Real-life stories from OvuSense users and essential information from fertility experts
Since a young age, Lana from Goodland, Kansas, believed she knew how she wanted to start her family: through adoption. She had been struggling with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) since she was a teenager, a hormonal disorder that affects a woman’s reproductive system. She and her husband, Andy, were excited about the future and welcomed the prospects of being parents.
In September 2017 at 36, Lana was shocked and excited to discover she was pregnant - something which seemed a very low probability during her 20s and early 30s. Because of her PCOS and her age, Lana was put in the high-risk pregnancy category, which meant she would need frequent doctors appointments and ultrasounds to make sure the pregnancy was progressing as it should and monitor for any risk factors.
When Sarah was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) at 23, she didn’t think much of it immediately. She was told that it might cause her some difficulty when she wanted to get pregnant, but at the time she wasn’t engaged to her then boyfriend (now husband) so trying to conceive was far from her mind. After getting married and talking with her husband, Rob, about beginning their family at 27, she spoke with a friend who encouraged her to talk with a reproductive endocrinologist right away.
Research has shown that in the US – and across the world – women are waiting longer and longer to have children due to a number of reasons including wanting to save up money in advance to finishing advanced education. But what does this mean on a personal level? For one woman – Stephanie, who is 37 and lives in North Carolina – it meant quickly understanding her fertility and educating herself about her ovulation cycle.
After taking birth control on and off throughout her 20s, Stephanie was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in her mid 20s through. During her annual OB-GYN exams, her doctor would often find cysts on her ovaries. To help control the symptoms of her PCOS and stop cysts from forming, Stephanie was put on a low-hormone birth control pill.
Your doctor may have suggested that you have a progesterone test to confirm ovulation or to assess your progesterone levels in the luteal phase.
The main test to determine whether a woman is ovulating is by a blood test, which assesses the level of the hormone Progesterone. Progesterone increases in the blood stream following ovulation and reaches it’s peak at 7 days before the next menstrual period. This test is termed a 21-day Progesterone test and is performed on day 21 of a 28 day cycle.
