Polycystic ovaries - anyone know more about this?

[Janus]

I have just returned from an ultrasound for irregular bleeding to be told I have fibroids and polycystic ovaries. The lady could not really give me more information as she is not a gynaecologist. I know what fibroids are but don't really know about polycystic ovaries, does this affect fertility, what can you do to correct this?
I feel a bit miserable as we were planning to start baby number 2 in a few months but I guess I'll have to sort out these problems first but don't know how long it will take to 'sort' out?
Any info. grateful received.

Polycystic ovaries is caused by immature eggs, which do not grow and release into your fallopian tube, but instead clusters around the ovary, causing decreased ovulation. It does affect fertility in as much as if you are not ovulating often or at all (because a mature egg is not being released) then you can't get pg. However there are various ways of trying to overcome it and they can be successful.

The first step will be to check if you are ovulating and to get you doing so regularly. This is usually done by taking certain hormone related pills, probably something like Clomid. This is tried for a few months starting at one dose and maybe increasing it if ovulation does not occur.

If Clomid is unsuccessful there are still other options to be considered. Ovarian diathermy can be performed, which isn't as scary as it sounds! It basically involves removing tiny amounts of ovary using a laser through a laparoscopy (goes in through your belly button). For reasons that noone seems to know this often does the trick and gets ovulation established again.

I know all this because it is the course of events that unfolded to me. I was trying for my second child like you when I discovered i had polycystic ovaries. Clomid didn't work for me, but after having the diathermy done in the february I was pregnant in the following April, and now I have 4 children! Obviously did their job too well!

The only other thing I can add is that I was told to complete my family within about 3 years as the effects of the op tend to wear off by then, although I had this done in 1996 and had my last child last year, so it lasted longer for me.

I really hope this helps you. Good luck!

Well that's an excellent account of what this is. I've been trolling through numerous websites and not one has told me anywhere near as much as you have.
I feel a bit scared by all this, it's awful how you just assume everything will be OK as I had my first after about 4 months of trying to conceive and we didn't plan very well then, ie working out when I was ovulating.
I have regular periods, every month and what started this all off was having periods lasting 2 weeks in every month - not much fun!! I therefore still seem to assume that if I'm having periods I'm ovulating. Can I ask if you were still having regular periods when you were diagnosed? I know you shouldn't assume if you're having periods you're ovulating but it just felt like I was!!
I just hate waiting around for the results to be sent to my doctors to then getting referred to a gynae, etc.
Anyway, thanks so much for your help so far, at least I know that even if it is the worst then there is methods to help with fertility.

Also, please read the thread on the Health forum for more info! There's lots of us 'cysters' on there, and other links to websites. HTH

Hello Janus from another "cyster" . First let me say that although we're all told we're likely to have difficulty conceiving it isn't always true. Some of us manage to have children without any medical help at all. It may sound odd but diet is very important. It can stabilise insulin levels and problems with the bodys response to insulin are now believed to cause a lot of the problems. A diet based on foods with a low glycaemic index may explain why some women conceive wothout medical intervention. Certainly I was eating that way at the time of my last pregnancy, although I didn't then know it would help - just trying to lose weight. A good book is Eat Yourself Slim by Michael Montignac.

Unfortunately you will need to read up about the condition yourself before seeing your doctor. There are still gynaecologists who are not very helpful - a lot of cysters do better with endocrinologists.

There is an excellent self-help called Verity and e-mail lists for women in both the UK and America. There website is www.verity-pcos.org.uk (I think). There's also a good article on PCOS in a recent guardian

www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4364656,00.html

and really good information on www.inciid.org/faq/pcos.html

Sorry I won't be able to come back on this after today as I'm taking on a new role and won't have the same net access but I'll still be on the British list. We're a friendly bunch and there are always new people joining.

I'm glad you felt the info was helpful Janus.

I wasn't having any periods at all when I discovered I had polycystic ovaries, although my periods had been pretty irregular before that if I wasn't on the pill.

The only reason I found out was that we decided to try for another child (number 1 came without any planning) so I came off the pill, and 6 months later still hadn't had a period.

It might be useful to realise that a period doesnt mean you have ovulated, it just means you are not pregnant. The womb thickens itself in preparation for a pregnancy each month, and when an egg is not fertilised and implanted, the lining of the womb is shed (along with any unfertilised egg that has been released) , which causes the bleeding that is your period. So if you haven't ovulated then it assumes you not to be pregnant and a period will start.

Obviously in your case I cannot say how long it will take to "fix", but with me it took about 8 months from seeing my gp to becoming pregnant.

So good luck and fingers crossed for you!