TTC with PCOS

[Ainat266]

Are there any other ladies out there trying to conceive with PCOS? Or any success stories of conceiving with PCOS?

We've been ttc and off of bc since August. Since then I've been diagnosed with PCOS and put on Metformin. I am overweight, especially for my height as I'm only short - but am trying to lose the weight. I'm almost at a 10% weight loss since getting the PCOS diagnosis in November 14. I haven't had any periods since coming off of bc in August 14, apart from what I'm guessing was a withdrawal bleed (that happened pretty much straight away - end of August) and a couple of very light bleeds that lasted no longer than a day.

I'm just feeling all a bit fed up now and think I need to hear from others that are either in a similar boat or have been able to have healthy normal pregnancies despite the PCOS.

Haha ponty I often think 'ok people get pregnant when they're not thinking about it, so I'll do that'. Then later think 'well done me, I'm not thinking about it!'. Kind of defeats the point

ha! you sound just like me

tbh the month I got pregnant with dd was an absolute fluke - had loads of cm, had a shorter cycle, absolutely bizarre. I do think stress levels can have something to do with it, though my friend has just conceived whilst in the most stressed out time of her life! so who knows! I just take the approach of throwing everything at it and hoping for the best because it will happen eventually. I've just ordered some inositol powder

You're right I think just going for it is the only way really. You can spend so long with apps and thermometers and peeing on inanimate objects but if you're not actually just DTD all the time, it won't work! Good luck with the inositol! I've read some quite positive research on it today.

I really need it. The last few weeks my weight has rocketed and no matter how well I eat I just can't seem to bring it under control. I hate pcos!!!

Urgh, I'm with you there Ponty.
I have my docs appointment on 30th March so I have a list of things to ask about, one of them being Inositol

I can't say I've noticed a different to my blood sugars yet. I test about 6-10 times a day because of the type 1 (and the fact I'm a bit obsessive!) and they've not been much different. I've only been on inositol since Tuesday though, all the studies I've looked at had a time period of around 6 weeks so I'll wait and see what happens

I have recently been diagnosed with PCOS too. I had always suspected it as when I was a teenager I went for a year without a period. Anyway went on the pill for years and years and stopped in September after my honeymoon. Cycles have been irregular: 28 - 61 days and usually only bleed for max 3 days. Had a scan which looked like poly cystic ovaries. My bloods were ok. To be honest I was really upset and felt really down on myself. DH has been lovely about it. Pretty much everyone that got married around the same time as us is now pregnant and whilst I'm happy for them its also hard to keep hearing the announcements. My BMI is within normal range so not sure what to do to help myself. Am using the ovulation sticks at the mo just to try and keep a better track of things. To complicate things I work away during the week although hoping this will only be for a few more months. Reading this thread it's been good to hear some success stories!

ab ooh, report back!

pircy have you asked your doctor about clomid? they can test to see if you're ovulating and if not, clomid tends to be the next step. I'm sorry you're going through this because its crap but as a "success story" myself, I can tell you it is completely possible. there are so many things that can help so don't feel hopeless!

and temping might be better for you as opks sometimes don't work well for pcos'ers

pircy sorry you're feeling down about it. It's not much fun but there is plenty of hope. You're doing the right thing by maintaining a healthy weight but if I ever ttc again I will try agnus castus, a low gi diet and exercise after meals.

Thanks for the replies!

Ponty - yes clomid was mentioned. I think I am going to wait until I have moved my job back so we are together during the week all the time and then see about it. In the meantime will hope that things happen naturally!

LongestLurker - I probably could make changes to my diet, although my weight is ok my diet isn't the best and could be improved! Back to the pre-wedding diet!

Fingers crossed we will all get there eventually! XXX

Do any of you do temping? How do you find they are? I've been doing it for about a month now and there's absolutely no pattern whatsoever. My chart looks like a mountain range! They went up a couple of days ago and stayed there for 3 days so thought that might be a sign, but they've gone back down again now. Probably linked to having a cold. Hmph!

Waiting to hear back over the next couple of days about whether my insurance will cover the tests the doctor wanted to run, then hopefully I'll be having a day 21 test. Obviously it won't be day 21, it'll be closer to day 121, but she said they can still do the test even if you don't have a cycle. Just put me on clomid already! Hah

At the rmc clinic I was tested for clotting disorders and thyroid function as well as fasting glucose. I can't remember which of these are linked to pcos but thyroid is something your gp could test and it is something treatable that affects fertility. Mine was in that "it's a bit high but nothing to worry about" range that of course does make you worry but it's worked out ok.

pirsy (sorry I spelt your name wrong) it's low gi in particular that is worth a go. That means no (or less) added sugar and more protein, fewer carbs, especially things like white bread, white rice (except basmati which is ok) potatoes (sweet potatoes are better). It's a bit of a pain but I have to follow it because of gestational diabetes and I do feel loads better - more energy, softer skin and things like thrush (sorry tmi), blepharitis (eyelid infection) and mouth ulcers that I was suffering with in pregnancy but sometimes get anyway have all cleared up. I am going to try to stick to a lighter version of it after the baby arrives - in particular no sugar at breakfast time (inc fruit juice) and smaller meals with nuts and seeds for snacks in between. Meals should be only 1/3 carbs and I tend to eat a lot of pasta where carbs are the main bit of the meal.

I think I will try the low GI diet - running up to my wedding I pretty much cut out bread and ate loads of omelettes and salmon and I did feel better, more energy etc.

AbFab the day 21 progesterone is called day 21 because it's based on a 28 day cycle - should be done 7 days before AF to confirm ov (mid luteal phase) so if 30 day cycle would be done on day 28. If cycles are very long / irregular like most ladies with PCOS then can just be done randomly.

So does it check progesterone levels then? I'm guessing mine will be continually low because of no ovulation. Hopefully after that she'll send us down the clomid route. I've heard some horror stories about the symptoms! Don't fancy going through that with a classroom full of kids

Yes checks progesterone levels, sorry last post should have said 35 days. If low then fingers crossed will send you down the clomid route to induce ovulation.

Ah right thanks for the clarification

I've used a couple of OPKs at random times and sometimes they show a faint line, other times nothing. I know they sometimes don't work with PCOS so I'm taking the results with a pinch of salt (unless I ovulated last Sunday then today!!) but does that then mean people with PCOS have a constant low level of LH?

Ab I'm a teacher too.

I ordered a couple of books off of Amazon about PCOS that also have a selection of low GI recipes in them that I'm hopefully going to give a go. I've been really up and down with the cutting out sugar - some days I'm great at it, but others it's like all my body wants is sugar in really bad forms - sweets, biscuits, chocolate...

You have my sympathy Ainat! I was having a very low GI day til I got home and made a cake for one of my classes tomorrow. Would've been rude not to do some quality control...

abfab I think that's right yes. But tgen again some types of opk give a faint line as a negative result.

Bread is one of my worst enemies. Why is it so tasty?

I'm having issues with eating regularly too lately. I seem to have no appetite. And then when I do eat it's hard as it's all the sweet cravings. I figure if I eat regularly it would keep my sugar levels steady and then would mean I would crave sugar less often. But trying to force myself to eat results in me feeling nauseous...

Oh, and opk's detect LH. Seeing as you have LH all cycle there will often be a second faint line. They are only classed as positive if the test line is darker than the control line as that indices a surge of LH which is a sign of ovulation, though an increase in LH doesn't necessarily mean an egg has been released. and actually if you have pcos you may have higher than normal LH levels and the opk may not be as accurate.

Argh just wrote a long reply and the app deleted it! Hmph.

I thought I'd read that somewhere about the OPKs. Oh well. I'll keep using them and pretending it's a pregnancy test when I see a faint line see if there's any sort of pattern.

I know what you mean about the cravings. I find that when I eat 'clean' (no processed food, no sugar etc) then I crave much healthier food, whereas when I fall off the clean wagon I crave rubbish. You'd think that'd make me more likely to stay on the wagon. Doesn't seem to be working out that way

Eeek I have a trans-vaginal ultrasound this afternoon and a blood test for the 21 day thingy (although am actually on day 107 ) and to test for thyroid function. Then I have to come back to work for parents' evening. Bit nervous as to what they might find, but excited because it feels like something is being done.

Good luck abfab! Keep us posted