Pcos symptoms

[chelseaaaaaxxxx]

Hi

can anyone on here comment symptoms they have if they have PCOS? Like how irregular are cycles? What other symptoms do you get? Pcos

Symptoms can vary greatly. I don’t have it but some close family members do. Cycles can be irregular or problematic. Other symptoms can include skin tags, some darkened skin patches, maybe skin problems or extra body hair.
The support website is good

https://www.verity-pcos.org.uk/

I have PCOS, I didn't have a period until I was 19 so that was my first symptom. I had a high testosterone level.
I have excess body hair, and it's quite dark and long. Really bad acne on face, upper body, back, and backs of thighs. I've had to have ovarian cysts removed twice.
I find it very difficult to lose weight
My periods were about once every year, sometimes twice and when they came I couldn't leave the house, they were extremely painful and heavy.
I had fertility treatment to have children.
Skin tags are another issue!
I haven't had a period since I was 35, was declared menopausal at 37 and I'm now 47 and have had HRT for 10 years.
My daughter has it too :(

For me it’s weight gain (and very hard to lose it), bad acne, real problem with excess facial hair. First started showing signs at 17, diagnosed at 34, now 53.

My symptoms were acne and very irregular periods, the latter contributing to issues when TTC, I needed a couple of rounds of clomid. The acne was helped significantly by an appropriate oral contraceptive, in my case Marvelon and it cleared up post meno. I’m not aware of any problems attributable to it now.

I am sorry you’ve all struggled with PCOS 😣 it doesn’t sound nice at all, I only asked due to having irregular cycles! (33day cycles) I couldn’t find much about pcos symptoms on Google. Me and my partner are TTC for baby number 2 but taking a little longer than it did with our first!

Acne and very irregular periods - roughly 1 or 2 a year. Was only diagnosed when lady I had facials with (at about age 29) suggested it and encouraged me to go to the GP. Prescribed Clomid when TTC but according to blood tests, that didn’t work / I never ovulated - but which day to test?! But I did eventually fall pregnant at 34. Metformin (which treats the insulin resistance) worked to regulate my periods, but losing weight has always been difficult.

So when you say about irregular periods is it more like 1 or 2 a year? I sometimes skip a month but think that’s due down to stress!

Sounds like you’ve had a horrible time with it, did you ever use ovulation tests? My friend used to test and hers were always positive and apparently that is a sign she could have pcos but she didn’t have any of the symptoms? Not sure how true that is.

so glad you got your baby ❤️

Oh wow bless you:( I am so glad you were able to have children tho,
with your periods is really common with pcos to have periods a few times a year? My cycle is every 33 days some times a skip but think that’s due to stress

If your cycle is every 33 days, that’s is regular, it’s just a slightly longer cycle than some might have.

As above, excess body hair and a hairy chin 🤦‍♀️, I really struggle to lose weight even when eating really well and exercising, cysts have been observed on my ovaries, my cycle can be anywhere from 10 days between periods to 6 months + and aways incredibly heavy and painful when they do come. Testosterone always comes back high on blood tests. It took 18 months to get pregnant with one child and 2.5 years with the other child.
I ended up cutting out carbs almost completely and taking myo-inositol (I may have spelt that wrong!) and that maybe helped as I do get pregnant in the end!

I was told that I could have pcos due to my periods being a bit longer, was told by some comments on here😅😣 so I panicked and just wanted to know the symptoms ect. I have a 1&half year old and now TTC baby no 2 which is taking a bit longer
did you ever do ovulation tests when TTC? Someone told me that it’s hard to get a positive test? So glad you also got your children In the end!! Being a women can be so hard sometimes haha

@chelseaaaaaxxxx

Never used ovulation tests (DC now 22 maybe they weren’t such a thing back then) I was given Clomid and told to go to hospital for a blood test to see if I was ovulating on day ?? of 28 day cycle. Always negative as my cycles were 100 days + so when would you even test for that?
Consultant very nonchalantly said if my cycle was more than 28 days I wouldn’t be ovulating anyway, and may never have been. I came off Clomid and was all set for actual IVF, the first stage of which was a scan to check for blocked tubes I think… when they scanned I was pregnant!
Didn’t start metformin till after DC as the consultant back then was a bit, ‘it’s a new thing for PCOS, we know it works not really sure how or why!’ And that sorted my periods out completely.

Oh okay, maybe I’m wrong then, I always thought it was irregular periods as in all over the place but maybe longer cycles count as irregular too? I don’t know.
I did use ovulation strips for some of the time, both times, but stopped as it was pretty soul destroying pretty much never getting an actual positive. Same with temperature tracking. I did ask about metformin but my doctor said they couldn’t prescribe it for PCOS, altho this was a few years ago now.
Thank you, I feel incredibly lucky to have had my children, there was a time I was questioning if I’d ever have one, let alone two of the little darlings!

I have PCOS and lucky if I would have a max of 4 periods a year. I’m not sure I have many other symptoms.

Incredibly irregular periods - sometimes months between cycles
Weight gain and then impossible to lose (finally managed with MJ)
Fertility problems - needed clomid to conceive
Got gestational diabetes and more-eclampsia when pregnant - risk is increased with PCOS
Developed diabetes and hypertension - risk increased with PCOS - but now in remission for both due to weight loss and MJ

Basically no periods at all (except when I was on the pill which causes them artificially). Always been towards the top end of my healthy weight range so didn’t have the weight problems some people do (but I do exercise a decent amount and eat relatively healthily). So many hairs on my chin - pluck multiple times a day, and that after both electrolysis years ago and laser-ing more recently to get rid of the dark ones.

Needed clomid to conceive but we got there in the end.

Maybe you are right, I’ve always had a period every month just more like 32-33days so I can’t really see how I would have pcos as I don’t have any symptoms ect!!

I couldn’t imagine what it’s like to think you might not able to have children especially if you are so desperate to become a mum.

Were your ovulation tests pretty light all the time ? I have friend who always never has a dark light on the tests and think she’s starting to worry. Xx

Oh that’s so upsetting! Guessing the doctors won’t do anything about it either?

Wow you’ve been through it too, when you say months between periods how long you talking? Glad you are kinda of seeing a light at the end of the tunnel x

i bet it can make you self conscious when you have facial hairs that shouldn’t be there, you’ve always gone through it too& what does clomid do? Help you ovulate? Xx

Sometimes one month and sometimes several.

Yes, clomid causes ovulation. You can only take it under supervision of a fertility clinic though - they scan you every two days to work out when an egg is developing and then tell you when to have sex to hopefully conceive. They need to monitor you both for that but also to make sure you over-respond - eg produce 3 eggs and wind up with triplets.

You can also combine it with artificial insemination, where your DH gives a sperm sample the same day and then they stick it up you to get the sperm as far in as possible. Then you go home and try to have lots of sex too in the next 24 hours. While not cheap, it’s much cheaper and less invasive than IVF, so if your problem is PCOS I think most reputable clinics will suggest you try a few cycles of this before you go to full tilt IVF. Worked for us for each of our lovely DC.

If you thought no you might have PCOS, see if you can get referred for an ovarian scan.

Awww okayyy! Wow that puts so much pressure on you tho doesn’t it!!
I don’t think I have pcos cos I have periods every month and I do ovulate! And none of the facial hair x

Does pcos give you constant positive ovulation tests

I was diagnosed with PCOS at 28 with the following symptoms:
Irregular cycles - like 3 or 4 cycles a year. I don't think a 33day cycle that is always around 32-33days would qualify as being irregular.
Excess facial hair - having to pluck chin hairs every other day for example
Easy to gain weight and very hard to lose
Facial acne
Hormone blood tests by the endocrinology clinic at the hospital showed my hormone levels were aligned with someone with PCOS and an ultrasound of my ovaries showed lots of cysts.

DD1 was conceived using a combination of metformin and letrozole (letrozole is a newer drug that works a bit like clomid to induce ovulation). DD2 was a natural conception after i did the fast 800 diet and lost 12% of my body weight.

PCOS can cause positive ovulation tests but it still doesn't mean you actually ovulate - it can cause all your hormone levels to be out of whack, so you don't get reliable results. In fact, my consultant at the fertility clinic said not to use ovulation tests if you have PCOS because they are so unreliable.

How long have you been trying to conceive #2 and are you still breastfeeding your first DC?