PCOS - Trying to conceive

[ElizabethCatherine]

Welcome to our 5th thread :)

A lovely bunch of ladies all here to help each other along the way with any questions or concerns we all have when TTC with PCOS

@SLady Doc recommended I go straight into IVF, which I thought was odd I thought usually NHS tries to rule out other options first but maybe given my situation cuz I don't have periods at all clomid might not help me he said and could just waste time. Also it changes the CM to be harder(PH etc) to fall pregs and I literally have 0 CM already. He said that you get an IVF round but they freeze some other eggs when doing the procedure for free up to 1 year, every year after that is £500 to keep them in the fridge and they will keep them up to 10 years. He said if IVF doesn't work the first round that they use some frozen eggs and try again (under NHS). If both don't work then you pay £1200 for the transfer of frozen eggs... which isn't bad at all for a round of IVF! I was shocked. I guess it's like a post code lottery thing maybe?

I think that's nice that the doc is positive for you going on another round of the same, it's obviously shown success in the past for him to be confident about that decision. Plus just think if 100mg was too high of a dose and there was too many follies then there would be a chance of calling off trying that month due to chance of multiples right. Are they monitoring/scanning to check for the follies?

Ah baby bombs are definitely the worse :( it's getting to the point now where we have been married for a year now and everyyyyones asking what we are doing :/

That's interesting Elizabeth as I've never had periods in my life, and the month I got my bfp (on clomid) I had zero CM as well. Really interesting how different doctors recommend different things! There doesn't seem to be any consistency.

That's what I struggle with too, no consistency its hard to know whats for the best. You just have to put your faith in your doctor I guess, that's what I am TRYING to do anyway. ElizabethCatherine sounds like yours is positive IVF is a good step for you and £1,200 is alot cheaper than I thought! TMI but with the CM, I've always been quite dry and my first round of Clomid I had SO much CM throughout the whole month and EWCM too!!

@Iamchanging that's definitely awesome and gives me more hope then for sure..

@SLady that very well could be the case with me too then! I heard it increases when doing IVF too because of the injections and such. I was just watching some vlogs on YouTube with the DH cuz I literally think he has no idea what we have to go through mentally and physically with IVF it's not just straight forward and simple like he thinks. I just don't know if it want to jump straight into it, I might wanna try at least 2 months with clomid I think... But also I am moving back to Canada early next year and this could be my only shot at having IVF so quickly. It's a long long wait once I arrive and prices are expensive to go privately. The timing would be so perfect if I fell pregnant between August-November

Ahh I see Elizabethcatherine would it be worth starting Clomid asap and seeing how you react, especially if you're monitored, and then after a couple of rounds make a decision then? Can you jump straight into Clomid with the IUI? Then you can keep your IVF referral going in the meantime ready to start straight after the Clomid. I personally would give Clomid a go first, then you're giving yourself more options. I know, Im 30 in January, I really want to be pregnant by then

Hi, a new and nervous poster.

I was diagnosed with pcos when 16, so always knew conceiving was going to be difficult. Have been with my partner for 7 years and never used contraception, no near misses at all! For the last 2 and a bit years we have been under the gynae clinic exploring options. His side is fine, mine showed no ovulation and the normal pcos package. Along with all the normal medication I had ovdrilling last March, and a miscarriage in January (approx 8 weeks, didn't realise I was pg as cycles are never regular!) We have been referred for IVF but took a 3 month break, trying 50mg clomed just in case something happened naturally after the mc. I have also made major lifestyle changes over the last year, cutting out dairy and gluten and following all pcos diet recommendations along with going to the gym 4/5 times a week.

Long story short, I got a BFP at 3.30am this morning (don't know why I couldn't wait until normal morning!) my last period started 4th may, with possible implantation bleeding on 11-12th June. Here's my question-do I need to worry about only testing positive today? I have tested previously on the 4th, 17th and 28th June and all were negative. Couldn't get back to sleep today so googled everything I could think of, which I know wasn't sensible! Any reassurance, or previous experience to get me through the weekend until I can see the dr on Monday would be appreciated!

Thank you in advance :)

Hi Nelly congratulations on your bfp. A bfp this late is fine, you may have just ovulated later in your cycle. Maybe take a fancy clearblue test tomorrow to put your mind at rest but sounds to me as though you are pregnant :) was that with the 50mg clomid? Can I ask how ovarian drilling was? Would you recommend?

Thanks SLady!

I got a faint line on a clear blue test, definite pink on first response and faint blue on Tesco one-went all out!!

That was 50mg clomed, I did a six month cycle of 100, then 150mg clomed before ovarian drilling and nothing changed on blood tests at all. I think od is worth giving it a chance if your not in a rush, they said it's effects last for 9 months, but can be longer for different people. We had the luxury of not being in a mega rush so could give all suggestions a go :)

Hi all!

It looks like we've all been a bit quiet recently! It just all gets so bloody tiring doesn't it! But today I've filled in all of my ivf paperwork and am trying not to completely freak out about it all...
@elizabethcatherine if hubby's sperm is good I'd be going clomid and iui first - if you've got time before you go back to Canada? I was so shocked when they took all of those chances away from me and I still feel like ivf is a very last resort (although I'm back round to being hopeful that it's a good last resort) - I don't know what your clinics success rates are, but we have one funded fresh cycle and one frozen if we have embryos which can be frozen...
Reading the paperwork today, they only expect 50% of couples to have freezable embryos, and not all will survive the freeze/thaw process.
That coupled with a pregnancy rate of 46%, and a live birth rate of 34% makes me painfully aware that ivf really could just not work... I wish I had other options (apart from finding a new husband! Which is only occasionally tempting...)

@nelly - congratulations! I think I'd be going for a digital one... I just so want to see the words 'pregnant'!!!

A line is a line though, and so very very exciting!

@slady I guess we all just have to trust our consultants, and I feel the time pressure but I guess if there is a chance you'll still react to 50mg that would be the best outcome? I've read of people doing anything from one month of each, to 6 months of each dose... So I guess it just depends on what the docs say! Did they scan ovaries to see whether you've responded at all? (Sorry if you've said this already!)

@elly don't listen to the bloody nurse! If she had the full medical training to make that decision she'd be the consultant! And as she's not your consultant I'd wait to see what he (or she) thinks! Very annoying to have people react in a very different way though - I would just be super excited that your body is responding!

Fingers crossed for bfps all round soon! I have - because I like to torture myself - started to plan around the idea that ivf might work, and am now just SO IMPATIENT!

elizabethcatherine I had the same situation as you where they said IVF was the best option but then my DH SA count came back higher than the first test so they said that we could try clomid or go straight to IVF as they had already offered it. We decided to try clomid first as we wanted a chance at doing it almost naturally first!

Slady I was moved to 100mg when 50mg didn't work however I spoke to my friend who is a doctor and works in the fertility field and she said that just because clomid doesn't work on 50mg definitely doesn't mean it won't work on 50mg' so there's everychance it could work.

fluffy how exciting that you're filling in the paperwork - (I filled mine in before we had the offer of clomid and it was daunting but exciting) I think you have got to think positively otherwise you're just going to make yourself worry - and anyway who knows what the power of positive thinking can do ... right?! Have they said when treatment will start? X

That made me chuckle floofy. When are you hoping to start? Really hoping it works for you. I read a story about someone from mcflys wife who has pcos who tried everything and ended up needing ivf and her second baby came naturally. Anything can happen despite the odds! No I'm not being monitored right now but I'm having my cd21 blood test this month and if still no ovulation I can move on to 100mg.

Thanks elly that makes me feel better. I'll try and be a little more positive this round and keep my fingers crossed. My doctor is just so CHILL its annoying sometimes and he is always giving me the wait option. Crazy how some doctors freak you out about biological clocks ticking. Mine seems to think ive got loads of time, loads of options and why am i panicking. Maybe I need to take a leaf out of his book. How are you getting on?

@slady my friends bought me her book! She had icsi so I don't know whether or not the sperm quality was a factor (icsi suggests it was, but it doesn't say so in the book)... I think though judging by the natural pregnancy following that sperm must be ok?

Currently OH has a count of 3 million which is super super low so I think we're stuck on the ivf/icsi wagon... Still, we are both working and can save for another round of needed so it's not all awful!

Fingers crossed you do ovulate!!! Have you asked wether they would monitor you? I guess you could be ovulating early or late?

Also (if it's not too personal) how old are you? I get super panicky about how fertility reduces as we get older, but then I remember that my fertility is actually crap anyway so I probably don't need to worry any extra about that!

I have a friend who's 39 and her partner has just been unsnipped - but if we're looking to fertility meds I don't know how much of a difference age makes???

@elly I think what freaked me out the most was all the 'in what situations involving death, incapacity or perishing could we test your embryos or reuse eggs and sperm's kinda stuff! Apparently I am much more personally pro life than I imagined (I'm all for choice, but my choice is that they're my embryos and I want to keep them safe forever and ever) so it all freaked me out a bit...

Can I ask (more overly personal questions! Don't feel.like you have to answer!) what your OH's sperm count was? They initially said to me that with a count of 10mil we might be able to try clomid or iui, but with 3 just said there was no point 😞. Also when did they redo SA? I really want another go just to see, but I don't want to wait 3 months again...

Apparently starting on Tuesday - although that's just my initial appointment and I don't know what they'll do... I think it's just all go fron there!

Sorry about the absolute essay again! xx

Also, very sorry about my lack of line breaks, I do try to use paragraphs, but my app doesn't seem to keep them when I post!
Makes my ocd side cringe!

Yeah that did scare me too floofy it all gets quite serious and real when you look at those questions.

My OH's first SA count was 5 million and low motility but then the second one was 63million and I can't remember the motility but it was more than fine - so odd! He had been taking vitamins since the first test so maybe they had worked or maybe the first test was wrong? It was his improved results that meant we could try clomid.

slady I'm getting on ok thanks. Currently testing with OPKS for this week following the nurses advice so I'm hoping to see a smiley face - fingers crossed! X

Thanks for your advice ladies I do really appreciate it. I think I just got a little excited knowing that I had all the options in one basket and we all know how desperate we are to conceive I was like oh man - Maybe just go right for the IVF. But having a think about it over the weekend I'm going to give clomid a go for 2-3 cycles, once we get back from hols end of August. I'll see if he will allow me to go right into iui maybe to give me a better chance. @FloofyFloo My hubs has a semen analysis and they said it wasn't great and then 1 month later he had it done privately cuz they wanted their own and it improved only with 1 month! He only just started taking proxeed, vit D and E at doctors request and that seems to have done the trick but with guys they can range differently even with 1 sample done a few weeks apart apparently! They said have regular sex which helps keep things moving for them and try to stay away from cycling/tight clothes too.

Sounds like everyone is in a pretty good place right now and on a journey to becoming mothers! We got this ladies! Keep us all up to date on how the new cycles, tests and IVF process goes. Wishing everyone the best of luck! I am going for a scan on Tuesday and then the following week having an HSG.. For my HSG procedure they have an opening on my 1 year wedding anniversary, how fitting.. I hope I'll be ok after having it done because we have a nice meal planned... Totally not what I would expect me to be doing on our 1 year wedding anniversary if you asked me on my wedding day, but thats life! Ha

Oh I didn't know she had a book out floofy...i might get it. I looked it up on Amazon and it's meant to be quite positive but then I guess it's easy to be positive in hindsight when everything has worked out! I thought that too about the semen but it is possible to improve it so maybe once he stopped partying with mcfly it got better lol. I didn't ovulate this month as I didn't get AF. The doctor did say I should keep trying though which I must admit we hadn't been. This month going to go all out! I'm only 29 but just had it my head that I want to be pregnant by the end of this year and before my 30th birthday.

Good luck for smiley faces this week elly

Sounds like a good plan Elizabethcatherine. Are you paying privately for the HCG or did nhs Dr suggest? If you don't mind me asking

Hi Ladies,

I have been MIA for a while. AF finally showed up on Saturday so i have taken my first 50mg clomid yesterday. I am feeling surprisingly optimistic at the moment...this could all change in a month mind!

@SLady that's a shame about not moving up to the 100mg but try and think positive about it all. You are closer than you were before.

@Nelly Congrats on your BFP!!!!

@SLady My NHS doc suggested if we want to try clomid route to just go right into having the HSG test done to rule out any complications from the get go. It seemed like it actually wasn't an option to have it or not he was like you need to have this done first. So seeing him tomorrow for a internal scan but combined with saline injected through catheter to check the uterus and measure everything. The HSG is to check the tubes with dye and I've got to go for both before I start clomid.

My private doc suggested to me we go for a Hycosy (same thing?) just to rule out from the beginning if there is any blockages before starting treatment he quoted like £500-£600 but that was London and at an expensive clinic on Harley Street so maybe cheaper else where.

That's great news AmyL88. Keep the positivity up! I finished norethisterone on Sat so I'm hoping AF will arrive towards the end of this week and then I will be starting my second round so we can be Clomid buddies this month!

Ah I see Elizabethcatherine so HSG is similar to a hycosy? My doctor said I was low risk but we could do a hycosy later down the line if I was ovulating and not getting pregnant. Least you'll know you'll be all ready to go! Im just hoping i will ovulate soon! 7 out of 10 do apparently so good odds and I think most within first 3 months (can you tell I've been googling!)

I was so much more chilled before I started Clomid. Need to get back in that zone

@SLady I think it's similar maybe? Sounds like it? How do they determine weather you are low risk or not? I find it weird that they say that because then my doc said you will never know if they egg is travelling right the way through without this test. It's so annoying how everyone's opinions on this are different hey.. I never even though about doing it I was just going to give clomid a go but he's like it's better to rule it out from the beginning

Elizabethcatherine He asked me lots of questions and determined I was low risk. I think blocked tubes are often caused by something, infection, appendicitis, endo etc. I don't think you're just born with them blocked so to speak. I might be wrong but that was the impression I got. He said we could look at it round 4 or something if we sorted out the ovulation problem and i still wasnt getting pregnant. I don't think the procedure is too bad, people have had it on this thread before. At least you'll know right away everything is all good definitely worth doing :)

@Slady did you use OPKS on round 1 as i remember you saying you weren't being monitored?

Also were you more emotional? I am on day 3 now and keep crying at everything!!!

@Elizabethcatherine It seems everywhere treats you differently, I had to really push to be even referred and then push even more to get the prescription of clomid! I had a couple of scans before and a blood test but that was it.

I must admit I am putting alot of hope into this round working but i am going to take each cycle as it comes.

No I didn't bother with opks AmyL88. I don't think I will this round either, I'm just going to DTD every other day. I'm also having a blood test CD21 so that should tell me if i ovulated. Are you monitored I can't remember if you are or not? I didn't have any symptoms whatsoever on Clomid. I got really emotional just before AF was due which I thought was PMT but I never had AF in the end so not sure if it was just coincidence or stress. I was the same and because my pcos symptoms are so mild I had it in my head id only need a little push and it'd be fine so I was really shocked/upset that Clomid didn't work

Just had the saline sonogram procedure to check the uterus, that blows it up like a balloon, that def was not comfortable but glad it only lasted about 10 mins. It's so weird feeling those pains internally and having a catheter inside and the duck thing I just so badly wanted to snap my legs shut and be like enough! Haha but you can't cuz you are all hooked up. I have a heart shaped uterus.

@AmyL88 I know everyone else has their own approach to going about things let's just hope they all lead to the same thing ha.

I heard people can get very emotional on clomid so I am expecting that when I start too