also help someone else out there. Maybe even you.
Question received via email:
“I am 34 and was diagnosed with PCOS as an adolescent. Just recently, I was diagnosed with adenomyosis. I had a D&C, hysteroscopy, and IUD placed in January. After all this, is it still possible to have children?”
Dr. Joshua Hurwitz responds:
"Both PCOS and adenomyosis are common conditions that we counsel patients about every day. PCOS is a hormonal imbalance that leads to irregular ovulation and therefore irregular periods. This can be easily corrected by regulating your ovulation when you are ready to conceive.
Adenomyosis is also very common and involves infiltration of the muscle tissue of your uterus by the lining of the uterus itself. This can cause heavy and painful menstrual cycles. There are good ways to manage the symptoms and the Mirena IUD is likely the best one. The good news is that neither of these will stop you from getting pregnant and building your family but you may need a little help from a fertility specialist. I recommend that you keep the Mirena in until you are ready to have a baby to control your adenomyosis symptoms. When you are ready, if your periods are not regular, then you may need some minor help to regulate your ovulation. Lastly, there are some metabolic aspects of PCOS that can also affect your health and you may benefit from talking to one of us just for education on these to see if they can be optimized even before you are ready to get pregnant.
I hope this helps and I wish you luck, Joshua Hurwitz, MD.”
If you have a question about your fertility that you would like answered, please send it to questions@rmact.com and we will present it to one of our five fertility doctors to answer. This email is secure and private.