If I'm NOT infertile then why does the Dr call it INFERTILITY

I got a comment on an old post that leads me to think that people need to know more about the difference between wanting a baby and not having any other option if you want to have a baby ever. Perhaps some people think that this is a choice I made all on my own but it wasn't. This was a medical thing, a huge discussion that keeps happening daily with my husband and a life choice that we strongly stand behind. You see I have SL...

Stein-Leventhal syndrome is an endocrine disorder that affects 5–10% of women. It occurs amongst all races and nationalities, is the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age, and is a leading cause of infertility. Stein-Leventhal Syndrome is a version of PCOS or poly cystic ovarian syndrome. The symptoms and severity of the syndrome vary greatly between women. This is my website so we'll be talking about my symptoms and my experience with the health issue. If you wish to obtain more information there are several sites online that provide information or you can see your primary care physician.

For me the symptoms include amenorrhea (absent menstrual periods), anovulation (lack of ovulation), infertility, frequent miscarriages, elevated androgen levels, central obesity (center lower half of the torso) acne, ovarian cysts, pelvic pain, short LH, hyperinsulinemia and lipid metabolism. All of my symptoms have been confirmed by my primary care physician or fertility specialist.

There are several reasons SL is a real pisser. Most of them can be summed up with medical terms like endometrial cancer and type II diabetes (which people with SL are at a higher risk for and luckily I have no signs of) and a higher risk of miscarriage or early hysterectomy due to problems with cysts and uterine lining. Those things scare me especially with the infertility issues I face with anovulation and miscarriage already at a young age. My mother also had SL before it was a regular diagnosis; she had a hysterectomy at a very young age after facing miscarriages and still-birth.

Medical treatment of SL is tailored depending on the patient's goals. My goal is the restoration of ovulation and fertility so we're starting with metformin and then we'll move on to clomid if needed. In cases of clomiphene resistance, injections of follicle stimulating hormone may be used. Some women with SL do not see any results from these treatments...but initial research also suggests that the risk of miscarriage is significantly reduced when metformin is taken throughout pregnancy (9% as opposed to as much as 45%); however, this research was done on women with normal progesterone levels which I do not have. I will need progesterone from the moment I conceive until the pregnancy is stable.

For patients who do not respond to insulin-sensitizing medications and who wish to achieve pregnancy there are other options available such as IVF and IUI but Jon and I have decided that path is not for us. If this path that we're on doesn't work we will stop trying and switch to adoption as a method of having a child of our own. We have also decided that if this path has not seen results in 2 years we will stop investing in it and research the venue of adoption. But we strongly feel we should pursue having a child now while it's still an option.

My right ovary is atrophied and no longer functions. This is due to prolonged SL. Given my family history, the lack of ovulation history, my first miscarriage and the state of my right ovary my Dr believes that if I am not willing to do IVF I have 1-1 1/2 years to have a baby before my left ovary is no longer functioning as well. At this point, there would be nothing left he could do for me on the baby front. For this reason, we are actively treating my SL to reduce the physical symptoms but he has recommended also actively pursuing a baby.

The next step is always discussed between Jon and me. We usually come to the same conclusion but if we don't I always leave the deciding factor to him as he is the man of the house and we are a Christian family As for right now, Jon and I believe it would be naive to bank on time we know we don't have so we've already started Metformin with the idea of using Clomid near the back of our minds. Both of those recommendations, by the way, came from my Dr and not from someplace random. Our decision has always been based on that of an informed healthcare provider who believes we have a limited plank to walk before we take the plunge into permanent anovulation.

Did we think this would be the first thing we would worry about as newlyweds? Nope. But when it came up we started talking through it together. It's naive to assume that just because someone is newlywed that they can't deal with an issue like this one. Because people don't deal with issues like this because they want to and they feel they need to, most of the time they deal with them because they have to and they have no other choice.

I have a health issue. I can't relax it away. A puppy won't cure it. Adopting and going on vacate won't increase the odds of things working. Spending quality time together isn't abandoned for it (we're still having fun/taking trips) and it's not putting us into financial strain. If you knew us well enough you'd know that already... you really would... and you wouldn't feel the need to define me and what I am doing with my husband to make yourself feel better.

It's called infertility for a reason. American Heritage Dictionary defines it as follows:

in·fer·til·i·ty (ĭn'fər-tĭl'ĭ-tē) n.
1. Absent or diminished fertility.
2. The persistent inability to conceive a child.

So as for me and my husband...we'll going to take my absent periods and my diminished ovary and our persistent inability to carry a conceived child to full term and we're going to call it exactly what's it called...