This one was hard for me. I use chewing tobacco, and I have always felt that it was ok because I was not hurting any one but myself with it. There was no second hand smoke to hurt someone else and if the people I was around didn't chew or smoke then I did not chew around them, or if I did it was very discrete.
What I failed to realize through the years that I have chewed is that its not just hurting me, its hurting my future kids and my husband and family.
I started my research on this subject and the first thing that came out of my mouth was " Oh my Gosh what am I doing!" I never really thought about the fact that while I am enjoying the rush that you get from the tobacco, I was actually preventing myself from getting pregnant and having the family that I had always dreamed about. Now the tobacco is not the only reason that I have not been able to have the beautiful family I have always dreamed about, but it is playing a huge role.
For women with PCOS using tobacco works as a stimulant. Any type of stimulants that we add to our body such as tobacco, sugar, caffeine and so on makes our body produce more insulin whether we are suffering from PCOS or not. Women with PCOS already have high levels of insulin so adding stimulants to the body and having it create more insulin is not a good idea. Wow really wish I would have done my research a long time ago.
Using tobacco (whether it is smoking or chewing) can
- decrease your ovulation
- fertilization and implant of the egg can be impaired
- the chemicals in the tobacco may alter the cervical fluid
(if this happens it will make the cervical fluid toxic to the sperm thus causing pregnancy to be difficult to achieve.)
- There is a negative effect on the maturation of the eggs
- Negative effect on fertility rates
- Tobacco can cause more chromosomal abnormalities in your eggs.
After reading this information I cried. How could I do this to myself, all I want to do is quit chewing get this stuff out of my body for good and stay away from it. That is easier said then done. When you have been addicted to something for so long how do you just quit and walk away from it and never pick it up again. I am struggling with this everyday.
I found a few studies that also provided more information on tobacco use that I felt every women that is going through the same journey I am needed to see.
British studies show
-women who use tobacco products have twice the risk of still being childless 5 years after getting off of Birth Control then non tobacco users do.
- women who use tobacco products have a 40% lower chance at getting pregnant.
- the use of tobacco products can be blamed for 120,000 cases of male impotence for men 30-50 years old.
Having PCOS is such a battle anyways, why would you add these stimulants to your body on top of it? Well if you are not a tobacco user this is easy for you to say and easy for you to answer. Those of us who have been addicted to tobacco for years and years, and have PCOS have two battles to fight. First of all PCOS gives you the addiction chemicals that are 2x stronger then in a woman that does not have PCOS. We get addicted to food, sweets, carbs,and stimulants very easily. Its twice as hard to fight those addictions and be able to walk away from them. I am not using it as an excuse. I know that I am the only one to blame for the fact that I am still chewing.
The good news is there are benefits for getting rid of the tobacco.
Giving up tobacco products can show fast results. With in a year of not using tobacco products you will have the same chances of getting pregnant as someone who has never used tobacco products.
So that is a major plus. Even if you have used tobacco products you still have a chance to get off of it, become healthier and hopefully have a baby. Now when you have PCOS you have to deal with the other issues as well, so just giving up the tobacco products may not fix everything but it will help!
I wish all of you out there that are dealing with this as I am the best of luck in your journey. I am here if you want to talk about it!
Resources:
www.womenshealth.about.com/cs/azhealthtopics/a/smoking effects.htm
www.sharedjourney.com/smoking-and-infertility.htmo
Smoking and Infertility- Understanding the connection
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/43918-top-ten-tips-living-pcos
Top Ten Tips for Living with PCOS
Warm thoughts, best wishes and tons of baby dust to all of you!!!
Thank you
Tabitha
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