PCOS with only irregular periods?

[Peachyplumm]

Hi there

i’m 28 and was diagnosed with ‘borderline’ pcos a few years ago, and I only found out because I’d had irregular periods ever since I started getting them as a teen and never knew why. In my early 20s it got so bad I think for a couple years I only had 4-5 periods in a year. But my weight has always been normal, I’ve never had acne not even as a teen, and I don’t have excessive hair.

they found many cysts in my ovaries which they said was typical but some were just on the cut off point for size. So they had to diagnose it as borderline

My question is, I’m ttc now for baby #1 and I’ve been reading up a lot on supplements to help regulate my periods and make ovulation happen more regularly. Now at 28, it’s a bit better as I get a period every 2 months or about 40-50 days. I’ve occasionally tracked bbt and am ovulating most periods, it just happens very late.

one of the main supplements for helping this I’ve heard is myo inositol. My confusion is I heard this is for insulin resistance - but as someone with pcos and regular weight (I go to the gym and can lose weight easily) is it insulin resistance I have as well? I’m not sure if this would be effective for me?

just wondering if it’s worth forking out the money to buy those supplements, as I’m struggling to understand whether I have insulin resistance?

appreciate any responses!

Also I did have an accidental pregnancy last year which I did not take to full term, so I also know I am ovulating and can get pregnant due to that. I really just want to shorten my cycle so that it’s more regular if that’s possible!

I took inofolic which is myo inositol and folic acid, or was at the time they've added and improved it now.
I conceived twice using that, before that periods were irregular and I have lean pcos so no weight issues.

I was exactly the same as you and was diagnosed with PCOS. I first conceived after two months and my second child was conceived after one time without protection! Don’t waste your money especially if you’ve already conceived once

Yeah, try it! Insulin resistance is part of PCOS. Now I'm both old and very sedentary due to an unrelated health issue, I gain weight more easily and have low blood sugar 'crashes' with trembling & stuff. Took me ages to work out what it was, as I test normal for diabetes. I'll look up this supplement myself, as it might be better than shoving jam sandwiches in my face whenever that happens!

My PCOS wasn't diagnosed until I'd already had 5 early miscarriages and a stillbirth, by which time it was too late to try again. The lumpy ovary turned out, on removal, to be gigantic. By way of reassurance, the remaining one never missed a beat: nobody told it I was supposed to be peri-menopausal, and it faithfully delivered periods at respectable intervals of 28-30 days. If you've been offered an oophorectomy, it's worth considering.

Like you, I didn't have any of the obvious symptoms except insanely heavy periods with long gaps in between. My diet was pretty healthy, I was fit and active, no skin problems etc. With hindsight, there were indications of above-average testosterone. I was referred to an endocrinologist on diagnosis, who noted high levels and went through all the indications - most of which, I have to say, were quite beneficial! At my age now, I can regretfully confirm the tendency to grow unwelcome hairs very quickly, but that can happen anyway.

I realise you weren't asking for a ramble on having PCOS, but since yours sounds similar to mine, thought you might like a view from the other side, as it were. Don't under-value the insulin business: PCOS is a metabolic disorder, not an 'ovary thing' despite the name. It's become increasingly clear that its various aspects are interdependent, and insulin is a powerful hormone.

Research into the disorder is still pretty weak rants about medical neglect of women's health but see if you can get a referral to a grown-up to discuss this and your options.

Good luck 🙂

Thank you, this was really insightful.

the sugar crashes and trembling etc is part of pcos? I have something like that! Not trembling but I feel like if I don’t eat for more than 3 hours I get a big crash and need to eat something sugary. My mums partner has diabetes and so I always check my blood sugar for fun with her kit and it’s always normal. It’s mostly noticeable when I have things like cereal etc, then I get into a cycle of having a sugar crash. When I don’t eat sugary things, it tends to be more stable. Who knew!

I will look into this more.

That’s really interesting thanks! What dosage did you take a day?

i discovered agnus castus too which seems to work for pcos but in a different way. I think that is more for raised levels of testosterone.

It’s annoying that the gp never did a blood test for me as I recall, only the ultrasound. I have just ordered a hormone blood test, one of those home kits, which tests all female hormones and prolactin + testosterone too. I have heard it’s dangerous to start Myo inositol without being sure as it can mess with your blood sugar? Anyway I think with the blood test it might give me a better idea of what the culprit is!

I too have PCOS for years ive had 1 or 2 periods a year - i researched supplements like you and took inositol and maca root - got them both off amazon- the first cycle was long but i did have my covid booster which i think effected it but my second cycle was perfect, I was testing my ovulation everyday just to see what was happening and I fell pregnant that month! I know have a 4 month old baby !

Deffo sounds like pcos. Inositol is brilliant and regulated my periods from 70 day cycles to 32 day cycles. I didn't manage to conceive as we went for IVF in the end but was trying 18 month total and I was on the supplement for about 6 months of it.
We have male factor issues too though so that's probably why we struggled so much.
IVF worked for us luckily.
I would deffo try the inositol and a good multivitamin with high vitamin D.

I have borderline pcos too. Missed periods, could keep weight just within healthy BMI with sensible diet, but losing it was difficult. Started taking inositol, periods became regular within three months and could lose weight like a normal person (1lb a week on 500cal deficit roughly). Conceived three children easily.

Inositol is not dangerous. Your body makes it naturally, you're just topping up. It used to be considered a B vitamin. If it helps you feel less worried, inositol has actually been tested on pregnant women to see if it helps prevent gestational diabetes. They never test drugs on pregnant women! It must be very safe.

Pcos is an insulin related condition. Very simply, pcos makes you over-produce testosterone. Excess testosterone in women causes insulin levels to rise. Excess insulin makes your cells less receptive to insulin. There is a link with diabetes and pcos for this reason. Basically a vicious circle of testosterone and insulin, increases weight gain and other pcos symptoms. I'm really not explaining well but it's not difficult to find good info online about it. The inositol acts by improving your cells' sensitivity to insulin, thereby reducing insulin levels and testosterone levels.

It was 2 sachets a day, morning and evening. They have changed it a little since I used it but from trying to conceive for 4.5 years I conceived within 2 months of taking it the first time and within the month the second time.
When I tell you I tried everything, evening primrose, Agnus cactus etc I was honestly so impressed by it.
The woman who recommended it to me, incidentally did not conceive with it, she had PCO not PCOS so I think it depends on what exactly is going on with your hormones.

Do read up on it and see if it would be useful, for me it was a relatively inexpensive thing to try and worked an absolute charm. I recommend it to everyone I see on here asking about PCOS and fertility.

Right. Encouraged by all your replies here, I did a bit more reading and have ordered enough Inositol to take 4g a day for 4 months. I'm not trying to conceive (the idea 😂), it isn't crucial for me and I can always stop if I'm not happy about it.

If it does even half of what's claimed for it, though, I'll be over the moon!
It's 70% off at Myprotein right now, if you're interested.

In my line of work we call PCOS diabetes of the ovaries. It’s why inositol and metformin are routinely prescribed for it.

Get yourself on keto and you’ll be pregnant within 6 months. I’ve seen it too many times to count! Good luck.

@Mintakan Get yourself on keto

Yep, that's the more natural way to adjust all the nutrients I've just been reading about. I find it too difficult & expensive, but can certainly believe you're on the nail there 🙂

Hi ladies just an update: I did a blood test and all came back normal (fsh, lh, prolactin, FAI) except that I had high testosterone (1.97) and low estrogen. (187)

is it inositol I need for this?

Did you take the blood tests on certain days of your cycle to be accurate? If your testosterone was high you probably do have pcos. Have you had a scan?

Yes I have ‘borderline pcos’ they did a scan a few years ago and saw cysts. Also long irregular periods. They never did a blood test at the time though so I wasn’t sure what exactly was causing it :)

I took the blood test 1 day before my period arrived (I didn’t realise it was coming that soon)