Conceiving after 40 with pcos

[Unitedthebest]

Hi everyone…I’m 40 and just started my period today after first month of TTC. This would be my third child but 10 years on from conceiving last time.
I have polycystic ovarian syndrome but conceived first month with both previous pregnancies (however this was after being on the pill for a short period before both-I was told by a doctor it would regulate my ovaries/symptoms)
Looking for advice, tips, positive stories as I feel very disillusioned today (which I realise is a bit silly)
Thanks

Are your periods currently regular and are you ovulating ?

I can't comment on your specific case but I will tell you what my doctor told me - if you have PCOS, if you ovulate, and have sex at the right time, your chances of conception (and subsequently, a successful birth) are the same as any other woman of a similar age.

The problem, of course, is that any woman with PCOS may not ovulate, and almost always does not know when she is ovulating, making the overall effort of getting pregnant significantly harder.

From a personal perspective, my cycles became far more regular post DC 1 and even more so post DC2. I can only assume that I was therefore also more likely to be ovulating regularly. If you are ovulating, there is no reason to think you can't get pregnant beyond the usual that it can be more difficult for older women. But, statistically, women who have already had a baby are more likely to have successful conception and pregnancy subsequently at an older age.

I have pcos and got pregnant with my dd at 42 👍

Very long cycle…between 5-6 weeks. Always been like that…guessing I ovulate as I always have a ‘normal period’.

That’s amazing…how long did it take?

@Unitedthebest you can most definitely have a period and not ovulate. My advice is to try a month or two at tracking to see if/when you ovulate. I have pcos (quite severe) and have no issue with using ovulation tests.
I'm 38 TTC baby number 1. I didn't get diagnosed until aged 33.
We've been trying since aged 20 with no success. I wasn't having periods at all and even went years without a cycle.
I'm lucky now in the sense that I now have a regular period every month and ovulate and have done for the past year.
I'm starting ivf next week as unfortunately all other options have failed for me. I did manage to get pregnant at christmas but suffered an early loss.
Are you taking any supplements?

If you haven't conceived after a few months , given that your 40 I'd speak to your gp about some options. There's medications that can help regulate your cycle. Metformin for example and clomid can help if your not ovulating. Are you within healthy weight range and exercising ?

How would I find out if I’m not ovulating? No supplements yet (except folic acid) so will try this month. The very best of luck to you 🙏

Yes, like a PP - I originally was getting periods roughly every 6-8 weeks (with some longer gaps) but my doctor told me she thought I was only actually ovulating about twice a year.

The best way they can tell is through blood tests and, I think, a scan. I had blood tests originally with GP then saw a specialist but that was all on private healthcare so not sure which bit confirmed good/bad ovulation.

@Unitedthebest well the only way you can definitely tell is with a blood test usually taken on day 21 however the problem with pcos is your long cycles which means this will be tricky as you may need a weekly test until your period arrives ( thats what I was advised) However getting that on the nhs is no easy task. I was lucky to get it through fertility as I was currently on clomid treatment to help me ovulate and it had to be done to establish dosage that I was responding to.
You could try charting at home with ovulation tests and BBT. I use easy at home tests ( available on amazon) as they are reliable and cheap and a bbt thermometers is only a few quid.
I'd recommend doing that for few months as your GP likely wont refer you for bloods until you've been trying over 6 months.
My only other advise to try taking myo inositol. It's been well studied to manage pcos symptoms . My pcos was so bad but with some supplements and lifestyle change I've got my periods back and I'm ovulating every month.
Take an omega 3 oil aswell.
I've found exercising, as much as I hate it really helps as with pcos the vast majority of us have an insulin resistance. Exercising will really help and inositol helps combat that insulin resistance. It works similar in the way the diabetes drug metformin works which is prescribed for pcos patients as it helps regulate cycles. I've found gps utterly useless when it comes to pcos

Thank you for this. I’m not sure at this stage if I’d go down the fertility route as I am already a mum and I don’t take that for granted in comparison to others on their conception journey. It must be so difficult and I’m sending you lots of positive thoughts.
I love exercise but need to get back in to it after a year of trauma-as much for my mental health as anything else.
Thank you for your kind advice x

I conceived easily age 21 but then had secondary infertility and took 7 years to conceive the second age 30.
I was told to go on a low carb diet and drink green tea or water and nothing else by the fertility clinic (severe pcos was diagnosed and i still ovulated but had very infrequent periods). But my family was now complete or so I thought!
Fast forward to age 41 and I went on the low carb and green tea diet just to lose weight because no other diet worked for me.
I then felt a random kick in my tummy and was shocked to discover I was 26 weeks pregnant 🤣.
So for me it definitely made a difference to watch my diet.

Does this supplement contain folic acid do you know or do you need this on top?

@Unitedthebest most of those myo inositols do contain Folic acid. You can get them in tablet or powder form.
I take a lot of supplements but the only things I was ever advised to take by fertility clinic was a good multivitamin, folic acid , vitamin d and continue with my inositol if it was helping .
I'm getting 600 folic acid , 400 from the multivitamin and my consultant was fine with it. I did read that women with pcos need more vitamin d and folic