The "Life Saver"

I remember being so embarrassed when I had to start taking the pill at 16. What would people think about me if they found out? I sure wasn't taking it to prevent pregnancy. I was such a shy and naive teenager. I was put on it for medical reasons-to decrease the severity of my periods and to try to stop the growth of endometrial tissue. I was grateful for the pill's effectiveness! But, when Jeremy and I decided to start trying to get pregnant, I worried that being on the pill for so long was going to have negative consequences for our chances of conceiving. Little did I know, those pills are what saved our chance of conceiving. After I had fully covered from my surgery on May 4th, we were able to schedule our IVF class with Sarah from LR. We met with her Tuesday, May 29th. She went over how to mix the vials of drugs I'd be injecting into my abdomen each night, and showed me how to give myself the shot- yeah right! Like that was going to happen. I can't even watch someone give me a shot or take my blood, and they wanted me to do that to myself? I guess if I had no other choice, I'd have figured out a way to do it. But, fortunately the shots are just once a day at night and Jeremy is here to do it. Sarah gave us a plan: quit taking the pill on Tuesday, June 5th, have labwork and a baseline ultrasound done on Friday, June 8th, and start stimulation medication on Saturday, June 9th. So that's what we would end up doing. The second part of our conversation with Sarah was about my surgery on May 4th. I was so out of it after surgery that I don't remember even speaking to or seeing the doctor. But I guess he talked to me and also my mom and Jeremy. He told them that when he did the laparoscopy he noticed "a little bit" of endometriosis and went ahead and got rid of it. Sarah's version of the story was quite different. She said that since I had stopped taking the pill, the endometriosis had come back with a vengeance. It was severe, and had already attached to the wall of my abdomen, which is what was causing all the menstrual pain I had been feeling since I had quit taking the pill last September. She told me that with the endometriosis growing so fast, had they not removed it, the pain and severe periods, that I had suffered back in high school, would have been back soon, and I'd have been doubled over in pain and bed ridden for several days each month. My "Ah hah" moment: Sarah said that if I hadn't been on the pill since high school, we wouldn't even be here having this conversation. My reproductive system would have been destroyed, along with my chances of conceiving and carrying a child to term. The pill is what kept the endometriosis at bay for so many years. She said the pill keeps the endometriosis dormant and therefore it doesn't grow. So, instead of worrying about the side effects of the pill, I now rejoice and thank God for those little white "life-saving" pills. They didn't save my life, but I believe they saved our chances of conceiving life!