I'm new here

[Lambchopchook]

Hi everyone, I've been watching the threads for the last 6 months and have finally built the courage up to join in.
I'm 26yrs, been married for 3 and a half years & been ttc for the last 3 yrs with no luck. Have been told buy one doctor I have PCOS & have been told by another I don't. My DH seems to have issues with having his little fellas tested. I don't know where to turn now. My SIL just annouced she's pregs & a lady at work aswell. I'm a bit low at the moment. Any advice (apart from not whinging)

hiya, no advice but thought i'd say hello and perhaps you might bump this thread tomorrow a little...at this time of night it could well get lost down the board later on!

i have PCOS too, i'm trying to remember what i did to help. i took low dose aspirin, i remember that. and about a zillion vitamins etc.
and whinge all you like, it's a kicker when your ttc-ing and everyone around you gets up the duff at the sniff of a jockstrap. but you live, cos you've got to...

Thanks for responding, didn't realise the time. I'm in Australia - it's only 1.30pm.

Has anyone used the new mini microscope called Maybe Baby? It's an ovulation tester. I've just bought it and am wondering if anyone has had success.

Hi,

Why did the other doc say that you did not have PCOS?.

On what bases was the original diagnosis made?. Were ultrasound scans and blood tests done at the time?.

If you have been ttc for three years without success then it is highly probable there is some fertility problem with either one or both of you.

I would put the Maybe baby ovulation tester away (its a waste of time if PCOS is an issue; albeit a probable one and at three years of ttc without luck you're well beyond that stage anyway) and seek a referral to a hospital subfertility unit where you can be investigated properly as a couple.

Tell your DH there is no connection between his virility and potency and having his semen analysed (some men do get worried about this). Talk to him at some length.

Please do not take low dose aspirin without seeking medical advice first.

Welcome, Lambchop!

I'd agree that after 3 years of ttc, you need to look into what is going on. And especially if it is getting to the stage where other people's pregnancies are upsetting you - you can't go on like this!

Getting to grips with whether or not you have PCOS is crucial - it can be a tricky one because the symptoms and effects can vary widely from person to person - but there are also a number of treatment options if you do have it. What did the doctors say about it?

Either way, after 3 years, you should be entitled to further investigations to establish what's going on, to clarify your diagnosis and too find out whether there is anything else stopping you from conceiving.

As to your DH, perhaps you can draw him in under your investigations? That's what happened with me - I was diagnosed with PCOS, and referred to a fertility clinic to investigate whether I would need help to get pregnant. My DP came along for support, and they tested him too, because fertility is a two-partner issue - it would have been pointless to give me drugs to get me to ovulate if his sperm weren't up to it. (And they weren't, which is how we ended up using IVF with ICSI to conceive our DS, now 1).

Let us know what you decide to do...

Hi Lambchop, Have to agree with the husband part, they never seem too enthusiastic to release some of their precious stock for testing. My husband was a right drama queen.
But once I got him down the clinic and he realised how may tests I had to have and all he had to do was pleasure himself it was no contest and he relented.

Have you established if you are ovulating regularly, what are the length of your cycles? We made the mistake of thinking we were ovulating around the 14CD every month as cycles were 28-30 days. But now i am paying attention to it, I seem to be ovulating much later, so hence we found it hard to conceive as we were having sex at the wrong time!

Lambchop. Noticed that you are in oz. It would be helpful for us if you could let us know a it more about the health system there. eg:

What type of doctors did you see that gave you the different views?
Was one of them a fertility specialist?
Do you have to pay for all healthcare?- and is this an issue for you goign forward for more investigation?

Rahrahs point is brilliant. Once men realise that most of the prodding and poking about (sorry if this is too harsh a way of putting it, but i hope you know what I mean) happens to the woman and that ALL he has to do is produce a sample it can help.

Also, have you noticed that there is a mens forum on here. I have noticed that some female MNers have posted questions on there. Perhaps you could ask our male frieds of the best ways to persuade a man that it is both of your interests for him to get tested.

All the best lambchopchook. 3 years is a long time, and if you want to have a whinge, then I think you are perfectly entitled.

I echo everything that the other ladies have said regarding some investigation into your fertility.

good luck.

Just wanted to say hi and ask where abouts in oz your from ? xx

Lambchop,

Speaking as a PCOS patient I would have to say that charting is pointless if PCOS is indeed the issue here.

At three years of ttc without success you are well beyond this initial stage anyway and more detailed investigations now ought to be done. As mentioned there is likely to be a fertility problem with either one or both of you.

that would surely depend on how bad the pcos, and two differing diagnoses suggest that it may not be too bad... i charted and found it enormously useful. plus it was nice feeling like i knew a little of what was going on in my body.
you do need some tests though, but you know that already.

Thanks for all the advice. In the 3 yrs I have seen 4 different local doctors & only one has given me a referral to a specialist. I asked one doctor if I could have a ref for a gyno & she flat out refused, so after crying to my cousin inlaw (married into an Italian family - they're everywhere) She convinced me to see another doctor. This one was fresh out of med school & actually looked things up and understood what I was talking about. I was then refered to a fertility specialist who after literally 3 minutes said I had PCOS. This is after looking at the blood work of course. She prescribed 1000mg Metformin a day but offered no other info. I did't help me lose weight (I'm only 3 kg over the healthy weight range for my height, but was informed that I am clinically obese).

My cycle is usually 32 days. I'm a bit confused. If you AF comes doesn't that mean that you ovulated???

I live in the Blue Mountains 2 hours west of Sydney. The closest place for the sperm testing is an hour away, & DH has a phobia of doing what comes natuarally where someone else has already been. He's a fruitcake!! The only way he'll do it is if I book a room at a motel for him down there, which is not cheap. Plus why should I have to do every bloody thing!! Sometimes I think I don't need to have a baby... I've already got a big smelly one.

I need to make an appointment to go back to the specialist which is located in Sydney to check my tubes. None of the doctors have mentioned doing this, but after reading some of the posts I thought it might be a good idea.

You have to pay as you go. The appointment costs $200.00 but you get around $150 back off medicare. It's just a matter of getting the money together to go. Everytime I do, something comes up.

Oh lambchop, it sounds like you are suffering from pretty poor medical attention, but if the fertility specialist diagnosed PCOS on the basis of bloods and prescribed metformin, you probably do have it. Did the doc explain which of your hormones were out of whack?

But my feeling is that you are doing way too much here without proper medical advice and support. PCOS is a really complicated condition, and so are other types of infertility. I'd expect your fertility doctor to make recommendations about what investigations are important and provide some strategic oversight over your treatment. It's really a lot to ask for you to have to navigate this on your own...

I'd recommend going back to the fertlity doc before you book any additional investigations, personally.

Oh and bizarre but true, you can have periods without ovulating. I read somewhere that most "healthy" (ie non PCOS) women have some cycles when they don't ovulate. The situation with whether woemn with PCOS ovulate or not varies from woman to woman - many women with PCOS don't ovulate at all, or only ovulate sometimes. However, some have normal ovulation patterns.

I did try and get my head around how I could have periods without producing eggs once, but it made my head hurt.

I can definately confirm that you can have periods without ovulating. Firepiles analysis seems pretty spot on. You need some guidance from a ertility advisor rather than you plannin yourself what tests you need. That said getting DP/DH do do a sperm test is pretty important. You need to be assessing his part in your fertility issue.

Thanks, I just went & asked my boss for some double shifts so I can go to the specialist. She was more than happy to oblige since she is my MIL & is waiting for a grandchild.
Should I ask for Clomid? Is there anything I should be asking? I feel like I'm five years old & need someone to hold my hand.

I don't know enough bout PCOS to comet on that at all. I would still try and find a way to get that sperm test done even if it does mean a nigt in a B&B

Hi Lambchop. Never tried Clomid myself (was fast tracked to IVF), but it would be worth discussing with your doctor if that might be an option...

Hope I haven't been too heavy. Underdiagnosis and lack of support for women with PCOS is a bit of a bugbear for me. Lots of docs don't really understand it.

Just rememered that ther is a uk organisation called verity that provides info advise and support on PCOS. Hope this link is helpful.

www.verity-pcos.org.uk/