Hello ladies, I am new here. Have read a lot of your posts and am hoping someone can fill me in on a few things.
I am 28 and have been ttc for more than a year now. I suspect i may have pcos, although i don't have any of the physical symptoms. I have had irregular cycles since i started my period many years ago and have been on the pill up until last year. I recently used an OPK kit and have had 7 + days, the last two being very strong +. I am not pregnant so it must be pcos. My cycle now is about 90 days, give or take a few weeks. I have booked in to see a specialist in september but am going mad in the mean time! I know me and my hubby can conceive because i fell pregnant 7 years ago (I never got a period so how did i ovulate?) but decided not to keep it as i wasn't ready.
What hope is there if i do have pcos? Will they put me on chlomid and does it work? any info would be great thanks.
I'm new also (this is my first post), and I have PCOS. I was diagnosed by my GP. She arranged for an ultrasound (vaginal) to check my ovaries - this is to confirm if you have physical cysts. I also had a blood test to check the hormones. My testosterone was high as was the LH hormone (High LH will lead to positive ovulation test results). And of course irregular periods is also an indicator also.
I was diagnosed last year and have now been trying to conceive for 18 months. We have only just started our first round of ovulation induction (Clomid).
Many people I have spoke with have started out with Metformin and that is enough to help them get pregnant. I was tested to confirm if i had insulin resistance (this is what the metformin is used to treat), which i didnt, so went straight onto the clomid. The doctor did mention that a combination of metformin and clomid has a higher success rate than clomid alone. Eitherway, i figured theres no point in taking a medicine that I dont need.
Anyway we're still on our first cycle without much luck to date. Good luck with getting diagnosed and discussing your options with your doctor.
Thanks,
I have read a lot of posts on a lot of different sites about women conceiving on clomid. I have no doubt that i have cysts on my ovaries, it's just waiting for an appointment to confirm it so i can start fertility drugs. I feel that the process of this is so time wasting.
Hopefully clomid works for you, fingers crossed and good luck.
I'm suprised its taking them so long to diagnose you. I when I went to the docs, she booked in a scan and blood test simultaneously (which i did the same day) and when the results came in (less than a week later), I was diagnosed. I'm surprised its taking so long
Thats why It's so frustrating. I explained that i have NEVER had regular cycles, besides on the pill, and we have been trying for 12 months. He said that i don't have any physical symptoms of PCOS and that i should book in to see a obs/gyno.It wasn't until i used the OPK that i realised that they were always positive and that was a sign of PCOS.
I have been told by people not to bother seeing a obs/gyno and to go straight to the fertility specialist. What would be better? Is there a longer wait?
I have since booked in to see a different doctor on Tuesday so hopefully she can run some tests so i can at least get diagnosed before i see the obs/gyno.
I honestly can't say I know regarding the ob/gyno. I thought they were the 'fertility specialists.'
A lady at work told me she had consulted the Royal Womens Hospital who have a department that specialises in PCOS and ttc. I went to my doc and requested a referral specifically for the Royal Womens. He warned me against it, saying I would have to wait forever for an appointment etc etc. He said it would be much better for me to consult someone privately. I politely declined and said I would wait. A week after faxing my referral to the hospital, I received a confirmation letter for an appointment within the month.
The doctor was very understanding and thorough. He answered my long list of questions and sent me for blood tests of all sorts to determine if i had insulin resistance and the right immunisations, amongst other things to diagnose PCOS (such as a high Luteinizing Hormone and testosterone). My only gripe was he didnt arrange a semen test for my husband at the time (but that was organised later on - at my Ovulation Induction appointment).
Having said this though, I have been monitoring my Clomid cycles at an offsite clinic to the hopsital. The offsite clinic has been amazing with appointments and flexibility, and I really feel comfortable with the nurse. I never have trouble being scanned on time, and they call when they say they will. I did go into the hospital once for a scan, and due to an oversight they were 1.5 hours late.
Another positive about visiting the hospital is that it's free. The medication and the sperm analysis is the only costs we've incurred. That's more money for our baby (when it comes).
If you do go via the public system, I would highly recommend you do your research (and it sounds as though you have), and make sure you bring up all your concerns with the doc, even if it contradicts what they are saying. For example, the doctor initially prescribed me with a low dose of Clomid, and effectively it did nothing. The next doc I consulted said she never would have prescribed so little. I understand doc one is being precautious, but from all the things I read, I knew the initially dosage was always very low. I should have just stood up to him. Oh well you learn over time
Further to my last post, the specific things my initial GP tested me for were:
Blood tests included the following:
- FSH
- LH
- Oestradiol
- TSH
- Testosterone
- S.H.B.G
- F.A.I
Pelvic Ultrasound / Transvaginal to check :
- that the uterus is normal
- look for Myometrial abnormalties
- If the endometrium is regular and normal
- check of the ovaries for cysts
Perhaps you should ask your doctors to order the same / similar lots of bloods and ultrasound. I went to SuperClinic that has all facilities (including ultrasound) at the one location. Perhaps a doctor would be more open to ordering scans if you found a clinic that offered an ultrasound technician service
Thanks for the info, I am having blood tests on friday and have booked in for an internal ultrasound on monday.
The doctor said it was unlikely that i have PCOS because i didn't have physical symptoms (again) but then why would i get all +opk results? I took a hpt on my 5th positive day, just to check that the opk wasn't picking up preg hormones, it was negative. That with my 90 day cycles sends alarm bells to me!
I am seeing Dr Jaques Lam, don't know if anyones heard of him, but i've been told he's good.
Since the date i thought i may have ovulated, 5 days later i took the hpt-negative, but i had aching pains in my right ovary a few days later, then a sharper pain right in the middle but further down. The day after that i had really sore nipples for 3 days untill yesterday. Maybe i did ovulate? who knows with irregular cycles.
Hopefully i will know how big the cysts are by monday afternoon!!
One more thing, i've heard Clomid has bad side effects, is this true?
PCOS?
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