My Diagnosis {Premature Ovarian Failure}

If you caught my post a few weeks ago, you know that we recently found out that I’m infertile. I didn’t go into the details of my diagnosis then, so I thought I’d fill y’all in on some specifics.

I have what’s called Premature Ovarian Failure (POF). A woman has POF if her ovaries stop working before age 40, and about 1% of American women are diagnosed with it.

It’s very unusual for someone as young as I am (23) to develop this condition. There is no stopping the process, and there is no cure. There are no eggs left in my ovaries, and that’s not going to change.

The side-effects of this condition are the same as menopause, so basically right now (and for the past year) that’s what my body is going through. I am taking some hormone pills to help with those side effects (goodbye, hot flashes!) but they won’t reverse the disease.

POF can be brought on by a genetic defect, as a result of radiation or chemotherapy, or it can be caused by an autoimmune disorder. For me, it’s that last one. My body attacked my ovaries because of a genetic autoimmune disorder. That means that even if my POF had been caught years ago, there’s nothing they could have done. This was the inevitable result.

I think I’m almost glad that there’s no cure. If there were, I would be going through a roller coaster of treatments, getting my hopes up again for a cure that could never come.

This way, it’s definitive. I have what I have and there’s nothing I can do about it. God-willing, the Lord will give us children through another route, that’s a roller coaster of it’s own: Adoption!

We’ve started the initial paperwork for our adoption, so pray for patience & that it will all go through so we can move on to the next step soon.