Polycystic Ovaries and trying to conceive.

[hippieshake]

Hi Girls,

Found out today that I have polycystic ovaries, I haven't ovulated for 6 months and I've not had a period for 3 months.

Going to see the Doctor on Friday to discuss my options (hoping for Clomid).

What are other peoples experiences with this? I'm feeling a bit lost.

xx

Good luck.
I found out I had PCOS when we'd unsuccessfully tried for about a year. Same as you, very irregular, every 3 months ish periods. I actually went for a whole year at one point with no periods .
Any way, we went to see consultant and was due to start clomid on the first day o my next cycle which wasn't showing up... again! I took a test (to trick AF into showing up and got a bfp!!
He's now asleep upstairs, will be one next week and this morning got BFP number 2!
So don't despair! There's always hope.

hi
i found out in october while trying for #2 that i had pcos my af was very iregular since i started them when i was 12 took me 4 years and 4 m/c to have my ds.when i had him i went on to the pill but always forgot to take them so when he was 7 mths i took depo,i had 3 injections and stoped as i was ready to try for #2 this was 3 years ago when i stoped i didn't have a period for a year then keeped trying nothing.so asked to be referd to fertility clinic then got told i had pcos and that i could not get clomid as my bmi was 31.6 i needed to have a bmi of 30.so they tested my tubes to see if they were blocked that was the 8th feb 11 the test showed no fluid going into them so i thought that was it.but i have not had my af since 28th jan so went to doc's on the 16th there she did a test came back no and told me that i would prob get my af soon,but 10 days later still nothing so i thought one more test wont hurt and when i did it it was positive and 12 tests later and blood results showed iam defo preg.i have to go back to clinic on the 18th april.but i really thought that was it i could no longer have children.

so we do have pcos but its not imposible,good luck with your appt
and hope you get that bfp you deserive xx

Hi Hippie and other ladies,

I also found out 2 days ago i have PCOS. An ultrasound scan suggested this. My left ovary is the most affected. I have a 13mm ovary on my left side, and a 10mm ovary on my right side. I am waiting to now be reffered to a gyne by my GP. I have been trying to concieve since Jan this year, i am still having regular periods so far that are every 31 days. The only symptoms i am getting is pain on my left side during ovulation, or at least the time in my cycle i am supposed to be ovulating! I also have acne and excess hair on my chin! Yuck. I thought these symptoms were due to my mirena coil that i had fitted, i was scanned and checked before i had the mirena coil in, and no evidence on the scan showed PCOS before i had the thing fitted. I think this has only been a very recent thing. I wasnt getting on with the mirena coil, heart palipitations, anxiety attacks, acne, pain, itchy skin, dry scalp and many more! I had the coil removed and started TTC straight away. I am not over weight, i am only 26, 5.5 and 8.5 stone, so they can forget trying to blag me off about loosing weight!

I have a 6 year old DD.

I havnt been trying long i know, but i am pretty desperate for a baby and this is driving me nuts.

Lets get our BFP!! Fingers cross for all of us xx

Hi girlies.

Your stories have made me feel quite positive. Thank you! I'm lucky that I'm a healthy weight too, if anything I might actually be a little bit too skinny. 5'7 and 8.5 stone, I don't have any physical symptoms like spots or body hair either. I do have a lot of pain in my ovaries most days though.

Have you all been told to watch your sugar intake? I do eat a lot of chocolate so I'm thinking that I will have to change my diet.

xx

Knowing about all the sugar etc with this syndrome, i am trying to avoid it all costs! Im certainly going to watch the rest of my diet but dont often eat sugar/sweet things anyway.

I also had bad pain in my left ovary (i have only one fallopian tube that side as i had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy 5 years ago) So my better side isnt as bad as my dud side. I am praying that this can mean a small difference with actually getting pregnant.

I would prefer to try and get pregnant naturally, doesnt matter how long it takes within reason! I am aware clomid has bad side effects and can cause multiple births! Eekkk. However if i dont concieve naturally i am willing to give anything a try! Lol. I am not sure if metaformin would be an option for PCOS sufferers that dont suffer with the weight gain side of things???

Have you got any other children Hippie?

I joined MN specifically to reply to this thread!

Thanks to those who have posted encouraging stories. They are always good to hear.

I am another "skinny PCOSer". We are a sizeable minority.

A low GI/GL diet should help if you are insulin resistent. I recommend Colette Harris's PCOS Handbook for learning about the condition. I was diagnosed in about 1993 when I was 17. Back then PCOS was thought to be a purely gynae condition and the connection with insulin was not understood (at least not by the doctors I saw). I have learned what I now know from that book, friends and internet browsing. Incidentally, the friend who recommended it to me got knocked up first month of trying with her first kid and second month of trying with her second! She and I both try to follow a low GI diet. I find it helps with overall health and tiredness. I have yet to see whether it helps conception, but I hope it will. It is a very healthy way to eat anyway, so it is worth giving it a go even if you do not turn out to have insulin resistence issues (PCOS is a very individualistic condition with everyone suffering a different combination of symptoms).

Good luck to all those trying to get up-duffed.

PS - you might also like to look at the Verity website. There is a lot of useful stuff on there about PCOS.

No, this is our first time of trying. I'm only 23, so I have got youth on my side thankfully. It just means that when we finally get our baby, it will be even more special.

I've read about the side affects of Clomid, just want to get me ovulating really. I think they have well and truly gone to sleep!

Are you ovulating? x

eurochick

Thank you. I'm going to look at that book now, and also the website. I struggle because I'm vegetarian, so I don't have any fish or meats. I know that I need to look after my body better though.

Are you currently trying? xx

Yes, currently trying. I cannot afford to be relaxed about it though, as I am 35 (hubby didn't want kids until recently).

I was vegetarian for about 14 years and only started eating meat when I became lactose intolerant after a bad bout of food poisoning (vegan was just too restrictive!). I have to say though, I feel healthier overall for eating meat again, and it is a lot easier to eat low GI as a non-vegetarian. So many veggie meals are based on simple carbs (white rice, pasta, bread, etc). I am sure it is possibe as a vegetarian, but I am very much a convert to meat eating!

Good luck!

Im not sure if im ovulating or not! I seem to be getting pains around ovulation, and have had positive ovulation tests around the same time as i should ovulate, but whether i am ovulation or not is another matter. Lol. How do you know your not? Because lack of period or have you under gone tests?

Im not sure if i can be bothered with that GI diet although ive heard so many people praise it. Its hard work cooking two seperate main meals a day with having a young child and working funny hours. My diet is quite good as it is, and im taking folic acid and pregnacare conception vitamins. I should just be allowing it enough time...if theres hope. xx

I also have semi-regular periods (I get one every month, although the length varies). I am also wondering whether I am ovulating. I have used OPKs for the last 3 months and got one surge. I get mid-cycle pains most months. And I am on my first month of temperature charting and seem to have the post-ovulation rise. So all the signs are good that I am ovulating, but I think the only way to confirm it is a blood test.

Im very interested to see what happens to my cycle this month now i actually am ware i have PCOS. I had a detailed internal scan 2 years ago when i had the coil in, so i know i didnt have have PCOS then.

I've been going for blood tests to confirm ovulation, they keep coming back with a progesterone level of around 1.2 and this has been an almost weekly test for the past few months.

Don't think I could start eating meat, I rarely eat pasta or rice though. My diet is mostly cereal in the morning like Special K, soup, crumpets or fruit salad for lunch...things like vegetable stews of curries for tea (no bread or rice)... then some chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

I think I need to start eating a better lunch, and cut out the chocolate.

I'm also trying to cut down on my exercise, because I tend to walk about 8-10 miles a day.

Good luck girls! xx

Special K is also high GI, I think. Fruit on its own can also be. Crumpets - maybe. And the chocolate is also bad (but my one vice - I have given it up for Lent and feel better for it but will be straight back on it at Easter!).

I felt similarly about meat - the idea of eating it made me feel a little ill. But I am a huge convert now!

Hippie, what should progesterone levels by normally? x

Be even

The doctor said it's usually around 1.5 during your actually period, then it starts to slowly rise, peaking at around 30 after ovulation.

Went to visit him this morning, he confirmed the cysts on my ovaries, but said that they weren't swollen. He's referred me to a fertility clinic, the wait is around 27 days.

Are you going for progesterone blood tests? x

Hi hippieshake
I also have pcos and have taken 2 courses of clomid the side affects are not 2 bad apart from the head aches and the multiples (i am also a twin myself) i am due af on monday so hoping the 2nd course has worked if not i have to go back and get double the dosage.
I had a progesteone test on day 21 of my 1st cycle on clomid but thats all.

Clomid also put my progesteone level up to 94 when i had it done last month so it def works

Hello ladies
Hope you don't mind me joining and keeping you company!
I have PCOS - diagnosed after having no periods for 18 months 9 years ago. I went on BCP for a few years but then read more about the link to insulin resistance so asked for metformin, which I've now been taking three times a day for 5 years. I credit my metformin with re-starting my periods and kick starting ovulation - I have regular periods (every 30-35 days), get a + on a OPK, get the temp rise, get the EWCM - etc. Have not had a blood test to absolutely confirm but that will prob be the next step.
Irony is that we've been using condoms/withdrawal method til November last year when we decided to start TTC! Now we're trying and I'm paying closer attention to my cycle, I've realised I don't O until quite late (around day 20-25) and then get my period swiftly afterwards (LP of 8-9 days). So I've been referred back to Kings to have another ultrasound, get blood work done and hopefully start Clomid to balance things out.
I'd never describe myself as skinny but I am another PCOS-er who is not overweight - I'm 5ft4 and 8st10 (on a good day!!!).
Hope we can all keep in touch. Having my ultrasound on Monday and am looking forward to seeing what a mess my ovaries are in this time! x

Welcome MrsHY1 i have taken 2 cycles of clomid hoping i get a bfp on monday when af is due if not i have 2 go bk 2 the doctors and they will double my dose.

Hello ladies,

I went to my GP yesterday, he hadnt recieved the scan report from the hospital, so i have another appointment with him on the 15th of this month. By then i would have had my hormones levels checked (blood test next Tuesday) and he will be more sure it is PCOS ive got. He will then be reffering me on to a gyne. Im happy with the outcome, well doing the blood tests so quickly etc, however, obviously not happy that my GP hasnt recieved the scan report yet. But atleast i can rest assure that by the 15th i would have had the blood results back, and the scan report, so things can move quicker from there.

I did want to ask about this acne, ive seen on various PCOS websites that a steriod cream can be used, however, there are disadvantages to this also, ie thinning of skin. Do any of you get acne? I thought mine was caused by the mirena coil i had inserted in Aug 2009, however after 6 months the acne became worse and worse. Since having the coil out in Jan of this year it isnt AS bad, but still clearly there. I know this is terrible but ive been using the local sunbeds for 6 minutes, once a week, to try and see if that helped!

Thanks for that hippie, i had no idea how much progestrone is in our bodies if we were normal as this is very fresh and raw diagnosis for me.

Oh, and another thing hippie i was also a vegetarian seven years ago when i was pregnant with my DD. After 3 months of being pregnant i began to crave meat! My iron levels were very very low at the time (i was 19) and i was taking double dose iron tablets. I began eatting meat too, my body obviously needed it!

That's similar to me - I also have semi-regular periods (I get one a month but the length varies by a few days each time), get a single +ve on an OPK each month, get EWCM, get ovulation pains followed by a temp rise. But no BFP yet! I'm getting impatient now, so I will be off to the doc's soon.

I have a shortish luteal phase (12 days) but I don't think that is short enough to be causing me problems, so I am not sure what the problem is.

Babyborn 21 to 30 is classed as normal for prgestrone levels i think mine went up to 94 after my 1st cycle of clomid, hoping its done the same this month as not had it checked.