history of PCOS, and longish cycles - will I get PCOS again?

[CarolinaMoon]

I had pcos after being on the Pill for 11 years.

I was put on metformin and conceived ds after one period .

I didn't have any periods when bfing him, so I stopped in order to ttc, had one period and then got pg. Unfortunately, I had a mc at 9 weeks.

I'm now waiting for my third period after the mc. The first cycle was 30 days, then 33 days and I'm now on day 32.

So, do these long cycles mean I'm heading for PCOS again?

And is there anything I can do about it? I'm taking 500-1000mg of evening primrose oil a day atm in the hope it will help.

I've been reading alot about PCOS of late, And information that I've been getting from my Doctors, I've come to believe that once you have PCOS you always have it, it's not something that goes away, I believe it can be suppressed by pill and such other things, other then that, IYSWIM! I'm going for a scan/x-ray very soon to found out weather I have PCOS, as I've had a break out of spots and abit of facial hair, 9-11 days of high LH and plus the TTC for 15months, I hope to know one way or another myself soon! I wish you all the best, good luck!

I was diagnosed with PCOS after coming off the pill and my periods still had not returned after 12 months. When they did return I had 36 day cycles and concived after 6 months of using a saliva ovulation predictor

Now I have stopped bf my periods have returned but my cycle is slightly shorter, and my acne has cleared up massively, so while I too think that you always have PCOS, maybe the symptoms can be reduced after pregnancy. I wish you luck ttc x

Carolinamoon,

PCOS is a condition that unfortunately (and that's an understatement) does not go away by itself. No one therapy or treatment will cure it as the cystic follicles associated with the condition do recur over time. The best thing you can do is manage the symptoms as best as possible (one thing that will help is to try to stay within the correct weight range for your height).

EPO won't do you any harm but will not have any effect on PCOS. Please though do not self medicate with agnus castus as this can make any underlying hormonal imbalances worse!.

Have you seen a GP or a gynae yet?. This is something you may wish to consider doing bearing in mind the PCOS diagnosis. Not all women with PCOS need further medical assistance in order to conceive but some do (I certainly did) and your blood levels need to be looked at (a comparison of LH and FSH levels need to be done).

I would seek medical advice

HTH

It is a very individualistic disorder and affects each woman with it very differently. The commonality though is the cystic follicles on the ovaries.

Verity is a good website to look at if you haven't already seen it:-

www.verity-pcos.org.uk

Thanks everyone

Attila, we are not going to ttc until after Christmas, so I don't know if I've really got a reason to go to the doctor about it yet iyswim.

I had heard that some people's hormones realign themselves after a pg, so that they don't get pcos again. I was quite hopeful after getting pg the second time, because that happened so quickly.

It's the long cycles that are making me worry this time.

CarolinaMoon,

Pregnancy is only a temporary stop gap for PCOS because it recurs afterwards. There is no one therapy or treatment that will eradicate the cystic follicles hence the condition recurring.

I would keep watch on your long cycles (this may be indicative of infrequent at best or no ovulation) even though you are not going to start actively ttc till after Christmas. Just bear in mind that you may well need some form of medical assistance to conceive.

PCOS is so individual. For me, it is totally related to weight. At one point, I had got my weight low enough that my specialist said that I had no hormone irregularilites at all and no longer had PCOS. I conceived my second son at this point with no help after only one month of trying. However, as soon as my weight goes up, the irregular periods and lack of ovulatoin return.

I think it really does differ person to person.

That's very encouraging, Ilana.

Do you happen to know what your BMI was when your weight was low?

I've just realised I'm officially overweight atm by a couple of pounds. Am going to cut out some carbs and see if that helps.

PCOS is genetic once you have it you always have it (they have identified the responsible gene apparently) but can manage the symptoms with vary8ing degrees of success. However MANY MANY women have cysts on their ovaries which come and go and are wrongly diagnosed with PCOS.

Symptoms of PCOS are:

weight gain
Absent or infrequent periods (my cycles varied bewteen 60 days and 170 days!)
excess hair growth (face and tummy most often)
acne
hair thinning (on head)
Measurably higher testosterone levels
LH/FSH levels inverted (ie one higher than the other when it should be the other way around - but don;t ask me which! I can't remember)

If you have PCOS cut out processed carbs as much as possible and stick with high GI carbs - ie unprocessed. New potatoes, basmati rice, grain and pulses, seed breads, and a generally healthy diet.

If you just have cysts on your ovaries, don't worry about it they're very common. They should come and go and cause no symptoms/problems.

not the 'pearl necklace' cysts surely?

PCOS is a very individualistic disorder and affects each woman with it very differently.

The cystic follicles associated with PCOS do disappear - only to be replaced by further cystic follicles. No one therapy or treatment will completely eradicate the cysts.

The causes of PCOS are not yet fully understood although genes do play a role. Some women with PCOS are insulin resistant; others are not. Again this is not fully understood why.

Yes, sorry didn't make clear that you won't necessarily have all of the symptoms below ( and can hae them to a greater or lesser degree) but most GP's would suspect PCOS if you had three or more. I believe that all (?) PCOs'ers would have the abnormal hormone levels to some degree

My hormone levels are fine, no other symptons but on looking at scan i had the other day i have 8 cysts on the right ovary and 17 on the left so i am classed as having slightly polystic ovaries. How many would a lady with PCOS have?

fwiw, my gynaecologist last time round was happy to diagnose it on the basis only of the ultrasound pictures, which showed rows of little cysts.

It is not the same thing as standard ovarian cysts (if there are such things).

metformin worked very well for me, so it looks like mine is insulin-related.

Sorry Lh and FHS levels are fine but progestone is was very low.

Attila my endocrinologist was of the theory (only his theory from his experience) that you inherit the pcos gene and the insulin resistance gene separately but when you inherit them together they have a cumulative effect as (so he said) your ovaries are one of the few parts of your body that are not insulin resistant and are "damaged" by the excess insulin levels.

I wonder if he will be proved right in time? Not sure it's make much practical difference at the moment I suppose.

it is the relationship between LH and FSH that matters AFAIK.

Did you get a copy of your test results?

Don;t know if there is a "number of cysts = PCOS" equation. The cysts are follicles which do not release an egg and form cysts so probably about 4 a month on each side for a number of months of varying sizes. In non-pcos women the follicles that are still growing when an egg is released are just reabsorbed, in POCS they're not, they form cysts and "clog up" your ovaries. Thats why ovarian drilling can be successful as a last resort in some cases, it temporarily clears your ovaries.

In the vast majority of cases Clomid is very successful if you are TTC so you're unlikely to need anything more than that (if you even need that).

Thanks i am on clomid, with a view to ovarian drilling in six months. - that's how long the waiting list is.

6-9 months of clomid is about the normal length of time though isn;t it, so even if the waiting list is 6 months, my gynae wouldnt have recommended drilling until after Clomid as clomid is generally very succesful.

CarolineMoon - sorry got a bit carried away with pontificating on PCOS and didn;t really answer your question. I don'tt think Evening Primrose is known to have an effect on PCOS - natural remedies I'm heard are Saw Palmetto and Agnus Castus - I think you have to be careful combining one of them with Clomid so you should talk to someone who knows or have a look at the Verity website, they may have more advice.

I'm not intending to take Agnus Castus, don't worry!

As I said, Metformin worked very well for me when I was ttc ds - I'd just prefer to avoid all that if it's possible to control it through e.g weight control. And I did get pg earlier in the year without any intervention.

I'm only a pound or two overweight atm and no acne or any symptoms apart from the long cycles.

I have been avoiding carbs like the plague for the last few days, lost 4lbs since Monday , and have just got my period (yay, 38 days ).

are these things connected I wonder?