what are my options? PLEASE HELP! Ready, Rah, anyone!!!

[BBeingpatient]

morning ladies,

i need some good advice. Its is 7.20 am, and at 6.30 am i took a HPT, it was negative, having sat and brooded (or rather lay) i decided to get up and get help. so here goes...

I am 21 (please dont judge me on my age) 5"10 and overweight by proably about 3-4 stones, i am trying to fix this, and this is just back ground info.Sadly i dont have my parents to ask these questions too, i know my mother had some fertility issues, however she died when i was ten, and i dont think they were hereditary. I have been tested for PCOS when i was 15 and this test came back negative.
In july 07 i had a miscarriage, having just been made redundant (i blame this factor),I opted for a D&C, and had a non-hormonal coil fitted.I dont think i ever really grieved for this loss, just found a new job and tried to get on, i do feel i suffered mild depression.

After having the coil for circa 3 months, my periods becam irregular. I had the coil removed in march 08 and commenced TTC, however my cycles were still around 65 days, which i was told were likely to be non-ovulating.

I was advised in may to go back onto the pill in an attempt to give my cycles a push in the right direction, i did this, and whilst i was on the pill my cycles came as they should. I came off the pill and am currently on CD40 with no signs of AF, I have tested on CD 27, CD33, and today CD 40. i think its clear i am not PG.

So i am going to go to the doctors on monday, im sick of feeling so worried. i just want to know what my doctor is likely to say / do.

I am thinking there will be a blood test, there always seems to be, but i just want to know from you out there who have done/are doing it:

• what timescale am i looking at to get help, as to my mind i have been TTC for a year?
• what could be prescribed? would it be likely to just be a pill i could take?
• how soon could it be prescribed?
• will my weight come into it?

and sadly where to go if my GP is of no help (as he has in the past been insesnitive,unhelpful etc)?

im sorry this is so long, and thank you for reading, i think im normally quite an upbeat person but this has left me feeling very depressed.

BUMP?!

Hi BB

If you were tested for PCOS 6 years ago this should be redone. If a blood test was done at that time the level of LH should have been compared against that of FSH - if that action was not done the test is meaningless. Those two hormone levels need to be compared; it is only when they are compared that any abnormalities are seen. You should also be tested to see if there are any issues with the thyroid (again blood tests).

Any test result done over 6 months ago should be discounted. Think you've been previously given some duff info particularly in May when you were advised to go back on the pill. The pill can also serve to mask symptoms of any underlying hormonal problem - it does not cause it to get worse but the underlying problem still remains regardless. Also these are really "pill bleeds" and not a period per se.

I have heard good things about the Miscarriage Association - you may want to talk to them now. I am saddened to read that you seemingly did not get much support at that time but just carried on.

I would suggest you look at Verity's website as it is a mine of information - www.verity-pcos.org.uk.

Your GP should actually arrange a referral to a gynae at a subfertility unit now as you have been ttc for a year without success. If your GP remains unhelpful (I would look into seeing another GP in the practice rather than this previous preson in any event) I would actually change GP practice - its pointless actually having an unhelpful GP.

A referral can take a few months to arrange - depends how long the waiting list is. Both of you will have to be tested further as subfertility is not just the preserve of the woman.

You need a diagnosis first and foremost. Your weight may also be seen as a factor by some clinicians but weight should not be a barrier to treatment. Metformin may be prescribed to help with insulin resistance (some PCOS patients are IR).

If your GP does decide to do tests for both of you to have done I would also insist that you are referred at the same time. Also importantly these problems are outside a GPs general remit of understanding and you don't want to waste any more time.

You will need to be persistant in order to get answers. It is all too easy to be fobbed off.

HTH

Attila

Attila seems to have covered all the answers but just wanted to say no one on here will ever judge on age, weight or anything. If you need help the ladies on here i feel know more than the doctors as some have been through so much. Just look for threadss which relate to you and you can chat to poeople who have things in common. Good luck with it all and maybe look into talking about the miscarriage either on the web or a counseller, it may help you. xx

Hi BB

AtilatheMeerkat seems to have covered all the medical bases, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm in exactly the same boat - ttc for over a year, unhelpful GP, PCOS indicators but a negative result from a test earlier this year. I've finally got a referral to a subfertility unit and am about to go for all the tests that AtM mentioned - I think this is definitely the next step for you and you should insist that your GP refers you.

But I think you should also consider counselling. I have been lucky enough not to have suffered a miscarriage, but I know from participating in the MN boards over the last few months how devastating this can be. It's a bereavement and you need to grieve properly. The comments you make about your age and weight suggest that you're suffering from some quite negative thinking - I suspect this is related to your miscarriage and it won't help you to get pregnant. The one assumption I WILL make about someone of your age is that you probably don't have a great deal of money, which might be a barrier, but the Miscarriage Association is definitely the place to start and also enquire at your GP's surgery.

While you're waiting for your referral and your tests, focus on doing whatever it is you need to do to get yourself into a more positive frame of mind - and share this with your DP.

Wishing you luck.......

thank you all so much, i hadnt even considered that the PCOS test could be out of date, and from the symptoms on the website, that seems to me, to be a likely cause.

I will look into conselling too, as i almost feel i am being punished, i know that is ridiculous but i feel like i should of done more to protect the child i was carrying?

its just so hard to deal with when its all you want in life, also i am in some respects scared to ahve many docs appts as i dont want to tell my employer of these troubles...its an emotional mine field. x

Oh dear BB your mind is in a right mess at the moment. Don't even think you are being punished for a miscarriage - ITS NOT YOUR FAULT. You just can't control things like that. Have you a close friend who you can confide in, i find as well as mumsnet (who i give detailed info which friends wouldn't want to hear!) If you have a girfl friend who knows you are ttc then a bit of non virtual support will help. chin up girl, try and focus on something like christmas to relieve the stress of it all (unless xmas is a big stress for you!!) hugs and kisses to you . xx

an update for those of you that helped me!!

after a row at my docs ( the receptionist sent me me to see the only avail doc, who gaver me shit as my situation "wasnt an emergency" so i stood up for myself) i went and had blood taken for testing, they are doind a full hormone profile, as well as various others. thanks for all your help ladies xxx