TTC with PCOS (Thread lucky #4!)

[RoseBud2016]

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 our third thread >>>>>>>>>HERE

And you can find our stats >>>>>> HERE

Welcome to the newbies too. Sorry you're in this boat but as I'm sure you've gathered by now, they're a lovely bunch who really know their stuff! I only tend to post something to individuals if I know what I'm talking about, and as I'm just as far as Clomid, I don't always have anything to add. That being said, there seems to be a fair bit of talk about BMI and weightloss by Village Dunlin Ain and Lucinda and that's something I do know about!

I knew I was v overweight when we were referred and wish I'd done something about it then, as I naively thought that it wouldn't affect me getting treatment. I'd googled loads and seen on a thread on here that ladies had been successful with BMI's in the 30s so wasn't too worried. However, this entirely depends on the area you live in (good old postcode lottery) and my consultant was extremely strict that my BMI had to be 30 before starting Clomid. Hence why I've lost 3.5 stone since July with Slimming World, so it may be more difficult with PCOS, but it is achievable so don't be disheartened! It hasn't had the magic effect on my cycles/ ovulation that the consultant expected, but at least it's meant there's less waiting around (if I'd been a normal weight when I was first referred, I may have been pg/ had a baby by now) Of course it means the Clomid is more likely to work too.

AFM- I found Clomid ok. Had a headache and dizziness the first night, but nothing the rest of the time except bloating/ swelling where I think my ovaries are! I was really excited during this, thinking that it was working, and was pleasantly surprised at the few side effects (expected much worse!) However, I'm now CD20 (as after midnight) and still no positive OPK :( I'm trying to be positive and I know some ppl ov late on Clomid but am not hopeful. Have day 21 test Wednesday though so we'll see....

MrsC how many mg are you on? How long have you been taking Clomid? Congrats on the weight loss too! That's great news!!

Thanks for the info mrsc and congrats on the weight loss I am on slimming world also - lost a stone and a half last year but like I say, put all back on after mc's! Kicking myself. Back on it but struggling to focus altho this PCOS diagnosis is quite the motivator! My BMI is 29 so I'm hoping that won't get in the way of any meds but still need to lose more so will keep cracking.

Fx for you day 21 bloods, really hope they show good news for u.

And congrats ain on slimmer of the month. Sounds like your doing really well and giving it all you've got. The journey you have been on sounds emotional and tiring - sending hugs and support and fx for a bleed soon

Hi everyone, thought youd all run away when i couldn't see the TTC PCOS no 3 thread! Glad youre all still here :D

Massive congrats to banana - sore boobs are a pain in the bum but at least theyre for a good cause this time :D

Rose - well done on the 12 eggs! Hope you get the news you deserve today. will be thinking about you!

Ain626 - Hello :) i also have a bit of weight to shift so we can do it together (I definitely have not just eaten my weight in porridge with a square of milk chocolate in it!!)

Stealth - yay for trigger, fingers crossed for you :D

Sorry if ive missed any news - the new thread threw me somewhat!!

Im now on day 5 of metforming 1000mg. Not feeling too bad overall - some wonderful side effects but nothing too severe thus far. Had to get it prescribed through the hospital pharmacy as my GP refused to prescribe it even after talks with my consultant etc. Not too much of a pain as it's the hospital where I work so can nip in for a new supply easily enough. No word on DH's SA yet - I am dreading it, He couldn't care less lol!!

Hi everyone.

Well a nurse rang me today to discuss clomid, but bless her she just didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, but she was very nice. I just wanted to know if it was worth taking in her medical opinion because it looks like I ov naturally every other month anyway (if the clearblue monitor isn't misreading me) but she couldn't say.

I'm noticing over the last few months that my nails aren't growing very well, they are splitting very easily. Could this be linked to hormones? Am I lacking something?

Hi all! I'll be back later this evening or tomorrow sometime to catch up properly with you chatty lot, but just wanted to say a big hello to our founding member Ain!!!! Great to see so many originals coming back to check in.... Love it!

We had our day 1 embryo report today and are very happy to say that 7 of our 12 eggs are now embryos! All of our mature eggs fertilised so I'm pleased with that! Not a lot we can do now until our 3 day report on Thurs so we've decided to do a sneaky last minute trip from Brno, Czech to Vienna, Austria! It's only a 2 hour journey away so it would be rude not to!

Oh Rosebud Great news!!! Everything crossed for you. Enjoy your trip!

Hello

I was on here a few months back under another name, had to step off for a while. But I'm back! And with a new gadget that WILL ensure that I will be upduffed this year: Ovusense! It's not been on the market a huge amount of time, but I am a bit that I didn't come across it before seeing as it's pretty much the only fertility monitor recommended for PCOS. It's my last hope before I give in to clomid. I'm giving it 6 months and then admitting defeat. It's been well over a year now so hopefully I'm due some luck

Congratulations bananafish, I remember your name from before!

7 embies rose! That's fab news. Enjoy Vienna, it's one of my favourite cities. So beautiful!

Hi Ain welcome back!

mrsc fx for your blood test. I hope the Clomid has done the trick!

Hi to everyone else

So my iui is done - DH knocked it out of the park (scuse pun) with his sample and the consultant is extremely happy with the volume and motility. And morphology came back at 5% which is a relief. The procedure itself was painless and quick, so I now have (in the words of my consultant) "lots of super sperm attacking your egg". Apparently I had lots of good fertile mucous too so he is confident ovulation was happening at the right time. So now just to wait. Unfortunately am feeling quite nauseous (I think from the hcg trigger) but other than that all good!

God so much good news recently, it really makes me smile good luck all. Will look into ovusense never come across that one.

Well done rose enjoy Vienna, a place I would love to visit!

stealth love the pun, made me smile. Everything crossed.

Nothing on this front, think I am in the TWW now, temps are up and according to FF I am 3dpo.....not holding out to much hope this cycle but you never know, if those swimmers hung around [imagining little swimmers just hanging out having a chat about life!] from CD12 (think ovulated CD13/14) then could be in with a chance. I WILL NOT STRESS OUT this TWW.

Thank you to everyone with their warm welcomes... feeling a tad cheeky slipping back in... shall I offer chocolate as a peace offering?

rosebud that sounds exciting! 7 embryos!

And I have my fingers crossed that the iui works for you stealth it all sounds very positive!

So suspected ov was 15 days ago. Yesterday evening and a bit today I've had brown cm. Definitely not a proper bleed, only there when I wipe type thing.. tmi? So am possibly headed towards a natural cd1? Poas is def negative.

Has anyone delved into using soy isoflavones?

Ain I have been looking at soy isoflovanes today, aren't they supposed to be natures clomid? I ov some months myself, so worried they'd cause me to release multiple eggs?

Cwtchy Oh i'll have to google it! Is it a fertility monitor? I'm using the clearblue advanced digital fertility monitor. So far it's told me I have ov'd every other month (Oct to Jan) It has only read high and detected no peak in Nov & Jan.

Ain I remember you from the last time I was on here. I'm going to see how this cycle goes and then look into soy isoflavones. I've seen so many success stories so it's worth a shot I reckon.

Village yep it's a fertility monitor! Except it's a little sperm shaped tampon-sized thing that goes in your floof overnight and measures your temp every 5 mins to get an average! Then you pop it in the monitor and it downloads the info and plots a graph. It is supposed to tell you in advance when ov is coming so that's what I'm looking forward to. Finding it much easier than orally temping. It was a splurge but I am desperate not to go down the meds route just yet. I shall report back!

The only time I've ovulated in the past 10 months has been as a result of soy isoflavones - they defs work. However for me I decided that the risk of miscarriage was too high when making your body ovulate using "force" and when I hadn't been started on metformin or anything yet so I decided not to use them again until I've been using metformin for a few months - word of caution though like clomid they can make you more likely to conceive multiples!!

Cwtchy and Nurse Thanks for the info! I am in the camp of "don't want to use meds" I so want it to happen on its own. I don't want clomid, and seeing as the Clearblue monitor is telling me i'm ov'ing every other month, I don't really think I need it, it's just that i'm getting impatient after 18 months and every other month isn't enough for me. I'll see if I ov in Feb, plus i'll be doing the SMEP plan. Even booked a night away in a plush hotel & bought some sexy negligee I conveniently timed it to coincide with what i'm hoping will my ov date roughly

Hi all,

Sorry I've not been around much, been busy with work and like mrsc said, I don't know much about the clinical side of things so I just mainly read.

In response to Northernbird I'm not sure if I have any allergies. There isn't anything that appears to make my psoriasis worse nor better.

As for my current problems, my DH has had his letter for his SA since 4th January. Yesterday he rang for an appointment, fair enough he works mostly Monday to Friday so it's difficult. Gets an appointment for the 29th February; the same day at my consultant appointment, which would have been my follow up for a clomid/metformin prescription. I was so upset, I burst out crying (again) he said that he couldn'thelp it but in my opinion he's had that letter 4 frigging weeks.

I'vebeen holding out for this appointment since my ultrasound. Since the ultrasound I've realised that I've every symptom in the book & I need some answers and advice - now that I know I've got a potential further 6 weeks wait

I'm not sure how much longer I can cope with waiting. My main concern is the horrendous acne I've developed on my face in about 6 months. Then excess hair and my head hair falling out.

Going to Slimming World 2moro, need my BMW 30 or under, so I've roughly got 4.5 stone to loose. I'm hoping that it'll kick start me into feeling better & giving me more energy xx

Ahh amy that is a bit shit of your DH. I don't think they mean any harm, but in my experience sometimes I think men underestimate just how much of our time is spent thinking about all of this. On the bright side, slimming world is fab and will really help you. I go and I've lost 9lbs in the past 4 weeks so I'm happy! Keep on plodding on, it will be worth it.

village taking a night away sounds like the perfect idea! Every other month of oving is my dream! I just checked and I've ov'd 4 fucking times since last June, which is hilariously BAD

I've ov'd once since last February :( and it was after taking the soy isoflavones! I think that's possibly one of the most frustrating parts of pcos!

Oh nurse that is frustrating. Are you on metformin? I've read so many good things about it

I've just started metformin cwtchyq! I'm on day 5 today. Had to pay to go private as the waiting list for gynae here in NI is now 12 months and then when I did have my private appointment my GP refused to prescribed metformin so had to go back to my consultant and get her to prescribe it through hospital pharmacy! All very complicated but we got there in the end!! Interested to see how things work out for me on the metformin, I have high hopes!!

Welcome to all the newbies, and hello again to CwtchyQ and ain

Rose so so so thrilled for you and your amazing embryos - hope you and DH have a fab time eating LOTS of kaffee und kuchen in Vienna

stealth fantastic egg and fantastic swimmers! We imagined DH’s swimmers as the eligible bachelors vying for the attention of my egg in a kind of IVF ‘Take me out’, waiting for one to get picked for a date to the isle of Fernando. Let the egg see the soldiers! (right, well, I’ve clearly marked myself out with my incredibly high brow cultural references. That Oxford education really paid off!!! ) Hope your 2ww goes speedily lovely

Thank you all for your amazingly wonderful messages. You are the bestest of the best.

I had my first blood tests today, and beta hCG levels showed I am officially pregnant, at least, for now. Apparently my numbers (hCG and progesterone) are ‘excellent’. Going back for my second beta on Thur, when hopefully it will have increased at the appropriate rate. Then I think viability scan in 2-3 weeks - not too sure as never asked what happened if the cycle only bloody worked!!!!

Cwtchy and Nurse Before October my cycles were averaging about 37 days, and I don't think I was ovulating as regularly as I am now (started using the cblue fertility monitor from Oct) I personally think lifestyle change & weekly acupuncture has got me ovulating more frequently now. I didn't enjoy acupuncture at all but it definitely, definitely helped me. My cycle became much more regular. I also started eating better & I made a conscious effort to make life more stress free. I started acupuncture in August and finished in December.