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Conception

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PCOS/Long cycle-ers - place to moan/chat

93 replies

gwenabee85 · 14/10/2013 19:44

Was surprised reading a few threads recently that there appear to be quite a few of us in the above situation, but I can't see any chat threads for us, so thought I'd start one!
I'm 27, ttc#1 and currently on CD89 :| I was only diagnosed with PCOS in August, and have got a further appointment to 'discuss' what's next in December.

(TMI alert..) I've been having ewcm for about two weeks on and off now :/ oh, and I was temping but stopped about a month ago as I think it was stressing me out too much!
anyone else?

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blamber · 28/10/2013 14:02

Nolly, does PCO cause any symptoms though, such as irregular cycles?

OPKs have worked for me! Temping as well. But I know that for many with PCOS these methods are unreliable.

6 weeks doesn't sound too bad, hope they'll be helpful!

I read an interesting article in the newspaper on menstrual cycles. Sorry it's not in English, but I can explain what it said. A professor in gynaecology has rebutted research that the cycles of women who live in the same house adjust to each other. Well, I thought, if that had been the case it could solve our problems!

Anyway, he said that the length of cycles depends on several factors. One is weight, because hormones stored in fat lengthen cycles. Another one is age, because young women have more eggs than older women, and therefore the process to chose the dominant egg takes longer. In an older woman fewer eggs compete with each other for maturation, which doesn't take much time. He said that for most women the cycle length can be a surprise every time and the follicular phase can differ greatly, from two to four weeks.

But I thought a woman usually has stable cycles looking at the short term (i.e. a year and not 20 years)?

It is a nicer way of looking at long cycles though - wow I have so many good eggs it takes ages for one of them to win the fight for maturation!

DearDinah · 28/10/2013 14:07

Does anyone know if PCOS can just appear? I had surgery 4 years ago (when on the pill) to check for endo and was told that everything was in 'good working order' now 5 months post pill struggling with long cycles and acne, I've been using OPK's since Friday (CD16) and not had a positive yet (I've no idea when to aim for anyway). Temps are low/irregular.

partenope · 28/10/2013 18:27

Hi All,
I've just been diagnosed with PCOS so very new here. I've tried to use OPKs but can now see these two don't go together, is it because there is a surge in LH but it doesn't mean anything, or there's no surge in LH at all? I asked the GP but he wasn't sure and all the stuff on the web is very scientific. I used OPKs two months in a row and they did show the surge in LH, so confused? I'm 35 and would be trying for number 1

nolly3 · 31/10/2013 10:13

Hi Blamber, Don't know re irregular cycles but I think PCOS does disrupt them yes.
Love the positive 'awesome eggs' perspective!

we were referred in july - apparently we will get to see a consultant in December...

DDinah, did you have ultrasounds of your ovaries when you had your surgery? I think that's how it's diagnosed. I don't know if it can appear but I guess at some point the disease must develop as you're not born with it??
Partenope some people still cycle normally with pcos. Can you get your gp to refer you to a cycle monitoring unit? they'll do different bloood tests on different days of your cycle to confirm ovulation etc.

Kt1991 · 01/11/2013 13:35

Hi everyone, I got diagnosed with PCOS in Jan 2012. I already had a 1year old DS by then who was conceived naturally after 3 months. In July 2013 I came off the pill TTC baby no.2, so far been unlucky, and my cycles are 35-37 days long at the moment. When the doc first diagnosed me he said when we were ready TTC again to come back to see him, but don’t know if I should wait at least 6 months (unless I get pregnant before then) or arrange to see him now to find out our options? I don’t want to waste his or my time though. I haven’t been using OPKS at all, as I read on another thread that the wouldn’t work if you had PCOS?

TIA!

MyDarlingClementine · 01/11/2013 13:49

Hello

Just wanted to give anyone trying to conceive hope I have the condition. Conceived by accident 6 years ago, after weight loss drive before xmas, really cut back my diet, and walked an hour briskly every day, I felt amazing, weight fell off and then there was a special little surprise. I had also been taking agnus castus for about two months.

Second time round, tried for two years but casually. Nothing was happening so was put on metformin, took AC again and made more effort to eat healthily, and excersice but not to the same degfree as first time round, I then had a personal trainer and after a few sessions, and after 7 months was pregnant again.

BTW I had no idea what my cycles were at all, I had not had a period for at least three months before conceiving my second, I have never watched my cycles or counted days etc.

Attilla You said AC can affect other underlying symptoms, what are they do you know?

gwenabee85 · 02/11/2013 16:17

Thanks for sharing your success stories clementine :) and wow, you hadn't had af for three months but you still conceived?! Gives the rest of us hope I guess!

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gwenabee85 · 13/11/2013 11:47

Hi all, hope everyone's well :) I've booked in for a consultation and first appointment at an acupuncturist (after my next hospital appt so i can get my last test results in writing for her)
I'm hoping this will regulate my cycle/start ovulation although I'm aware it's not guaranteed. Anyone have any experiences to share??

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blamber · 13/11/2013 13:51

Hi gwena, hope the acupuncture works! I don't have any experience myself. I am quite sceptical about it, but then again I have heard some good stories about it. I tried reflexology once, but I have more doubts about that working than acupuncture.

I'm on cd27 now and had an LH surge. Finally! I have no idea why it's always taking so long! But hopefully I'll get a temperature rise soon, and then I can schedule the progesterone test.

nearlyreadytopop · 17/11/2013 11:07

hi everyoneSmile , I don't know what happened but this thread fell off my list.
Hope everyone is doing well? Will be interesting to hear how the acupuncture goes.
I am still trying to get up to 3 tablets per day of metformin. I can take two with very mild side effects but the third causes major tummy issuesSad .
On a positive note my weightloss has continued even though my diet hasn't been as good as it was and I now have a 6 week cycle which I am very pleased aboutGrin .

gwenabee85 · 18/11/2013 19:45

hope it arrives soon blamber! the waiting's a killer I know..

and congrats on the weight loss readytopop :)

only two weeks on saturday til my appointment, I'm intrigued I've got to say Grin

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blamber · 19/11/2013 12:45

thanks, gewna, definitely let us know how it goes. I got my temperature rise, so will be off getting my bloods done next week!

gwenabee85 · 28/11/2013 21:55

Just checking in, I'm kind of trying to.avoid being on here so much as dh has mentioned i may be slightly obsessed.. :/! My appointment's next week now, need to get my list of questions ready! Any news blamber?

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blamber · 29/11/2013 19:12

hi gwena, had my bloods done and got low progesterone. Even then the GP was really reluctant to refer me, wanted to wait till the year of ttc was up. He thinks it's just the pill causing this and it should improve soon. I was really upset though and luckily he has now agreed to refer me.

Started spotting again at 9dpo as well and got my period soon after. So now it's back to waiting 4 weeks for ovulation. Yuck.

What appointment is next week, gwena? The acupuncture or the hospital?

LAM1 · 30/11/2013 22:40

Just seen this thread and although a little old thought I would join in if that's ok...
I got told I have PCOS this week. All blood tests done already, all normal. Scan confirmed it. So have already had swabs done, DH is doing his sample the week. Then have appointment where they will start "the ball rolling". It's all been a bit quick, tests started off trying to work out another issue. Came off pill and had withdrawal bleed at beginning of September to TTC, no AF so when I mentioned this they scanned me straight away. Given that its all happened quickly, scan, diagnosis, swabs all this week I didn't really ask the GP anything as I wasn't really prepared. Any advise as to what will happen next?!

gwenabee85 · 01/12/2013 12:42

Blamber, it's hospital on Thursday and acupuncture on Sat, i need to get my last results from the consultant so can give them to the acupuncturist, and they're gonna book me in to check my tubes and dh tests. I had low progesterone too, i've never had mid-cycle spotting but do sometimes get it after dtd which is lovely :/ i've read that's linked to low prog so... when did you stop the pill?
Welcome lam, it's good they've referred you so soon after stopping the pill, have you had the results from your tests yet?

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LAM1 · 01/12/2013 15:50

Thanks for the welcome. All tests so far have been normal. It was the scan that showed PCO. From what I can make out swabs were for chlamydia etc as they will start treatment as soon as they have results. Just seemed to be rushed through, and because it was all so quick I didn't have time to think about questions etc. I didn't even know what the swabs were for until I came home and googled.
Get results of swabs and DH's sample in a couple of weeks, there is no reason to suspect anything is well suspect with these, just routine tests before they start treating me. Sounds like some of you are further down this path than me, what happens next?

blamber · 01/12/2013 16:19

LAM, that is insanely quick! Did you have any other problems beside not having your AF? My GP wasn't bothered it had been over three months after stopping the pill and I didn't have my period yet. Even when I got my period but my cycles were still messed up after that they just wouldn't do anything.

I stopped the pill in April and have had some blood tests done. My GP doesn't think it's pcos as my LH/FSH was fine, but he won't do a scan or anything. I can't believe how much difference there is between GPs. It's frustrating wasting months and months, there is nothing you can do, you just have to wait for the GP to finally agree that it needs to be looked at.

LAM1 · 01/12/2013 17:11

I did, and too be honest it was googling that which made me think it was PCOS. The doc hadn't thought of that until I mentioned lack of AF. So scan really wasn't connected to TTC. But now as they know I have PCO and want TTC they have gone full steam ahead on that sides of things.

gwenabee85 · 01/12/2013 18:19

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you lam? That's so fast! I first went to the gp in April and I'm at about the same place as you, dh not had his tests yet etc.

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LAM1 · 01/12/2013 19:23

I'm 30, its only come about due to the original complaint though and its taken about 18 months to get anywhere with that. It now just happens that the two cross over that the GP seems to be taking any interest in sorting it. Sorry to hear its taken others much longer to get to any help.
Do you know what the process is from here?

blamber · 02/12/2013 13:12

ah that makes sense if you already had a complaint. I don't know much about the process though. I guess if everything else is fine, they either might wait for your cycle to start itself or give you progesterone to start a bleed. They might see if you then ovulate on your own and if you don't they might give you something like clomid to start ovulation.

LAM1 · 02/12/2013 13:23

My AF was all over the place before I went on the pill but as I teen I didn't really care, the pill sorted things out. Or so I thought, now I think its just masked PCO all along. From what they said, I think its straight to treatments I just dont know what) rather than waiting otherwise I wouldn't have been back the next day for swabs. Guess I also need to actually get what all my blood results actually were, rather than just "normal".
Having a read on here, its all potentially so complicated this TTC lark. Its a whole new world!

gwenabee85 · 06/12/2013 22:12

Another quick update - had my consultation yesterday where she basically sent off for a hycosy appt for me abduction sa for dh. I asked her for my blood results from last time and she couldn't give them all to me, wouldn't let me write them down, but did tell me that my fsh and lh were both 6. I argued with her briefly but no use, she's requested them for me in the post. My acupuncture appt is tomorrow and i told her this but she wouldn't budge. Bloody ridiculous nhs red tape!! Anyway, so now I'm wondering how they've even diagnosed pco because i thought fsh and lh were the biggest indicators of it?! I'm confused all over again! :/
But anyway, how are the rest of you?

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gwenabee85 · 06/12/2013 22:13

Bloody phone! Abduction should say "and"! :/

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