PCOS: Please tell me your positive stories

[Beaverfeaver2]

I have officially been diagnosed this morning with PCOS,

I feel down in the dumps,

Please tell me your positive stories

Hi, I was diagnosed when I was 16. I went on the pill at 18 to regulate periods (am now 31). I came off in April to ttc. Wasn't getting proper periods and appeared not to be ovulating, then in October got a BFP and am now 18 weeks pregnant! So, only took five months in the end. I know how stressful it is and how worrying but positive stories are out there and I found my GP to be really supportive. She had already started running various tests when I fell pregnant. Good luck!

I have a friend who have severe pcos who now has 2 beautiful dd's both natural conception. She was using the implant between the pregnancies which worked really well for her

I have a friend with PCOS who's now pregnant with #2 so there are certainly some positives out there!

I'm joining this thread though as I also have PCOS and have been TTC for 30+ months now so hearing some more positives would be a good boost!!

I’m not a doctor and I don’t know anything about you, your congenital predispositions or what condition your lifestyle has left you in, but I can say that if anything natural can help it would be this…

A diet completely void of grains, vegetable oil, and sugar (basically a low carb, primal/paleo diet) abundant in healthy fats such as mono-unsaturated and saturated (loads of pastured eggs, grass-fed butter, coconut oil, avocado oil, avocados, grass-fed fatty cuts of meat), loads of non-starchy vegetables (particularly those leafy greens) and plenty of fish.

A lifestyle low in stress, high in restful sleep (that means undisturbed sleep in a very dark room, without bright lights or the use of glowing screens i.e no TV /iPad/computer/Phone within 2 hours before bed, of course it might help not to drink caffeinated drinks in the afternoons) with lots of very-low strenuous exercise (such as walking), a small amount of body-weight exercise (pull-ups, push-ups, squats and planks) and very tiny amounts of high intensity (literally a 7-10 minute session of sprint-rest-sprint-rest-sprint-rest) once every 7-10 days. No chronic cardio exercise 7 days a week!!

I don’t know if links work in this forum, here’s the link: If it doesn’t work just search YouTube for “dietdoctor fertility” and look for the interview with Michael D. Fox, M.D.

For in-depth reading on this philosophy hunt down MarksDailyApple. They have a section for success stories, they go way beyond weight loss! and I vaguely recall people conquering their PCOS problems.

Good Luck!

Regarding the exercise stuff I mentioned above that really only applies if you are physically able without risk of injury. I'm assuming anyone considering getting pregnant is able enough to walk, so knock yourself out with that. The other stuff particularly the sprinting really only applies if you're not overweight.

If I had to put a number on it I'd say diet, low-stress levels and good sleep is 80%, exercise would be 20%.

Good Luck! :)

Whether you're sufferer or not these stories might be enough to bring tears to your eyes, I'll leave you alone now...

www.marksdailyapple.com/i-didn%E2%80%99t-just-%E2%80%9Cmanage%E2%80%9D-my-condition-i-beat-it-and-wiped-the-floor-with-it/#axzz3OFFnNg2v

www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread41253.html

www.marksdailyapple.com/tons-of-doctors-and-no-solution/#axzz3OFFnNg2v

If it's positive pcos stories you're after I'm more than happy to share as mine is very new and a tiny bit awesome!

Diagnosed 10 years ago, ttc 6 years. Redid bloods and scan in November to see where we go from here. Gp has decreed I no longer have pcos!! I no longer meet enough of the criteria!! It is possible to beat it! Reason for no bfp appears to be an unrelated and treatable problem!

Being reasonably good diet wise is one thing I think may have helped. That and supplements, although gp says that bodies change anyway and I may have beat it without actually doing anything.
I advocate an organic homemade diet, although am still a chocolate and wine fiend. There's no need to give up everything!

Supplements I take are Agnus Castus and epo from cd1 to ov day. Zinc, b6 and 7seas ttc bits all cycle.

Good luck all

*vits

PCOS diagnosed 5 years ago here.
tried all 3rd and 4th gen Pills, last one Yasmin, seems to have kicked my body back into line and since I came off it, had periods every month for over a year, though that might be due to being in a healthy happy relationship and a new job with less angst.

Stress is a very strong factor of PCOS and needs to be managed and dealing with that did 1000x more for me that limiting sugar intake.

Not me personally, but my sister was diagnosed with PCOS and told she wouldn't be able to have anymore children due to it, she wasn't too fussed as she already had completed her family...

3 years later I have another beautiful totally unexpected niece!

My sister was so shocked! They had been a bit lax with protection as were in a stable relationship and thought she couldn't have any more, and then out of no where it happened.

Thanks for the positive stories.

People are surprised I have it (not showing the outward signs of it)

I am making improvements to my lifestyle to try and help it such as:

Lots of walking
Eating healthier (more veg less wheat/grains)

Next port of call is reducing stress.

If I could put any blaim for my PCOS it would be high stress levels which sometimes is so bad I suffer from anxiety and insomnia.

My job is long hours, high pressure and stressful.

I have discussed this with DH who has agreed that I should take action with my job.
I could go part time but I think the stress will still be there.
So my plan is to resign and clear my head and keeping busy with other interests which I enjoy.

This will also help me get my work life balance back to where I want it and spend more quality time with my husband dog and family.

I hope this is the right thing to be doing.

Other than that, my doc seems proactive.
I had a call from my surgery to get me in for an appointment very quickly after having my scan and I am going in on Wednesday. Hopefully they will have a plan for me

I was diagnosed at 22 when I came off the pill and didn't have a period for 6 months.
Started TTC at 30. My cycles were 60-90 days but I started losing weight. I lost a stone and a half doing slimming world and my cycles went to 30 days. Got pregnant naturally after 16 months trying, had a textbook pregnancy and my DD is now 15 months.

If you have no outward signs then it is likely that you're hormone levels aren't too imbalanced. I went on the pill 10 years ago and only came off when ttc so had no idea what my cycles were like. Also have no other symptoms and I was only diagnosed when having a scan for something else!
It took 4 months after coming off the pill to conceive, did not know about the pcos at the time though.

Diagnosed with PCOS in my early twenties. Regularly hospitalised with cysts 'the size of an orange'. Told I would not have children. By 30, I had and have four DC

Thought I'd tell you about me, I got a "we 'think' you have PCOS" diagnosis (by a cow of a Dr who said, without even making eye contact "you probably won't be able to have children") when I was about 28 after being backwards and forwards to the dr re about 10 years of irregular / non existent periods, interspaced with times where I would just bleed for weeks on end. Finally met a great gynaecologist when i basically demanded a proper investigation aged about 31, after ttc for a year or so.

He found that I wasn't ovulating, so I did quite a few different treatments, conventional and complimentary (nutritionist, acupuncture, reflexology, ovulation induction). To cut a (not too!) long story short, I have three small children now, and have had pretty much regular cycles for the last 4 years since my last was born.

There is a lot you can do to get your body to do what it should be doing, proper diet (NOT 'dieting' - my nutritionist told me that poor insulin control caused by not eating properly makes the surface of ovaries tougher, making ovulation very difficult), exercise etc can make a massive difference!

Good luck to you!

I was diagnosed at 24, none of the typical outward signs of it. Came off the pill to TTC at 27. Tried for a year, booked an appointment with the dr for assistance and got BFP before the appt. Early scan due to spotting where they checked my ovaries and said I had no cysts at all. Now pregnant with DC2 entirely accidentally while on the pill

I was diagnosed at 18 and told chances of having children was slim. I went years without periods. I conceived Dd when 25 on clomid. I am pregnant again at 34 again with clomid.

Currently pg with dc3. I have 23mo twins (conceived on first round of clomid) and this time round got pregnant within about 3 hours of deciding to give it a go.

I dont think outward signs of pcos affect how messed up hormones are.
I still have the hormone issues despite having bmi 20-21, no acne etc. very little excess hair
Just irregular cycles 24-35 or so days.
I am pg with dc2 via ivf, for male infertility.
I found metformin good for ewcm and it seemed i might be ovulating on it.
I did a low gi/high protein diet before 1 ivf attempt - lost about 8lb but cycle was cancelled due to low response, think i had calmed the cysts down.
Im on the fence as to if you can cure pcos, i guess if you were overweight, or higher bmi and lost it it could improve symptoms. But maybe it depends on the type, if you are already lean with pcos, healthy dieting could help reduce mc risk.

I was diagnosed with PCOS after some months of unsuccessful TTCing. (not overweight and periods only a bit irregular, but showed cysts on scans plus acne and blood tests).

turns out what was stopping me conceiving was underactive thyroid rather than PCOS. as soon as I got onto thyroxine I got pg. Second time round, still on thyroxine, still with PCOS, got pg within 3 months.

A friend has PCOS and conceived first month of trying twice. Third time took 9 months.

Oh and we both have high stress long hours jobs.

I was diagnosed with PCOS in my late twenties. Due to various personal issues I decided not to have treatment. A few years later when things had settled down I went back to the doctors to try and get help. My doctor was fantastic. I ended up having an operation (ovarian drilling I am not sure if this operation is still offered) which significantly improved the symptoms. I was then given fertility treatment (Clomid) for about a year and just after I finished treatment I got a bfp. I had dd was I was 39 she is now 11

I had dd no problem before I even knew I had pcos. My cycle is long (42 days) but regular. I conceived on my third cycle of trying. Ttc dc2 has been trickier. I had three early losses (each conceived on my third cycle) and it was tests for rmc that discovered that pcos though drs still aren't sure it caused them as my insulin levels and blood clotting are normal. Anyway with my consultant's permission I took agnus castus while waiting for test results, conceived first cycle of trying and have my 20 week scan this week.

I am a bit overweight and think it would have helped to lose some weight before ttc. That said my cycle has been the same 42 day cycle my whole life even when I was slimmer.

Ps I have three friends that i know have pcos. Two have two children conceived very quickly and the third had some trouble initially but conceived very quickly on metformin and I just received an invitation to her ds' s first birthday party.

Minipie i also have hypothyroidism as well as pcos. It seems quite common to have both.

naty I had read somewhere there might be a link... you have reminded me. never really looked into it though. interesting.