Symptomless PCOS

[Frandler]

Hi there,

We've been TTC for 10 months now, and nothing. Not even a whisper of a faint line.

We're both 33, fairly healthy and active but carry extra weight. We don't eat unhealthy, but both struggled with weight all our lives.

We're both active at work, I'm on my feet and moving about all day in full time work. I start my day at 4am and get home around 7pm so trying to fit in the gym at the moment is impossible 😔

I know that loosing weight is one of the key things to improve your chances of conception, and I know that my GP probably help any further than just tell me to loose weight.

I've read up on PCOS and can't say that I have any of the symptoms. My cycles do vary from 28-32 days but AF always shows. Can PCOS sometimes be symptomless?

It would be nice to talk to someone whose going through/gone through a similar thing, without the guilt of the extra weight. X

Hello hun sorry to hear it's taking such a long time , have you tried taking pregnacare capsules from Superdrug? I did this and conceived the first month of taking them, good luck

@bekloi

Thank you for replying so fast. This TTC business is hard!

I tried Pregnacare earlier in my journey but found that it lengthened my cycles, which apparently it can do. I've been on folic acid and Vit D on and off.

If you don’t have symptoms of PCOS, then you probably don’t have it.

If you can afford it, you can get a fertility MOT done for about £400 where they will scan you and check your hormone levels, which might put your mind at rest.

Also, if you are still worried about PCOS- remember that PCOS doesn’t definitively cause infertility. Ladies conceive with it all of the time, just can make things harder as things are irregular and harder to track!

[quote Frandler]@bekloi

Thank you for replying so fast. This TTC business is hard!

I tried Pregnacare earlier in my journey but found that it lengthened my cycles, which apparently it can do. I've been on folic acid and Vit D on and off.[/quote]
Another thing- regarding weight, it can effect some people’s hormone response. It’s not just being heavier than ideal on a scale.

Lots of ladies in my Keto recipe group swapped to the diet when TTC and it has been successful for them in regulating hormone response and insulin activity- which is vital! It’s been nice to see a few Keto babies and some ladies with PCOS now experiencing regular cycles. (There are plenty of legitimate medical studies to back this up, have a google)

Sorry to latch onto the weight issue when it’s clear it’s something you have struggled with - but an overhaul of lifestyle and diet may help in that you are feeling like you are ‘doing something’. TTC can be thankless and hopeless (currently TTC myself after miscarriage) and I really do think severely reducing sugars and exercising where possible is keeping me sane.

Hey Frandler,

I feel for you, I'm not as far along in months but am starting to worry weight might be affecting my chances too.

August was my 3rd full month off the mini pill, but I don't think that is the issue as my periods have been regular since stopping. Cycles since May-June have all been 29 days, although today is day 31 and still waiting for my period, though can feel it's on its way. So maybe I am still evening out after the pill?! Who knows.

It's so hard because I feel like I am just a medium person, I am pretty active and a size 14, but am wondering whether actually my weight might be making all the difference as I know that medically I am way over my healthy weight :(.

@Suprima

Thank you for all the advice! My colleague at work is on keto and he's lost a lot of weight, so it has entered my thoughts.

I generally eat a lot of whole foods, it's just the exercise element I'm struggling with at the moment.. I just can't find time in the day to do it. But maybe cutting all sugars and carbs will help.

I appreciate you being sensitive with the subject of weight. If I were living on takeaways and junk food, I'd have no one to blame but myself.

I hadn't thought about the hormone element of it all, so that's definitely something to look into. And also the fertility MOT! I hadn't realised you can do that and it not cost a fortune.

I hope your TTC journey goes well. It's just so hard ❤️

@LittleMysSister

Hey Frandler,

I feel for you, I'm not as far along in months but am starting to worry weight might be affecting my chances too.

August was my 3rd full month off the mini pill, but I don't think that is the issue as my periods have been regular since stopping. Cycles since May-June have all been 29 days, although today is day 31 and still waiting for my period, though can feel it's on its way. So maybe I am still evening out after the pill?! Who knows.

It's so hard because I feel like I am just a medium person, I am pretty active and a size 14, but am wondering whether actually my weight might be making all the difference as I know that medically I am way over my healthy weight :(.

It's crazy isn't it... being a size 14 is technically below the UK average size, but BMI may tell you that you're overweight. It's such a mindfield!

I feel physically fit, I don't struggle to do anything. I eat healthy food and yeah, just feel normal! But my BMI tells me that I am overweight/obese. I understand that they need a benchmark to try and get women in peak fitness to go through/help with fertility and pregnancy, but surely it needs to be updated?

I wish you lots of luck on your journey. It's really tough but most of us will get there ❤️

Yep, I get you completely. My BMI also puts me just over the 'obese' line too, and it's hard to compute because I don't look what people would generally consider to be obese obviously, at a size 14, but medically I guess the extra weight does make a difference :(

I suppose we've all become so used to people being bigger these days that when you're just a bit chubby (which is what I'd say I look) you don't consider that it could be having an impact on how your body is actually working underneath it all.

That said, don't they say the average time to get pregnant is a year? So we are both still below average for that :)