PCOS and secondary infertility

[polkadot202]

Hello!

I’m just wondering if anyone can shine some light, hope or any advice.

I was diagnosed with PCOS around 3 years ago. I fortunately have regular cycles and seem to ovulate monthly. I do get long periods (10-11 days) and spot a lot before my period.

We were incredibly lucky, having been told it could take a while, to conceive our first born on the first month of TTC.

This time however. It’s been far longer than a year. It’s starting to take its toll on my marriage, mental health and it just feels all consuming. I feel guilty for even ranting as I know I should just be grateful for having one beautiful child. I’m not sure what I’m asking really. Just to know that you’re not alone sometimes! 🤍

Take a look at this video:
Title on youtube if you are suspicious of links: Dr. Tim O’Dowd - ‘PCOS and Insulin Resistance: A lifetime of opportunities'.

Basically, there is a link between insulin resistance and PCOS and treating the insulin resistance via nutritional therapy (ahem, a low carb diet) can resolve the PCOS and the infertility.
Take a look, do some reading (PubMed) very easy to try without any medical intervention.
Best wishes!

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time. I got diagnosed with PCOS just after my first pregnancy (like you I was lucky enough to conceive first month of trying) . Haven't started trying for another yet although I'd like to in the future. I got gestational diabetes with my first so I know insulin resistance goes hand in hand with PCOS for me. Not sure if you've tried them already but medications like Metformin can help with insulin resistance and clomid can help stimulate ovulation. Also might be worth looking into the supplement myo-inositol as I've heard some people with PCOS say it has helped them though I haven't tried it myself. Wishing you the best of luck on your journey ❤️

I have this too but I don’t have insulin resistance kind of PCOS. I have the testosterone kind. Vitamin d and folic acid has been helpful. When my vitamins were low, it felt like my eggs just weren’t robust even though i have many of them and also ovulate regularly now.

I have PCOS, no idea what kind though as no one told me. It took me 1.5 years to conceive my son and two years (three miscarriages and one round of IVF) to conceive my daughter.

You can get there! Don‘t give up hope ❤️ Like someone above I discovered I was massively deficient in vitamin D so started taking a high dosage of that which helped I think.

The majority of people with PCOS are insulin resistant regardless of variety. It doesn't necessarily show in a fasting glucose or HbA1c test - fasting insulin is also needed.

Cutting sugar and simple carbs + lowering BMI where needed + taking metformin helps to lower chronic inflammation and circulating insulin and androgens, both of which fry eggs.

…wait what?? Could this be why I sometimes feel like absolute garbage for hours after eating? I had a fasting glucose test years ago but it came back normal.

@TheBirdintheCave is that with everything you eat or mostly when you've had sugar/ refined carbs? You could get a glucose monitor to see if you have unusual spikes or dips.

I’m not actually sure. I tried keeping a diary once but there didn't seem to be any particular pattern to it. It’s happened every day this week though. Years ago I used a glucose monitor to test when it happens but everything seemed normal even when I felt horrible 🤷🏻‍♀️ The symptoms are exactly as I’ve read about for hypoglyaemia: I feel weak and empty (even though I just ate), dizzy, tired, forgetful and spaced out. It doesn’t go away until I eat another meal again in the evening (though has persisted on a few occasions).

@TheBirdintheCave yep. I was diagnosed officially with PCOS when TTC but I’d had it for years and just been told ‘hey periods hurt sometimes, and you’re fat because you eat too much and have excess hair and unpredictable cycle lengths because you’re fat’. Once I’d been TTC for a year I finally got hormone tests and a scan of my ovaries and at least then I had an official record. Was still told it was my problem and I just needed to lose weight and try harder but that a whole rant. Anyway, yes PCOS often goes hand in hand with insulin resistance, I ended up with Gestational Diabetes once I did eventually get pregnant and now have type 2 diabetes. You are significantly more at risk of developing T2 diabetes if you have PCOS.

I was diagnosed T2 after buying myself a continuous glucose monitor from Amazon (freestyle Libre) and calling 111 about 2 hrs after putting it on when the app started sending me alerts that my sugar readings were very high and I should seek medical guidance.

OP if you are overweight at all, moving to a low carb/low GI, high protein, high fat, high fibre diet may be useful, even as little as a 10% reduction in weight can make a big difference to fertility levels.

To be fair, even though I don't have the insulin resistance kind - stopping sugar made my cycles both more regular and with less pms symptoms.

I still eat well though, just avoid refined sugar like sweets, soda, chocolate, really sugary food glazes, even fruit. I mainly avoid them because they made me bloated and I kept getting thrush. But the side effect I noticed was my periods more regular and less painful.