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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Original poster

Advice

5 replies

Lewmo · 25/01/2018 19:18

Hi everyone,

Many years ago I was referred by my doctor for a scan to investigate whether I had polycystic ovarian syndrome. As I was only young I missed the appointment and didn't think about it again. Now me ( aged 21) and my partner (24) are going to start trying for a baby. I am scared of going to the doctors and them confirming I do have it. ( I have all the symptoms even though a blood test for excess testosterone was negative). I'm also worried the doctor might think I'm too young/ not take us seriously etc. What advice would you give me ladies? Have any of you successfully conceived with pcos? And what are your experiences ? Also I am from the UK where I realise healthcare is different to other countries.

OP posts:
SleepyBadger · 26/01/2018 13:57

All I will say is definitely make an appointment and see your GP. They will normally only see you if you have been TTC for a year or more without sucess, but in your case I'd mention your history and request a referral as it's already been suspected by a previous doc.

Having PCOS definitely does not mean you won't be able to conceive. I was diagnosed when I was 19...I'm 32 now and have 2 kids and pregnant with 3rd! 1st child we did have to have fertility treatment to conceive because at the time my cycles were all over the place, but 2nd child conceived naturally as was current pregnancy!

Good luck 😊👍 x

beckymad1x · 26/01/2018 15:42

I also have PCOS but my cycles are pretty reliable, what are your cycles like at the moment OP? x

Original poster
Lewmo · 26/01/2018 21:59

Okay I will make an appointment! Can I just ask SleepyBadger, if you had to wait after ttc for a year before you were given treatment? In reply to Beckymad my cycles are all over the place. They rarely are longer than 40 days anymore but they are impossible to predict. Trying to work out when I'm ovulating has proved very difficult and I have been warned ovulation sticks aren't accurate with pcos!

OP posts:
SleepyBadger · 27/01/2018 06:56

Hi @Lewmo

No I didn't have to wait a full year, because of my medical history my GP was happy to refer me early for further investigations. I took hubby with me when I went for the appointment as with all fertility referrals they also wanted to test husbands swimmers (which was hardly a chore for him! 🤣). It turns out I wasn't ov on my own at all, so had to be given a drug called Clomid to make that happen and have regular scans at the fertility clinic to check it was working. Following the birth of my eldest DC my cycles became much more regular and by using OPK and temperature (BBT charting) i then discovered I was finally oving on my own and so further fertility treatment thankfully hasn't been needed with subsequent pregnancies.

The first port of call for the doc to check hornome levels and that you are ovulating etc. would probably be what's called a 21day progesterone blood test (but with ladies with longer cycles (myself included) they usually do it a bit later than 21 days as we usually ov later). If when you go they don't mention it, I would request it as like you say OPK can be a bit more tricky to use if you have PCOS. Saying that I have always found they work ok for me! If you decided to try them I would start testing from cycle day 10 onwards (twice a day mid- morning and mid afternoon) so there's less likelihood of missing your LH surge.

Finding out if/when you ovulate is the first step really, but once you've cracked that the rest is just about BD at the right times and 🤞!

Sorry to give you and essay and bombard you with info but I hope sharing a bit of my story helps a little bit. Lots of ladies conceive naturally with PCOS and need little or no help at all to conceive and others just need a little more help.

You'll be fine! All the best x

Foreverretro · 27/01/2018 07:53

I have only been TTC for 4 months and my AF has been getting increasingly lighter since having my coil removed and I don't think I've always been ovulating (no spike in BBT some months) so I went to the doctors yesterday and she has straight away referred me for an ultrasound to check for PCOS and booked me in to have 21 day blood tests done.

I have no history of PCOS symptoms so I am sure that with your history they won't expect you to wait the year.

Good luck! xx

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