Woah.... 21 day menstrual cycle...that's harsh!

[sunshinedays]

Hi All
My best mate is having a nightmare - she's ttc her first one and finds mn a bit too mumsy (funny that!), so I'm writing on her behalf.

She's 38 and her cycle has dropped from a regular 25 days to a regular 21 days for the last year. She's been having hormones tests (normal) and charting temps (implying she's ovulating) ... but no baby joy. She has mild PCOS and a hydro-something or other on one of her tubes (could that explain the cycle problems?).
Can any of you offer any hope (eg also had short cycles and are now a mum) and/or advice? She's pretty down and frustrated but I'm at a loss what to suggest.

Thanks for your help
Sunny x

sunshinedays

You are nice to write on your friend's behalf.

First off if this lady is not already under the care of a gynae then she ought to be.

PCOS is a very individualistic disorder and can affect each woman with it very differently. There is no such thing really as "mild" PCOS - the commonality with this condition is the cystic follicles (but again not every single PCOSer has these).

I would think as well that her hormone blood test levels are awry and not normal - the poeple who do the blood test must compare the levels of LH against that of FSH. Normally in PCOS there is an imbalance of LH to FSH. My guess is that they are not comparing these levels. If LH and FSH are awry then her progesterone production will be affected thus ovulation will be affected too.

Temp charts with PCOS are a waste of time - she should not be spending any time at all plotting her temps as she will end up with a chart impossible to determine.

A hydrosalpinx is fluid on the tubes and is serious - again she may well need gynae surgery for this problem.

Verity is a useful website for women with PCOS and would suggest she has a look at their web pages:-
www.verity-pcos.org.uk

Hey, AttilaTheMeerkat, thanks for the quick response - you really know your stuff - are you a Doctor or a PCOS sufferer?

BTW she is seeing an NHS gynae consultant (about every 6 months), he's not seemed that bothered about the short cycle and says she could keep ttc naturally (at 38???). She's having day surgery soon guess that is for the hydro thing.

I have PCOS.

She ought to be seeing the gynae cons far more frequently than every six months!. Yee gods I was at the hospital weekly for months on end!. A 21 day cycle would not be seen as an irregular one but if PCOS is there I would very much doubt she is ovulating regularly if at all.

Would think they'll be doing some sort of laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery. The hydrosalpinx is a big issue and is very serious. I just hope they are successful with regards to this.

Thanks again.
Since you are on mn, am I right to assume you are a mum... and if so what treatments worked for you?
Sx

A one point my cycles went down to 15/17 days, and charting aparently showed OV about day 12/13 so only about 3 or 4 days before AF arrived. With that scenario it's almost impossible to conceive if you read the literature. Useless GP (we've changed now) reckoned it didn't make any difference to chances of conceiving, despite only having 1 after 9 years of trying, so we eventually paid to see a consultatnt privately. Outcome of that was that according to blood tests/mid cycle scans I wasn't OV at all (i.e. the charting was creating a false positive). Consultant prescribed clomid, and hcg injections, and I'm now expecting #2

Hi - and thanks for the additional messages - I think she's going to have to push the consultant a bit - easier said than done when she's so down
Sx