PCOS, Periods, Provera & Pals. Plus All The Bits In between.

[AmyC86]

Welcome to our third thread on PCOS. What we don't know isn't really worth knowing. We're a friendly bunch of women who have a few things in common. We all have either PCOS or unexplained infertility and we're all on a mission for a BFP!!!!

For new members, and old alike here are the links to our 1st and 2nd threads:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/2481523-when-to-expect-period-provera

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/2685865-pcos-periods-or-lack-of-and-a-lovely-bunch-of-ladies?pg=1&order=

Now without further ado, let's continue on our journey.......

So Madeleine Shaw is pregnant! You know when you feel like everyone's getting pregnant except you! I know I should look at this as a "success story" but I'm so fed up! I hope she shares tips on how to get pregnant with PCOS!

Who's Madeleine Shaw?

The list of celebrities knocked up at the minute makes me cross. Stupid really.

She's one of these "clean eating" blogger people. She has a few cookbooks out that I have and use, they're actually pretty good. She has a website and has written a few blog posts about her PCOS and diet - worth a read.
I know, I am happy for other people but sometimes it's difficult when you're feeling particularly down about things

I need to clean eat. All I'm doing is just eating. And all the wrong stuff.

I know I wonder whether it all helps? Especially if you are a healthy BMI. Last thing you want to eat when you're feeling down is an avocado quinoa salad. Pass me the carbs and chocolate!!

Sadly, with pcos your body craves all the wrong things. I know if I clean eat, I lose weight quickly. Need to do that again really. I'm only just in a healthy bmi now through the gym and weight watchers. It's like 24.79 or something!

@hopefullymumstheword thanks for mentioning inositol! I looked it up and read so many good benefits and helping with to regulate periods and conceiving! I ordered it right away haha comes tomorrow :) At this point I am desperate to try anything to get a period. Never thought I would be so excited in my life to get a period but it's been gone for far too long now. I'll cry if it comes back, with happy tears lol.

Where did you buy it from Elizabeth? Did you get capsules or powder? I might try this out too.....!

Wanted to pop in and say hi. Think of you all often and sending lots of love!!

Slady - I really believe clean eating is one of the things that helped me after reading all the science of it and pcos (I was a healthy bmi too). But the frustrating part is that natural methods can take 6+ months to build a proper cumulative visible effect and you have to be pretty strict about it. Most certainly wasn't easy, pretty damn freaking hard tbh, especially the giving up sugar for someone who liked to eat ALL the biscuits! haha. I smoked a number of years back and this was definitely way harder than quitting smoking but I was extremely pissed off with things, and when I get that pissed off I seem to be able to do things out of anger first and then end up being for good eventually.

Loads of love and luck. Fingers crossed 2017 is the year of the long-awaited babies!!

I use the powder inositol been taking it 5 days now and i feel much better in my self so much be doing something i started on cycle day 15 so im not due my AF till cd 42 lets see if it come before :D glad you ordered some elizabeth i started taking agnus castus and macca too :) x

Do you just mix with water hopefully? I think I'm going to try it.

My BMI is 19/20 danigrace so I really don't want to cut out sugar, white carbs etc unless I know it would definitely help. I can't lose any weight either as if my BMI drops lower I won't be treated on nhs. I was going to try a low GI diet but I think it would be so hard to stick to. If I knew it would help though I'd definitely do it. I guess I'm just skeptical as to whether it would work for me personally as I'm not sure what kind of PCOS I have - I'm always described as "a-typical"

I mix mine with milk did try with water for a few days but felt to grainy lol x

Slady you sound similar to me. I also had inositol and a number herbs on top of the diet thing. Studied biochem in the past and mum's a reseach scientist so I got quite into reading all the studies and scientific papers I could on the topic and had to feel I was trying 'something' whilst waiting for the docs, again my way of coping. I didn't lose any weight at all cutting out all I did bc I was eating a very protein heavy diet with a lot of healthy fats too. Certainly wasn't losing any calories. Bmi was 20 at my last fertility appt and 21 at my booking appt. But it is a big deal and big commitment, I couldn't have done it without all my own research and therefore being confident it had as good a possibility as anything else it would work for me; there's vno way I coukd have stuck with it all that time otherwise. Had my ups and downs with it all - mostly documented in these threads, for which I will be ever greatful for the lovely ladies here's encouragement, support, and kindness! A nice group and great wealth of knowledge too.

Well done to you danigrace! Do you feel it's made a difference? I have started to make some better choices ie eating brown bread/pasta instead but I have such a sweet tooth it would be so hard for me to cut out sugar. And everytime I try it (for a day or two!) I cave in and I think what if I don't have insulin resistant pcos and I'm depriving myself of chocolate for nothing! Lol. It's also one of those things where it needs to be all or nothing. Once I've had my final bloods maybe I will give it a go

@SLady I got it in powder form off amazon from a brand called Jarrow. It had the most reviews and lots from people with PCOS and seems the best deal for how often it needs to be taken :) Wow I didn't know the NHS would refuse people if you have a low BMI! When I first started TTC I knew I had to try and get a healthy BMI as mine was too low. I am now Almost 21 which is perfect so hoping my period comes back soon.. It's weird how the doctors don't tell you what level of this syndrome we have.. my ultrasound tech just said "there are many cysts all over".. ok good? So go on? Ha. The Doctor when I went to discuss my scan didn't even have it in front of her she's just like "ya it says you have PCOS" and that was it.

@SLady I also have a sweet tooth! Big one! But I've swapped for healthier things to curb the cravings! I have dates with almond butter on them. 2 big medjool dates stuff it with almond butter. So good. Combining healthy fats so almond butter with the natural sugars slows down the sugar spike so important to combine the 2. Also try and apple with almond butter on it as a snack. My go to desert in the evening is total 0% fage yogurt and I stir in a vegan chocolate protein powder - some might not like the taste but I love it. There is also so many healthier options for protein bars and balls as well, maybe give them a go for when you are having a crave, it sorts me out and without the guilt.

Another thing ladies - if you suffer from anxiety and depression, I sure do. I was going crazy trying to figure out what was up with my mind because it and my hormones are all over the place - thanks to PCOS that's a result and on top of that depression from not being able to conceive. My doctor told me to download the app called Headspace. It's a 10 min exercise to help you relax I do it before I get out of bed or when I am feeling anxious. I do think it's helping me cope ❤

@Hopefullymumstheword thank you for recommending those! Just ordered some Angus Castus as well haha I feel like a desperate crazy person I'm going to be taking Inositol, Angus castus, maca and ashwaghanda lol. At least it's all herbal medication! Just adding maca and ashwaghanda to my morning smoothies so once they run out I'll probably just continue with the inositol and Angus castus as it seems those have good results in reading about it. This is how I'll cope until I can see the specialist because it takes such a long time to get in! I did read however that when taking things like metamorphin isn't good to take with Angus castus so will mention these to the Doctor if and when they mention to start taking medication. I'm currently waiting to see the endocrinologist - does anyone know on how long the wait list is usually? Xx

Yes, i'm struggling with my mental health at the minute and having counselling because of it. I've always had anxiety and i'm sure it's made worse by all of this.

I don't know how long the wait is, i'm afraid. I had blood tests through the GP, an ultra sound at hospital and had repeat bloods before being referred on to the fertility clinic. I was then given Clomid.

Thanks for all the tips ladies!! Just been reading up about inositol and sounds like it's definitely worth a go!! Bit confused about the MYO and DCI and what the difference is. It talks about a ratio of 40:1 and that DCI inositol on its own can actually do more harm that good. Looks like you need about 4g a day?

@YouBoggleMyMind I had blood tests, and a scan and now am being referred to an endocrinologist for more blood scans. They told me under the NHS they won't refer me to a fertility clinic until 1 year of trying for a baby.. is this irrelevant now since they found out I have PCOS?

@SLady - yeah I'm going to take 4mg a day as it seems that's the recommended xx

I don't know, you'd need to ask your GP. I got diagnosed with PCOS in 2011 but we didn't start trying until 2014. By the time i'd got repeat bloods done to get a referral to the fertility clinic, we'd been trying for a year.

Hi everyone. Looks like I am back in the game this month (round 4/6 for Clomid). Just got the most crazy positive OPK and we DTD last night, so it is looking good

I've posted a pic, because I know lots of you have asked whether it is worth doing OPKs with PCOS. My experience is that you get a lot of almost positives (where the first line is almost as dark as the second), which can be misleading, but the real positive spikes (where the first line is darker) are hard to miss.

@satsooma that's fantastic! Fingers crossed for you. Do you think it's worth taking these tests even when I don't have a period? I ordered like 50 cheap off eBay and have been thinking about just doing a test everyday to see if I am ovulating without a period because I hear it is still possible. Anyone have experience with that? Xx