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.......

Yeah satsooma, more clomid. Suppose that I know it's worked, we just didn't catch it in time.

I can't believe that I am still not pregnant after all the times that Clomid has 'worked' for me. I think there is about a 30-50% chance of your body keeping a pregnancy, even if you get everything right and the sperm and egg actually meet. You just have to keep playing the odds. You will get there eventually. xx

Sorry Amy hugs xxx

Satsooma this was my 7th and last round of clomid. It was the 5th time ive ovulated on clomid

fluffy how was your bleed which you thought was AF?

I am still bleeding, but it's very light and I'm currently only using a panty liner which hasn't even caught anything. I haven't got really bad stomach pains which is what I usually get too....

Probably over thinking things as it probably is AF but obviously if there's a slim chance......

Oh my god girls I go away for one weekend and the thread doubles in size! I'm going to have to have a good read of everything.

Firstly - OMG fluffy! Congratulations to you! Keep us posted with your next few days - FRER, bloods etc. Wishing you all the best.

Sorry Amy, is it definitely AF now then? You did get a positive OPK though right? At least the clomid is working for you.

Boggle - hugs mate. My MH is playing tricks on me at the moment. I seem to feel fine one minute, and then a mess the next. I had a good weekend feeling positive and then went to Next yesterday to pick up a parcel and was just confronted with newly married couples with baby bumps and prams everywhere! I had a near panic attack and just had to go and sit in the car. DH kept saying that I had to get used to seeing babies and that other people's babies doesnt affect our chances, but I just felt so unprepared I couldnt take it. I got really upset - its just jealousy really. I look at people and literally long to be pushing my own bump and pram around looking through the sales :(

Still, new day today and I've felt a bit better.

On Thursday i had a veiny bit of blood in cm. On Friday after a shower i had a smear of light red blood on the towel. Stopped using a pad Saturday because there was nothing on it. I had cramps like i needed a poo but couldnt go.

To those of you asking about private - you can have any TEST procedure privately that you want without affecting anything you would get on NHS. In fact, having private consults and tests are then used at NHS appointments so in some ways you can bring your waiting times down as you will have had all the tests that they ask for when the time comes.

This is where we are now. I've had all the blood tests you can imagine, plus an SA and hycosy tubal patency test. We have our initial NHS meeting next Tues where they tell you what they need before they can decide on treatment, but hopefully we will have everything they require so can cut straight to the treatment part.

The next step for us will be clomid I guess, but I have already said to DH that if the NHS waits are too long we will do our first clomid rounds privately. Our clinic does 3 rounds plus all scans etc for £900 which is alot of money but I am happy to forgoe our holiday this year for it. Please dont think we are made of money, it is personal choice and I am happy to pay for this as for me time is definitely a big factor (Im 32).

As for IVF, I havent asked about that yet but its on our list of questions for next week. Private IVF is costly, and I never thought I would consider paying for something that we would get for free a few months down the line, but I've learned that I cannot take the wait - it breaks my heart and also is bad for my depression / anxiety. My DH is in agreement too - he always says "if it was the washing machine / car etc then you'd pay the money, why not invest in our dreams" - hes right too. Like I say I dont mean to be flashy about going private, I know that it is a priviledge that not everyone has. To those of you who are considering it and who have the means though, I am pleased that I did it. It gave me answers and a little bit more control in a very shitty situation, and if it gets me to where I want to be I'll never regret having a few missed holidays along the way.

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Summer totally understand that. We saved 3 grand and would have happily spent it on treatment.
Ive told my manager im pregnant because she needs to risk assess my job. I phoned her she was lovely.

Good morning Fluffy - thanks. Thats so exciting too - bet it was so lovely to tell someone!

It was. Where i live you dont have to go the GP so ive booked in to the hospital and theyll send me a booking in appt in a few weeks.

I don't know why but this morning I felt like doing an OPK. This is what I got. I know it's not a true positive but it's more than I normally get. I had tonnes of EWCM early last week so not sure if it's something coming or going.

Is this a good sign though? That my LH may have surged?? Or are these results common with PCOS? I've ignored OPks since I got my dx, for this very reason!!

I guess there's no harm in DTD to cover yourself. It looks like a pretty positive opk! Good luck!

Summer I totally get that. You've got to do what you've got to do. Unfortunately my clinic doesn't do a fixed price like that. I had my CD2-5 blood tests this morning so I've completed all my tests now :) Seeing the consultant in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping he might try me on metformin while we wait for my nhs appt. It seems to be helping your cycle summer? I just want to try something, anything!

Summer, I'm afraid that looks like the sort of almost positive that people with PCOS can get several times throught their cycle. It never hurts to DTD though!

What would a definite positive look like out of interest satsooma? Are these opk's from Amazon?

Thats what I thought, but I dont think I've ever really even had a second line before so wasnt sure :) I thought that I'd maybe test again for the rest of this week to see if it gets darker, but either way we've been DTD every other day since I had EWCM just to be safe.

Yes SLady Metformin has helped. It took me a while to get through the nausea stage which is awful, but I have now dropped about 11lb and I've had a natural AF, plus 2 lots of EWCM which I hadnt really had since last May. After the 1st EWCM I got AF about 2 weeks after so that would suggest things were working, although you never know if ovulation actually has occurred as no blood test. My latest EWCM was early last week so if things are going well I could get another AF end of this month roughly. I've stopped counting cycle days now as it was too stressful.

How is everyone today?

If you look at my post from 17 March (page 35 of thread) I have some pictures.

The first photo is from this month - it might show ovulation (I really hope it does), but it also looks similar to results I have had on cycles when I did not ovulate. The second photo is from my previous cycle. It is a definite positive from a cycle when I did ovulate.

I think you can buy blood tests on line if you really want to know if you ovulated. I have never used them, but I have heard people mention oxfordonlinepharmacy.co.uk

Hi Ladies, looking for some advice... so since being diagnosed with PCOS in October 2016 I've managed to loose almost 2 stone and got my AF back after about 3 years of nothing (Yayyyy!) But nothing has happened :( we have been through the whole NHS infertility clinic and dont fit in their criteria for treatment so been to the Nuffield and found out about private prices and could afford the course of letrozole (new Clomid). Now i'm thinking, would it be better to wait a few months to see if my AF is more regular, would this give me a better chance or should I just go for it? I'm waiting for my most recent blood test to see if I'm ovulating but since AF is here I'm guessing it's a no.

Summerhopin - if it's more than you normally get it could be a surge but I'd do one for the next couple of days to compare and take pictures because sometimes they can fade. I always have a faint line so fingers crossed it's good news it's darker than normal!

Thanks satsooma really helpful!

I've just had AF start exactly 2 weeks after my EWCM (which has happened twice now) although I do also get it randomly too so who knows what's going on. Weirdly AF always starts on a Sunday too, without fail. So bizarre!

Hi pip if it is like Clomid then taking the letrozole should help make your periods regular anyway. So I would say go for it. Although if you are still overweight, I suppose it might help to lose more weight first?

If you 're happy to share the reason that you are not eligible for fertility treatment with us then maybe we can be more help. I am surprised you are eligible for private letrozole but not NHS Clomid.

Hi satsoooma :)
at the Nuffield they said they are using Letrozole instead of clomid because it's a lower risk of multiple eggs being released but it's to do the same job. But I'm thinking if I loose more weight maybe I will ovulate without this (wishful thinking) and been thinking about anything else I can do to help.
The NHS wouldn't give any treatment because DH smokes and because my bmi is over 30 but privately they just need it under 35. We have both been trying but decided it might be better private because the waiting times we were advised would be around 6 months, after loosing weight/stopping smoking for at least 3 months, to get another appointment and tubes checked before a prescription is given! So would be looking at probably another year before I could get it through NHS

Well it does sound like you would have a better shot of the private treatment working if you lost a bit more weight and your partner gave up smoking. (I say that as someone who has previously had a BMI of 34).

On the other hand, you would be eligible for NHS treatment at that point anyway. So maybe take the private treatment for now and keep working on getting onto the NHS waiting list in the meantime.

Hello pip, I agree with Satsooma. I am all for taking the private route if you are able to while you wait for NHS, and if you can try to address toe BMI / smoking things during this time you are only making yourself more eligible for NHS plus more likely to get the result you want. Interesting hearing of letrozole too I'd not heard of that before - even with private.

SLady - you and I seem to be so alike! :) Like I say I hadnt had any EWCM for months, nor a natural period, so I'm hoping that this is me getting back to some sort of normality. Good news for you is that this is happening and you are not on any meds yet!

The more I think about my OPK this morning the more I think this is the 'come down' if anything, as my EWCM was last week. I'll test for rest of the week though and see if they get fainter or darker.

Summer yes I know, we are! It's so nice to chat to everyone here but especially someone who is going through the same stages as you are :)... I know Elizabeth seems to be where we are too.

I agree with satsooma too pip, she is very wise about all this stuff I think! It sounds like you're well on track with your weight loss too. I'd go for it