Melinda's Story
June 6, 2006
(and a very sweet update - October 31, 2007)

Thank God for all he has done for me and my family and all that he is yet to do!! I pray this to GOD every day. Please pray with me that I continue to grow into the woman that our GOD was meant for me to be. I am a part of Gods army who is fighting against infertility caused by PCOS.  My husband and I have been through 1 miscarriage thus far and have been trying to conceive for over one and a half years. Through our spiritual warfare we have encountered many situations in which the enemy has tried to bring us down with depression and my own personal suicidal thoughts UNTIL my husband and I took control with the power and the GRACE of the almighty and overcame through prayer. Together. Since then I thank my heavenly father for the beautiful baby he has in store for us-----and yes----in his timing. Still there are hard times but I have learned that to let myself get down is to take away from winning souls for HIM!!!! Please pray that I will turn that energy into an unconditional love for all those around me so that the Christ that sacrificed so much for me will shine in my love for others. MY prayers are also with everyone that is going through this---GOD is preparing a mighty gift for all of us-----imagine what a gift he is preparing that he would put so much time and love into it!!!! God bless all of you!!   You are never alone!!! ---Melinda "

[Thank you, Melinda, for your heartwarming story!  June 6, 2006]

And here's a sweet update letter from Melinda:  
I wanted to let you know that my story is on your website "Melinda's story" and I have some blessed news!! I am in my 3rd month of pregnancy and everything is looking great and healthy! The Lord sure knows his timing! I have heard a heartbeat and seen the little beating heart on the ultrasound screen and the Dr. said it was strong! My miracle baby and the promise of GOD to me has finally come true! We prayed and took progesterone cream for 3 months which regulated my menstrual cycle for the 1st time ever! Praise God we get to share this happy news with you and I hope this can be of comfort to those who are almost giving up! If you know in your heart that God has promised you... don't give up! Continue to fast and pray and seek HIM in EVERYTHING! GOD knows exactly what is in store for you!”  October 31, 2007

Mary's Story

I have had this baffling condition since puberty although I really did not have major symptoms until I was in my early 20's. I was never a heavy child, I was even considered thin until I started entering puberty at about age 9/10, this was when I started gaining weight. I evened out and stayed on the taller and larger size from about age 12 to about age 17 when my weight really ballooned. I am very tall at 5'8" and even though I carried it well, I was still grossly overweight, I also noticed a very disturbing symptom when I was about 20, irregular periods. I would often go a month or two without a period and then have a very severe one.

I married my first husband at 20 and figured I would be pregnant soon... yeah right. We were married for 3 years of abuse and abandonment, all the while with me praying that I would have a child to make my abusive husband love me. It was at this time that I first heard about PCOS and how to treat it. I trotted off to my dr to get the treatment only to be told that they did not feel that I would benefit from the treatment. I began to work on my weight and tried to get it to a more normal level with varying degrees of success. I noticed that while my weight was down I would have normal cycles and when my weight was higher my cycles were not normal. After a horrible bleeding episode that went on for days late in the year 2000, I decided that I would get the weight in control once and for all and for the most part have using diet and exercise. I have come to the sad fact that I will never be what the world calls thin but I can be active and healthy.

I married my husband J in December 2000 and decided to wait to have children until we were more stable. J was skeptical of my condition since it sounded like an excuse to be overweight to him but we saw a television show about PCOS and he understood what I was really going through. We talked about going to a dr to get the medication the woman in the show received but decided to wait a few more months to see if I would lose any more weight. I scheduled an appointment and discussed Metformin and possible use of fertility drugs to induce ovulation if the Metformin alone did not work. He also wrote my husband a kind letter to explain my condition and its problems.

J and I waited a few months to give the Metformin a chance to work and then began to try to conceive in May of last year. By this time I was 34 years old and my husband was 37, so we also did not have time on our side either. We tried with clomid for 3 cycles and no baby! Also by this time my husband was working as a trucker so timing was not great at times. I rode on the truck with him from about Thanksgiving to the middle of January so we had plenty of time together. I even talked to my dr about "where do we go from here" when the 3 cycles of clomid failed.

When I returned home in January I had what I thought was a very short period that lasted half a day and then quit. I had been having pretty normal cycles since my weight loss and the Metformin had induced ovulation so I was surprised when no visitor showed up in February, March, April or May. I did not have any nausea or really any pregnancy symptoms other than grinding fatigue and acid reflux. I was too nervous to take a test since to me it was like the test in high school or college that you always fail. Sometime in June of this year I noticed that my belly was becoming firmer and more rounded than when I had just gained weight. Finally in July I went to my dr who did an ultrasound and discovered that I was 33 weeks pregnant! I almost passed out. I am due Sept 21st, 2007 and while I am nervous about the rest of the pregnancy since I did not have medical care I thank the Lord every day for finally favoring me.   God Bless,   Mary"

[Thank you, Mary, for sharing your heart.  We praise the LORD with you.  August 17, 2007]

 

Mary wrote to share that her baby was born in September... and this picture proclaims the joy she has for the gift of the baby for whom she so longed and prayed.  I include it here as a testimony of God's provision and answer to prayer and to give hope to those with PCOS or other infertility problems - to stand in awe of the LORD and to wait patiently for His ways and His will to be done.

God bless you, Mary, and your family.  Thank you, again, for sharing your sweet story.  And may baby soon come to know the LORD and grow in grace to be a faithful woman in Him.
 
(November 1, 2007)