To be worried I may have PCOS?

[PoesyCherish]

It had never even crossed my mind until I read a thread on here. I was actually looking for info on epilating and there was a discussion regarding chin/ face hair and it mentioned PCOS. Somebody said about increased hair and irregular periods being symptoms of PCOS.

It got me thinking and googling. I've noticed I get a lot of dark hair under my chin and (sorry if tmi) around my nipples. I've also never had regular periods, my cycles are anywhere from 18 days to I think some months are around 40-50 days. I have a mirena coil at the moment so don't have periods but now I'm really worried.

I don't want to waste the doctors time if it sounds like I'm worried about nothing. How irregular is irregular when it comes to PCOS? Some months I have a period within 18 days so is it unlikely to be something like PCOS? AIBU to be worried I may have it and would I be wasting the GP's time by asking them about it?

The thing is even if you do have it unless it causes you problematic symptoms there is nothing they can or will do. Even if it does cause problems treatment is limited.

@OurMiracle1106 can't it cause fertility issues though?

It can cause fertility issues however unless you are TTC I very much doubt they will even look into it, and even then you would probably need to wait until you’ve been trying for a while before they would investigate.

I have PCOS and mine was only investigated as I was in agony I was later found to also have endometriosis and my right ovary appeared to have split into 2 much to the gynaes surprise.

I fell pregnant naturally 3 times (but lost 2 to mmc)

There are plenty of treatment options for PCOS. Hormone treatment, blood sugar control, lifestyle modification, ovulation induction, ovarian drilling etc. Go to the GP if you are concerned OP.

Yes it can. My daughter has just been diagnosed with PCOS and she has been given the pill to try to control the unpredictable and heavy periods. Fingers crossed it helps. She has terrible skin and has been offered medication for that though we are going to wait to see how the pill affect s her first. She’s only fifteen so a way off before she worries about conceiving but it will always be something to consider.

Don't panic. PCOS is not the end of the world! Yes it can cause fertility problems and a few other health problems but good management of symptoms is the key.

Get an appointment with the GP and ask for blood tests on days 3-7 and 21 of your cycle to check for ovulation, LH levels and FSH levels. You can also have androgen levels checked, but it's not routine. If possible get your insulin resistance levels checked. You'll probably get told losing weight is the best treatment. Losing weight to be a healthy bmi will be helpful but won't cure it.

Check out Verity Uk, the pcos charity and PCOS tribe uk. Both are fountains of information about diagnosis and management.

@susurration thank you for your advice. How would me being on the mirena coil impact on how they test for it? Obviously my hormone levels are abnormal at the moment because of the mirena so I've no idea what cycle day I'm on.

I'm not an expert so not sure but it might mean the hormone tests are less accurate due to the artificial hormones secreted by the coil. Those hormone tests are based on your natural hormonal profile. Please don't take that as gospel though, i'm really not sure.

How to go about sorting it i'm not sure. Do have a look at the websites.

Thank you @susurration I will have a look at the websites and possibly chat to my GP

I was diagnosed with PCOS whilst on the contraceptive pill. They need 2 out 3 criteria to diagnose: 1) irregular periods, 2) abnormal hormone levels or 3) the presence of cysts on the ovaries. Because they couldn't tell about my hormones due to the pill, I had an internal ultrasound so they saw the cysts and were able to diagnose based on 1 + 3. That's probably what they'd need to do for you

I've been diagnosed with PCOS since I was 14. For many years I was on the pill which controlled most of the symptoms (but not weight gain unfortunately). I've also had Metformin but it is very unpleasantly harsh on the stomach.

When it came to pregnancy I was lucky and only needed to use clomid to have DD1 and DD2 was conceived naturally. After pregnancy my PCOS symptoms became a lot better and I was having monthly periods for the first time. Now of course I am peri menopausal so all that has fucked up again!

That's reassuring @cartercourt they can still test.

I think they can sometimes see it on an ultra sound. Probably depending on how severely the ovaries are affected.
I was checked for it with bloods and scan.
I don't have it but my sister does. She had no problems at all with fertility although one pregnancy was late being picked up because she had irregular periods