Conceiving with PCOS

[EmBrai]

Hi all. Apologies for the long post!
Myself and my hubby have been trying for a baby for over 2 years now with no success and I have recently been diagnosed with PCOS. My periods are very irregular. I get around 4 a year and they last 2 weeks. I am taking Provera to have withdrawal bleeds as the doctor was concerned about my womb lining becoming too thick with the lack of regular periods. My problem now is that I don't know when i'm ovulating with my periods being all over the place. I have been back to the doctor who has talked about referring me for egg donation but i'm honestly not keen on the idea. The good thing is that I am having periods without the Provera which means I am actually ovulating at some point but its just very rare. I was wondering if anyone else is or has been in my situation and knows of anything else I could try without having to go straight down the egg donation route. Thanks in advance! xx

Hi,

Pass to most of it I’m afraid. But PCOS here as well, I charted my basal body temperature to get an idea of if / when I was ovulating. But easier this end because of 5-6.5wkly cycles. However after a couple of months I could see in hindsight where ovulation might have happened, and link in with things like increased discharge. It worked, 30wks pregnant. Maybe ask in the Conception board if anyone knows more? Fingers crossed for you xxx

Ask lots, maybe a 2nd opinion from another doctor?

Have they run other tests that suggest egg donation would be required? It seems an extreme thing to jump straight to unless there are other factors as well as the PCOS.

I have PCOS with similar lack of periods / anovulatory periods to what you've described. Cycle lengths varying from 15 days up to 80 or 90 days. We were referred to a fertility clinic after TTC for year and (once I'd lost a chunk of weight) the clinic prescribed clomid to induce ovulation, with blood tests each cycle to determine if I had ovulated or not. I conceived on the 7th cycle of clomid and my DD is a month old now.

Have you been prescribed anything to help manage the PCOS? The only thing that helped me was Metformin, it made my previously crazy irregular periods almost normal. I used that, basal body temperature charting, ovulation test strips (buy cheap ones on amazon) and the app Fertility Friend to conceive DS1.

I’ve struggled to conceive my 2nd but did all the above plus took Inositol (a vitamin supplement) that works in a similar way to metformin. You don’t need a prescription for that and in Europe they advise women who are TTC to take it. I took clomid and then had an HCG trigger shot and am now 9 weeks pregnant.

I did see a fertility specialist for the clomid and the HCG shot but it was only two appointments so could be minimal cost for you. I’m not in the UK so I was able to buy all these meds over the counter with no prescription (including the clomid and HCG!)

I was 14 months without a period because of pcos. After a year ttc I was referred to a Nhs clinic. I was given 2 medicines , 1 to induce the periods and the other one was clomid. They’d track me when I was ovulating with an internal us. It was supposed to be only cycle 1 this but I requested to be checked on cycle 2 as well. After cycle 2 I got pregnant.

Seems quite extreme the egg donation without trying clomid and other processes first !

Hi all.
I forgot to mention that when they discovered I have PCOS they also found that I only have one ovary. The doctor explained that ovulation is lower than normal because of these two factors. Clomid has never been mentioned to me. The only thing I've been given is the Provera to induce a withdrawal bleed. Nothing to actually help with the PCOS. From what's just been said I'm presuming you need to be under a certain weight to be given Clomid? X

Your BMI needs to be under 30, mine was 29.5 so was provided for 6 months, told if it didnt manage to work and had to go again and was over 30 then they'd not help me (but that is with any fertility treatment via NHS) also clomid can only be provided for 6 months as it can cause ovarian cancer if you take it for too long.

I wasnt given Provera but a similar one, i was also given Metmorfin but caused me loads of panic attacks so only took it for a bit

I have PCOS and it took us 10 years to concieve the first time and thats without any NHS help due to rules etc.

I would suggest (If you havent already) to get referred to OB/GYN?infertility clinic and they can start the process off and look at issues PCOS can cause like blocked tubes etc.

ive lost 40kg in just under a year and that is only the way to control PCOS without drugs and ive just found out im pregnant again (trust me - im in shock!)

Wishing you the best xx

I have pcos, took metformin and inofolic, worked for me. Defo recommend inofolic sachets.