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

Hi peardrop, it shouldn't make much of a difference when you have your scan if they are looking to confirm pcos, cysts can come and go. Had my first ultrasound aged 19 and had typical pcos appearances, but 10 years later had a new scan and didn't have any evidence of pcos on the images. Lack of cysts on ultrasound doesn't mean no pcos, there are other criteria that suggest if you have it, irregular ovulation being one of them. Great that you have a date for your scan finally, the waiting can be so frustrating!

Thanks for all the congratulations it doesn't feel real yet and I can't quite bring myself to cancel the clomid prescription and scan yet. Call me superstitious but having mc'd does take the naivety away a bit x

Congratulations Sunday That's fab news! Were you on any meds other than folic acid? Did you do anything differently this cycle- tell all.... I love details!

Pear Woop for scan letter! One step closer to answers! As Sunday said it doesn't make any difference when you have the scan in your cycle to confirm cysts on the ovaries so don't worry!

To be diagnosed as having PCOS you have to have at least 2 of the following 3 criteria:

1. You have irregular periods or infrequent periods – this indicates that your ovaries don't regularly release eggs if ever (ovulate)

1. Blood tests that show you have high levels of "male hormones" such as testosterone (or sometimes just the signs of excess male hormones such as excessive hair, even if the blood test is normal)

1. Scans show you have polycystic ovaries

If you have cysts on your ovaries but not the other 2 criteria- this would be diagnosed as PCO without the Syndrome.

I hope that helps!

AFM: AF still hasn't arrived properly (15DPO) but IT is definitely brewing! Temp is below the control line now and pre-AF cramps are back with vengeance! It is only a matter of time.... I am sure of it! I am now the proud owner of 2 cycles of Femara (alternative to clomid) tablets- BRING.IT.ON! Awaiting DH's 3rd sperm analysis results then all systems go!

Ahh thanks Rose and Sunday! I think I will ring them up tomorrow and just see whether I can delay the scan by a couple of days so that I am out of AF time. TBH even though it's booked for the end of AF I still really don't like the idea of having an internal scan at the end of AF If they say the next appointment is in January then I will just have to go with it Still, really happy news that I got an appointment!

So, I had more bloods taken this morning. Haemoglobin A1C and Renal Profile (Na, K, Creat, Urea, eGFR). No idea what any of that means but I'm hoping its hormones! I'm pretty annoyed though as I was meant to have a fasting glucose test but the stupid nurse said I didn't need one. My paper request says I did so I'll have to go back again! I forgot the paperwork at home so it's kind of my fault Anyway, it is looking like I should hopefully have diagnosis by December, which is a relief! My temps are also saying that I ovulated this month. We will get DH's second results on Monday. He's lost 2.5lbs in week one and I've lost another 1.5lbs so that is also really positive.

I came across this really helpful blog today. http://www.larabriden.com/treatment-for-4-types-of-pcos-treat-the-cause/

It looks like I am type 1 - Insulin Resistance PCOS. It says I have to completely cut out desserts. I have already started doing that. Tonight I had no sugar jelly though which isn't ideal I still really crave desserts! After looking after a 2.5 year old all day I just want to slump on the sofa with a bar of chocolate!! It says I can eat whole fruit. Yay, lucky me It also says I should take a magnesium supplement which is interesting. A dose of 300-400mg! My pre natal vitamins only have 60g. So, I'll try magnesium supplements next month.

Rose - well done for stocking up! It really helps to have a focus and just knowing that you're doing SOMETHING doesn't it!!

Wow, congratulations sunday ! That's wonderful news! I really hope you have a happy and healthy pregnancy

Hurrah for the scan letter pear It's all good progress!

Sorry to hear about AF grace hope you're feeling a bit better today. It all feels really rubbish at times, doesn't it?

I hope AF hurries up for you rose so you can get going with femara! Exciting times.

AFM well, I had the results from my day 21 blood test and I haven't ovulated again I was trying so hard to be carefree about it all and had even fooled myself a bit, but judging from my tears earlier, I do care!! Am drowning my sorrows in chocolate tonight (Minstrel, anyone?) but hopefully will feel a bit more positive tomorrow. Ugh.

Congratulations sunday but totally understand your caution. Such lovely news though.

rose that's great about the femera how exciting.

eighty sorry you didn't ov. How disappointing. Enjoy your choc and have a good cry then onwards and upwards!

got my final trigger injection and scan on Friday. Trying to stay relaxed about it and make plans for IVF consultations to take the pressure off but there is no dodging the fact that I am terrified. I am terrified becuase I have ovulated 4 times out of 5 on clomid and still nothing has happened so I wonder if there are other issues as well that they haven't discovered yet.... In addition to all this stress is the sticky question of how on earth we are going to pay for treatment.

Oh eighty join the club! You will get there!

Rose yay for fermara, onwards

Sunday MASSIVE CONGRATS. Keeping everything crossed for you.

Pear excellent news on your scan letter.

Can't change the appointment so I am likely to have AF boo hoo

Don't worry about having a scan whilst you're on AF pear - things will still be happening inside or you'll be like me and AF will do something weird and not-so-wonderful and confound all your expectations as to where you thought you'd be, cd-wise

I just got back from my tracking scan. As predicted not much, although things moving a little bit - no action on my left ovary (large bunch of 6-7mm follies) but one 10.5mm follie on my right and a cluster (4-5) of 9ish mm follies plus loads of immature ones. The scanner was far more positive than me and wants to see me again for another scan next Thursday - she thinks that although the Clomid hasn't worked I might still be able to ovulate naturally albeit v late (next Thursday wil be cd26!). She is definitely more positive than me, was oohing and aahing over all the follies and also was very happy with my uterus - thickening up nicely at 7.6mm with a triple stripe (I got her to explain what it is this time!). I still think I'm out for this cycle given I don't usually ovulate but good to have another scan next week - good data point plus I am weirdly interested in seeing all my follies there on screen.

Sorry to disappoint you rose but I didn't do anything different this time,my body just happened to randomly ovulate! Stopped most supplements a few months ago just kept vit d and evening primrose oil. I just wish I had the magic solution to help you all. Haven't been posting here for long but I spent several days reading all the previous threads when I was off sick with my mc, and I am sooooo rooting for you all and will keep everything crossed

BTW pear I have a small amount of medical knowledge, the bloods you've listed don't include any hormone tests so you might want to check the paperwork. However the haemoglobin a1c is a test for diabetes x

pear echoing stealth - it’s good to have a scan on Day 2 / 3 as that’s a baseline scan so will get a really good picture of your follicles. It’s not as gross as it sounds - I’ve had a couple on AF and the thought of it was ickier than the real thing. Fx for you!

stealth wonderful news! Triple stripe is bloody awesome, and hurrah for your ovaries - really hoping you lay an egg this month

Rose hurrah for Femara, thats brilliant news!

eighty so sorry you didn’t ov, tuck into that chocolate - you’ve earned it [flower]

So, a very productive appointment with my consultant today! Main headline is we’re gonna start another stims cycle asap. Weirdly despite my lack of positive OPK and no temp rise I did indeed ovulate - as we could see a corpus luteum on the scan. Given my lining issues and the fact that I had many more antral follicles (and I’d responded well to stims before) he recommended down regulating me so we can get better control of everything. He said something still doesn’t add up, as I had a load more follies on the scan, and that def wasn’t the picture (coupled with the response to the stims) of someone with undetectable AMH and a sky high FSH.

Left toting a bag of syringes and needles with me on the bus, and the buserelin will arrive tomorrow - start down regging tomorrow evening!!

Going back at start of Dec for baseline scan and will have EC hopefully 2nd or 3rd week of December. Will thaw the frozen eggs and batch them together with whatever we get this time. Apparently it’s absolutely fine to freeze embryos created from frozen eggs. And will keep a close eye on the lining and support as needed so we can hopefully do a transfer after EC. Would be so so great to be able to actually make it to transfer and be PUPO for Xmas! Xx

Ahh thanks banana and stealth I shall plough through my dread then!

Sunday...whhhhaaaatttt! No hormones? Really?! Honestly, it really is like pulling teeth!! Well at least the test might confirm whether I have diabetes 2! I really do hope there will be a diagnosis after my scan...I'm pinning all my hopes on it I ought to make an appointment today to see the DR after my scan. There's so much planning and worry going into this...all over just obtaining a diagnosis!!

Stealth - your update sounds very positive. Fascinating that the scan showed Ovulation even though temping did not. I thought temping was bullet proof...obviously not! Did you have any doubts over your temping method this month before you went into your scan?

Sorry my message was for banana not stealth. What a mix up! Oops.

Stealth - fX that you do ovulate naturally. I never ovulate before cd22 not that it means anything. Good news that she was positive...you'd like to think a scanner who sees a lot of ovaries knows what she's doing. I hope her positive vibe is a good sign for next week

Eighty Sorry to hear your news! I was there.... for many many months and know how crushing it is. Take care of yourself and try to keep positive. It WILL happen eventually x

Freddie Good luck with your scan today! Let us know how it goes.

Stealth Your follies sound very promising! Fingers crossed that at least one of them gets bigger and bursts soon.

Sunday Thanks for the info- that's amazing that it happened without any changes! It seems that sometimes the universe just needs to align and there is nothing we can do about it but wait [smile[ I'm really pleased for you!

Banana Woop for syringes, drugs and PUPO before Christmas- I am keeping my fingers tightly crossed for you! How long does the down-regging take? It is 3 weeks ish? The you start the IVF drugs- yes?

AFM, started Femara this morning- 2.5mg per day for 5 days AND got DH's 3rd sperm analysis back....... 21 MILLION COUNT!!!!!!
So its gone from 8 million to 14 million to 21 million (in 6 months) by taking those supplements!!! WOOOOOOOPPPPPPP! We might actually be in with a chance naturally now!!!! Still ploughing ahead with the IVF though.

pear I wouldn’t worry too much - remember I’d only just come off a massive whack of stimulating drugs so my ovaries are probably quite a bit confused! I think temping is generally pretty failsafe…and tbh as my body has confused even one of the top fertility doctors in London, I wouldn’t use me as a general reference point anyway!

rose amazing news about DH’s count, that’s incredible! Roll on the Femara and the swimmers…wouldn’t a Xmas BFP be amazing for you. Everything crossed

Yep, 2.5 weeks of down regulating. I go in for a baseline scan on 1st Dec when hopefully the lining will be thin (usually not a problem for me!) and the ovaries quiet, and if so will start the stimulation injections. Theoretically would be looking at EC 2nd or 3rd week Dec, and hopefully (please please) a transfer 3 or 5 days later, and desperately hoping to have an embryo on board over Xmas. However a long way to go before that point…

Rosebud - Wow that is amazing with the sperm count. Woop woop! I probably should have paid more attention to what you're giving him! I've put DH on pregnacare vitamins for men as I can't find any specific advice on Google. I'm hoping the Dr can give him guidance on Monday when he gets his results. Unlikely though as they always seem against vitamins

pear my consultant who is head of reproductive medicine at Barts and knows his stuff told me to make sure DH was taking zinc, vitamin C and selenium xx

Which is all in pregnacare was more to say it's def medically recommended and not seen as hippy woo woo xxx

Thanks all

Think it's extremely unlikely anything will happen - I'm already on cd20! Preparing for next cycle mentally.

And for those of you who are agonising over every possible ovary twinge, I have the solution for you - I did 2 incredibly hardcore Pilates sessions on weds and thurs and I am rockhard and in pain now in the abs area - can't feel a thing through the burn!

Pear first message on page 20 of this thread details what I fed DH in supplements. Alongside this we also changed his lifestyle a little so I'm not suggesting that the supplements are a miracle cure but I'm convinced they had their part to play! My understanding is that the doses in pregnacare are good for maintaining sperm quality but in order to improve it some stronger supplements, alongside lifestyles changes, are more likely to have a positive impact which is why we went for individual supplements.

Keep in mind though that he has been doing all of this for the last 6 months so it's defo a marathon and not a sprint! Lol x

rose that's amazing well done to you and DH. Takes some serious commitment and what a great result.

Scan today and done 20mm folli. So injection and Dtd all weekend as standard. The good news is that I am allowed to have three cycles of injections of gonadropaphines (please excuse spelling on phone!) and I can self find IUI to boost chances of it working. Really chuffed that there is something else I can try before IVF. Gives me a bit more time to think about it.

Hope you all have lovely relaxing weekends.

Rose can't wait for you to get your BFP medal, and that you're on the final leg of this marathon

Freddie awesome! That's fabulous news. The FSH injections are a doddle, it's terrific that you get the IUI option as a next step. Really excited for you, woop woop!

Infertility reached peak ridiculous for me this weekend. I was home visiting my Dad for the anniversary of my Mum passing away, and I had to do my first Buserelin injection. I hadn't brought the sharps bin with me, so I'm there in the kitchen drawing up meds and flicking the syringe a la Trainspotting to make sure there's no air bubble, while he's rifling through the fridge to find a jar he can wash out for me to put the used needles in, to bring home with me for safe disposal in my sharps bin. We were pissing ourselves!

Thanks for your kind words ladies. My AF actually turned up yesterday which is a bit strange as normally I don't get a period unless I ovulate...anyway am going to double check my day 21 results with the doctor's receptionist tomorrow. At least it means I can crack on with the next clomid cycle without having to wait until day 35 on the off chance I ovulate late.

banana so great to hear such positive news from your appointment and how exciting about maybe being PUPO before Christmas. for the anniversary of your mum.

Freddie excellent that you get to try IUI. Will have my fingers crossed that this cycle is the lucky one and you don't get that far!

rose wow, well done your DH!

stealth glad to hear the scan was positive. Hope you have recovered from the pilates

Hey.

I'm felt so warm inside reading the posts on this thread.

I don't feel so alone now.

It cheered me up jus reading some of the posts and feeling all the love

Sorry I've been quiet, going through somw stuff at the moment but just wanted to share that I have randomly just had a 35 day cycle. This is unheard of for me. The only thing I've done differently since my last period is take 1000mg of Evening Primrose Oil a day. Am that it is down to that, but I guess we'll see in a few weeks.

Sending warm cups of wintery goodness and positive vibes to you all