Pcos& ovulation tests.

[chelseaaaaaxxxx]

Hi
if you have pcos did you ever take ovulation tests? Were they always positive or at least a line by the control line?

Hi OP.

I haven't ttc for years, but I remember being advised to try fertility tracking rather than ovulation sticks.

I definitely recommend it! It was really cool to see how everything works in terms of CM, temping, movement of os.... and it worked first time every time (I have PCOS too).

Plus it's a lot cheaper!

Oh okay I’ve never heard of this? What is is called? What do you have to do?

OK, first off, get an app or similar. Some people do do it on paper but that's a massive faff.

This is very bare bones:

Buy a thermometer that reads to two decimal places and use throughout cycle before getting out of bed. Your temperature spikes immediately after ovulation, so you do really need to know your cycle to time everything correctly.

You track your cervical mucus, before ovulation is the consistency of egg white.

Some women check their cervix every day to check positioning and whether it's hard or soft.

Obviously this is not what every woman wants or feels comfortable to do.

I liked it because it really made me feel in tune with my body and I felt very empowered by it. I learned that I do not ovulate on day 14, which is what I was always taught, it's more day 17 with me. PCOS can of course affect this too, which would save you buying ovulation sticks at the wrong time of the cycle.

Like I say, it's not for everyone. I think I used fertility friends website (this was pre apps really) and that was excellent.

That's a very basic run through. I wish you all the best!

spery for tmi but is egg white like a clear stretchy texture? And how many hours before does ovulation normally happen?

I have a nearly 2 year old fell pregnant with her straight away and now since TTC my periods have gone all weird. So I am really new to all of this and haven’t got a clue what I am doing as I’ve never tracked my ovulation, cycle!

Sorry*

There's no reason why you should know, don't worry! We're not taught in school and I think i came across it on a MN post.

Yes, that's the exact description of CM. I used to experience it 2 days prior to ovulation. Do remember emeber everyone is different and after you've tracked one cycle you will have a much better idea.

Do you have pcos?
I’ve never experienced periods like I am having atm thy are so irregular and it’s stressing my mental health out. I had quite a strong positive ovulation test at the beginning of April and then had the egg white a few days after! How do I know if I’ve ovulated!

So sorry for all the questions

That's fine, happy to help.

Yes I have PCOS and didn't have periods very often until I had DS, after which they sorted themselves out (not helpful, I appreciate!).

I don't want to go too far down the ovulation test route as I have zero experience with them. I do seem to remember being told that they may detect the LH surge less accurately- again, please don't take my word as gospel. That said, if you have irregular periods it might be tricky to know when to use them and when to time sex.

You know you have ovulated because the CM changes (not egg white), your cervix texture and positioning changes and your temp spikes (not dramatically, this is why you need a thermometer that reads to two decimal places).

Like I say, I'm no expert. Hopefully someone will come along with additional insights but I'll try to help where I can.

Thank you so much for helping me I do appreciate it,

Have you always had pcos until after having your DS?
my periods are always 33-35 days on the longer side but still in the normal range. Have cycles every month normally but since we’ve TTC baby number 2 my periods have gone weird.
i read a few comments on MN which now my brain has tricked me into thinking I have pcos ( I know stupid way of thinking) I just don’t understand it at all. I had a period the beginning of last month! No idea why but I took a ovulation test the end of March / beginning of April and it was pretty dark maybe not as dark as the control line but was pretty much there, a few days later I got the MC discharge and then maybe a few days later I felt my temperature go up:/ like I said before I have no idea what I am doing and I feel like such an idiot 🙈

I have PCOS. I never did ovulation sticks, because they don't guarantee ovulation as your body can attempt to ovulate, give you a positive ovulation test, then the ovulation fails but you think you've ovulated and stop having sex! Your body often tries again a few days later, but you might miss it if you have stopped having sex. Multiple attempts at ovulation is especially common in women with PCOS.

Instead I did what a pp suggested already - temping. Also called BBT. Once you get good at this you will know for certain you have ovulated in any given cycle. Initially it doesn't help you know when to have sex - that's where the cervical mucus can be useful - but after a few cycles you get to know when you are likely to ovulate and you can use that knowledge to have less sex if every other day throughout is too much for you.

Doing BBT will tell you for certain you have ovulated. This is useful because PCOS can stop ovulation happening, and if you are doing BBT you will know and you can get medical help sooner.

The cervix checking a pp mentioned may or may not be useful. I tried this for a while, and it was never doing what it was supposed to be doing! If you try it, maybe don't rely on it too much until you get good at it!

PS Fertility Friend is the easiest app to interpret, it's really clear. The free version is fine.

can pcos just stop ovulation completely?

Do you regularly periods also? Me and my partner try to aim for every other day sorry for TMI!

Yes, PCOS can absolutely stop ovulation. My cousin was having relatively regular periods but It turned out she never actually ovulated. Often periods stop too, or are really spaced out. It depends how much it's 'under control' and varies between women obviously.

My periods have been regular since I got the PCOS under control, yes. I maintain a healthy weight and take inositol and that has worked for me. I ovulate every month without fail, between CD12 and CD16. When I was TTC it was really good to know this!

Was she having all the symptoms of ovulating tho? That’s so scary for your cousin! I am just hoping that TTC has just messed my cycles around! Cos it’s literally only since I’ve been TTC for baby number 2 that my periods have gone a bit odd. I got pregnant really quickly, surely pcos can’t come on that quickly? I also thought you cant ovulate if you didn’t have a period?

Was you given inositol or did you have to pay? Is it worth me giving it ago?

What do you mean, surely pcos can't come on that quickly? Have you actually been diagnosed with it?

Inositol isn't on prescription, it's just a supplement you buy off Amazon! It took about three months to work for me. It's harmless so do give it a try (if you do have PCOS).

Sorry I worded it wrong:
I’ve not been diagnosed with pcos no! Basically my post was for me to kinda understand maybe wants going on with my body. I got pregnant within a few weeks of TTC with my DD, I had my period come back quite quickly after having her! My periods have been regular every 33-34 days, we started TTC for baby number 2 in December and ever since January my periods have been all over the place! One cycle in Feb was 41 days and another 37 days in March!! I did an ovulation test and i was given a pretty strong almost positive ovulation test! I thought I was meant to be due on my period and this was the beginning of April, I had the MD a few days later! But I mentioned it to someone on here and they said about me having pcos and that my ovulation tests can go from dark to light but it’s never really light and apparently that’s a sign of pcos? Or does pcos always give a strong positive test?

Sorry if I made it sound like I could have had pcos🙈😣 I just wanted to kinda understand it more and symptoms of it

I see now!

Well then it seems even more like it's a good idea to do BBT. Even if the cycle length varies you will still be able to identify ovulation, and you'll know if it's not happening. Information is power!

I have heard that testing LH is not ideal for women with PCOS, yes, but I'm not sure exactly why because I've never done it. Sorry! But either way, if you are looking to confirm ovulation has definitely happened, then LH strips are useless - they never prove ovulation, whether you have PCOS or not.

I find that as well regarding the strips I think it’s a money racket tbh but even with people with really regular 28 day cycles can still have a negative ovulation or false positive. Also think testing every single day really puts pressure on you and your partner.
what symptoms do you have for pcos?
do you also think I could just randomly get pcos?
I am pretty sure I read on here that people can have really bad pcos but then it completely goes after you’ve had a child? So sorry for all the comments and questions x

so BBT is just basically checking temperature round roughly you think you are about to ovulate? When you first tried this did you test every day after your period finished until your temp when up? How do you know you’ve definitely ovulated? Clear stretchy dc like egg white is that close to ovulation or after you’ve ovulated. Sorry feel so embarrassed asking these questions

When you are learning to do BBT you need to check your temp every single day of your cycle. When you are experienced you might be able to leave a few days out at the start of your cycle.
It's really important to take the temp at the same time of day (within 30 mins) at the exact second you wake up.
You'll see an overall pattern which shows lower temps pre-ovulation and higher temps post-ovulation. You know you've ovulated once you have got at least three higher temps in a row (so you won't know until three days after ovulation).
Things can affect your temp, like drinking alcohol the night before, sleeping with your mouth open (it gets cold!), being sick, etc. But the odd wacky temp won't throw off the overall pattern.

For PCOS symptoms you can Google I'm sure. But if your only symptom is that your periods are a bit different after having a baby I think that's very common and doesn't mean PCOS on it's own. But go to a GP if you are concerned as nobody on here can help you with it!

Lots of good advice here and agree with pp that BBT might be helpful for you.

Just wanted to pick up on a previous detail - you said you can feel as if you have a temperature.

That's not ovulation. You won't notice the post ovulation spike as it's so minor. Which is why you need a thermometer for 2 decimal places.