PCOS, regular periods but not ovulating...don't want clomid yet!

Hi all, and so sorry to hear of your disappointing news LIG.

I'm on day 11 now and temping/ checking for EWCM to try and pinpoint if/when I ovulate. My feeling is that perhaps I was too low with the dosage- apparently when you are prescribed Clomid, the recommended dosage they start you on is 50mg. Soy Isoflavones are supposed to be half as effective as Clomid ie you take twice the amount. The most I took was 80mg for the first 3 days, so not sure if it will be effective, but we will see. I will definitely take it again next month (assuming I don't ovulate and conceive!) and increase the dosage.

It's been so long since my LH levels were looked at I can't remember what they were!!! I just want a baby - thats my goal!!!

Hello Fairy,
Sorry you are also suffering from this dammned condition. I think the opks sometimes don't work if your pcos means that you LH levels are raised. The opks measure LH and if you already have raised LH then you will get false positives. I find they work for me when I do ovulate although it is frustrating to do day after day with nothing.

Got my soy isoflavones today along with maca powder so I am now rattling from all my supllements - hoping something works. On a good note, my skin is looking really good so I am hoping that is indicating that my ovaries are sorting themselves out!

Hi ya,

Thought I'd gatecrash as ben on these threads for 2 years, not conceived & have been diagnosed with PCOS for 4 years. I have periods (now regular due to metformin) but I don't ovulate.
I'm a bit confused as I was told that OPKs don't work for people with PCOS as our hormones are out of sync!
I am over-weight (which is also why I'm on metformin) but my dietitian has said that my diet is very healthy & acceptable. I now overy exercise but it still only comes off slowly.
I'm very interested in how the is-flavones experient goes. I have had clomid (about 1 1/2 years ago) but it didn't work at 50 but cons wouldn't up the dose. I have a hosp app next month to see if clomid might be an option again.

good luck to you all

Cheers Tarty,

Feel surprisingly upbeat about it all. I think because I expected the worst I never really got to the point of properly thinking I was pregnant and all the planning and expectation that goes with it.

Not sure about the diet/caffeine/alcohol thing. I read that moderate alcohol intake helps to lower the GI of a meal and balance the blood sugar. However, the alcohol shouldn't be beer or sugary cocktails or mixers. (That is what I am believing anyway.) I cut down to just one glass maximum during the 2ww only been in two 2ww so it isn't too painful yet!

Just saw LIG's posts. Sorry for your.disappointment but sounds like you've got a really positive way of loooking at it. Good luck for next time!

Oh dear, I'd better forego the wine from.next month too. And the fertility clinic advised no caffeine (but I drew the line at chocolate and switched from dark to milk ) A girl's gotta have some fun! I didn't bother with the GI thing but I went spinning and running loads!

Unfortunately it was a chemical pregnancy. However, on a good note, at least I definitely released an egg and my body decided to reject it early rather than leaving me thinking I am pregnant when I wasn't. May have to give those iso-flavones ago just to try and bring my ovulation forward. Worrying, how is it going for you? Will you being doing opk sticks to try and predict ovulation?

oh my goodness congratulations LIG!!!! Oh I really hope it sticks for you, I've got everything crossed. keep us posted.

Oooh! Good luck - may be on them soon. Got a BFP on Friday night but it isn't getting any darker so think it may be a chemical pregnancy. Not too upset except for the fact that it could be another 40+ days till I ovulate again so keen to try something to bring that forward!!

Hi all, ive been taking the soy isoflavones for 4 nights now and feel, er, absolutely no different. The first night I took them I slept very lighlty and woke up a couple of times but im not sure if thats because I was worried about taking them, iyswim.

taking the last one tonight and crossing my fingers that I ovulate later this month!

LIG, i think the ones i bought were £8 or so on Amazon, so nothing compared to the £100s I have spent on TTC paraphenalia already not a huge amount and money well spent if it gets you the BFP before you even take any!

Tarty, my bmi is 26, and my Dr hinted not so subtly yesterday that I could stand to lose a few pounds so I am now officially Healthy Eating. Dr also said to cut out alcohol completely! Which I was a bit about but she was really adamant about it. I'm quite at just how difficult that is going to be...

Yes, I was the same. After two failed cycles of IVF, we conceived naturally. We'd split for a while, partly due to the strain on our relationship, hadn't long got back together and were organising our wedding. In other words we weren't trying.

It may be coincidence but I also felt that regular strenuous exercise helped. Are you carrying much extra weight? If so, getting down to a healthy BMI is thought to help.

Good luck! I am 9 dpo so if I get my AF this month - I may well give it a go. Tempted to go and fork out for some anyway just to see if my body gives me a BFP just to spite me. (When I got pregnant, I had just invested in a thermometer, agnes castus, opk tests and they arrived the day after my BFP.)

Keep us posted on what happens and whether you get any side effects etc.

Hi
Bumping this thread as I'm on Day 2 now so will be taking my first Soy Isoflavone tablets tonight! Wish me luck...

"okayed" not "played"....

LIG, I'm currently trying Maca - it tastes pretty vile in powder form but apparently has been used for years to enhance fertility in Peru... Of course. No noticeable difference yet, and my gp has played it as I have thyroid issues. Apparently it can be a bit intense though and it pays to build up to a full dose, iyswim

Sorry for late reply. Been off pill for 2 years, had 3 periods. Have always been irregular. I knew I had pcos. But because I wasnt overweight (I lived in the gym) they didnt think it was. A scan showed possible cysts but werent sure.
Gyno said lets have a look about and do a hysteroscopy & see what happens. He said cleaned everything out and afterwards said it should help periods but may have to have medical intervention to have children. Preggers 6 wks later!!
TBH wasnt trying actively trying for kids, but was of the attitude if it happened it did, plus I was getting on a bit at 28 (34) - had only been with DP for 4 months!! Bit of a shock but defo worked out for the best.
Was just hoping that it'd just happen this time but its not working out that way.

Has you gp/gyno not discussed hysteroscopy options with you?

at doing it for no reason! Better not let your DH hear that!

What is a hysteroscopy please RIBS? Why did get you pregnant when other things hadn't worked? How long had you been trying?

Sorry for the barrage of questions!

OMG!! So does this mean we've just been doing it for no good reason!!

Periods very light n no mucus. I think I may have to nip to dr's to get clomid'd up or whatever they need to do.

Thanks.

BTW if anyone is wondering about a hysteroscopy it really did wonders for me. Fell pregnant within 6 weeks. Wonder if can get them done on regular basis?

Crossed posts with aworryingtrend - your explanation was much better!

From the fertility friend charts for people monitoring body temperature - it looks like there people do get annovulatory cycles. In these ones they don't usually get a detected LH surge or get a temperature rise but still get an AF as normal. I personally only get an AF after I have ovulated - but my ovulation is much later than the normal population.

It is possible to have a period without ovulating, it is technically called an 'anovulatory bleed' and will typically be lighter/shorter than a normal period. I have had these since coming off the pill 10 months ago. If you want to check that you are ovulating you can take your temperature and check for egg-white cervical mucus (lubrication with the consistency of egg-white which becomes more noticeable around the time of ovulation).

You can also use ovulation kits but from what I have read on here loads of people don't seem to get a positive even when they know they have ovulated.

I would recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. I was so clueless before reading this about ovulation and conception but this book made it so easy to understand.

Can I join in? Im a bit lost.
Was diagnosed 4yrs ago with PCOS, had a hysteroscopy and conceived without really trying. Have been off the pill since Jan and have been at it like rabbits this last 2 months, but nothing happend yet. I am actually having periods every 5-8 weeks, which I wasnt Prior to having DD1. So I thought that this was gonna be easy peasy!

Are me and taytotayto a bit dim? I thought you had to ovulate to actually get a period!!????

Please enlighten me.

No never heard of maca, what is it? I have heard about diary though- I can't remember the rationale behind it- I had acupuncture briefly (stopped due to cost ) and she was very keen on me not eating 'cold' foods which dairy are.