Polycystic ovaries - not the syndrome- & Clomid

[HelloBrass]

We have been referred to the fertility clinic. DH is fine, & I'm waiting on the results of AMH & CD2.

In the meantime, I have been told I have polycystic ovaries, but not the syndrome. My cycles are pretty regular at 29-33 days.

CD21 tests came back at 26 and 36, and I've been told I don't ovulate every month. I've been told I have a "hormone imbalance."

I've got a prescription to start Clomid.

I really don't understand all this. Dr Google isn't helping me figure out how PCO differs from PCOS! I don't know if I can be doing anything else to help. Do I 'treat' myself as if I have PCOS in terms of diet & supplements?

If anyone has experienced this, or has some pointers, any help would be gratefully received! Thanks

Hi. I have polycystic ovaries but not pcos. Pcos is an endocrine disorder closely linked to diabetes. Your body doesn't process/produce hormones as expected with pcos.

Pco is crazy common. It affects up to 30% of women but is not in and of itself indicative of anything. It doesn't hurt to take inofolic, but it may not help you either.

I was put on 6 cycles of clomid to kill time and because my consultant said it was the next step for me. Not only was it a waste of time, but it caused me to grow a fibroid which is now medium sized. I'm not particularly happy about.

Ivf worked for me. I responded really well to the stims because of the pco. We never really figured out what was wrong with us... my husband's sperm was 'clearly not the issue' (according to the consultant).

I have pco. Pcos tends to include

• irregular periods
• may not ovulate every month
• weight gain
• facial hair growth

Typically pco May have only one or two of the above.

I responded well to ivf stims and had my dd at 39. I had FET though

Hiya, very similar story for me - PCO but not PCOS. Slightly irregular periods but no other PCOS symptoms and LH/FSH/testosterone blood tests were normal.

They couldn't find any reason for our infertility. HSG was normal, as was partners semen analysis. AMH was high (35 ish at age 40) and similar to @lboogy and @physicskate I responded really well to IVF stimulation - may well be related to having PCO. For us, they collected 10 eggs and all 10 made it to 5 days blastocyst stage. Our first (fresh) transfer implanted but ended at 5 weeks as a chemical pregnancy. Very early days on our second cycle (frozen transfer) but HCG levels are nice and high so fingers crossed things will progress!

We are self-funding IVF as not entitled on the NHS, but prior to this the NHS clinic tried 3 months of each clomid and tamoxifen even though they thought I was ovulating. As @physicskate says, the private consultant later told us this was really a waste of time and basically just giving me Smarties as there was nothing else they could do. However, if they think you are not ovulating then it is probably worth a try!

Fingers crossed @FlipKat . Hopefully you get your bfp soon. Xx

I was also diagnosed with unexplained infertility- had 6 iuis- only one chemical pregnancy from that but my first ivf / FET ( due to the risk of ossh) worked.

Hello all! I'm sorry, I've only just seen all these replies. Thank you so much for responding.

@physicskate I'm wondering if the PCO is a bit of a red herring. I'm assuming now that the Clomid has been prescribed because of my low progesterone levels. I think it's that they were referring to when they said I'm not always ovulating despite my regular cycles. I've heard good and bad stories about Clomid, & I wouldn't want to be on it just to tick that box, but then it is so less invasive if it does work.

Congratulations not your successful IVF cycle, that's wonderful news 

Congratulations to @lboogy too! I don't really have any other symptoms. I think my slight weight gain is purely down to comfort eating! 
@FlipKat I'm still waiting on AMH & CD2 results so they could still throw up a problem. I'm thinking of looking into whether I can arrange a private consultation just so I can have everything explained to me and a review of the plan. I really hope you get good news on your second cycle. Wishing you lots of luck.

Thanks again for your replies - just waiting on AF to arrive so we can get cracking. It's not often I actually want to get my period!