In this episode of the Fertility Podcast, I am joined by Siobhan and Kate Pleace to talk about POI.

What we discussed: 

• Siobhan talks about her journey of coming off the contraceptive pill and experiencing hot flushes, Siobhan tells us how she thought nothing of it until it got worse over the winter.
• She decided to go and get some blood tests done and how they turned out to be abnormal blood tests.
• She tells us how she went for a smear test and was then referred to the Primary Ovarian Failure clinic by the nurse. 
•  Siobhan booked to see a gynacologist but the wait time to see one was 6-8 months so she decided to go private.
• When Siobhan went private, she did some more blood tests to see if there were any eggs, as it turns out, Siobhan found out that she had no eggs.
• After that, her doctor told her to see him through the NHS, and from there, she was booked in for more scans and further tests.
• Siobhan talks about how she felt it all went quite quickly. She went from having a stable relationship to then not in the space of 6 months and it was a lot to process.
• Siobhan tells us about how she wasn’t able to process it all and that she found herself not really wanting to accept everything.
• She tells us how she felt like there was a part of her that was missing.
• We talked about the difference between going through all this alone and with a partner. 
• Siobhan eventually came to terms with her diagnosis of POI and how that had/has affected her.
• We then talked about a woman in Leicester who had to quit her job because of menopause and the lack of understanding/support that she received. It has now been taken to court.
• We discussed how menopause is not talked about enough in society. It is something that is important and holds a lot of significance but is just pushed aside and not understood.
• Kate Pleace talks about her own experience with POI and how different it can be depending on your age. 
• Kate tells us about her fertility journey and the possibility of egg donation for women looking to conceive with POI.
• We talked about HRT and the effects of it.
• Siobhan’s advice is to get support from those who are on the same or a similar journey to you.
• Kate’s advice is to take your take your time in finding the right fertility treatment for you. It is normal for it to take time and ask those questions to your specialist.
• You can also read Siobhan’s book ‘My Life on Pause’, check out the link below!

Socials:

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Follow Kate P, RN, MSc, Independent Women’s Health Nurse (@fertility_menopause_support) • Instagram photos and videos on Instagram

Find My Life on Pause eBook : O’Sullivan, Dr Siobhan : Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store on Amazon