Pcos, periods (or lack of!) and a lovely bunch of ladies

[YouBoggleMyMind]

Right here's our new thread ladies:

Ella, moomin, Amy, robber, danika, trying, Eskimo and anyone I have missed or is lurking.

boggle - that sounds lovely, perfect break away!

dani - my youngest turns three tomorrow and I just haven't been able to lose weight since he was born. Nothing until paleo has been effective and I have back problems after a car accident which make it hard to do very intense exercise so the weight wasn't coming off that way and then carrying extra weight was also making my back worse. Vicious circle!! So I'm not finding it too hard to stick to now I'm seeing some results. Got new skinny jeans this week in a 14 and they fit!! I'd love to get back into a 10 but I'd be really happy to get to a 12 and I'm on the way now And hopefully this will have some effect on fertility for me too. One can hope!

Sorry it didn't work out Boggle but well done for staying positive and cracking on. Your time will come soon enough

Meh I'm sure it won't but hey ho. I feel like crap this evening.

I'm watching sex and the city and its a scene where Charlotte says "we're not barren! We're reproductively challenged!!"

Speaking of sex and the city - has anyone been watching Crazy Ex Girlfriend since it came on Netflix? I'm obsessed - the musical numbers are amazing!!

Hello all,
I de- lurk for a bit as it seems I'm back to trying after all.
Also wanted to point out that NHS guidance ( www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Polycystic-ovarian-syndrome/Pages/Treatment.aspx) now state that metformin and Clomid are recognised treatments for PCOS .

Welcome drew. Yes, I've been given clomid and metformin for pcos. What's your story? X

I've been around here for a while, just stopped trying for a few months after around 18 months with no result.

drew, have you been diagnosed with anything or given and help in those 18Months? What made you stop for a few months?

I was diagnosed with PCOS 6 years ago, so I knew it would be hard. I find the failure every month really hard on my mental health so had to take a break from it while I reconsidered

I'm sorry drew, that sounds really hard. Are you on the road to fertility meds yet?

The doctors were not happy with prescribing them, hence why I'm quite excited with the change in NHS advice :)

Drew - I have had a few different GPs due to moving house a couple of times in the last 8 years and they have all been really wary about prescribing anything, they always just refer you to gynae or to the endocrinology clinic and where I live, gynae has a 9 month waiting list. It's a real pain!!! I've had the same experience with hyperemesis which I have had every time I have been pregnant, even when I have miscarried fairly early on, no GP ever wants to prescribe anything effective so I end up in hospital before I get prescribed with what I should have just been given in the first place. I understand GPs wanting to be cautious and not just throw pills around, but at the same time if someone has a diagnosis of PCOS, they are actively ttc with no luck for over a year and the waiting list to see a consultant is long...maybe they should loosen the restrictions a little....

How are you feeling boggle?

I have had a bad couple of days of eating dani, with DS's birthday yesterday and dinner with in laws today but I'll be back on the wagon again in the morning!!

None of my medication was prescribed via my GP. I got referred to our fertility unit and they prescribed provera, clomid and metformin. It was only after the Fertilty unit had prescribed me metformin that I was able to get a repeat prescription through my GP for ease. It sucks that you've not had such an easy ride. Are you able to be referred to your local Fertilty unit or gynae unit? It's madness that it varies across the country.

We are off to Wales for a week tomorrow. Can't wait.

I've also been enjoying the gym and bought myself a Fitbit. Seems to be going ok at the minute! Just hope it makes the difference.

How's everyone's weekend gone?

I'm confused. I've had two days of spotting, but not together, about a week apart. Also had some stomach aches for about 4/5 hours on Thursday and no AF. I've done some tests & they've been negative. Cd48 currently.

Hi Ladies, Hope you don't mind me jumping in with a question?

I am TTC#1 ... After coming off the pill December 2015 – And no period, I have finally got the doctor to do something! (8 months later)

I had my bloods taken a couple of days ago and I am now just waiting on the results... (hopefully tomorrow)

My question was ... What kind of procedure was it that you ladies went through to get diagnosed with PCOS? and whats next after these blood tests? Hormone in balance or not?

Thanks

Hi Tweety Your case sounds very similar to mine (I was on this thread for a while with some of these lovely ladies and now I'm 37 weeks pregnant!)

I came off the pill in October 2014 and had no periods whatsoever. In January, I went to the GP and they started me on some progesterone to try and 'kick-start' something. It never happened. No periods at all. So, I was referred actually quite quickly to the gynae clinic at my local hospital and had all of the routine scans and ultrasounds to check out my ovaries and tubes and other general inner workings. They couldn't find any issues with anything, other than my ovaries were 'slightly enlarged' which is apparently a very common side effect of coming off the pill. I had no symptoms or signs of PCO or PCOS at all.

In June 2015, I was given clomid, which is a pill that tricks your body into ovulating. They start you off on 50mg and then move you up to 100mg and finally, the highest dose that they'll consider, which is 150mg. Neither of the lower doses did anything for me- my ovaries just refused to push out any eggs, but the first time I took 150mg, I had a progesterone score of 33, so it had finally worked, but I didn't conceive. The second time, for some reason, the 150mg didn't make me ovulate. Finally, in December last year, it was third time lucky and after 15 months of trying (and only two actually ovulating), we got lucky and managed to conceive.

The worst thing for me during the whole journey was the complete and utter despair of the limbo that you are in whilst waiting for more tests or the waiting between the long, long artificial cycles, so well done for getting on the first rung of the ladder and starting your tests! You will feel so much better now that something is actually happening! Also, don't assume that it is PCOS- like I said, I was never diagnosed with this and never actually given a diagnosis, just that coming off the pill slowed and stopped everything working properly.

Luckily for us, lack of ovulation is actually one of the easiest fertility problems to tackle as we have an actual reason for our infertility and clomid (plus metformin in most cases) is cheap for the doctors to prescribe and has a high success rate. Although, looking back on my 15 months of despair and anxiety, it's easy to say that in hindsight.

Good luck and stick with this thread. And let us know how your blood results go! x x

Boggle Have a fab time on your trip to Wales! You sound so much more chipper now I got a Fitbit to lost weight before our wedding in 2014 and loved it- lost a stone in 2 months, so it definitely worked!

Amy Sorry your body is messing you around again- hope you get some answers soon

Waves to Moomin and Ella and Robber if you're all still around? How are you all getting on? x x x

Welcome to LittleMissSnow and Drew and anyone else I've missed.

As for me, as I said in my earlier post, I'm now 37+1 and had a night in hospital last week due to high blood pressure. They've been monitoring it every couple of days since then and it's come down due to medication. They were going to induce me at 38 weeks and I was booked in for induction on the 1st September, but they have since discovered that the baby is breech, so I'm now booked in for a C-section on 8th September! I've had steroids today in case they have to cut him out earlier than that due to the high BP, but hopefully they have got it all under control now and he'll stay put until he's a bit more ready to take on the world! x x

flo i can't believe that your 37 weeks! Where has that time gone!!!! Good luck for the next few weeks & don't forget to put a pic of the little bean on here once he arrives xxx

Bit gutted for you in regards to the hig BP & breech, there's still time for him to turn so I'll keep my fingers crossed for you xx are you bothered about having cesarean, I suppose under your circumstances you'll just want him here no matter what! Xx

Diagnosis here was due to symptoms ( ammenorrhea, facial hair, weight gain). I was sent for bloods ( high testosterone ) and scan that found enlarged ovaries. There was no doubt, but I had never thought of having children so being told about infertility was a shock, and I'm still suffering the mental aftermath to be honest.

Thanks Amy that's so sweet. I'm ok with the caesarean- there's a history of breech babies on my maternal side; my grandma, my mum and I were all breech and I was born by caesarean section, so I was kind of expecting it TBH! You're right, there's still time for him to turn, but if he doesn't I'm just fine with getting him out of the sunroof! x x

As for diagnosis for me. I've always had crap/ non existant cycles. Didn't think anything of it until the gynaecologist said "you've got pcos" and like dani said I'm still over coming the mental aftermath too becuase nothing can prepare you for it x

Hi ladies, quick update from me. Finished provera on Wednesday and it seems to be working a lot quicker than previous times. I already have signs that AF is going to turn up in the next few days. Last few times I have had to wait 7-10 days from finishing provera for anything to happen. Hopefully this is a good sign xxx

Hi ladies, how is everyone doing? Where are you all up to?

Well the bleeding was definitely AF which was rather mind bending after being so happy that I ovulated for the first time since coming off my pill in Oct. No period at all between Marck and 28 Jul then another decides to show up 5dpo!!
I had a total mental breakdown and ate a KFC and some mini donuts then was awake til gone 2am bc I was totally wired on all the additives and sugar my body isn't used to! Felt generally sluggish and icky with a bad belly for 3 days afterwards too!!
Back to my usual routine though now, meltdown over lol. CD10 and I had ewcm yday and today so that's a good sign.
Saw the fertility specialist on Tues and she was surprised by my improvement since I was last there, bloods looked better tgan before & she's given me some forms to get more bloods done. She actually raised her eyebrows and said "oh so maybe diet and some natural methods do work" which is a lot kinder and more open minded than some docs I've seen for other things in the past!! She wants me to keep doing what I'm doing and see her again in 3 months - she said DH can have another sa in the meantime & I'll have more bloods done & gave me a phone number to call on my next CD1 to go and have the dye in my tubes. Said I can have clomid when I'm back in 3 months if it still looks necessary. All in all I wasvery pleased with the appointment.

Wow flo, not long now, how exciting!!

All in all dani, sounds like you're in a very positive place! That is so good. I think our posts might have crossed but I've finished provera and looks like AF is on her way.

amy, how are things? robber? Are you still there?

Xxx