Question re: PCOS

[RhiChiChi]

Just some background info first.

DH & I have been TTC for just over 13 mths. Have been pg twice, but m/c both times.
1st pg we bd everyday, 2nd pg we only bd twice.
Last mth went to GP following long cycle, had blood tests confirming that I am ovulating & gp also referred me to local womens clinic for internal u/s to check uterus & ovaries. At the time of u/s sonographer advised that uterus looked good, no foreign matter stopping me from pg, lots of eggs in ovaries but ovaries larger than 'normal' & suggested that I could have PCOS. Have appt with GP on Tuesday. Looked up internet for symptons on PCOS. I certainly have skin tags (but so does mum, dad & sister. Sister confirmed that she does not have PCOS) and am overweight (But more from 1 too many cadburys and lack of exercise!!). No other symptons exist. This mth I am certain that I od, b/c had EWCM, o pains & Maybe Baby showed some ferning (but am not charting)

What I want to know is:

For it to be confirmed that I have PCOS, will my GP do this or are there other tests?
Can you have like symptons to PCOS but not have PCOS- IYKWIM?
What are your chances of getting pg with PCOS

[Danni]

Hey there, Firstly they can diagnose PCOS with just having a few characteristics.

Example, I was diagnosed with PCOS because I had elevated insulin and testerone diagnosed through blood tests. However, I didnt have any cysts on my ovaries.

So you have the syndrome without problems to the actual ovaries.

A lot of women here on BB have successfully conceived with PCOS, some naturally, and some with the help of metformin or clomid.

My bub is a clomid bub as I was having trouble ovulating.

Basicallt the symptoms of PCOS is being overweight, long cycles and not ovulating.

Your doc will take some blood tests and will make his diagnosis upon that.

Hope you get it all sorted soon and you get your long awaited bfp!

[butterfly_warrior]

Another classic symptom of PCOS is having excess body hair that follows a more typically masculine pattern, and excess weight tending to be focussed around the abdomen, rather than hips/thighs/bottom like most women.

PCOS is caused by insulin resistance, which is why metformin helps, sticking to a low-carb diet is helpful, whether you are on metformin or not.

BW

[Visitor9]

PCOS is usually diagnosed by the appearance of the ovaries having a beaded effect. I had the bloodtests done and it was all normal. Many times you may have a few of the symptoms but not necessary all of them. A good fertility specialist can usually tell from an internal ultrasound.
Bec

[RhiChiChi]

Thanks to all your posts, this has certainly helped me understand a bit more about PCOS. Well I go to my GP on Tuesday, so I will probably know for sure then.

Thanks again

[chocolatecatty]

I had an internal ultrasound which revealed heaps of cysts so that together with my silly periods (all over the shop - ended up on pill to regulate them) led to the diagnosis of PCOS.
I have always had a sporty physique (sp?) with no weight problems, but I always thought my arms were hairier than others!
TTC for about 14 months naturally (low gi diet and regular exercise regulated my periods!) but ended up on clomid after that which found me pregnant after 3 cycles.
That's fantastic you ovulate......
Best of luck

[*Belle*]

Jools,

I was diagnosed with PCOS without the cysts on my ovaries but have insulin resistance, will tell you what my symptoms are:

1) overweight, 2), had to lose weight no matter what diet, 3) hairs on chin, 4) irregular periods

I had an ultrasound which came up clear of cysts though. My IVF specialist did the following tests:

1) ultrasound, 2) blood tests such as insulin resistance, blood sugar levels, and iron levels and hormone levels.

My insulin resistance came back high above an average person but my blood sugar level is fine, this indicated that I have problems with my insulin creating too much of it and not metabolising properly hence weight gain and irregular periods. He said if the insulin resistance is not fixed by diet control (Low GI) diet and also a drug called Metformin if you are TTC or the pill (Diana) if you are not TTC I would end up with Type 2 diabetes in matter of months. Also my progesterone came back so low indicating an issue of PCOS.

I was put on Clomid to help ovulation and concieved first time round however miscarried as I didnt have enough progesterone to carry the baby full term he thought. So he put me on Metformin with Clomid and I concieved 4 months later and now have a beautiful baby.

So I want to share my success with you and show you that it can be done and if you need any advice feel free to pm me or msn me.

Oh and if you are overweight and worried about weight gain during pregnancy please dont. I have few friends in similar situation and like me only put on few kgs during pregnancy and now I actually weigh 1 stone less after 2 weeks of baby being born than my pre pregnancy weight.

Bel
xxx

[katkins]

I have a question and no idea where to post. I have a cyst on my ovary and my dr said that shouldn't cause my periods to be irregular like they have been since the birth of my second bub. I now have to wait till the end of the week to ensure I don't have my period (come on, when it's 3wks over, waiting is not going to change the chances of me getting it anytime now!). They suspect problems with my thyroid. My mum had thyroid problems and her mum did too. I have always had the symptoms of it, but even with tests, no problem was found. I am a little nervous about it all now as I have NFI what is going on! All I know is my preiod is 3 weeks overdue and no AF nor B.I.B either and I can't read my body anymore. We want more kids in a few years and I am worried this will ruin my chances....does anyone have any suggestions/expirience with this?
My mum also went thru menopause VERY early (mid to late 30s) and I am worried it will happen to me too and I won't get to chance to extend the family. Dh thinks I am being silly, and I probably am. But I can't shake this worry.

[RhiChiChi]

Hi katkins,

My sister has a polup on her ovaries & gyno said that would be causing her irregular AF & spotting btwn AF - could be the same thing? Maybe you should ask your dr for a referral to your gyno, who would be able to tell yu more, being that this is their specialty

I hope all is ok, good luck.

[RhiChiChi]

Bel,

Thanks for your response (and too the others too).

Dr says it is PCOS b/c of my weight, irregular periods & u/s revealed cysts are on my ovaries. I have referral to gyno, but can't get in until 14/11.

At the moment we are in the tww, so here's hoping I get a BFP next week/week after.

A couple of more q's -

I am fairly sure that I had O pains last week, but Dr said that you sort of O but the egg turns into a cyst. If this is the case then would I still feel O pains?

Are there any q's I should ask my gyno that any of you ladies thought was really helpful and should have asked earlier, if only you knew?

If gyno can't help me to fall pg, will he then refer me to a fs?

Is there a really good low GI diet plan that any of you follow to help with the weight?

Thanks again

Julia

[eluded]

You would feel O pains, only because the egg kinda gets stuck when its being pushed out, if that makes sense.. so it just sits there and dosent go any further... You could also be feeling pain simply because of the cysts sitting on your ovaries...

I found that once i started on the metformin, the weight decreased, but ceratainly eating alow GI will help that.

Many people who have PCOS and start on metformin have their fertility chances increased by 80%... This would have been helpful for me to know as they said I'd havea really hard time falling pregnant, but failed to mention that after the metformin this would change.

good luck with it all anyway

[RhiChiChi]

Thanks Kiara,

I will cetainly ask about the metformin and clomid when I see the gyno.

[*Belle*]

Bel,

A couple of more q's -

I am fairly sure that I had O pains last week, but Dr said that you sort of O but the egg turns into a cyst. If this is the case then would I still feel O pains?

Are there any q's I should ask my gyno that any of you ladies thought was really helpful and should have asked earlier, if only you knew?

If gyno can't help me to fall pg, will he then refer me to a fs?

Is there a really good low GI diet plan that any of you follow to help with the weight?

Thanks again

Julia

Jools,

Sorry I havent responded until now..you should still feel ovulation pains, but the clear indication of ovulation is the CM. The more clear CM the better indicating ovulation. Also using the OPK's also.

Are your periods regular? do you ovulate on the same day every month or there abouts? or are you irregular like me? sometimes it took 40 or so days and I would ovulate around day 20 - 24 instead of day 14 in the perfect world. Ask your gyno to refer you to a FS if he/she is unable to perform blood tests on your hormones to see why you have PCOS. Also if Gyno cannot prescribe Metformin or Clomid ask to be referred to FS.

I followed LOW GI diet before becoming pregnant and also during my pregnancy by reading The new glucose revolution book and also seeing a dietican for the first few months. It was very helpful. There is also a glycemic index on the web where you can look up the type of foods and how much GI is in each food. I only gained 2kgs throughout my pregnancy and avoided gestational diabetes as a result too.

I would definately ask for Metformin, metformin is a wonderful drug, it helps you lose weight fixes the insulin resistance in your body and increases fertility. However there are side effects, when taking it start on 1/2 a tablet for 2 weeks building up a tablet a week or so after that to the required about per day that your FS or gyno prescribes and dont eat any cheese or high GI with metformin until your body is used to the drug otherwise you will be in the bathroom all day

Feel free to PM me any questions.

Bel
xxx

[*Belle*]

I have a question and no idea where to post. I have a cyst on my ovary and my dr said that shouldn't cause my periods to be irregular like they have been since the birth of my second bub. I now have to wait till the end of the week to ensure I don't have my period (come on, when it's 3wks over, waiting is not going to change the chances of me getting it anytime now!). They suspect problems with my thyroid. My mum had thyroid problems and her mum did too. I have always had the symptoms of it, but even with tests, no problem was found. I am a little nervous about it all now as I have NFI what is going on! All I know is my preiod is 3 weeks overdue and no AF nor B.I.B either and I can't read my body anymore. We want more kids in a few years and I am worried this will ruin my chances....does anyone have any suggestions/expirience with this?
My mum also went thru menopause VERY early (mid to late 30s) and I am worried it will happen to me too and I won't get to chance to extend the family. Dh thinks I am being silly, and I probably am. But I can't shake this worry.

Kerrie,

It may affect your percentage of time you take to become pregnant due to the cyst, however it shouldnt stop you from getting pregnant, does your OB or Gyno prescribe Clomid or Metformin to help assist you? Metformin took 4 months for us to succeed in a healthy pregnancy in conjuction with taking Clomid so if your gyno or ob recommends you take Metformin I would ask a few months at least before thinking of TTC to get your body ready if you can. Hope this helps. PS, you are in Sydney? I saw Dr Mark Bowman from Sydney IVF and he was great he was the one who prescribed me Metformin and Clomid.

Bel
xxx

[missbelinda77]

Jooleshere - I attended the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Association of Australia
(POSAA) annual conference on the weekend, where doctors, dieticians and specialists attended to give a range of seminars and answer questions. There is a lot of information about PCOS on the POSAA website which will help you.

The main speakers were Dr Warren Kidson (Endocrinologist - leading expert on PCOS in Australia), Kate Marsh (dietician who co-wrote the Low GI Diet Book), Dr Anne Clark (Fertility First) and Professor John Eden. I believe they are planning on putting the transcripts from the conference onto the website as well.

Hope that helps

[bang83]

I completely agree with missbelinda. The POSAA Conference was fantastic! It was so informative and if you did miss out on going to it, they will have a CD of all the speakers soon. I'm not sure if it will only be available to members of POSAA but if so, it's only $30 to join anyway. They are so amazing for information and support. The website is in the PCOS Support thread.

Which of the talks did you go to missbelinda? The bit Dr Kidson did at the start was so good and he explained everything so well.

Hope that helps a bit too.

[missbelinda77]

Hi Jane - I went to:
Dr Warren Kidson - Metformin & Pregnancy
Dietician Kate Marsh - The Low GI Diet
Dr Anne Clark - Fertility Fitness
Dr Anne Clark - Pregnancyther options
Professor Helena Teede - Depression, heart disease and Jean Hailes

What about you? I was very distracted all day, because I had woken at 4.30am to do a HPT which was positive...so that was all I could think of all day. We left a little early because I got so tired.

Have you been to the Support Group Meetings at West Ryde before? I went along to the one earlier in the year on PCOS & Depression, and the recent one on PCOS & Exercise. I look forward to all of them.

[RhiChiChi]

Hey all,

Sorry I just saw all of your posts here, so much information - thank-you.

Well at the moment I have put the PCOS to the back of my mind, cos I am currently 5 weeks & 3 days PG! So, obviously I did O (I had a small amount of EWCM) and we bd at the right time/s!

I've taken notes of what all of you have 'said' just in case this one doesn't stick.