Any successful pregnancy with PCOS?

Hi Keysha,

Good on you for being persistant and getting a second opinion. You did the work, am heartened that my suggestion was helpful.

Ovarian drilling is the same as ovarian diathermy (diathermy is the properly recognised medical term).

Good luck to you, keep us posted

Meerkats x

Great news, Keysha - glad you got some good advice and feel a lot happier with what lies ahead.

I'm counting the days till my next appointment, hopefully I'll have a similar tale to tell!

Great news, Keysha - glad you got some good advice and feel a lot happier with what lies ahead.

I'm counting the days till my next appointment, hopefully I'll have a similar tale to tell!

Keysha,

Good luck with the appointment at the consultant's office!.

Meerkats

Good work on the appointment Keysha - good luck!

I too have PCOS and was ttc for 6 years before having my dd, had clomid,didn't work for me so eventually went on to injections of pergonol, which eventually worked after about 2 years.
Ttc for ds for 2 years on injections again but no success so I had the ovarian drilling (this was 7 years ago now so this procedure was very new then). My consultant told me that you need only treat one ovary but he was taking no chances and did them both. I then went back on the pergonol and fell pregnant approx 8 months later with ds.
I have only ever had about 2 periods per year, am overweight (didn't used to be berfore embarking on fertility treatment) and have a few problems with small amount of facial hair (i have electrolysis for this when needed).
Good luck to all of you who are still ttc, and don't give up and keep on at your consultants to give you all of the help they can, I found that if you do not ask you do not always get what you want and need.

well finger's crossed it will happen all on it's own.

yeah, I've calmed down a bit now (was a bit of a mess yesterday when he told me to come off the pills) and I am just keen to get the appointment done and move on to the next treatment step.

fingers crossed for u hon hope all's well for the drs

I have heard that too from loads of people....doesn't apply in my case as I am normal weight, but def worth trying to do if you can.

just quickly if I may butt in girls, my friend has PCOS, and has had 2 periods in 9 months, but she's lost 2 stone in weight (now 8 1/2)and has had two periods on the trott, so it looks to have helped.

Keysha, I've been ttc for just over a year now and was on the pill for yonks before hand. Never knew I had PCOS until we started TTC and noticed my periods were getting further and further apart. My friend mentioned it can be a symptom of PCOS so I asked the dr and he did some blood tests which confirmed it.

As I don't have any other symptoms at all, he originally thought a course of Clomid would sort my system out but that didn't work. I was taking progesterone as well (which is seriously painful!), to bring on a period each month.

When the Clomid didn't have any affect he referred me to a consultant who ran ultra sound scans to look for blockages (all clear) and more blood tests to give me a full bill of health. my partners sperm count was also checked (came back v good). After that we tried a course of Metformin to see if my insulin levels were playing any part in the anovulation but apart from making me as sick as a dog, that had no affect either.

I am now waiting to see him again and think he will suggest a laparoscopy to try and get round the non-ovulation thing. I'll let you know in 3 weeks what he says........

Hi

I was diagnosed 7 years ago when I only had af approximately every 90 days. After trying other fertility treatments I became pregnant after my first attempt at IVF. I now have twin dds aged 2 years 6 months. The pregnancy was relatively easy with some bleeding at 6 weeks but no harm to the babies.

I wish you luck with what ever treatment you choose.

Hi, I was diagnosed with PCOS in 1999. My symptoms have been missing periods, weight gain, facial hair and acne. Not much help in a way as I did get pregnant easily and had ds in 2004. I am convinced that losing weight helped (about a stone and a half), but it is not easy. Was at a talk by a consultant and she said that women with PCOS who have a weight problem have to eat a fifth less food than other women, just to maintain the same weight. I found this very helpful. Best of luck.

Hi Keysha, I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 32. I had probably had it since I was 14. I was not ttc when I was 32, but was fed up with having to stay on the pill for years to mask the problem. I went to see a medical herbalist for a few months and he prescribed me agnus castus, blue cohosh and a number of other herbal remedies (can't remember). I have to say he was entirely successful in banishing the PCOS. I started having regular periods, and did not need any further help.

When I eventually wanted to conceive it happened on the second attempt! If you can find a qualified medical herbalist where you are, it's worth a go.

Best wishes.

I too am in the 'not knowing what is next' boat......' I have been unsuccessful at both Metformin and Clomid and now have another appointment booked to discuss the 'other possibilities'. I think he will suggest the drilling to me too.

All your info makes really interesting reading and certainly makes it seem less scary than before.

Really disappointed to have had the metfomin fail too, have this deep seated panic that I am one of those people that just doesn't respond to medication, no matter what it is.

Hi Keysha,

I can only go by my experience of this surgery but both ovaries were operated on. The surface of the ovaries were "pricked"; the ovary itself was not touched as I understand it. Its not drilling in the usual sense of the word; the cystic follicles on the ovaries are diathermised.

I would say that diathermy is NOT a cure; there is not one for PCOS as the cystic follicles associated with PCOS do return over time. Also the underlying causes with regards to PCOS are not fully understood.

It was successful in my case (I am a parent) but I do know of cases as well where this procedure has not ultiamtely been successful. I also know of some successes.

The ovaries were operated on when the cystic follicles were clearly visible (even I as a lay person could clearly see them!). Would also say that the polycystic ovary is larger in size than a non polycystic ovary (the usual size of any ovary is about the size of a walnut).

I wish you well

Meerkats

Hi,

Would strongly suggest you not self medicate with Agnus Castus if you have PCOS because in some cases it can make the underlying hormonal imbalances worse!!. If you really want to take this (and I would suggest otherwise) please seek out a properly qualified medical herbalist beforehand.

The cystic follicles associated with PCOS do disappear (this is most likely why they were not seen on ultrasound) - but only to be replaced by further cystic follicles. Think your cons needs to do another ultrasound scan. Also these cystic follicles are very small; it can take great skill to see them properly!.

Although clomid is often the first line of treatment for many women with PCOS would have to say that it helps one in three women to become pg. It is also not always suitable for some women with PCOS to take as it can affect their LH levels markedly. As many women with PCOS have higher than average/normal levels to start with this is clearly not ideal.

I would talk to her again about the possibility of having diathermy surgery before you embark on IVF. As mentioned PCOS on its own (no male factor problems for instance) is not an immediate indicator for IVF and should only really be tried when all other treatment avenues have failed.

I wish you well

Meerkats

I have PCOS but have 2 healthy boys now. Have no wise words but wish you all the best.

Both boys were conceived naturally.