TTC with PCOS (Thread #3)

[RoseBud2015]

If you have been diagnosed with PCOS and would like a small group of very friendly ladies in the same position as you to talk to, then this is the thread for you!

You can find our first thread >>>>>>>> HERE

You can find our second thread >>>>>>>>> HERE

You can find the stats >>>>>HERE

eighty hoping thr provera does its magic!

*oranges I feel you with the acne! The DHEA I'm taking to try and get my testosterone up (after my PCOS got my ovaries used to too much testosterone) has has the same effects as my PCOS did on my face. My acne is back with a vengeance, my hair is mega greasy, I have to change my pillow case cos I wake up with oil slick face. Urgh!

Diet wise my consultant recommended eating a sensible low GL balanced diet for PCOS. There's some quite good low GL for PCOS nutrition books, but I take all the stuff about excluding food groups with a pinch of salt personally. Depending on what or who you read, different foods are either a panacea or the devil's work and you'd end up not being able to eat anything.

I asked a dietetian mate for advice and he poo poo-ed cutting out any food groups - lots of complex carbs and a balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg, try to always have some protein when eating something higher GL (eg eat a few nuts alongside fruit) and don't stress too much. He said loads of fibre was essential so not sure about the not too much fibre thing.

For IVF it was a bit different as my consultant advised eating shedloads of protein whilst stimming as it's shown to help follicle development - so I was aiming for at least 60g protein a day, and as much full fat milk as I could get down without boaking. But that was whilst stimming - absolutely doesn't apply for 'normal' eating.

I don't think setting limits and tracking every mouthful is especially helpful for everyday eating, as it takes the joy out of eating! I did track food for a little while so I could get a sense of how many calories and what kind of foods I was actually eating. If you're trying to lose or gain weight it can be really helpful.

But in general I was told just eating a sensible, balanced low GL diet, cutting out the sugars and simple carbs (and eating lots of good complex carbs) was recommended for PCOS. And indeed for general fertility and good health. And the 80:20 rule - eat well 80% of the time and indulge yourself 20% of the time so you don't go batty depriving yourself of treats!

Rosebud hell yeah ovaries! So so awesome, thrilled to bits for you. It's such a great feeling when it feels like our bodies actually do what they're supposed to!!! Yours is bossing it this month

AFM just biding my time until AF turns up and we make an appointment to see the consultant to talk next steps. I'm so torn between the sensible bit of wanting to do another stims cycle asap to get more embryos to work with for a subsequent FET (or if really lucky, a fresh transfer in the same cycle) and if we were really lucky something for the freezer.

The impatient part of me just wants to go ahead with a FET in Nov: although it's realistically not likely to work first time, you gotta be in it to win it, and there's always the hope it might just possibly, maybe, hopefully, lead to a BFP. If we did hit the jackpot then maybe I'd always regret not doing another stims cycle in case we would have got something for the freezer for the future.

Oh I don't know!!! Part of me just wants to get this first cycle done and dusted so we can get the BFN over and done with before Xmas, and go into the new year ready to start over again. Although the other part of me thinks maybe just maybe I could get the best Xmas present ever! Argh!! Will see what the consultant says and try not to lose my shit in the mean time....(Yeah right!)

Hope you're all having lovely weekends! xx

bananafish thank you for your advice, the low GI idea makes much more sense - I was worried I needed pure protein and zero carbs. Having finally got clomid, I've been trying to do everything I can to help it work, and going overboard! I've just spent a sunny few hours with baby-free friends, which has helped put everything back in perspective.

Good luck to everyone with appointments, tests or new drugs coming up this week. Let's hope it is a lucky one.

Totally understand oranges that's been me with IVF. Trying anything and everything! Only other thing that might be worth considering when you're on Clomid, if you're not already, is getting some Pre-Seed. Clomid can dry up CM. The applicators are deeply unsexy but they do get it where it needs to be, so it can help get the swimmers where they need to be! X

Haha that's so true stealth maybe I'll be teaching the consultant things at the next appointment!

I can't offer any advice bananafish but I understand why you're impatient to get on with the FET. Hang on in there. When is AF due?

Just wondering whether to get some Preseed now in case the clomid works! I'm sure when trying to get pregnant with DC1 I started taking some kind of cough mixture as it has some ingredient to increase CM! The things we do....

Glad to see everyone is in good spirits! FF predicts I won't ovulate until NOVEMBER based on my last few cycles

Ha, eighty I tried the Robitussin trick too! Allegedly because it thins a mucus cough it’s thought to do the same with CM. It mentioned it in TCOYF but I think it’s more internet lore…I still did it mind! Didn’t make a blind bit of difference to me, but my oestrogen seems to be so low I won’t get any CM or decent lining without taking HRT, so I’m not the best example

If EC was a week ago, AF should be due in about a week. So then if we go ahead with a FET that would be another month, IF I have a regular cycle (which I have been doing, but f*ck knows what the stims will have done to my cycle). At least OPKs and temping mean I’ll know if I don’t ovulate, and so we can bring on a bleed with Provera so we can start the FET. Which I’m thinking we might as well do, so we can get a BFN over and done with (or a BFP!) before Xmas. Will see what the consultant says.

ponty I got a massive bag of internet cheapies for not much £ on amazon, think I have enough to last for bloody years.

Hope everyone is having a good week x

Ah that's it: robitussin. Have no idea whether it worked for me but no doubt I'll be digging it out the cupboard soon!

I also have a massive bag of cheap OPKs (and pregnancy tests ) off Amazon ponty go for it!

Quick question bananafish , ponty or anyone else on inositol. I'm struggling to find how mg are in a teaspoon. Please could you let me know how much you take? Do you just put it in a cup of tea (I have the powder version)? Thanks

FX you have a regular cycle bananafish and can get on with the FET and hopefully get a nice BFP Christmas present!

Eighty I'm using powdered inositol, which comes with a measuring scoop and a guide. I can't remember the figs now as the pot is at work but I take the equivalent of a rounded teaspoon of powder - not a towering high teaspoon, but def more than a flat teaspoon. I did a lot of research on it, and while some people take more and some take less, the rounded teaspoon was the recommended safe amount.
I chuck it in my morning coffee, gives it a slightly sweet kick.

Clomid people, can I ask a stupid question? When in a cycle did you start and stop DTD? So if you take Clomid day 2-6, you'll probably ovulate around CD 9-25. After CD 25, do you keep DTD? I've read a few things about people ovulating too late and getting told not to try that month.

Thank you all for being so welcoming

Rosebud I'm 30. I have probably made myself sound slimmer than I am I am actually classed as a little overweight, based on my height. Could probably stand to lose a stone I reckon. The consultant was happy enough with my weight but told me not to put any on. This will not happen. I'm going to New York next week and will probably come home a stone heavier.

I am so confused. Are we (as sufferers of PCOS) supposed to magically ovulate if we eat healthy food and lose weight to get to a certain BMI? Where is coffee in all of this, can we still drink it?

I've purchased a basal body temp thermometer today. No idea what to do with it, but i'm reading up on it. I also have just purchased a clearblue advanced fertility monitor. I'm hoping between charting my temp and using the monitor that i'll have an idea of how many months i'm ovulating.

Am I correct in thinking that providing we ovulate, there is no reason we can't conceive? (we being those of us who have PCOS)

Vilage I've seen no evidence that drinking a normal, 'healthy' amount of caffeine affects PCOS either way. Someone told me that you can be TTC for a long time... if you don't have some and along the way, you'll get stressed. And stress is very bad for women TTC, far worse than a cup of coffee a day...

Thank God for that! Can't live without a cup a day. I am having a go at acupuncture at the moment and the acupuncturist refers to it as "poison" He told me that it can totally throw ovulation and may be a cause of me not conceiving... I took it with a pinch of salt and didn't think too much of it as he is one of those healthy vegan types and i'm not He seems to blame coffee for all of the world's problems

Village PCOS is primarily an insulin related condition - insulin resistance drives up testosterone production which causes polycystic ovaries and prevents ovulation. Even in lean PCOS women who aren't insulin resistant there is evidence of insulin sensitivity - ie bodies go a bit haywire to normal levels of insulin. So by reducing BMI to a healthy level and eating Low GL to try to bring insulin under control, many women with PCOS are able to restore ovulation. Not guaranteed by any means, but it can and does happen (couple of friends of mine found this. They lost weight and their hirsuitism went and their periods came back) - and certainly doesn't hurt. Inositol helps control insulin, which is why lots of people on this group take it. Also it's why some women are prescribed metformin - a diabetes drug - to help try to restore ovulation.

If you're not ovulating, you can't get pregnant. However there are other things that usually need to be checked out before Clomid will be prescribed. A semen analysis will check the sperm quality and quantity - if there are male factor issues then simply restoring ovulation isn't going to solve the problem. Similarly lots of doctors will insist on an HSG to check tubal patency (squirt dye into the fallopian tubes to see if the tubes are open on a scan) - again, no point restoring ovulation if the tubes are blocked. If the tubes and sperm are OK then most women will get pregnant if they're ovulating: 80% of couples will conceive within a year.

For some of us, there are other issues. I now ovulate but the chances of me getting pregnant naturally are very slim as I have lining issues - it's too thin to be able to support a pregnancy. So the only way I am likely to be able to conceive is with HRT to build up my lining - and I'm having IVF as we discovered my PCOS is an unusual kind nicknamed 'burning out PCOS', whereby it's morphed from PCOS into diminished ovarian reserve (basically I now no longer have Polycystic ovaries but my ovaries have 'burned through' my egg supply meaning I am now hurtling towards early menopause at 33)

If you've got two DC already it means your tubes are open and (assuming your partner is their father) then his swimmers are likely to be tip top. So if you ovulate, you should have a really great chance of conceiving - no reason you shouldn't be in that 80%!

Don't know if that helps at all? Xxx

I'm loving the fact that everyone seems in good spirits at the moment!

I'm 9DPO and time is dragging!!!!! Going to test on Friday morn because I'm going to a wedding and want to know whether I can have a couple of drinks. I'll be 11DPO by then so should get an accurate result (My luteal phase was 12 days last cycle) I have high temps, cramping and funny feeling boobs but I'm sure all of this is in my imagination, and is probably nothing.... We will see!

eighty i take a heaped teaspoon a day. No particular reason other than I saw it was what others were doing!

That's really helpful,bananafish Thank you.

I only have 1 DC, she's 6 now. I had a really tricky birth & the consultant thinks it's a possibility that there could be scar tissue left behind from the crash section, so he's sending me for a hycosy. DP has an excellent sperm count, and I had day 21 bloods done in May which showed I ov'd then, so I must ovulate some months, so i'm hoping there's no reason I can't conceive on the months I ov.

I'm worried about the weight thing, I put it on soooooo easily and i'm going away next week and am anticipating about a 10lb gain. It always happens to me & I don't go crazy with food. I just put it on so easily if i'm not careful.

GL for AF arriving then Eighty so you can start Clomid. Hoping it works for you this time.

Rosebud I'm excited that you ov'd, no matter what the test says on Fri. Although am obv hoping for a BFP for you!!!

Village It does sound promising for you, hopefully all tests will be clear and they can suggest something to help you conceive.

Hope everyone else is ok too x

Quick update from me- I have been represcribed Metformin, and will be on a much higher dose than last October when I was on it for 6 months. Have seen an Endocrinologist through referral from the fertility dpt and she said I should have been put on a higher dose prev, rather than the lowest dose for 6 months then stopping it completely (which is what fertility doc did) Picking up prescription tomorrow so will update with dosage amount for Rose to include in stats. FX this helps, although I have my app hopefully for Clomid 3 weeks today so not sure how much of a difference it will make in that time, but I'll give anything a go!!

On a side note, do any of you tell docs/ hospital etc of alternative medicines that you take? The Endocrinologist wanted full details so I told her about taking Agnus Castus, and she'd never heard of it. She gave the usual spiel about 'can't recommend it as it's not prescribed, hasn't been tested to make sure there's nothing else in it..' etc. Stuck up for myself and said it has reduced my cycles in the last 3 months, so she left it at that, but I did feel a bit like a naughty child there for a bit!!

Rosebud good luck!! Though if you do get your BFP, I don't know how we're going to manage the spreadsheet without you. You're so fast at updating it!

Fingers tightly crossed rosebud!

mrsC I am at your endo not knowing about agnus castus - even my GP knows what it is! It's been used for years. Where did you get yours from and how much do you take? I conceived my DD while on agnus castus, and I told my GP that I had been taking it at the time and she said that she has seen a lot of success with it.

Ponty Perhaps it's because she was a general Endo, not specifically fertility related? Who knows! Not sure if my GP knows of it as I haven't seen him in the 3 months I've been taking it. I got it from Amazon and take 1000mg per day.

rose you are soo good to wait amazing willpower. Will be thinking of you tomorrow.

On caffeine... I have really really cut down maybe two cups of tea and a decaf coffee a day. I have no idea if it's doing any good but I certainly feel much better for it.

My actupncture lady said no wheat in the second half of cycle no cold foods, no uncooked fruit. Honestly I think you could get yourself in a right pickle if you tried to follow all these rules so yeah pinch of salt required.

Hello everyone
Can I please join you all? I have recently been told I have PCO - but not the syndrome as I have regular periods. (well, I either have it or I don't right?) I am 31.

After a bit of a verbal battle with my GP I have been prescribed metformin and take 2x500mg a day and am currently 3/4 or even 5dpo.

I have CD21 bloods scheduled for tomorrow morning.My last cd21 bloods = 21.

Me and DH are in the new year going to start treatment if I don't fall between now and then as it would mark a year.

I have managed to get my BMI down from 41 (gulp) to 35. That's a permanent works in progress and I really enjoy eating healthily.

Thanks for reading and look forward to getting to know you all.
x

Welcome ComeOnBabyS - it’s a lovely bunch of women here

PCO but not PCOS is quite common, I was told. I think something insane like one in four women have PCO at some point.

My sister in law has PCO but not PCOS - to have the syndrome you have to have at least 2 out of 3 of the following:

1. Evidence of excess androgens (male hormones) - either or both of elevated testosterone blood tests & outward signs of excess testosterone (e.g. acne or facial hair)
2. Absent or irregular periods
3. Polycystic Ovaries on ultrasound

My sister in law conceived very quickly so is def evidence that having PCO doesn’t have to mean fertility issues. Congrats on the weight loss, that’s fantastic. Hope the metformin helps and you get your BFP very soon!

xxx

Welcome comonbabys I am sure you will find this thread informative and supportive. Nice one on the weight loss how have you done it have you followed a plan?

Hello everyone! I have PCOS and am ttc number 2! I was very lucky to conceive my DS now 2 yo naturally on month 6 (however in this time I only had one period so it was only our second chance to conceive). I had my implant out on Wednesday and from tomorrow I will be in full swing with chatting my temp etc and ovulation sticks! I've downloaded an app to help me chart things but it wanted my last period and with being on the implant I hadn't a clue (plus I don't normally take my notice to my periods as there is no point because I still won't know when my next one is coming) would love any advice, support and just somewhere to come where people understand. Thanks in advance ??

Well, its not good news. Brown spotting yest eve and then my temp dropped to the coverline this morn but I did a test anyhow cos I've been feeling so odd the last few days.. ..BFN obviously! Then in a cruel twist of fate while I was still sat on the toilet waiting for the test to develop, some bright red blood appeared! Looks like AF is here. Gutted would be an understatement. I've only just stopped crying on DHs shoulder- stupidly I let myself imagine that this could be it.

I know this is nothing compared to what some of you have been through, and I'm really sorry for the me post. Im just totally gutted. And the worst part is that I now I have to be all smiley at this bloody wedding when all I want to do is curl up in bed and be angry at the world!