I Want To Start Trying To Conceive

[Gotcha123]

I'm nearly 35 and I'm getting married in a month. I want to start ttc as soon as I get married. I have PCOS. I haven't been diagnosed with it but I know I have it because I have most of the symptoms of it. I have irregular periods, acne and hirsutism. I'm underweight, and I've read that if you have pcos and you're skinny, that is called lean pcos, but I have a fat belly so I believe I am insulin resistant.

I've read that lean pcos is hard to treat naturally, but I've read about things you can do to help get pregnant, even if you have lean pcos. I've read that you should eat a healthy diet. My diet is not good. The thing I have the most is fizzy juice. If I don't have at least one fizzy drink a day I feel depressed. The other things I have a lot of because I love them are chocolate, sweets, crisps, cakes and biscuits. I've also read that exercising regularly can help get pregnant. I would be happy to exercise more. I enjoy walking, swimming, yoga, dancing and using my Wii fit. I think I would also like to go to the gym, but that is for losing weight so it would make me even skinnier. I've read that everyone should eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly if they are trying to get pregnant anyway, but especially those who have pcos. But for most people, all it takes to get pregnant is having sex without using contraception. And lots of people even get pregnant unplanned.

I want to be a mummy more than anything, and not having children would make me unhappy.

Does anyone have any advice?

What country are you in? I think you ought to make an appointment with your GP in order to get a diagnosis about this PCOS. You are self diagnosing which, unless you are a health professional, isn't a good idea.
You can also get fertility checks, but if you're in the UK, this will probably need to be done privately.

There's a lot going on in your post.
What would you like information on most? Getting pregnant? Diet? Exercise?

BTW the gym isn't for losing weight, you just hear a lot of people say they join a gym to lose weight but it doesn't work like that. The gym could help you build muscle and gain weight depending what you do there 🙂

Tackle your diet. Exercise more if you want to - you don’t need a gym - but start eating better and cutting down the fizzy sweetened drinks as it’ll help you live longer as well as get you in better shape for conceiving. I’d get a diagnosis of PCOS before jumping to research about fertility issues and treatment options. Until you’ve seen a doctor you don’t know if you’ve got any particular condition like that and how it’ll affect you.

Most people do conceive from having unprotected sex, planned and unplanned. Since you’re planning ahead focus on being healthy. Take folic acid, up your fruit, veg, whole grains, water, reduce caffeine, all the usual stuff. Just because women with awful diets, who smoke, drink or take drugs manage to get pregnant doesn’t mean it’s sensible or good for them or their babies.

Start on a conception vitamin to make sure you are getting your folic acid. I had very irregular periods but conceived month one with my first but second took a hell of a lot longer so it varies. As your periods are irregular start tracking ovulation as thats the most important bit to get pregnant.

See your gp about your pcos, it may not be, it may be lots of other things causing similar symptoms so important to speak to a healthcare provider.

Start small with the diet changes, adding rather than taking away. Are you getting three good meals a day? Allow yourself the fizzy drink but you have to have a large glass of water first. I also am addicted to fizzy drinks but switched to cordial and fizzy water and it scratches the itch.

Exercise, again start slow. Up the walking, light stretches. Yoga is great as hip opening etc is vital in pregnancy and you can find lots of pregnancy safe routines so a good habit to start.

If you find youre struggling read, it starts with the egg

I want information about getting pregnant the most.

What do you mean by that? I think you should get the PCOS symptoms checked out. That's a priority. Good advice about a healthy lifestyle from pp to be getting on with in the meantime.

Definitely start with taking folic acid supplements, maybe a multivitamin for pregnancy if your diet isn't great.

I'd have a chat with your GP. Say you're planning on TTC and you're concerned about your irregular cycles and other symptoms, and you're worried you have PCOS. They'll chat to you about what action to take, if any.

If you're changing your diet, just change one or two things to start with. Pick something that you can easily stop (e.g. biscuits with cups of tea) or eat more of (e.g. 1 piece of fruit every day). If you go all-out you risk not being able to sustain that in the long term and you'll be back at square 1.

Looking after yourself will give you the best chance of getting pregnant, and having regular sex during your cycle. Eating better. No smoking/vaping. No alcohol. Be active. Aim to be nearer a healthy weight. And get your partner to look after themselves too. No point you doing all the work if he is not doing the same.

I am not a doctor - but if you are skinny and have a terrible diet then it feels possible you are at least malnourished in some form. It's not just about getting pregnant, its also about having a healthy baby. Start taking a preconception vitamin asap as a beginning point. Also, your post comes across as a little overly focused on "getting pregnant" and not the impact of having a child (apologies if I am reading too much into the language you use). I would make sure that you have the emotional/financial/logistical set-up ready to support a child as well. Physically - moderate exercise and eating healthily are both super important for your wellness and so helpful in getting pregnant and having a child so do both. Other than that - if you do have PCOS then tracking ovulation seems a sensible thing to do as well as sperm can survive for up to 5 days in your womb but eggs need to be fertilised within about 24 hours of ovulation.