No period for 5 years 🙁

[Sweetlarkee]

Hello everyone

I’ve been silently reading posts here for a long time but decided to post my story to see if anyone was in the same situation and could advise.

I have been diagnosed with PCOS since I was 14 years old and after trying several different methods to regulate these my gynae discharged me at 18 and advised to come back when I was trying to conceive. Fast forward a couple of years and I got married with an immediate desire to start a family. With a new marriage, new home etc my weight slowly crept up and I am now 16 stones at the age of 30.

I have had several appointments at the hospital in relation to fertility however the only thing they keep saying is I need to lose weight :( This is a constant battle I am fighting and despite trying several crash diets there is no change. This also means I’ve not had a period for 5years + apart from the when it has been initiated by The provera tablet. I have also looked in to IVf privately and it seems ever so expensive but I dont know what else I can do for this baby that I am really desperate for 😩

Is there anything else that I can do to get a period? I have started taking vitamin D tablets last week and someone also mentioned taking folic acid but I’m not sure if it will work with no period?

Go back to your Dr and ask them to check your prolactin levels. I was exactly the same, had a crap GP that spent too much time shagging his practice nurse and not focusing on his patients, was told id never conceive naturally and then sat on the IVF waiting list for a year, starving myself as I went. Once I got to the IVF clinic, they did a routine blood test that should have been done years before, and the consultant then rang me, told me my prolactin level was high and he'd put a prescription in the post. 3 months later DS1 was on the way, I was 35 at this point, and then DS 2 was conceived in 2 months at the age of 37.

Don't ever believe anything the NHS tells you first time, its crap with PCOS, lipoedema or anything endocrine based, and good luck xx

Thank you so much for replying, your story has really boosted my confidence 😄 I’ve been feeling so down because its been years Ive not had a period and partly the reason of my weight gain (I think) My doctors are awful too! I had an ultrasound a few months ago and when I went back to the doctor for a referral to fertility he bluntly told me I was FAT and that the NHS wont give me a second look so I should just pay privately for IVF 😥

I was so disheartened and very embarrassed too so I’ve never really raised it again but with covid and everyone having babies around me, its really taken a toll on my mental health.

@Sweetlarkee, message me if this is too personal, but out of interest is all your weight on your legs? There is a reason I'm asking x

Its my belly to be honest, I’m chubby overall but my belly feels a bit kore bloated than the rest of my body

Hey @Sweetlarkee ,

I also have PCOS and at worst would go anything up to 6/9 months without a period.

Me and my partner have been trying for 5 years to conceive but my weight was what was holding me back from visiting GP as I knew they wouldn't do anything til I had lost some.

I was 18.5 stone in September 2019 and lost about 2 stone over next few months.

Gave up on weight loss until this February and I phoned GP as I was hoping for clomid to help ovulation. I was 16.5 stone at this point. As expected they wouldn't do anything until I had a BMI of under 30. Well, today I am now 13 stone 9 lbs and am officially "overweight" and no longer obese.

For the last 2 years I've been taking myo-inositol and that has completely transformed my cycles. Instead of 6/9 months they are anything from 40-60 days but usually about 45 days.

What has helped even further is Keto. Now, it's pretty horrific and I've not been doing it healthily (I'm restricting calories far too much) however when I combine these, I actually ovulate.

Last year was the first time I ovulated in a long time (when starting inositol) and on the 2nd cycle I got a positive pregnancy test. I believe this wasn't a pregnancy but possibly a corpus luteum cyst (I was bleeding since ovulation and the pain was excruciating).

However, I've ovulated maybe twice since then including my current cycle.

Today at 15DPO I decided to take a test because I normal only get to 10/11DPO before next cycle starts. I got a positive pregnancy test. Although there's a chance it won't progress, it's definitely not the same as last time and I will fully attribute it to doing Keto and taking inositol. I'm sure the GP will say it's due to weight loss.

I know weight loss is so so difficult especially with PCOS but you could try and set mini goals (I have a spreadsheet to log targets and my BMI going down).

Unfortunately I would have loved to go down infertility route much quicker I can assure you they will not take a second glance until you've lost weight. They offered to refer me to someone for weight advice which I declined.

Really all you need is amazing willpower but that's much easier said than done.

Sorry I've rambled on a bit but happy to help if you need anything 💖

Aah ok. You've not been blessed with the other delight I have which is lipoedema. Lipoedema fat is non metabolic so if you were being told to lose that it literally would be impossible!

Do not do any more crash dieting. What does help some PCOS patients is following a low GI/GL eating plan. Collette Harris, herself diagnosed with PCOS, has written several cookbooks with this in mind.

Have a look too at Verity's website www.verity-pcos.org.uk/

It may be that IVF is not necessary here and with PCOS in particular IVF should only be tried after all other treatment options have failed. Weight should not in itself be a barrier to getting treatment.

If your doctors are awful I would find another practice and or request a referral to another subfertility unit. Not all of them are good by any means and what was said to you was awful. I hope you complained to PALS at the time but would understand if you did not.

Thank you so much for replying, I wish I had started this thread alot earlier instead of suffering alone 🙁 Congratulations on your weight loss, its amazing that you’ve managed to lose so much 😊 Losing weight is the hardest thing I’ve had to go through ever. The Doctor has said the same to me about speaking to a dietician but like you said its not that I don’t know what to eat its purely the willpower that I need.

Do you know where I can get the Myo-inosital from? Can I purchase over the counter or is this something the doctor will have prescribe? I would be happy with a cycle ever 3-4 months in comparison to the 0 cycles Ive had in the last 5 years. I have ordered some ovulation strips and will try to see if I ovulate (which I probably wont without a period)

I’ve never heard of that but it definetly is alot of belly fat and very stubborn fat 🙁

Thank you so much for replying 😊

I can eat healthy however I just give up after a certain period. I have stubborn fat and you dont really see any difference until quite some time has passed but by then I have given up 😩

I didnt report him because I was so shocked at what he said and quite upset. It took me a while for everything to sink in

I buy My-Ova "MyoPlus" from Amazon. Think there's a discount for buying 3 or 6 which is what I do.

It's a supplement (vitamin) rather than medication so you don't need to get from a doctor or pharmacy. My GP didn't even know what it was when I said that's what I was taking. Think it's a B vitamin.

If I can lose weight, you definitely can. It is hard but once you do it for a while it becomes easier. I do still have tiny treats but not to the extent I used to.