Just been diagnosed with PCOS - what can I do?

[Fleur1985]

Hi, I was diagnosed on Friday and have been referred to a fertility clinic as I’m 37, so getting on a bit 😬. I have positive opk’s every month as well as EWCM and other symptoms of ovulation, but on the ultrasound it showed I hadn’t ovulated this month (despite the blazing positive that morning on the opk) and blood tests have also confirmed I’m not ovulating.

what can I do while I wait for my fertility clinic appointment? I’m so overwhelmed with the info on pcos right now! Thank you

Hi, I also have PCOS but no blood tests etc, I just wondered if you could share a bit more?

I have regular-ish cycles, ewcm and a temp rise each month so assumed I’ve ovulated - were you the same? This has made me think I should
push for blood tests……

I used to have no cycle whatsoever, and what has helped is inositol, 10,000 steps a day without fail, strength training, vit d / zinc supplements and spearmint tea.

Most important thing to know is that ovulation kits and temping don't work if you have PCOS. So you may as well ditch them right now.

Most likely they will give you Clomid which will force ovulation. At which point pregnancy chances are the same as anyone else at your age/health etc.

If you are overweight, trying to lose weight can be helpful. But other than that, there's not a lot you can do.

I was diagnosed nearly 10yrs ago and had DD1 last year. As @Triffid1 says, OPKs are notoriously unreliable for PCOS. I always got positives but it turned out i only ovulated twice in one year. 🙄

In terms of lifestyle, losing weight is hard with PCOS but it does make a huge difference. Low carb and low sugar (a low GI diet) works best. The Fast 800 is also supposed to be effective.

In terms of medication, i conceived DD by taking metformin to bring on periods + letrozole to force ovulation. How is your BMI? If it's on the larger side, push for letrozole instead of clomid. More effective and fewer side effects. Whichever you get, make sure you get transvaginal scanning ("monitoring"). I went every 3 days after taking the letrozole to check it was working and ovulation was happening. There is a limit on how many months you can take letrozole / clomid for before there is an increased ovarian cancer risk - I'm shocked at how many GPs prescribe it without monitoring, when it seems such a waste of a cycle! I was seen at Guys Hospital and conceived DD on 3rd cycle (ovulatation confirmed on 2nd cycle but it obviously just didn't happen for us that month).

As everyone else has said, PCOS causes multiple LH surges throughout the month. Our follicles just can't release the eggs unfortunately! I've been given clomid and I've ovulated each month with blood tests and scans to confirm.

You could start by processing some myo-inositol, it helps with symptoms of PCOS and helps to regulate cycles and promote ovulation.

I didn't ovulate for aaaages and now have regular cycles with myoinositol (needs to contain d chiro inositol) and also metformin which the GP can prescribe while you wait for the referral! For me personally LH strips show a clear surge and peak each month which tallies with ewcm and ovulation pain so I wouldn't write them off totally just because you have PCOS if you can get cycles going!

Should say the peak always tallies with a period starting 13 days after so I do think it is ovulation, obvs I could go to my referral and find out otherwise but for now I'm convinced I'm ovulating

Thank you for the replies! I’m definitely going to get the myo-inositol.

I weirdly don’t have many symptoms of PCOS. A few dark hairs around my belly button, but not anywhere else and my bmi is 22. I do tend to carry weight on my stomach though. And have REALLY irregular cycles, 23-68 days long.

@Mushroo Ive had the day 21 blood tests three times now which have confirmed I didn’t ovulate those months. I was referred for an internal ultrasound of my ovaries and that’s how I was diagnosed. I was supposed to be ovulating around that time, but there was no sign I’d ovulated or was going to ovulate that month despite symptoms and a peak test result.

@Triffid1 @Endogal @GuidingSpirit thanks for the info, hopefully I’ll get some medication sorted once I’ve been seen at the clinic. Also thank you for making me not order 50 more opk’s this month! You’ve all saved me a fortune 😊. It’s so reassuring to hear that there’s a chance for me to conceive ❤️

I’m going to try a lower carb diet, plus myo-inositol and see how that goes until I get my appointment.

Good luck! I had two kids naturally with pcos and was down to going to the gym and losing weight. In london i was told no help to conceive unless tried for a year but happened naturally. Do your own research as my drs were useless told me no cure wait a year then come back. Waited 6 months for a gynaecologist to say the same thing as the gp no help.

Read the book natural solutions to pcos you will learn more from that than a gp. Vitamin b12 and vitamin d is meant to help with cycles.

But dont stress as I defo did when first diagnosed. I followed a low gi diet, lost a stone and 6 months later pregnant but accident. My gp told me weight loss resets your hormones so you need to do that first

Thank you to everyone who replied. I’m not sure if it was a coincidence or not, but the first month I took the mio-inositol I’ve managed to get a bfp 🙏

Hoping it sticks now as I’ve also got covid 🙄

@Fleur1985 thats amazing!! Congrats! Did you make any others changes and was your cycle regualr?

(Sorry for all the questions, I’m planning on TTC very soon!)

@Mushroo no other changes at all and my cycle is normally very long and random, but I ovulated on cycle day 16 according to opk’s.

It all feels so strange. I only did a test because I’m eligible for an antibody infusion for covid and the nurse asked if I could be pregnant. I was so shocked! But I definitely recommend the inositol tablets!

@Fleur1985 thank you! Best of luck with everything