Anyone here got PCOS?? I need some reassurance!!

[fruitloop79]

Hi there, I've just discovered I've got PCOS. I'm not pregnant but we have been TTC for 6 months. I know every case of PCOS is totally different but I really need some reassurance! I would love to here your stories good and not so good!

TIA
Fruity

Hiya,

I found out I had PCOS after trying for a year with nothing happening and my periods eventually stopping. I saw a specialist and he put me on Metformin to start my periods again. Very quickly my periods came back. We kept trying for another year and again nothing happened. I then got a new job so we decided to wait a bit before trying again and low and behold 2 weeks after starting my new job I was pregnant. I am convinced that it was because we took the pressure off. Im now 26 weeks pregnant. All in all it took us about 2 and a bit years to conceive. My advice would be to take any medication your GP prescribes then try and chill out a bit - Im sure it will happen for you too.

the medication I can do, the chilling out, ummm, nope
I'm seeing GP on Monday. What's better, Clomid? or Metformin? I know Clomid stimulates the ovaries but was does Metformin do? Something to do with insulin resistance? What's that got to do with eggs n ovaries?

Sorry to bombard you!

I have pcos and conceive and carry no probs

I reckon it took me 3 years (roughly) to conceive DS as I was very lazy with taking the pill for this time - In fact I rarely took it. I had a wonderful pregnancy. Now I know I've got PCOS, I'm scared its going to take another three years . DP says we're not in a race with anyone but when you want something that bad, you know?

I have PCOS, we tried for 3 months and now I'm 5 weeks pregnant which is very early...but I'm sooo excited.

Also got cyst on right ovary which needs to be monitored.

I wish you all the best. I think jendave is right. Don't worry, once you relax about it it'll happen, I'm sure :-)

I have it - took metformin to get pg - all OK. But rapid weight loss if you're at all overweight (even a small amount) or lots of exercise can have the same effect without the drugs as it also tends to kick-start your ovaries. Metformin's much milder and safer to start with, with Clomid you have to be monitored carefully for ovarian hyperstimulation

Hi I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2004. I had been trying to get pregnant for about a year after getting married - I knew something wasn't right because my cycle was about 45 - 60 days long! Anyway after being put on clomid and metformin I got pregnant with my DD after 4 attempts. I'm pregnant again now after falling first attempt with no drugs (still with a long irregular cycle) it just was very obvious that I was ovulating and we decided to give it a go and couldn't believe we got BFP!
I'm glad I did the drugs first time round to get pregnant. I think because I did, it made getting pregnant again easy - like my body knows what it's doing!
Good luck xx

Hi! I'm going to bombard you now. We tried for 8 months to conceive and caught - I lost the baby at 7 weeks. After this my periods became erractic and eventually stopped. My wonderful doctor referred me to a specialist where I was diagnosed with PCOS. I started on Metformin whilst waiting for a lap and dye, and ovarian drilling. The specialist also recommended I go on a low GI diet. This worked well for me and I lost weight but more importantly I felt fab!
I had the op in May, started on Clomid with the Metformin and caught on the first cycle. I am now waiting patiently (not) for our first who is due in 4 weeks.
With answer to the drugs, they are better used in combination. Yes it is due to insulin resistance produced by the PCOS. I do think that the op really helped. If you need any more info, let me know. Good Luck.

Hi I was diagnosed with PCOS 2 1/2 years ago after having a lapo to have cysts removed from my ovaries and tube.I was told that it might take a long time to concieve but fell pregnant a few days after having the coil removed. I guess i was lucky in that i didn't have to take any medication, try www.verity-pcos.org.uk it really helped me understand the condition better and to know that you are defo not alone.

Thanks everyone. I'm starting to feel a little better about it all. I'm well within my weight range but I might try to to get to my lightest possible weight. So I reckon another half a stone should do it. Started GI a couple of days ago, already running out of ideas for dinners! I've done it before, I conceived DS while on it (didn't know about PCOS then) so it must work.

I've been advised to stay away from OPKs and temping but I just can't help myself! Did any of you temp? what were your charts like?

Dear fruitloop79

I do not have PCOS but I do suffer from infertility and am 6 months pregnant after a successful IVF cycle.
I belonged to an infertility support group for a number of years. Someone I know with PCOS recently gave birth to twins after their first IVF cycle.
Just thought you might like to know. Good luck!

I have PCOS, not had a period since July, in fact had only had 3 in the last 12 months.
Was put on Metformin to try and kick start periods, this didnt appear to be working so was advised to start clomid.
Took a pregnancy test as advised before taking the new drugs and low and behold i was pregnant! Am 12 weeks tomorrow and scan on monday, hopefully it all is fine. Am very nervous though.

I second the GI diet, even if you aren't madly strict about it, just sticking to the principles some / most of the time does help. Also, i lost about 1.5 - 2 pounds, barely anything (am not overweight but am at the upper end of the healthy range) and this seems to coincide with when i conceived.

PCOS is a big stress but doesnt mean you wont get pregnant.
There is a good PCOS webiste called verity PCOS or something, google it.

Good luck

Thanks lounan and stickybean I've had a look at that website. Must be a good one cos lots of people have recommended it . It's lovely to hear all your stories. I know it's possible, unfortunately I'm a very impatient person!
newbishad that's fantastic news for you and your friend! I do hope I don't have to go down the IVF route. We'd never be able to afford it and I gather you have to wait 2.5 years to get it on the NHS plus you only get one go at it . A friend of mine has spent about 25 grand on 5 rounds of IVF treatment! she is now 15 weeks pg!

Hi, just wanted to add my (so far, touch wood) successful PCOS story. I came off pill, didn't have period for three months, was literally about to start clomid, then I went for an ultrasound as the new doctor I moved to wanted to check on the cysts and lo and behold, a fertilized egg was discovered nestling in my uterus. I am only five and a half weeks pregnant now, early days I know, but I'm totally shocked. I must have conceived on about day 57 of my cycle. I didn't know that was possible. Has anyone else conceived late in a cycle?

Indeed, OPKs can sometimes give a false positive when you have PCOS so it may be better to use other methods (I find checking cervical mucus is the easiest and most accurate). I temped for 8 months before it finally struck me that I wasn't ovulating so my doc put me on Metformin and a low-GI diet. I was lucky enough to fall pg in my first fertile cycle!

Personally I would try the Metformin at first - as it can be wondrous for some people, although less so for others - before going the Clomid route.

I have PCOS and got pregnant with twins on my first IVF attempt (I am now 35 weeks pg).

I was 41 and produced a total of 20 eggs in that cycle.

My fertility doctor said that PCOS women react well to the IVF drugs.

So encouraging if you ever need to go down that route

Hi Fruity

My partner and I are both in our late 30's and started ttc for the first time in Jan last year. I had always had period / hormonal problems since a teenager, so went to get checked out. It was confirmed I had PCOS. We gave ourselves 6 months or so to fall pregnant naturally (given our age), before we would go back to the doctors and get the ball rolling, moving onto Clomid or other fertility treatments. Given my age, I didn't want to leave it too long. I also had blood tests to determine whether or not i was actually ovulating but, due to the doctor's clinic just being disorganised and not getting back to me, I never actually did find out the results.

However without waiting, I started using the ovulation sticks to get accurate information on when i might be ovulating and I read Zita West's book on becoming pregnant, to educate myself on working out my cycle (embarrassed to say some of it was news to me). I bought the sticks you wee on and that come up with a smiley face when you are at your most fertile. When the face appeared, for those couple of days, my partner and i then tried to go at it 'hammer and tongs' as they say! (Truth be told though, given long working hours, commuting, general busyness of day to day life), we weren't doing it as much as we should have done.

8 months or so went past, nothing happening. I then had a talk with my partner and stressed that time was running out before we would need to move onto drug treatment for ttc with PCOS. We both decided to REALLY go for it the following time we got a smiley face. So, that was what we did (still, we're only talking maybe 3-5 times over 2/3 days!) - but in honesty it was probably the first time in 9 months we'd given it proper effort.

Result was, I fell pregnant naturally. I'm now 6 months pregnant. So I guess i was ovulating after all...

Based merely on my own experience, I would recommend a woman with PCOS who is ttc, educate themselves about their menstrual cycle length and optimum fertility times; use ovulation kits to get precise information about when their time is that month; and then giving it all they've got! And it helped giving myself a set time when i would try naturally, knowing i would then demand from the docs that i was referred and got treatment. At least if i ended up going down that road, i could look back and know i tried.

Very best of luck to you and others also in this boat.

x

Hiya,

I was ttc for nearly a year before I found out I had PCOS. They immediately prescribed Clomid and I got pregnant on the third month. (50mg)
They gave me injections every week to help sustain the pregnancy (don't think this is done by all consultants) and all went well. (clomid baby now 4rs old)

I came off the pill when she was nearly 2 to try for number 2 and periods were still erratic so decided to wait a little while.

Went to docs six mths later for a referral and by the time I got my appt I was already pregnant with no 2 without any treatment! No2 was born when no1 was exactly 3.5.

Sorry but I have no idea about metformin. That wasn't even suggested to me.

Good luck!

I didn't do any charting but did try to pay attention to my C/M.

Bouviergirl I'm a little sceptical about using OPKs and temping because I've been told the LH they pick up goes up and down throughout the cycle of someone with PCOS. Apparently we can still get the LH surge without ovulating. I think it's the body's way of trying to ovulate but with no luck. I'm still going to use these methods as I can't see any other option.
I'm seeing the GP on Monday to discuss what happens next but I'm a litle scared he's gonna tell me to come back in 6 months or even worse, a year!

Lomond I have been paying attention to CM but I dont think I've ever got true EWCM. The only time I get almost clear EWCM is the day after BDing so I'm obviously confusing this with DP's contribution. My CM is always cloudy/opaque. Can be mega stretchy though

That's a fair point Fruity. And it's definitely right to follow whatever methods/tactics that feel best for you on a very personal level.

I know that when i did OPKs sometimes during the month i would get the 'you're not ovulating' sign. Whereas, another time i'd get a smiley face - only for 2/3 days or so. So that was enough to tell me that there was a window of opportunity there when things were different.

Don't forget - whatever the doc tells you, this is your body and your situation, so if you don't want to wait another 6 mths / year, then so be it. Be firm. As we're always being reminded, we're the customers now in the NHS - so assert your customer rights!

good luck.

Hi
I had PCOS and was trying 2 years to get preg. I was put on metformin and conceived the 1st month, did have side effects of the metformin, the runs!! unfortunately had a missed miscarriage at 12 wk scan, aparently it happened at approx 7 wks. I Then got preg again 3 months later. I now have a lovely 33 month old daughter. I am now preg again and due 30 May and never even had to have the metformin. I never had a period for 8 months after giving birth but then after losing baby weight my periods was regular than ever before ranging from 30 days to 40. Good luck for the future xx

Hi

I have PCOS - finally diagnosed after 7 years of borderine test results!! I was put on metformin (still had no periods) and decided to lose some weight. Went on the Lighter Life diet programme. After losing 4 1/2 stone I fell pregnant (complete surprise as I had basically been told it would be nigh on impossible without some form of fertility treatment). Anyway, due date is next Saturday and I am soooo lookign forward to something I thought would never happen.

Good Luck xx

Thanks so much for all your messages. I'll have to see what happens at the docs on Monday. Hopefully I'll be able to join you guys here in a couple of months!