PCOS Fertility treatment

[J90A]

Hello :)

I have had my first appointment at the fertility centre in March (i was diagnosed with pcos at 18), since then I have had an ultrasound, blood tests, weekly urine samples for 8 weeks and a hysterosalpingogram. I have my second appointment next week, I'm assuming this will be for results. Does anyone know what will happen next? I was told I would start on Clomid first. Will I start at this appt or is there more to do before then?

Any info would be greatly appreciated :)

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

You should be monitored (preferably both via blood tests and ultrasounds) whilst on clomid as its quite powerful stuff; no monitoring is unacceptable as you will have no idea whether its working or not. If they do decide on no monitoring do question their decision.

Your man should also be tested in these initial stages as well as subfertility is not the sole preserve of the woman.

Remind them that you were diagnosed with PCOS at 18. I would write down any questions you want to ask now and ahead of time. No question is daft. If he can attend this appointment with you so much the better as he can give moral support and ask questions.

[J90A]

@AttilaTheMeerkat

You should be monitored (preferably both via blood tests and ultrasounds) whilst on clomid as its quite powerful stuff; no monitoring is unacceptable as you will have no idea whether its working or not. If they do decide on no monitoring do question their decision.

Your man should also be tested in these initial stages as well as subfertility is not the sole preserve of the woman.

Remind them that you were diagnosed with PCOS at 18. I would write down any questions you want to ask now and ahead of time. No question is daft. If he can attend this appointment with you so much the better as he can give moral support and ask questions.

Thanks so much! Yes he has had his test and everything was fine. I think I will be starting on clomid first, do you know what the whole process is? how often blood/ultrasound is?

Im a bit nervous about all the monitoring almost feels like im tempting fate and forcing it rather than natural, very engineered if you know what I mean.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

They should inform you re how they monitor you on clomid. If they do not mention this at all ask them how you will be monitored. Do not accept no monitoring.

I know exactly what you mean here (fellow PCOSer) but needs must and I went onto have ovarian diathermy surgery (felt a bit faint when that was suggested!) in an attempt to conceive. I'm as much a parent as anyone else and its not my fault that I am (and remain) subfertile; it is what it is.

[J90A]

@AttilaTheMeerkat I thought I had replied on this sorry, I had my appointment and starting progesterone today to induce a period then on clomid with urine samples every week. Not as bad as I though at all!! I thought there would be more invasive! Trying not to get too excited but feeling hopeful! xxx

[Mgibbs]

Hi
I’ve also PCOS. I suggested clomid but dr advised letrezole. There weren’t any side effects. I’ve heard of it working for ppl and it’s ultrasounds every few days so closely monitored. Always another option if clomid doesn’t work.
Good luck with everything

[J90A]

@Mgibbs how you getting on with it? That’s good to know there are other options! Thank you. D Dx

[Kele94]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to join this thread and see if anyone could give me a bit of advice or their experiences.

I was on the combined pill for 10 years and came off end of July last year and found out I was pregnant in the November. My periods were regular (they weren't the same cycle length but I had a period August, September & October) but unfortunately suffered a miscarriage in January. I had surgical management in March and haven't had a period since.

They believe I may have PCOS because my ovaries appear polycystic and obviously my periods haven't returned so I am having tests this week.

Just wanted to ask, is it normal for someone with PCOS to have regular periods after coming off the pill?

Super stressed out about the situation so any advice or similar stories will be appreciated x

[Mgibbs]

I’m very sorry to hear of your loss.
I have pcos and had a regular bleed when on the pill before and since coming off it I haven’t.
There is pcos and pco so perhaps it the latter if you had regular periods. Can you identify with any other symptoms ? Irregular periods can be caused by stress also so if you’re stressed that’s what could be causing that.
Take things one step at a time and try not to go to the worse case scenario.(easier said than done I know)
Sending lots of positivity

[Kele94]

@Mgibbs that's what I would have expected, irregular periods coming off the pill not regular ones if I had PCOS.

I definitely have PCO but I only found that out because of my miscarriage as they needed to do an internal ultrasound where they confirmed I retained pregnancy tissue so if this didn't happen I would be none the wiser and I'm 27 this year.

As symptoms go, I don't suffer with the most common ones such as weight gain, acne or irregular periods (until now) but I do have hair in certain areas such as arms, inside of my thighs, upper lip and even my chin which I never noticed until yesterday! I had to use a zoomed in mirror and shine the phone torch on it to see but there were a few stray hairs there that were brown in colour, not black. This is what frustrates me because when I Google excess hair due to PCOS, the pictures that show are quite extreme so I don't know if the hair I have is normal or if it's abnormal but just minor in comparison to the images on Google.

I'm having my bloods taken tomorrow to look for high levels of testosterone and also my thyroid and then Thursday I have managed to push for a gynaecologist at the hospital to see me because 13 weeks on from surgical management without a period doesn't seem normal.

Thank you! Stress could be playing a massive part. I'm hoping I feel more relaxed once I get my results

[Flowersandfireworks]

Hello! Fellow PCOS-sufferer here. I’m on month 3 of letrozole TTC our first. Would be great to have some friends for the journey!

@Kele94 Sorry for your loss I was on the pill for ages. when I came off I had 5 regular cycles and then they just stopped and I didn’t have a period for 3 months. That’s when I had blood tests / ultrasounds and got diagnosed with PCOS. Apparently it’s not uncommon for you to have a few regular cycles when first coming off as it balances out your hormones. I don’t have any traditional symptoms - not very hairy, skin is fine. Although I have put a bit of weight on in the last year. But when I went for my bloods my testosterone and AMH were really high. Everyone is different though and your bloods will give you a clear picture

[Kele94]

@Flowersandfireworks thank you for sharing that information! I couldn't find anywhere online about the pill regulating your hormones so much you have a few regular cycles I could only find people who had come off the pill and had no cycles at all.

Best of luck TTC xx