Is PCOS for life?

[sleepcrisis]

Just that really. A bit of background:

Was on the pill until about 6 years ago I was on and off the pill and had very irregular periods. Came off it and had about a year of really up and down, heavy periods with horrific period pain. No other symptoms really - no hairiness/acne/weight problems. But scan and blood tests showed polycystic ovaries. GP didn't really say much about the severity. Have moved GP about 4 times since then so can't really access my records easily, have moved country too.

Anyway I took agnus castus for a year or so which totally regulated my periods after the first 9 months ish of taking it. Fell pregnant instantly on first time having unprotected sex after we got married! Total fluke and really know how lucky we were.

Preiods returned when DS was 1 (on his birthday!) and since then have been really regular - 31-32 days or thereabouts. Still really really heavy periods though and pain but not as bad as before. In fact I am showing no symptoms of PCOS except maybe a longer than normal cycle.

Am about to start ttc and worrying a bit that pcos might still be there despite me having no signs. Can it just get better like that after having a baby?

Another weird thing is that I get very obvious ovulation pain - a stitch like pain bang on the right time every month, lasts about 12 hrs and enough to tae paracetemol. Is this a PCOS thing? Or is it me actually ovulating (or not ovulating?)

Thanks in advance

[TattyCatty]

I was told by my Gynae that having a baby wouldn't make any difference to PCOS, and if anything, my symptoms have got worse since I had DD 7 years ago, after my 2nd round of IUI. I am still anovulatory, but now have a Mirena coil so no periods at all, which is a blessing. Everybody is different though, so somebody could well come along with a different story.

[EuroShaggleton]

It can come and go. I've been having fertility scans for over 2 years now. the early ones showed my ovaries to be polycycstic (but I was ovulating regularly). The last few have shown no sign of it - my ovaries look totally normal.

If you are ovulating, PCOS shouldn't have an effect of your ability to conceive anyway, and it sounds like you probably are (but if you try for a while and don't get anywhere, it will be worthwhile getting checked out).

[TheWoollybacksWife]

I'm 45 now and was diagnosed with PCOS at 15.

I spent 6 years on hormone treatment and came off it to ttc when I got married. 5 years later I'd had only 3 periods and then (after lots of infertility treatment) I had DD1. When my periods returned I had a regular cycle of 35 days.

After having DD2 my cycle length changed to 32 days.

After DS it shortened to 28 days and scans showed normal, cyst free ovaries.

I'm now peri menopausal and my cycle length is becoming slightly shorter still - about 26 days or so now.