TTC with PCOS

[lakejupiter]

Hi all

Is anyone TTC with PCOS? I'm hoping to get some advice. I'm 36 and recently diagnosed. My GP couldn't really explain my blood test results to me or how they affect my fertility and I guess I'm a bit confused because I can't seem to find any information about why exactly PCOS affects your fertility. I understand that it can cause irregular periods and anovulatory cycles but for people with regular cycles who are ovulating (according to OPK tests, bbt and progesterone) is fertility still affected? Are the actual eggs being released not mature enough? Any insight welcome!

(PS I have been referred to an endocrinologist but there's a very long waiting list)

Heya, there’s loads of really great accounts on instagram I highly recommend (healthy pcos, pcos protocol).

Generally, if you’re cycles are regular you should be ok and typically that would indicate you are ovulating. I’d also really recommend inositol which has cleared up my skin and shortened my cycle.

One of the accounts I follow the woman running it fell pregnant no problem at 35 so PCOS doesn’t always mean infertility.

Thanks for this @Mushrooms0up - I do follow a few PCOS instas and will give those ones a follow too. My GP was very "PCOS = infertility" but I have regular cycles and seem to ovulate so I'm confused about whether or not it's affecting my chances I guess. Good to hear success stories!

I’ve found my GP to be fairly useless but I’m not TTC yet so don’t have any firsthand advice!

It’s definitely possible though from what I’ve seen, and regular cycles is a good start!

TY @Mushrooms0up - I just started taking Inositol too (last week so hoping to see benefits down the line). Yeah my GP was pretty vague and quite pessimistic but I'm hoping I eventually see an endocrinologist who can shed a bit more light on what's actually happening. Thank you for the insights and good luck on your TTC journey!

I’m TTC with PCOS. I find the Verity Facebook group really helpful.

Definitely see if you can be referred to endocrinology.

PCOS doesn’t = infertility at all. It just might take longer, there’s also a higher risk of miscarriage and some other complications though. Definitely look at the Verity PCOS website for more info. It’s really helpful.

My GP told me the same, I found low carbing and lots of exercise helped me lose weight which reduced some of my symptoms (mine are significant). Came off the pill and fell pregnant after one cycle. I did develop gestational diabetes which apparently is common with PCOS sufferers but no one told me until after I had it. My sugars have gone back to normal since having the baby

Thanks @TeaSoakedDisasterMagnet - I don't have Facebook but will check out Verity, never heard of them!

I've been referred to endocrinology via my GP but there are no appointments anywhere so I'm on a waiting list. Average time is 24 weeks so should get seen eventually and carrying on TTC in the meantime. How's your TTC journey so far?

I did read that there's increased risk of miscarriage. That plus my age makes me want to stay in bed for the first four months if I do manage to get pregnant, but not sure how the old mortgage would feel about that 😂

I have PCOS and now pregnant with baby no.2. I just found it useful to track ovulation and make sure there's lots of sex around those days! Pcos doesn't mean infertility it might just take a little longer than the average person. For me it took about a year first time and then 6 months second time to fall pregnant

I have pcos and have conceived twice naturally, I’m now 24 weeks pregnant with my second. With my first pregnancy I was 2 weeks into taking metformin when I got pregnant, so this may or may not have helped. I requested the metformin as I’d heard it might help.

Both times I got pregnant I upped my exercise (nothing extreme, 15 min workouts 3x a week). I didn’t do much with my diet, but my diet is fairly healthy. It took 20 months to get pregnant with my first and just over a year with my current. Tbf, I am appalling at tracking my cycle and I think that definitely extended the time it took for me to get pregnant. With my current pregnancy I used OvuSense and got pregnant on the second month of using it. I’d definitely recommend something like that.

My symptoms of pcos are not too extreme though and I’m not overweight, I think my biochemistry responds well to exercise or maybe it relaxed me a bit :)

Hiya, I have PCOS. TTC DC1 did take a while but that’s because (as it turned out) I have underactive thyroid. Once that was medicated I got pg very quickly and same again for DC2.

There is a statistical link between PCOS and hypothyroidism so it might be worth asking for your thyroid to be checked. Specifically your TSH level should be ideally below 2.5 for conception (normal range is up to 4.5 but 2.5-4.5 is not ideal for many)

Also as a PP said, watch out for gestational diabetes, make sure you get tested for it when pg.

I have a friend with PCOS who got pregnant first time of trying… twice!

Thanks so much for this everyone!

@minipie oh I did not know this. At my day 21 test in December my TSH was 3.34 so too high I guess. Another thing to ask about when I get my endo appt!

I'm currently trying to stick to a low GI diet and up my exercise as have a higher than ideal BMI (27.5). Hoping that helps too. I've been tracking ovulation via bbt and opk sticks and my progesterone levels seem to indicate that I ovulate which is promising. I'm getting pregnant with a coparent via home inseminations so had to be quite informed about my cycle anyway so we could time them right (not as fun as DTD lol).

Really happy to hear these success stories but it does seem like it takes longer and carries higher risk of MC & gestational diabetes.

I discovered I had PCOS when I stopped taking the pill in order to TTC. After over a year of TTC I began to follow a diet and exercise plan and lost around 3 stone over the course of around 8 months. Was still TTC during this time and was ovulating most months but nothing was happening. I had an HSG done via the fertility clinic which confirmed there were no blockages in my Fallopian tubes so they basically "flushed" them out.
I fell pregnant the next cycle and I am expecting my first baby at the end of March!

I felt like giving up so many times after TTC for over two years even though I know many people try for a lot longer. But PCOS does not equal infertility and your GP should not be putting this onto you in a doom and gloom way! I found Instagram pages most useful during the TTC process as googling has the inevitable million skewed answers!

Wishing you all the best with TTC x

Congratulations @SomeEnchantedEvening18 that's amazing 😻 and yes I'm going to change GP after that experience - it was really upsetting to have such a pessimistic (but weirdly vague) prognosis just before Christmas!

@lakejupiter thankyou!  To be honest it still feel real after so much time spent TTC.

Definitely change GP as you need people on your side for things to get done! And generally having a more positive attitude towards success rather than writing it off!
I found it quite lonely at times as I felt friends and family didn't understand how overwhelming the whole process was as they hadn't experienced it. Not their fault but I found it all consuming and didn't want to constantly go on about it. So having a supportive GP and fertility nurse really helped me.

Wishing you all the best in everything and will have fingers crossed for good news!

Thanks so much for this @SomeEnchantedEvening18 - it really is so helpful to hear stories like this. I found another surgery in my catchment area and one of the GPs is an ex-gyno so hoping I can see her and she's likely to be more informed and supportive. Amazing that you had a supportive fertility nurse too!

Conceived twice with pcos by taking inofolic supplements and did not have gestational diabetes in either pregnancy. Worth looking into.

Ooooo thank you @longtimelurkerfirsttimeposter gonna have a right old google later, haven't heard of Infolic before.

I have PCOS and had DD1 in June (im 35). The help we had from endocrinology was amazing - they did scans and blood tests to check ovulation (i was taking metformin which regulated my cycle but i still wasnt ovulating). Can you go private for initial appt? I was overweight and a low carb diet helped my levels whilst waiting for referral. Currently about to start the fast 800 to lose the baby weight 😣

In the end, we couldn't conceive naturally after TTC for a year - endo referred us to the assisted conception unit, where we had 3 cycles of letrozole, resulting in DD1. I had no GD in pregnancy but i did really struggle with breastmilk supply. My consultant said there is lots of anecdotal stories from women with PCOS who have issues with feeding but not a lot of actual research yet. I breastfed to 6months but had to do formula top ups after each breastfeed and pumped multiple times a day. It was hard work and I hadn't read anything about that when pregnant so a bit of a surprise!

Don't bother with OPK sticks - PCOS messes with the levels so they are notoriously unrealiable. Given how much they cost, its not worth it. Mine were showing ovulation every month when hospital scans were showing that I wasn't.

Thanks so much @GuidingSpirit and congrats - so glad you got that help too! I will think about the option of going private - there's nowhere local to do that so would have to travel quite far but may be worth it rather than wait an age for any help.

I've had no real problems with OPKs tbh, which is part of my confusion around my diagnosis - I don't get funky readings from them - I have a pretty low reading throughout the month and then peak on the same day each month at the same time as physical symptoms of ovulation, and bbt and progesterone blood test also seem to confirm ovulation. But my GP kept saying "if you have PCOS you don't ovulate and don't have regular periods" despite me telling him I seem to have both. I do need to track my ovulation pretty closely as TTC via home insemination and haven't had issues with OPKs really but maybe should just be doing bbt....

@lakejupiter

Thanks *@TeaSoakedDisasterMagnet* - I don't have Facebook but will check out Verity, never heard of them!

I've been referred to endocrinology via my GP but there are no appointments anywhere so I'm on a waiting list. Average time is 24 weeks so should get seen eventually and carrying on TTC in the meantime. How's your TTC journey so far?

I did read that there's increased risk of miscarriage. That plus my age makes me want to stay in bed for the first four months if I do manage to get pregnant, but not sure how the old mortgage would feel about that 😂

@lakejupiter TTC hasn’t been straightforward for us, so I don’t think you want to hear my disaster story if you’re only just diagnosed.

Honestly the best thing to do it try to be as healthy as possible. Even if you struggle to lose weight, eat well and exercise and make sure you take the right supplements. I take MyOva which is myo inositol tablets, but you can get powders too, which does a similar thing to metformin (which is routinely prescribed for insulin resistance- there’s some evidence that myo inositol does the same sort of thing)

Definitely keep TTC. If you think you ovulate, try tracking it with OPKs and mucous watching. If you know how to assess your cervix and do baseline temping that might be good too. I’ve never managed to get accurate results from temping, my sleep schedule is too erratic.

Thanks @TeaSoakedDisasterMagnet and I'm sorry your journey hasn't been straightforward. TBH I'm saving for fertility treatment whilst TTC - there are various factors that I think might make it tough for me to conceive and I feel like a ticking clock! I wish I'd started younger but I wasn't in the right place and hadn't found the right person, c'est la vie.

I've started temping as well as tracking via OPKs this month, weirdly deciding to track my bbt has massively improved my sleep schedule which was all over the place, but that might be temporary beginners enthusiasm talking! And have been trying to pay attention to cervix and EWCM.

I love the beginners enthusiasm! If only I could drag myself out of bed at the same time it would be fine.

@TeaSoakedDisasterMagnet sometimes I wake up to take my temp and then fall straight asleep again with the thermometer in my hand 😹

I struggled with even remembering to take my temp when I woke up. I’m too dozy in the morning!

PCOS affects everyone differently and the symptoms may vary from time to time. I really struggle to find a balance and when I do, it doesn't last for long.

I would say focus on eating and living as heartily as possible without raising your stress levels and follow your doctor's instructions