PCOS Test explanation pls...

[PainForLife]

so last 2 years I gave birth to my first baby & 3 months later was sent for a scan which showed polycystic ovaries (multiple cysts on both varies)... G.P said since I'd have a baby not to worry about it & so nomore was said about it.

But now my periods r irregular & heavy & painful so went back to G.P who referred to gynae. just had my gynae appt and have been told to do 2 blood test (one on 5th day of periods & two a fasting GTT)& another ultrasound....

luckily enough I just had my cycle so did the first blood test there & then... had the scan this Saturday & did the fasting GTT today.

scan shows the multiple cysts on both varies are still present :(

my question really is what are the 2 blood test I went for & bcos I've had a child already can gynae simply discharge me if my bloods come back normal??? tried googling but cannot make sense of it at all

The day 2 blood test is to compare the LH (luteinising hormone) level against that of FSH (follicle stimulation hormone). Both LH and FSH are two very important hormones as these kickstart the ovulation process; if these are awry (they should be the same) then ovulation is affected. In some women with PCO the level of LH is far higher than that of FSH.

Not entirely sure about the fasting GTT.

The cystic follicles associated with PCO do not disappear completely but are replaced instead by further cystic follicles.

I would not think the gynae will discharge you upon receiving the results of the blood tests; also the cause of your now painful periods needs to be properly determined. How long have you had such a problem btw?. Has the gynae commented on that?.

www.verity-pcos.org.uk is a good website.

You will need to be persistant in order to get answers.

Attilathemeerkat thanks for the above info it makes a bit more sense to me now. I will check the link properly when I'm a bit more awake as it luks really good.

I'm just tired of hospitals & tests & medications now it seems I'll have to add one more illness to my list of suffering but I have to do it as my cycles are so darn painful & irregular :(

I've been having numbness in my finger tips & toes... is this a symptom of pcos also do u know?

fasting GTT it to test for insulin resistance (a sort of precursor to diabetes) - a very simple explanation of PCOS is that it's a hormone imbalace - your body doesn't read the insulin signals very well, so produces too much of it in repsonse to generally white processed carbohydrates. This then imbalances lots of other hormones, and can lead to excess testosterone (= acne, excess hair). And the insulin resistance means that it's very easy to gain weight, which in turn makes the IR worse, and so on, round and round.

The "cysts" are actually follicles which have developed as part of a regular cycle, but then not died back, due to the wrong levels of hormones, and are a symptom, not a cause.

PCOS in itself shouldn't cause pain or heavy periods, but there are other very common cinditions which do, and obviously you can have more than one thing wrong with you .

Haven't heard of numbness in fingers/toes being to do with PCOS, so worth raising that with your doctor.

Make sure your gynae looks at the ratio between LH and FSH, as they can both be within normal limits, but it's the ratio that's important (can't remember the exact details offhand, but will have a look for you). Diagnosis tends to be either by the appearance of the ovaries, or by blood tests - you don't need to have both showing PCOS to have it.

IShallWearMidnight I suffer from acne & excessive hair & well weight gain is a massive prob :( so I'm pretty sure I'm insulin resistant but whether the test show that I don't know! I just hope I'm not diabetic on top of everything else!!!

thanks for the info guys, at least when I go speak to gynae to get my results now I can understand what they are talking about :)

as for the numbness I Google it (I know too Damn obsessed with it LOL) it may be linked with my vitD deficiency/R.A - will see my G.P some time this week about it. just need to get my energy levels back up first.

the GTT shouls show insulin resistance, but there's not a great deal of medical help . A low GI /low GL diet, plus regular exercise blah blah blah .

However, acne and hair can be helped a bit - Dianette seems to work quite well (if you're allowed it - BP and age seem to factor into that decision). Some areas still have limited funding for laser hair removal, assuming that works for you (not all skin/hair combos are suitable).

Losing weight/keeping weight under control will also have some impact on symptoms, but not a great deal for skin problems.

Metformin was being touted as a wonder drug for a while, but studies have shown it's really only of much use combined with clomid to help ovulation side effects help with weight loss a bit though .

If you're not actively ttc at the moment, an endocrinologist may be of more help that a gynae (unless they do actually know what they're talking about with PCOS)