King's Lynn woman shares fertility story, including experience with Bourn Hall clinic, during PCOS Awareness Month
When Tasha Stimpson walked down the aisle earlier this month to marry fiancé Ryan Halls it was a dream come true having her one-year-old daughter Lyla by her side as flower girl.
“It was really emotional walking down the aisle after everything me and Ryan have been through to get here,” says Tasha, of Lynn. “There were lots of tears!”
“When I came off the pill in my twenties to try for a baby, I knew it might take a while for my body to re-adjust but then I went a whole year without having a period. I thought ‘this is a bit odd’.
“A lot of my friends had fallen pregnant really easily, literally after trying for a month, and so I had found it really tough when it just wasn’t happening for us.”
Tasha, has Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a common cause of infertility which interferes with egg production, and is sharing her story in support of PCOS Awareness Month.
“It got to the stage where I thought I would never be a mum which was really upsetting,” she said.
Dr Thanos Papathanasiou, medical director at Bourn Hall Clinic, which provides NHS fertility testing in Norfolk, said the condition can be diagnosed at the clinic with ultrasound scanning and the Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) blood test.
“If an ovary in a scan looks like a bunch of grapes with lots and lots of little tiny follicles, but the patient has no other symptoms – facial hair, acne, irregular periods – then we would say that there is an ‘appearance’ of polycystic ovaries,” he said. “These women may have regular cycles and can often have slightly longer cycles of perhaps every 35 to 45 days, but they don’t necessarily have the ‘syndrome’ itself.
“A diagnosis of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is when the person has other symptoms, which may include infrequent heavy periods. This is because the eggs are trapped in the follicles – the bumps on the ovary – and one is not being released each month. The lining of the womb still thickens each month, which causes the period, but there is no ovulation.
“PCOS is difficult to diagnose as it affects women in different ways, but a proper diagnosis does provide options, for example achieving a healthy BMI of between 19-30 can restart ovulation naturally in many women.”
Tasha says: “Once I got my diagnosis of PCOS everything made sense. In addition to my lack of periods I was suffering from bad acne, thinning hair on my head whilst gaining hair on my face, fatigue, trouble sleeping and my anxiety and depression got worse.
“I had experienced really heavy periods as a teenager as well as acne and facial hair which made me self-conscious. At the time I was put on the pill to alleviate my symptoms but that of course masked my PCOS until I came off it to try for a baby.”
Tasha went to see her GP, who referred her to Bourn Hall Clinic for testing. “The whole thing was really quick,” she said.
At the Bourn Hall clinic in Lynn, Tasha had NHS-funded Ovulation Induction (OI) treatment. Lead nurse Kathryn Rayner said: “Ovulation Induction, where the ovaries are stimulated and carefully monitored, is an option for women with PCOS. Natural intercourse can then be timed to coincide with the release of one mature egg, which increases the chance of conception. It has a good success rate where there are no other factors.”
Fertility nurses closely monitored Tasha at Bourn Hall with regular ultrasound scans and blood tests to check that all was going to plan.
“I found out in October 2020 that I was pregnant, and it was an amazing feeling; I just cried!
“The treatment meant the world to us. And everyone at Bourn Hall was so nice – they were always there for us and were really helpful and offered us so much support. Being able to have all our treatment so close to home was really convenient too.”
Lyla was born on June 2, 2021 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Lynn.
Paying tribute to her new husband Tasha added: “Ryan has been my rock throughout our fertility journey, has supported me throughout and is the most amazing Dad.”
Bourn Hall’s Lynn clinic provides NHS fertility testing for Norfolk patients as well as fertility treatments including ovulation induction to improve the chances of natural conception. Bourn Hall also offers NHS-funded IVF where couples meet eligibility criteria as well as self-funded IVF.
If you are concerned you might have a condition such as PCOS or just want to learn more about your fertility, Bourn Hall offers free consultations with a fertility nurse who can talk to you about your concerns and medical history. Visit: bournhall.co.uk
