To ask about PCOS?

[FrostyChocolateMilkshake]

Google just frightens the living daylights out of me. I don't know anyone in real life who has PCOS. So hopefully IANBU to post here.

I'm worried I have developed PCOS. Hard to lose weight, thinning hair (not from all over but thinner now compared to what it was like in my early twenties, I am 31 now), really really oily skin.

I don't have children but intend to have them at some point in the near future. But now I am convinced this will never happen.

Would anyone be able to share their experiences or symptoms of PCOS? Is it as horrific as Google makes it out to be?

Thanks in advance, should anyone be able to share their experiences.

I got diagnosed with PCOS at 21 but had suspected it for much longer, as I have always had very irregular periods (25-90 day cycles). I went to the GP in my teens but it was dismissed as just normal irregular periods due to my age . I'm also quite hairy, always having to pluck face/chin/neck hair

I'm now mid 20s and have been ttc for 2 years with no hint of a pregnancy. We are going to ask for a fertility referal soon and I'm really hoping something like clomid works.

However my mum and two aunts also have pcos and they all conceived naturally multiple times so I dont think theres any way of knowing until you start trying

You are born with pcos but symptoms worsen as you have more periods and / or gain weight. You should speak to a GP

I have PCOS, I was diagnosed at the age of 23 and am now 51yrs. I've struggled my whole adult life to control my weight. I have excess hair on my face, chest and stomach. I never managed to carry a baby, it always ended in an ectopic pregnancy (6 of them).

It's taken me many years to come to terms with being childless. I suffered irregular heavy and painful periods and also a lot of ovarian pain. My hair is thinning and I suffer with terrible mood swings and always have.

I'm not asking for sympathy, I'm just answering the question as honestly as I can without sugar coating it. You have to remember each person's experience is different as we're all individuals. Good luck with your journey.

It is a bit of a spectrum. I have pcos - diagnosed due to irregular periods, weight gain, and multiple cysts on scans. Conceived first baby after 6 months with no assistance.
Weirdly, after that pregnancy everything seemed to "reset". I don't know if this is a thing for other people. I now have regular periods like clockwork every 28 days and am back at a normal weight with no change in lifestyle.
Good luck, I know it is a stressful thing to come up against a potential problem with fertility. You don't know yet how or even if it will affect you, fingers crossed it will all be ok.

It does definitely seem to be on a spectrum, which I didnt realise at all. I guess I suppose it was a "one size fits all" type of disorder.

It's good to here there can be positive outcomes of this, but I suppose like anything some people are less effected than others.

@bigdinkydoodah I appreciate how open and honest you've been. I'd rather have facts told to me straight rather than sugar coated. I'm sorry to hear about your experiences with it and I wish the outcome would have been more positive for you. But you sound a strong woman. It takes a lot to be as honest as you have been. Thank you

@adailymale34 thank you for your well wishes. Hoping I get some answers when I eventually get an appointment with the doctor.

The cysts themselves aren't bad btw. The second gynaecologist I saw was brilliant at explaining it to me. Poly means many. Cyst is another word for follicle. Your eggs are released in follicles. I had almost 40 follicles at last count that particular cycle whereas "normal" is half that. Google "Lora Shahine PCOS common but misunderstood" for a better explanation than I can give.

I was diagnosed after ttc for 2 years. Periods were all over the place ever since
i started them. Always struggled with weight - not massively overweight but yo-yo, put it on easily and struggle to lose.

I've now got two dc, who I conceived naturally after dieting and exercising.

Another sufferer here. The pill hid mine well, wasn't until I came off contraception that I found out. Only symptom I had was amenorrhea. Coupled with the endo, thickened lining and ovulation issues, I didn't get the best news. I don't want children though, so that isn't an issue for me.

All the women in my mothers side of the family have it, and all have had fertility issues and trouble getting pregnant, ranging from slight to infertile.

It will vary so much for each sufferer. Diet management is key for me, as is movement. I love all sugary things but I really have to control how much of it I eat. I shouldn't have much, but if cake exists then I'm eating it! Stress is a massive issue, it makes my periods stop, which means medication to induce bleeds when it goes on for too long. Good luck with your journey OP.

I have PCOS, was diagnosed at 22 as I always had pretty irregular periods. I am not the textbook definition of PCOS as I am slim and I also don’t have excess body hair (my doctor said that those with PCOS normally have those issues too which is why he found it hard to believe that I had PCOS). I was sent for a ultrasound after my bloods came back that my testosterone levels were slightly elevated and that confirmed it. My doctor was lovely reassuring me that it is not infertility but subfertility and that I may experience some issues falling pregnant but that some fall with ease! Now I wasn’t trying for a baby but I had been with partner 4 years and kids were part of the future.

I fell pregnant 6 months after this (wasn’t trying, but I did stop taking the pill and had a ‘if it happens, it happens’ attitude as I knew me and OH would of been over the moon. Something that really helped me and I believe was the key factor in falling pregnant was I went to Holland and barratt and bought 4/5 different types of vitamins to support my immune system. I didn’t have the best diet so I started eating healthier but I’m very fussy which I why I bought the vitamins as well to help. That 6 months before no joke, my periods were spot on every month. Prior to this change I could of gone months without and no consistency. I’ve had two children, I fell pregnant again when my first was 6 months old. So I hope this gives you a bit of positivity. It is a scary diagnosis at first but I always remembered my doctors words of sub fertile not infertile and just try to look at your lifestyle to see if you can improve anywhere, and relax 😊

I have pcos. I TTC for many many years before being referred to the fertility clinic. I rarely had periods, maybe 1-2 a year, excess hair, pelvic pain and abnormal hormone levels and cysts on my ovaries. I was given Metformin and it worked for me...I ovulated and had my rainbow baby. I only had one tube as lost one to an ectopic. My advice would be if you are wanting children to start the process sooner rather than later...

Only got diagnosed very recently after seeing a fertility specialist. We have been TTC for two-years.

My periods can be as close as two weeks or as far apart as 9 months. I also have an underactive thyroid which has similar symptoms.

I'm now waiting to start clomid in June to help me conceive, if that doesn't work we have to try IVF.

I was diagnosed in my early 20s. Symptoms are controlled by staying a healthy bmo. This seems to help with hair etc.

I did need ivf to conceive and also was prescribed metformin during fertility treatment and early pregnancy to help prevent early miscarriage. I was late 30s then and my daughter was born just before my 40th.

Good luck

It seems the symptoms are on a wide spectrum- I didn't realise they would differ so much person to person.

I have spoken with the doctor yesterday and am having blood tests in two weeks; feel much better about things now I've got the ball rolling.

Thanks again for everyone's replies, I appreciate you taking time out of your day to respond to me on such a personal issue

Diagnosed in 20s. Lean PCOS. Was told I'd struggle to get pregnant but that wasn't the case. I find myoinositol wonderful for regulating long cycles. As you say, PCOS seems very individual and management is very individual too. Hope you find something that works for you!

I was diagnosed with pcos when undergoing fertility investigations at age 26. I has multiple cysts but luckily my testosterone levels were fine. I was overweight and it took 18 months to conceive naturally after losing 2 stone through daily lunchtime walks with a colleague and trying a low gi diet.

Pcos is typically diagnosed though a blood test and a transvaginal ultrasound. Diagnosis is based on 2 out of the 3 characteristics

• irregular periods
• high levels of male hormones shown through blood
• polycystic ovaries shown on a scan.

I have very irregular periods and polycystic ovaries but no excess of male hormones, sometimes this is referred to as ‘lean pcos’. It took me about 6/7 years to be diagnosed.

I convinced after about 10 months so not right away but not too long. I didn’t take fertility medication although I was prepared too. I could have gone back to the GP and been fast tracked for treatment after 6 months due to the confirmed pcos, vs the 12 months a typical couple have to wait to be seen.

As for whether pcos affects ttc for you, it really depends. Some women have completely regular cycles so will have less trouble. I only ever had about 3/4 periods a year so obviously even it everything was working perfectly in those 4 months it was still 66% less chances in a year than a woman with 12 periods.

*conceived not convinced 🙄

I had PCOS 50 yrs ago. I had very heavy/painful/infrequent periods and was not able to conceive. My ovaries were so swollen that i could feel them when i sat down. But we did adopt a beautiful baby, the light of my life. In those days it was a very much grin and bear it situation. No suitable meds and I don't think the medical profession knew much about the condition. I was told that when i had my first baby all the terrible symptoms would go away. Yeah right. Many surgeries and an early hysterectomy eventually cured all. Just reading your posts bought back so many memories for me.

I have pcos. Signs were irregular periods, sever acne and polycystic ovaries on a transvaginal scan.
I conceived my first child easily within three months. Been trying for a second for nearly 4 years now. Apparently you're born with it but for me the symptoms didn't really show (other than irregular periods) until after I had my ds. I honestly think the pregnancy hormones brought them on, or my hormones just became out of whack after I gave birth