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So been diagnosed with polycystic ovaries but that's it and basically told to go away and get in with it. Is this the norm?

2 replies

upjacobscreekwithoutapaddle · 04/12/2013 13:06

Excuse typos, on my phone.

Quick background, periods have been wonky for a long time. At the moment, and by that I mean the last few months, they are more regular but can last 3 or 4 weeks and the bleeding is often exceptionally heavy. I saw a gynae consultant who reviewed a scan I'd had via the gp that showed some cysts. He sent me off for blood tests with a follow up appointment.

That appt was Monday, I waited nearly 2 hours and then saw the registrar, not him. He confirmed that yes I do have them, to which I replied that that had been more or less confirmed at the previous appointment and I thought I was there to discuss treatment. He told me I 'could' go on dianette if I wanted which I'm reluctant to do because of bad experiences with both that and other pill brands in the past. When I told him that and asked if there was any alternatives he shrugged and told me as long as I was bleeding once every 4 months I wasn't really at risk of future problems and I would just have to put up with it.

I know, in the grand scheme of things it's not anything awful but I felt he was belittling me. I don't want 3 week long periods wwhere I can't go out for 48 hours because it's so heavy and no idea when it will start and 5 weeks of dreadful pmt and bad skin. I feel miserable.

OP posts:
upjacobscreekwithoutapaddle · 04/12/2013 13:07

*on with it. Sorry!

OP posts:
SuperConfused · 05/12/2013 19:42

He sounds particularly rubbish. Though sadly it is generally the norm to be told to get on with it if you're not ttc, although I think doctors are getting a bit better.

I was diagnosed a few months ago but I'd sort of worked out it was likely a few years ago from having friends diagnosed.

Some basics: The NHS mostly doesn't care unless you want to get pregnant. There's an assumption PCOS = not ovulating/ovulating irregularly, which is frequently the case, but its a syndrome, so symptoms present differently in different people and a lot of the other symptoms have a massive impact on your life.

If you want to get pregnant, they'll often prescribe a drug called metformin, which regulates blood sugar (there's a link between blood sugar and PCOS) and can start more regular ovulation. Also might give something like Clomid.

If you don't, generally, they'll just tell you to go on the pill and come back to them when you want to start a family.

However, you can push for more than that. I've asked to go on metformin to help with other symptoms, I was on the pill but hormonal contraception sadly doesn't suit me.

There's also a lot you can do with diet and lifestyle. For info, a book by Colette Harris on understanding PCOS is good, and there's a website called verity with lots of online help forums that is often useful. Read up, decide what kind of treatment you'd like and how its effecting you and go back to your GP.

Also: the reason I came off the pill was to do with the fact it killed my sex drive, but I was on yasmin beforehand and aside from that it was wonderful: regulated my mood, cleared up my skin, stopped excess hair growing, basically perfect except for the fact I have a partner. So it might be worth considering, depending on how it impacts on you.

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