TTC with PCOS

[YorkieCM20]

Hi, just want to get some info/people’s experience of conceiving naturally with PCOS.
Some background.. I was diagnosed about 5 years ago, had a hycosy which showed one blocked tube but conceived after 1 round if chlomid on NHS. Have a perfect 3yr old now. Wanting to try for 2nd baby but don’t qualify for any NHS help now. Have looked to go private but getting time off work to travel an hour to a clinic isn’t going to be easy so I want to try naturally first. Haven’t been on contraception and nothing has happened but probably due to having NO periods.
BMI 26, no periods, no other PCOS symptoms apart from sugar cravings.
I have bought inofolic-alpha which says it restores ovulation in 95% women in 3 months. Is this really true??
I am also taking vit D, magnesium, inositol at the moment and folic acid.
Anyone shed any light on what else I can do?? It’s just draining me now as I am completely lost with all the info online!

Hi @YorkieCM20 I also have PCOS and am ttc my 2nd child. I conceived my first after 6 months on Metformin after having no periods but this time I’ve been taking Inofolic Alpha for approx. 6 months and I seem to be having periods every 32-35 days. I think I’m ovulating based on opks and cm but we’re only on our 2nd month of trying. I’ve heard really good things about Inofolic Alpha so fingers crossed it works for you!

@Flowerpot9 Hi! Ooh interesting, did you have periods before? I don’t have hardly any.. probably 2 last year and sometimes a bit of spotting. I was on Metformin 1st time round but did absolutely nothing! Going to try infolic alpha and hope for the best but not sure if i need to do something to supplement it? I.e, weightloss, other supplements etc?! It’s a mindfield.

My periods had just returned after breastfeeding when I started taking the Inofolic alpha but they’ve gone from 40+ cycles to regular cycles. I’ve read that a low GI diet can help with PCOS and I’ve swapped to brown rice and wholewheat pasta. Have you seen an Endocrinologist? I was referred to one prior to my last pregnancy and they were fantastic at understanding hormone imbalances.

Hiya, I was diagnosed with PCOS last year - usual symptoms, unwanted hair, uncontrollable weight gain (despite eating like a mouse and killing myself at the gym). I was put on Metformin which helped me shift some stubborn pounds and then in December I started taking Myo-Inositol and got pregnant in January after 11 months of trying. My periods were always semi-regular but weird, sometimes skipping and sometimes 40+ days, but since taking Metformin they were between 30-34 days.
I also switched all white carbs to brown carbs, and do weight lifting and cardio 3x a week as I heard this helps too.

Why do you not qualify for NHS help? You can absolutely do rounds of Clomid / Letrozole on the NHS if you already have a child. If you have been told you dont qualify due to have a child, this applies to IVF, but our hospital were very happy for me to have more letrozole treatment for baby #2 (baby #1 was conceived by letrozole). In the end, i didnt actually need it - i lost 10% of my body weight doing the fast 800 diet and took 2000mg metformin per day, and had a natural conception, but the gynae & fertility consultant had already done all their pre tests and screens for the letrozole prescription.

If you are having no periods at all, please ask for a referral to the endocrinology team. I was told less than 2 periods a year can increase risk factors for more serious problems later on in life. Hence the pretty high metformin prescription.

@Flowerpot9 sadly mine never returned despite breastfeeding although I was told it would help. I’ve seen an endocrinologist before and my prolactin was high and testosterone slightly high but it’s hard to know what to do with this info!

@CrispAppleStrudels My GP said that because i turned down a hycosy scan 18 months ago (wasn’t thinking about 2nd child then) that my referral recently was rejected. I have also been given provera to induce periods which I take but don’t count them as real ones. Seems like each hospital has their own rules. I was told outright that i’d have to go private for baby number 2. So frustrating! I’m going to continue with inofolic alpha and report back in 3m as that’s when it claims to have restored ovulation. 🤞

Yes take the infolic alpha! It restored my periods after about 2 months. And I wasn't getting them for months on end. (This was when ttc baby 1) x