polycystic ovaries - please read

[babynelly2010]

Hello,

Please forgive me if I am posting in a wrong area, but I feel that this is a good place for me to ask my question.

I just had a baby in February. I had retained membranes so I had 3 ultrasounds. 1 a week after birth, another one a week later and another one a month later. Each time I was checked for retained membranes and my ovaries were scanned. 1&2 ultrasound showed normal ovaries and to much of my surprise I was told that I have polycystic ovaries on my 3rd scan. I was asked if my periods were regular prior my pregnancy and if my baby was conceived naturally, to which my response is yes regular periods and naturally conceived baby. The doctor said not to worry about it then, there should be no problem.
I came home and researched further, and it appears that polycystic ovaries can be very serious condition.

My questions are:

1. Do multiple cysts on ovaries means PCOS?

1. did any one get cysts on ovaries after pregnancy? Would they go away?

1. Does anyone have this condition and went to have a baby without problems? I would like to have another child.

1. Do you have an advice if I should do anything about this further. I have no periods because I breast feeding.

I am waiting for the doctor to call back and give me more clarification but any comments from experience would be great.

Thank you.

Hi babynelly

Just echoing what Thunderboltkid said. You can have cysts show up on a scan without it meaning you have PCOS. I had "polycystic ovary" diagnosis once and did they same as you googled (and bought a book!) Mine was 6 months post partum and like you I hadnt got my periods back. I have since had LOADS of scans (various fertility problems unrelated to PCOS) and have never seen the cysts since. I also dont have any other symptoms associated with PCOS. My own (very unscientific) theory is that those cysts were there because my body hadnt revved up properly and got back into the egg production business, but once it did everything was fine.

Obviously now you know that you have see one of the markers for PCOS you can keep an eye on things, but you may well not notice any of the other markers, and the cysts might just disappear when your period returns.

To answer another of your questions about PCOS - many women do have babies with PCOS with no problems whatsoever.

best wishes

I thought PCOS and Polycystic Overies where the same.

I was told in october 2010 that i have cysts on my overies after tring 2 conceive since October 2009 i have a 2 year old i am now on clomid.

emmaloupolman polycystic ovaries means that some small cysts were seen on your ovaries, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome means you have some or all of the following symptoms:

-irregular periods
-anovulatory periods
-cysts on ovaries
-weight gain
-excess body hair
-adult acne
-skin tags
-High levels of the hormone LH compared to FSH on day 2 blood test

and probably some other things that I have forgotten. (sorry it been a while since I read that book)

You can have "mild" PCOS and not suffer from as many symptoms or "severe" PCOS and suffer from all symptoms. Its really an umbrella term. Its definitely possible to have one of these symptoms (PCO for example) and not actually have the syndrome. Cysts are just egg follicles that cease to grow at some point. Normally lots of follicles (lumps, cysts) start to grow on the ovaries until one lead follicle becomes dominant, releases an egg and then the rest shrink away. When you see cysts it is because this process have become halted for some reason. PCOS is one of the reasons this happens but not the only one.

Thank you everyone.
Just like everyone said in the posts PCOS is not the same as polycystic ovaries. I spoke to the doctor and he reassured me that I do not have PCOS and the cysts on my ovaries will most likely to go away once I start ovulating again. (she also said to stop googling :))She said that if they would scan me again in another time the cysts would most likely not show up, but depending on the time in the cycle. I feel much better now knowing that everything is OK so far.

I wish google would show some info on polycystic ovaries not just PCOS.

I have cysts on my ovaries and had one ovary removed due to a large cyst during my first pregnancy (ds1 is now 3 and asleep beside me covered in chickenpox so no effects there)

I am now having investigations for secondary infertility as have been trying for over a year since having ds2. I ovululate every month with only a right ovary & bloods are fine so probably scar tissue/only one Fallopian tube.

I do not have PCOS, have regular periods etc

Hth

mummyabroad
I dont have any of those symptoms and have regular periods.

emmaloupolman I am not a doctor so I cant really comment on your situation, but to get a proper diagnosis of PCOS you would normally need a doctor to look at a combination of scans and blood tests and an overview of your history and symptoms.

Chlomid can be prescribed for things other than PCOS.

best of luck with TTC

mummyabroad I had scans and blood tests last year thats when they found a few cysts on my overies

Hi, I had PCOS, but regular/normal periods, and had no difficulty conceiving. I had no cysts, but multiple folicules... I was told by my consultant that certain women's ovaries appear to be policystic while they are not (or this is temporary) due to highly stressful jobs... It is referred to as a career woman syndrome (I happen to be a banker). I took Agnus Castus and Evening Primrose Oil for about 9 months prior to starting to conceive and managed to get pregnant after 2 months... Hope things go well for you!

btw, conditions described above by mummyabroad are typical attributes of pcos. i had none of them, and my BMI was low for years... i wouldn't worry about it just yet if i were you... if you are in london and have good insurance, i would recommend seeing dr yehudi gordon at viveka. he is excellent and would be able to re-test you quickly and present options available for conception. good luck!

Hello, just a heads up that this thread hasn't been posted on for over a year. We've pulled together up to date information on a page on PCOS over here.