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

@elizabethcatherine Our consultant hasn't really told us the process at all so thank you for bringing up IUI because if I can ovulate on clomid that makes sense to me! I will ask today.
We've both been taking pregnacare conception his&hers, which seem to be helping my cycles a bit but we won't know about how much it's helped him until today! I looked into proxeed but the pregnacare seemed to have more in it (and I'd already bought them)
I think I need to take in a notepad and think through some questions beforehand! It's just so hard staying calm when I think about it that I've been trying to avoid for the past 3 months!!!
Have you started clomid now? xx

Hey looking4hope how are you this morning? Has the spotting stopped?
Good luck tomorrow floofy definitely take a notepad with questions, it does help as my mind always goes blank too. Fingers crossed for your DHs swimmers too!!

Hi! I took a notepad, wrote down all the questions I could think of, and... It's IVF.
Well icsi because sperm count is 3million, morphology was 0 and motility also low.
Apparently likelihood is that he was irreparably damaged by an operation for an undescended testicle when he was younger and were lucky he has enough sperm for icsi.

The positives are (not that I'm in a particularly chirpy mood!)
2 weeks wait until next appointment which is nothing really, just need to have bloods taken for hepatitis and hiv and get the results. Then essentially it's all go.

My county allows a bmi of up to 33 if you have poly cystic ovaries, so my bmi of 30.4 is not prohibitive.

I don't have to do a funding application, they can just pass us on as long as we meet the criteria.
I've been referred to the counsellor (who I've already seen twice), and dh has agreed to come with me probably!

Anyway, fx for better news for Rogers today! We need more bfps xx

SLady, unfortunately AF arrived today, at 15DPO, which is very unlike me (my luteal phase is typically shorter). The cramps were really strong this morning, so took some Ibuprofen. I'm sad and disappointed, but trying not to think about it too much (yeah right, who am I fooling?) and just focus on moving on. Our timing was perfect, I've never been so fit, we're both eating healthy, yet for some reason it didn't work. I'll never ever test so early - although I got a negative at 12DPO, part of me was still hoping because of my symptoms. And everything came crashing down this morning Anyway, onwards and upwards!

I'm really, really rooting for you! Hope you feel okay overall and you had a great weekend.

FloofyFloo, I always prepapare questions before appointments and take a pad with me in case I need to take any notes. I also keep a record of all appointments in my phone so I can easily remember what happened when. Keeping my fingers crossed for you and your DH!

FloofyFloo, I've only read your post now as we pretty much posted at the same time. Sorry the answer is IVF, but it's great news there's already a plan in place and you don't have to wait a lot or apply for funding. I know it doesn't feel like you're making progress, but from my experience, having a clear action plan helps a lot. It seems you're in good hands, keeping everything crossed for you. Do stick around if you feel like it, we're all here to help each other.

Sounds like you have a good plan of action ahead floofy and well done for focusing on the positives. The main thing is you are moving forward straight away which is great. Hope you're feeling ok about it all

I'm so sorry to hear AF arrived looking4hope I was really wishing for you. It's a horrible feeling to think that everything was right and why did it still not happen but even couples with no issues still only have a 30-something% chance of conceiving each month so it's not anything that you've done. It will stick soon, it's just a probabilities game! Sending you lots of virtual hugs. Hope this doesn't dampen your positivity, you've been doing so well I think

No symptoms of anything for me not even of AF. Still feel a bit fluey when I wake up and then fine by mid morning, my CM is straaange...probs the clomid effects, bit emotional at the weekend but work is stressful atm and this TTC business is too. Nothing else though, feeling normal so im thinking that Clomid hasn't worked this time. Getting cold feet about testing tomorrow. Might wait until Wednesday which will be first day of my "missed period"

Thank you for the hugs SLady, they really help. Feeling a bit better now, compared to my MC this is much easier to 'digest'. I have a very supportive DP who always has a positive outlook on life, so it's impossible for me to be sad for too long... After a complete ban on alcohol for the last three weeks or so, I'll finally enjoy a cold beer in the garden this evening. The little pleasures in life

We will all have our babies, we just need to be patient. I remember reading somewhere that this whole TTC/infertility saga is like the first part of a movie or book, where the characters need to go through some not so good stuff before they get their happy ending

Don't take your lack of symptoms as a bad sign, a lot of women don't get any pregnancy symptoms whatsoever so early on. Fluey was one of my symptoms last year, felt groggy in the morning and had a stuffy nose. Just try to be as positive as possible and test whenever you feel ready to. Maybe ask DH to sit next to you while you wait for the result if he's at home? No matter what result you get, I'm sure his hugs and kisses would help.

Sorry work is crazy at the moment, same here. Hope things improve soon. Sending hugs, and .

Thanks so much looking4hope. Some very good advice there
Keep your head up and I hope you enjoy that well deserved beer in the sunshine this evening

Sorry af arrived looking4hope - i always struggle a little when mine arrives.

Will keep my fingers crossed for you SLady

@FloofyFloo I think it's such great news that you don't have to wait for funding and can just crack on with IVF! Take that as a blessing for sure that you get to start so soon :) Much higher chance in getting pregnant then trying to chance it every month with meds. Good luck to you and keep us posted how the treatment goes. I will start clomid with NHS on the 28th if they let me, we'll see what they say first consult with them then but I'll be going in with an updated scan, blood tests and new SA from private clinic so here's to hoping I can crack on right away. 

@looking4hope keep in good spirits your positivity will only do you good! You got this

@SLady fingers crossed for you on test day. But try not to be too hard on yourself if AF arrives. Just think of it as your first run at your body getting used to the meds. So if it doesn't happen, you will have an even better chance the next month. Baby dust coming your way

Thanks ladies Elizabethcatherine & Floofy AF due today, testing tomorrow. FX!

Sorry I mean barsons! xx

Thank you Barsons83 and ElizabethCatherine. My positivity was gone by the evening, but a new cycle means a fresh start. I have a feeling I won't ovulate on my own any time soon (this month was a little miracle), so it's just a matter of waiting until my next appointment in September when I hope to convince them to give me Clomid.

Hi Team, I hope everyone's alright.

Quick question - my doctor took me off Metformin a couple of months ago. She basically said I don't need it, never have and that a lot of drugs are prescribed needlessly for pcos. Has anybody heard similar advice to this?

Also I was wondering about OPKs which I understand are not thought to work with pcos. Is this just because you can get false positives with a high lh?

I had a positive pregnancy test my first 'month' of trying (started trying about 35 days into a 65+ day cycle) but sadly started bleeding the day after I found out. I am worried about my really long and irregular cycles and would like to know if/when I ovulate...

Thanks X

Hi sThinking,

What sort of doctor was this, a GP? On what basis was this decision made?. I ask only as it can be beneficial for some PCOS patients.

There are a number of problems with OPKs anyway; a rise in LH does not necessarily mean that ovulation will follow and that there is also not just one rise in LH every month. OPKs read LH; if the level of LH is higher than normal to begin with the kit reads that. I think I am correct in writing that on some OPK packaging it states these should not be used if PCOS is present.

With long cycles it is likely that you are not ovulating regularly if at all. The surest way to determine if ovulation is happening or not is to have internal ultrasound scans and blood tests.

Hi Sthinking, just a quick one as I still lurk on here, old habits and all that.
Metformin is a strange one, for some people it makes all the difference and for some people it does nothing. I was on it at the highest dose 5 years ago for a year and it did nothing at all (other than upset my stomach!) My current doc said the same as yours, that there is no scientific evidence and I am now 9 weeks pregnant after three rounds of Clomid but no metformin. However I have heard for other people the clomid just didn't work without metformin. So the jury is out I suppose!
Regarding OPKs, I had no strong positive and no EWCM the month I got my bfp despite knowing the exact day I ovulated thanks to scans!

AttilaTheMeerkat - it was my two separate GPs at the same practice based on the advice of the consultant head endocrinologist at the local hospital. Given I have had constant stomach ache for years at the start of taking it and once literally sh*t myself to be casually told it was unnecessary was rather annoying!! :D

I suppose I must have ovulated at least once if I was pregnant. The doctor said to give it 6 months and go back if nothing happens. Sigh.

Iamchanging Congratulations!

Thanks! And I swear my stomach isn't the same since metformin 5 years ago. Everyone else in their first trimester is constipated, and I'm entirely the opposite as normal. Never had this constant issue before I took those bloody pills!

Couldn't resist doing a FRER test this evening. BFN for me waahhh

Sorry it's a BFN SLady, but I think you should use FMU. If the urine is too diluted, the test won't be able to pick up a high enough level of HCG. What CD are you now? Don't let this test upset you, even if you aren't pregnant now (but fingers crossed you are!), Clomid has such a high success rate that I'm sure it will happen soon. Sending you lots of hugs, have been thinking of you today.

What's FMU? I'm assuming it's correct as it said you didn't need to use first urine of the day and also up to 4 days before was 99% accurate!!? I'd never used a FRER before. I'm CD28 today. Will call the clinic tomorrow and see what my next steps are, I'll be really upset if I have to have another round of 50mg. Just went for a run for the first time in a year, feeling like I want to fight back against my body not doing what its meant to
Feeling upset and angry in equal measure. Thank you for the kind words looking4hope really helps to have people to chat to

Ohhh first morning urine - FMU. Still getting used to the acronyms! Lol. Yeah i just did it this evening as the test said that you didn't need to and I didn't even get a sniff of a second line. Absolutely nothing!! booooooo.

SLady, I think CD28 is still quite early as you could have ovulated later in the cycle. I'm not entirely sure how reliable FRERs actually are, have never used them before. I've always tested with first morning urine (FMU), no matter what type of test I used, just to be on the safe side.

Sorry you're having a tough time, I know how difficult it is to feel positive when your body is not doing what it's supposed to. It's normal to feel upset and angry, rant away here if it helps. I found I need a way to let it all out so it doesn't end up consuming me. Sounds like you've actually already found it - congrats for the run, especially in this heat. I ended up crying in the shower last night, so you're definitely stronger and more level-headed than I am

Hope you get some good advice from the clinic tomorrow. If it didn't work this time, maybe it just takes a while for your body to get used to the meds? I remember some ladies here (who are now happily pregnant) went through a few Clomid rounds before they got their BFP.

Always here to listen and offer some hand holding or a shoulder to lean on whenever you feel the need to. Hugs!

Yes I had a little cry too and then got angry lol and went for a run. To make it even more confusing I've had loads of EWCM tonight, the most I have ever had before. So strange, I don't know what's going on with my body right now! Yes I think it's just the realisation that it didn't work that's upsetting. I'd been pinning so much onto this and trying to think so positive that everything would be fine once I had a little help with Clomid it's just disappointing to know it didn't still didn't change anything.
Onwards and upwards, tomorrow is a new day wasn't our time looking4hope this time. Hopefully soon!