Ovary Education

I wanted to include some pictures to make it easier to understand. My ovaries look like the polycystic example. In the ultrasound pictures, the black areas are the fluid-filled follicles. All of my ultrasounds so far have tiny, tiny follicles (<8mm), and look more like the very small ones you can see in the pcos example. When I take fertility medicine, it's to help the follicles grow and someday, I hope I'll see a big follicle on ultrasound (like the bigger one you can see in the example). They have to be greater than 18mm to ovulate!

Refresher on normal woman reproductive cycle:

The ovaries are two small organs, one on each side of a woman's uterus. A woman's ovaries have follicles, which are tiny sacs filled with liquid that hold the eggs. These sacs also are called cysts. Each month about 20 eggs start to mature, but usually only one matures fully. As this one egg grows, the follicle accumulates fluid in it. When that egg matures, the follicle breaks open to release it. The egg then travels through the fallopian tube for fertilization. When the single egg leaves the follicle, ovulation takes place.

In women with PCOS, the ovary doesn't make all of the hormones it needs for any of the eggs to fully mature. Follicles may start to grow and build up fluid. But no one follicle becomes large enough. Instead, some follicles may remain as cysts. Since no follicle becomes large enough and no egg matures or is released, ovulation does not occur and the hormone progesterone is not made. Without progesterone, a woman's menstrual cycle is irregular or absent.

Fertility treatment is aimed to stimulate the follicles to grow so that I can hopefully grow a big enough one to ovulate and then get pregnant.