PCOS help please

[Picklestar]

Hi all help needed please from anyone in the know! :-)

I've recently in the last few months been diagnosed with PCO, even though I seem to go against everything I've read. I get periods often although irregular (one lasted 27 days it was hell & expensive!). I'm not over weight or hairy. We've been ttc for 9 months without success. I've just had my 1st gynae appointment & I've gota have ovulation blood tests & an X-ray where they put dye in to look at my fallopian tubes & DH has to produce a samples (bless him!) then we go back in 4 months for the results. I'm so scared that we're not going to be able to conceive naturally. Does anyone know what the likely hood of us concieving naturally Is? Or have any advice? Feel completely overwhelmed by it all! Help!

[summerintherosegarden]

Hi Pickle, I too have PCO and am not overweight or particularly hairy, though unlike you I never have periods (haven't had one since coming off the pill over a year ago and counting...) Have you had an ultrasound yet showing your ovarian cysts? If not I'm a little surprised the doctors diagnosed PCO...

I'm currently in the next stage along from you - DH has had SA, I've had blood tests. I haven't had a lap and dye because they don't do it in my PCT until clomid has been tried and failed. I'm going back to the gynae in about ten days to hopefully get my first prescription of clomid - that's the drug that they will likely put you on to try to regulate your cycles and get you ovulating 'properly'.

The stats we were given for clomid were that 75% of women who take it ovulate successfully and, of those, 40% conceive and carry to term.

In my PCT (and bear in mind it seems to be slightly different all over the country) you get clomid for 6 months, if that doesn't work you get hormone injections for a further few months, if that still doesn't work then I presume you put yourself on the IVF waiting list...

Of course my situation is very different to yours because I don't ovulate/have periods at all, but I pretty much came to terms with the fact I probably won't conceive naturally a while ago, and it now isn't that big of a deal to me. I'll try all the drugs they'll throw at me and if those still don't work then...I've always wanted to adopt anyway (in an ideal world, in addition to bio children, but this isn't always an ideal world!)

That of course doesn't mean that you won't conceive naturally! It just means you might need some assistance. A lot of women have PCO and go on to have several kids (Victoria Beckham and Jools Oliver always get cited as the celeb examples...4 each) And there are a lot of women on this board with PCO, most of them far more knowledgeable and experienced than me, who I'm sure will also be along shortly :)

Oh and don't forget that we're here for hand holding - it is a lot to deal with when you realise that you can't just decide to have kids and they pop along nine or ten months later, but there are many, many people dealing with it and so will you.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

Picklestar

There is a chance you will conceive naturally but you may well need some medical assistance in order to conceive. There is also a fine line between PCO (the commonality between PCO and PCOS is the cystic follicles on the ovaries) and its related syndrome PCOS. PCOS is a very individualistic disorder and affects each woman with it very differently; not all PCOSers by any means are either fat or hairy.

Would suggest you try and remain within the correct weight range for your height as excess pounds can exacerbate symptoms. Some women find following a low GI/GL eating plan helpful.

The HSG which you refer to is a useful test to have done as it can give information not easily accessible by other methods. It should not be painful providing the dye is injected slowly and carefully. I would question why it is taking 4 months for you to be seen again following this, you should be seen as a couple far sooner than that.

Semen analysis often ends up being repeated. Please be reassured that one poor result does not necessarily mean there are male factor problems.

IVF for PCO should not be tried unless all other treatment avenues have failed. After injectable drugs the next step on from this tends to be laparoscopic ovarian diathermy rather than laparoscopy or IVF treatment.

If you are given clomid ensure you are monitored whilst on it; it should be given with a degree of caution to such patients as some women can become clomid resistant. No monitoring is unacceptable as you then have no idea whether its doing the job its supposed to be doing.

Would ensure you are fully conversant with the tests you are given as well as why they are being done. It is vitally important too that the three of you can work as a team. Read up on PCO as well; knowledge is indeed power and can help you too make treatment decisions.

[Picklestar]

Thanx for the replies!

summer, hi, thanx for the reply its fab to hear such a positive reply. My GP was brilliant & I had an ultrasound & blood tests previous to going to my Gynae appointment. Can I ask how long you've been trying? Thanx for the info, nice to know what might happen next! Good luck with it all, hope you're within the 40% of the 75% who are successful with it!

Attila hi, you're so knowledgeable thanx for sharing your knowledge! I don't know if I have PCO or PCOS, i'll ask next time i see the consultant. Thanx for the insight, its so nice to know what might happen next.

Thanx guys

[foolserrand]

I have pcos and was told I was unlikely to ever conceive naturally, if at all. Ds is 3.5 now and was an unexpected surprise. Dd is now 4 months and took almost exactly 1 year to conceive. Please don't let the label distress you. It is entirely possible to get pregnant naturally.

[ItsMeYourCathy]

Couldn't just read and run...
I have pco and when I had an ultrasound I could see the cysts, like a string of pearls around my ovary. The other ovary was tiny and really high up in my body (weird) and I thought "that's it, I'm fucked"
But but but...
I am now mum to a wonderful 17 month old boy! I took metformin for about two months and it worked for me.
All I want to say is keep trying, don't give up hope, stay informed and on top of things medically and good luck to you!
Xx

[SuzySheepSmellsNice]

I have PCOS and thought it would take me ages to conceive, but I feel pregnant in the first month of trying (honeymoon!). Don't give up hope Xx

[Picklestar]

Thanx fools itsme & Suzy so encouraging to hear you're all mums! I really hope it happens for me without too much intervention, actually even with intervention! Just want to be a mum! xxx

[summerintherosegarden]

Hello again, we've been 'trying' for a year now but in retrospect I don't really consider it trying as there was no possible way I was going to get pregnant!

Okay so you've had the u/s, that's good, you know at least partly what you're dealing with. I would imagine that you can get the results from the SA etc prior to the four months that I am assuming you're going to have to wait for your gynae appointment.

It is all a bit slow - most annoying for me was having one appointment and being told that I would get prescribed clomid but I couldn't get the prescription until I went back for another appointment and that would be 2 months later.

I hope too it happens for you without much intervention - fingers crossed.

A question for you Attila if you're still reading this thread - the lining of my womb is very, very thin despite not having had a period for a year. I know the clomid is supposed to stimulate the pituitary gland to release FSH, but will that in turn release whichever hormone causes the womb lining to thicken? Because otherwise, even in the event that I do release an egg and it is fertilised, I don't see how it would ever implant... (Just asking you because you seem very well versed on this topic!)

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

summer,

I think a thin uterine lining is commonly seen in women with PCOS, I certainly had this problem, I think its due to an overall lack of progesterone. Clomid will not assist directly with the production of womb lining.

Are you being monitored whilst on clomid, monitoring is very important as its quite powerful stuff.

From what I can recall they gave me progesterone tabs to use internally for 12 weeks after I conceived.

[summerintherosegarden]

Yes I will be monitored once the treatment actually starts, so I suppose I'll be able to see then what's going on.

The nurse (who was very good and knowledgeable) seemed a little surprised by how thin it was - though it does make sense - and said that when I was no longer TTC I would need progesterone at least a couple of times a year to shed it as it won't happen naturally and otherwise there is higher risk of uterine cancer. But then I suppose progesterone will have a different effect depending on what other hormones are in play...

[Picklestar]

summer wishing you all the luck in the world. Must have been so annoying to wait knowing you needed it!

[summerintherosegarden]

Thanks pickle - you too. Hope I'm reading of your successful treatment/surprise BFP on here soon :)

[foolserrand]

Nothing helpful to add, just thought I'd see how you are getting on. Really hope it all works out well and you wake up feeling nauseous really soon!