PCOS success stories?

[AmyD54321]

Hi everyone,

I suppose I’m looking for a bit of reassurance. I’ve recently been diagnosed with PCOS after an ultrasound and several visits to the GP with irregular cycles. My cycles range from 30-50 days with no pattern or reason.

I’ve just turned 29 and my husband and I want to start ttc at the end of the year (would be sooner but it’s not practical til then)

I’m extremely maternal and desperate for a baby, and I feel that in the last 18 months a switched turned on and I just want to be a mother more than anything else. The thought of not being able to conceive is always on my mind.

Can anyone offer me any advice of things I could do to prepare for the next 6 months? And also anyone who has been in a similar situation?

Thank you all

I have PCOS. I was diagnosed at 21. Was told to prepare for it to take years to fall pregnant and get used to the idea that I'd need help.

I came off the pill at 30, they put me on metformin to help ovulation and I was pregnant within 3 months, healthy successful pregnancy, Second baby, back on the metformin, stopped using condoms and was pregnant within two weeks. I was 33. Another healthy baby and easy pregnancy.

I am inordinately lucky and not everyone is. But for me, PCOS does not seem to have affected my fertility.

I was overweight both times too. Not excessively, but 2 stone or so.

Weirdly, since having the children I have found my symptoms have lessened. I have managed to lose 4 stone and my periods are now bang on 28 days. It's like being pregnant has reset me somehow.

Good luck.

Look into taking inositol supplements - these help a lot of women regulate their periods. It does this by regulating your cells' sensitivity to insulin, which decreases insulin production, which decreases testosterone production, which means your hormones will be in better balance.
The main thing is to keep a healthy weight. PCOS is a bit of a vicious circle; you make extra testosterone, which causes insulin insensitivity, which means you make more testosterone, etc etc. Weight gain makes the whole problem worse, but the problem causes weight gain! A bit simplistic, but sure you can do your own research if you want more details :)
If you can break the vicious circle, keep a healthy weight, see if the inositol helps, you'll be halfway there. Start now so you're ready when the time comes. Inositol can take about 3 months for you to notice it having an effect on your periods.

I did the above and conceived in 4 months the first time and 5 months the second time. I'm not saying that it's an easy fix for everyone with PCOS, but it worked for me.

Oh and you might want to consider avoiding alcohol once you're actually ttc. I was drinking a moderate amount except for the two months I conceived, when I drank less (small glass of wine on two nights in the week level). I put two and two together after the second conception! I looked it up, and alcohol raises oestrogen, but is worse in women with PCOS, so possibly that was having an effect on my hormones too, like oestrogen dominance or similar.
It's a theory only, but worth bearing in mind anyway!

I've got PCOS and been "trying" for 5 years. I say trying however I don't feel I can call it trying when cycles are up to 9 months long.

I started taking inositol (MyOva on Amazon) December 2019 and did low carb (keto).

Few months later (May 2020) i have 2 cycles with confirmed ovulation. 2nd cycle I bled/spotted from ovulation and for next 5 weeks. Got a positive pregnancy test which I now believe to have been a cyst.

Cycles were around 40-55 days from then however ovulation generally only confirmed when I was also doing keto, cycles shorter then as well.

I received a positive pregnancy test 4 days ago and am current 4w4d.

From now I would definitely:

• come off birth control if on it (I regret ever taking it as it masked symptoms)
• take inositol, multi vitamin and folic acid
• reduce carbs significantly
• exercise (I've walked 5km a day since 1st January, sometimes 10-15km)
• lose weight if you need to

I was diagnosed with PCOS 2 weeks ago after ultrasound. I'm 29 and been ttc since 6 months. Came off pill April 2020.

My periods were regular and normal 6 months post pill (was on it 10 years) and then soon as ttc went haywire - ranging 19 days to 37 days.

I've been tracking bbt temperature daily and using OPKs since February cycle - this is my 3rd cycle tracking. I bought a book which I've found so informative - Getting Pregnant with PCOS.

I have changed the following this past 3 months:

• walk daily (aim for 1 hour)
• cut carbs (inc potatoes)
• gone gluten free
• gone dairy free
• take supplements of berberine, milk thistle, turmeric, extra strength vit D, alongside Pregnacare conception.

My last cycle dropped from 37 days to 29, which is positive. This month I am due period on day 30 (unless we're successful of course!)

Joining this to follow these stories!

I recently got diagnosed with PCOS after coming off the pill and not having a period. The diagnosis was through a scan at a private clinic as my bloods looked normal with my GP.

I am not ovulating at all, and so far the medication I’m on has not worked. My doctor seems confident it will work eventually, but I’m struggling as we’ve been TTC for over a year and I’ve only had 1/2 periods in that time so basically no chances to conceive!

Interesting to read about alcohol... the only period I had in the past year was after dry January, so I’m planning to stop drinking during my next medicated cycle

Good luck OP XX

Hi 👋🏻 I’m currently 13 weeks pregnant with my first (I’m 27, DH is 28) and I have PCOS (and a few chronic health problems which made it a bit harder again!)
We tried for over twelve months before we got our BFP, and had just started private fertility investigations, but not the actual treatment.
My bloods showed clear indicators of pcos, my right ovary was shown to be ‘significantly polycystic’ with an internal ultrasound and as I don’t ovulate very often at all, clomid/equivalent was mentioned. My cycles range between 14 days up to over 100 days and I was seriously doubtful we’d get here without help.
I stopped drinking completely when we started ttc, cut down on caffeine and took folic acid and in the three months before I got pregnant, lost a load of weight by exercising more and going very low carb. Might be a coincidence, but maybe it helped?
Best of luck

I have PCOS and have not found it to affect my fertility, I have fallen pregnant 4 times (2 successful pregnancies). I'm 30 now and was diagnosed in my early twenties. I think it really depends on each individual but a diagnosis doesn't automatically mean you will find it hard to conceive, at least now you will be able to get the right treatment if it comes to that. I think it's good to have an idea about your reproductive health before you start trying for a baby but sometimes knowing too much causes anxiety and makes you want to start trying straight away even if you're not ready!