Do Any of You Only Have One Ovary?

Hi D., I have no ovaries and I am 47. Let me give you my story. I was pregnant with my first and had a cyst on one of my ovaries, They took the ovary when I had my first as he was c section. The cyst had grown to the size of an orange. the Dr thought I got pregnant on the other ovary anyhow and didn't think I'd have a problem. Well, she was right. I got pregnant 10 months after I had my first child and then again with a third child a couple of years later. I got my tubes tied after the third child but later had to have a hysterectomy as I ended up getting a cyst on the other ovary. All were benign. Good luck! E. mom of three ages 22,21, and 19.

D.,

I've only had one ovary for years and it hasn't been a problem. I never miss a period and I got pregnant very easily a number of times with out any delays. I have had a number of miscarriages but that hasn't been due to only having one ovary, rather my age. I have a 4 year old that I gave birth to at 35 and my miscarriages started after that...don't wait too long to start trying, age can really change things! My fingers are crossed once again because I am 11 weeks along...

Good Luck!

Hello

guest what miracle can happened..remember your first miracle happened now try for the second one

best regads

Call your doctor. That's it. You yourself wrote, "If any of you have information from your doctor, not just opinions or "Well my cousin had a baby with only one ovary" type answer or "I wouldn't be here today if it was't possible" etc."
Why ask a bunch of women for advice when you can call a professional?

Hi D.,
Well, I'm now an 'old' Grammy of 57, but after my first baby girl was born, I had an ectopic pregnancy when she was 9 mos old. The fetus had attached to my fallopian tube and it ruptured... very very scary thing to happen. The surgery left me with one fallopian tube, although I still have two ovaries. I thought it would take me forever to get pregnant with child #2, so as soon as I recovered from the ectopic we started to try. Low and behold, three mos. later I was pregnant with my son. They two are 22 mos apart, now ages 31 and 29. Oh, I had a third 4 yrs later, a wonderful daughter to make three.... so keep good heart, have fun, and enjoy your family..it'll grow.

Hi D.,

I had my right ovary removed when I was in my mid 20's. I got pregnant at 31 on a one time no protection (with my husband). We were not planning at the time and it just happened. So yes you can still concieve with just one. Your husband is right that you may not ovulate every cycle and still have a period. You may want to try an ovulation kit to help aid you in getting pregnant again. Good Luck!!!!

S.

D.,
I had my right ovary removed when I was 26 due to a rare type of ovarian cancer. The cancer had not spread at all and has a very low incident of recurrence. My gyno-oncologist assured me that my other ovary would quickly begin doing the work of both ovaries. He promised me that my fertility would not be affected at all from having just the one ovary. he told me my periods would remain normal and that I would ovulate every month as usual. I am 30 now and every word he said has been proven true. I got pregnant with my first child just 2 months after the surgery! When my husband and I tried for baby number 2 (when I was 28) we again got pregnant very quickly! We are now talking about going for baby number 3 sometime in the next year or two and I am not worried at all.
I had the same fears that you are having now initially. I did not see how one ovary could really be just as good as two. I was sure I would have a hard time getting pregnant and that my cycles would be a mess. I am glad that I was wrong. While your concerns about age are valid, I do not think having one ovary will exacerbate that at all. I wish you the best of luck!! Try not to be worried. Your one ovary WILL be working double time from now on!!

ovarian cysts are common (I have one) so I'm wondering what prompted him to want to remove it? was it cancerous? I'd love to know. in my case, the bc pill usually shrinks it.

I have only one tube, which is essentially the same thing when it comes to getting pregnant. I got pregnant with my 3rd child 3 months after having my right tube removed because of an ectopic pregnancy. I'm currently a 36 year old mother of 4 and planning to have more kids. Good luck!

Hi D.,

I don't think someone else's experience will necessarily be your experience. It is absolutely possible for you to become pregant again and absolutely possible it may be even easier than the first time.

Many women even with two ovaries tend to ovulate more from one than the other. You don't necessarily alternate from one ovary to the other. The ovary that was removed from you may not even have been effective if it wasn't healthy.

I have both ovaries, but had my right tube removed due to a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. At age 38 I got pregnant the first month I tried with just one ovary able to donate an egg die to the missing tube. I became pregnant again, unexpectedly at age 40 when my first daughter was just one year old. I was breast feeding and had not yet started menstruating again.

Anything is possible and one person's experience cannot predict yours, however I would not wait greater than six months after trying to seek fertility help. Best Wishes and Good Luck!

J. L.

I am 31, had my first boy in December. It took about six months, casually trying. Never obsessed about ovulation or any thing. Now baby number is on the way. It literally took two months! My only fear was something happening to my other ovary in between children. Because I was not on birth control and I guess that is what prevents or helps prevent cysts. I lost my ovary at 19 and was nervous for years about the other one. I got ultrasounds every year to check on the other and I ever inquired about freezing eggs. It wasn't until one of the doctors that I trusted said that I could get pregnant with one tenth of on ovary, that I relaxed. As far as ovulation, I do not know if it was happening every month or not. I did get my period every month so I assumed I was ovulating as well.

I have no stories for you but I would like to make a suggestion. You can easily find out what is going on with your ovulation by charting your fertility signs. It is a great way to know what to expect when trying to conceive. There is a book out there, not sure who the author is, but it is called "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" and I have heard great things about it. I will tell you that I have other health issues that affect my fertility and it is helpful to chart and know what is going on. Best of luck to you!

Just a note about one or two ovaries. Even with two ovaries, we weren't able to have a second child, so it really depends on the health of what you have, regardless of number.

We had our only child when I was 36, almost 37. We had twins everywhere on both sides of our families (12-13 sets of them in just 2-3 generations!), but we just had the one. It took us about 9 months to conceive with two ovaries, but were not able to have another one. So, you never know.

After years of issues with cysts and ultimately an abscess, I finally had the right ovary and fallopian tube removed last summer at age 49. I still have periods every month. They were a little funky (spotty) at first, but now, they're regular again. I've been told by my doctor as well that the existing ovary will eventually take over the duties of both of them.

If I remember my biology correctly...a big IF...the ovulation and fluctuation of hormones is what causes the period in the first place. So, I believe the theory that your one ovary is doing the work of two makes sense to me.

P.S. Sorry, gotta tell the story...My mom's mom had two healthy kids in her mid to late 40s...no twins...no problems. My grandparents were born in the 1880s! And I know someone whose first child had downs syndrome when she was just in her late 20s or early 30s and the second one was fine. So, you never know. Every conception and birth is individual.

Sorry I probably wasn't all that much help, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

Yes I have one ovary. I am 32 years old and 11 weeks pregnant now. I have my ovary removed last January due to ovarian cancer. It didn't take me twice as long to get pregnant as I was on birth control and used an antibiotic next thing you know I was pregnant.

Your research on being over 35 and it increasing your change for twins or multiples is surprising. I would think it is because they are using IVF because your chances of getting pregnant go down as you age.

Hi D. I have an amazing story for you when i had 2 ovaries it took me 3 years to get pregnant after my dr decided to put me on clomid once I started the clomid I got pregnant with twins a few months later! A year after that it wound up I got pregnant and had no clue and when i did find out I was already 11 weeks pregnant and it was ectopic and I had to have emergency surgery due to the fact that my Fallopian tube and ovary had ruptured so they removed them! My dr told me there was no chance I would be able to concieve another child especially on my own without the clomid and I was a little upset but greatful to God because he had given me twins the prior year and I had a boy and girl and was content. So I went on thinking that's it i have my babies and that's all I will have well to everyone's surprise especially my drs and myself a year to the day after my
Ovary and tube removal I was pregnant everyone was amazed how could it be being it took so long for me to get pregnant with the twins and now with one ovary and tube here I am pregnant again so I called the baby my little miracle and when she was born I named her Angelique because she was my little miracle sent from above! So it can happen dont lose faith! Good luck to you! Hope this lifts your spirits in sight of having another baby

Okay, so not quite the same situation but.... I had one ovary removed just after graduating from college, before having any children, because of a large dermoid cyst causing a torque in the ovary.... very painful.... but anyway, it ended up being removed. Fast forward about 8 years, I'm having trouble getting pregnant and diagnosed with PCOS -- polycystic ovary syndrome -- 2 years of fertility treatments resulted in my first pregnancy. This was due to the PCOS and not due to the fact that I have only one ovary. I wasn't ovulating at all at the time. Right after my son was born, my first marriage fell apart and I got divorced. 2 years later I was with an absolutely wonderful man (my husband) and we started trying to have a baby, figuring it would take a long time if it every happened, given that I was unwilling to do ivf again. We conceived the first full cycle we were trying. 3 1/2 years later, we again conceived after trying for only about 6 weeks, and our son was born just 11 weeks ago. I am now 37. So, fertility does not necessarily decrease with age, and having one ovary does not make it any harder to get pregnant if there's nothing else going on. Normally, the ovaries do not actually alternate -- As I understnad it (and this is going from an anatomy and physiology class taken years ago) during the menstrual cycle, several eggs start to mature, in both ovaries. The first egg to be ready for ovulation is released, regardless of which ovary it is in and whether that was the ovary to ovulate last cycle. So, yes, the one left does completely take over, and you ovulate just as often as you did before.

Good luck. If you want to talk about it further, drop me an email.

From my work in women's health, I can say that one ovary takes over. You have more eggs than you could ever use so, in general, if you have a period every month, you are ovulating just fine! Taking six months to get pregnant may be frustrating but it's far from unusual. There are many new options for fertility help if you them so talk to your OB, but unless you are really having problems, try to be happy and confident, and have fun trying!

I just came across this and wanted to tell you that I was born with just one ovary, tube and kidney....never knew this until I was having a tubal liagation after the birth of my 3rd child...never missed a period, Got pregnent with my first son after we were married a year, 9 months later, got pregnant with my daughter...then 7 years later, had my 3rd and last child...

My older sister had one of her ovaries removed when she was a teenager. She now has four children. Her last child she had when she was in her late 30's. You just need to relax, otherwise you will have a harder time. Remember, everyone is different in how long it takes them to get pregnant. For me it took three years with my first and 1 1/2 years with my second (and that's with two ovaries!). Don't worry, relax and enjoy your husband and enjoy your children before your next child comes along.