PCOS disappearing or misdiagnosis?

Well I've been over this in my head and can't come up with any explaination and forgot this thread existed, so thought i should ask before i forget.

In August 2003 i was diagnosed with PCOS via blood test. I was having a check up with GP and told her AF was always very irregular (between 14 and 49 day cycles) So she gave me the BT because she suspected PCOS. It came back positive.

I was put on the pill to help control it as i was only 17 and had no desire to start a family just yet.

7 months later i conceived Lily while still on the pill. (a miricle if you ask me)

After having Lily, AF showed up 5 weeks after the birth. Since then (a year later) my cycles have only been between 27 and 32 days long. More so 28 days. So pretty much as regular as you can get.

Also, as some of you may know, after only 3 months TTC we conceived again, but only to miscarry at 5w 3d. The very next cycle we conceived again, only to miscarry again(chemical pregnancy) at 4w 5d. So apparently i have no problem in conceiving at all dispite having been diagnosed with PCOS.

So my question is, can PCOS disappear? Or have I been misdiagnosed, although the BT was positive?

Can being pregnant improve PCOS? (if that makes sense) Because, as if said, i have no problem conceiving(although having trouble keeping a pregnancy at the moment), and my cycles have become regular after being pregnant?

Also can PCOS make you at greater risk of miscarrying?

Hmmm, I would love to know the answer to this too..... :-k

I would maybe go and get checked out again. I am surprised the doctor just diagnosed PCOS via blood tests and did not do a lap or even just an ultrasound????

I know women who have had PCOS & endo and after having children the condition improved. I guess maybe it gives your system the jolt that it needs!!!

Tegan

For some women pregnancy does improve the condition.My sister for example was TTC #2 for over 18 months and ended up taking clomid to conceive.Her #2 bub is now 10 months and she is pregnant again only this time by accident and totally natural!Her cycles have been spot on since having her second daughter.

I can't beleive your doc diagnosed you from a b/t!!I had to go through so many tests and u/s it wasn't funny!It was pretty invasive in the end.

I'm hoping that PCOS does correct itself as I am wanting to start TTC next year and really don't want to have to take clomid again(even though my bub is a beautiful clomid bub!)

With regards to m/c, yes there is a higher rate of m/c in women with PCOS.Apparently though Metformin helps with this.

HTH's

From what my endocrinologist told me, PCOS gets worse as we get older. Especially if it's also related to insulin resistance (not what I wanted to hear) I have never heard of it completely going away, although you can manage the symptoms through diet, exercise and metformin (if appropriate of course)

Also, PCOS does increase the risk of miscarriage which is why I'm staying on metformin until I'm at least 12 weeks. I will also have the results of my latest GTT soon to see if I need to stay on it throughout the pregnancy.

Ok, so how would i go about asking about Metformin? Can a doctor refuse to give it to you just because of age? My 2 m/c were not comfirmed by a GP as 1 i dont have a GP and 2 they were really early. So would they still consider giving it to me? Or would i just be fobbed off?

Tegan

You could definitely ask a gp.I suggest you find yourself one or make an appoinment at the hospital to see a doc and sit down and explain everything to them.They will probably run some tests and let you know what they find.They may not prescibe it as like you said the m/c's you have had have not been confirmed, although if you go to the hospital to see a doc you could tell them that you did have them confirmed by a gp...............I mean you know you did m/c and don't really need a doc to tell you so, and a little white lie won't hurt ;)

Yeah i was thinking that but wouldnt they ask who the GP was?

To be honest the hospital docs probably wouldn't.They have barely enough time now just to see patients let alone follow up.And you could play dumb and just say you don't remember their name as you had never been to them before.The hospital would probably do tests anyway to see whats going on.Most docs understand that we know our bodies better then they do and know whats going on.

Well my first m/c was kinda confirmed. I told him i had 3 BFP and then was bleeding bright red and he said it's probably an early m/c. But i truely don't remember his name anyways LOL!

Thanks for your help Kirsty! I'll be looking into it!

I would go thorugh the tests & find our where you are at for sure before just asking for metformin. If they have not had a good look around inside of you there may be something else causing your problems.

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Ok, so how would i go about asking about Metformin? Can a doctor refuse to give it to you just because of age? My 2 m/c were not comfirmed by a GP as 1 i dont have a GP and 2 they were really early. So would they still consider giving it to me? Or would i just be fobbed off?

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Sorry I don't see what metformin has to do with age? I was put on metformin to deal with my PCOS symptoms (I had very high insulin levels) long before I was TTC. It's not a fertility drug.

If you have PCOS/insulin resistance most doctors would not hesitate to prescribe it to you. But I agree that you should probably get tested first

Sorry that is not what i meant. I meant as in i've come across doctors who brush me off because i am only 19 and wanting to TTC. Just have had bad experiences is all...

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Sorry that is not what i meant. I meant as in i've come across doctors who brush me off because i am only 19 and wanting to TTC. Just have had bad experiences is all...

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Oh I see what you mean :lol: As I tried to say but not very well.... Metformin is not just for TTC. It improved so many of my symptoms. My cycles were SO regular, I lost weight, I had more energy. When I went on it I just wanted to feel better not get pregnant. So maybe if you explain to your doctor that you want to do that rather than approaching it from a TTC angle?? ;)

Ahh so very confusing LOL I think i'll just go to the hospital, explain my m/c, symptoms, PCOS etc and see what they do, hopfully something and not nothing!

Oh and where would i go to see a doctor in the hospital? All i know is the emergancy department LOL

Hi Tegan,

Um I'm pretty sure that any doctor worth his/her salt won't/can't diagnose PCOS on the basis of one bloodtest. PCOS by definition also has to have other symptoms, whether they be the appearance of polycystic ovaries (the norm), hirsuteness, irregular periods etc.

So your diagnosis in 2003 sounds very dodgy. However, PCOS whilst it can often result in fertility issues (again, the norm) does not always apply so some women can conceive fine regardless.

Your cycles are almost regular, but still vary a bit more than would be considered normal. The two m/c you've experienced may well also be the result of PCOS, but you could also be extremely unlucky to have had two m/c and not have PCOS.

Sounds like you need to see a proper doc, a GP won't cut it unless they have a real interest in PCOS and will arrange for you to have your ovaries ultrasounded and also more extensive bloodtests. As for Metformin, if you see a proper doc (a reproductive endocrinologist would be best) and you get a diagnosis of PCOS, you'll probably have no trouble getting Metformin prescribed. You may be required to do tests for insulin resistance first, but beware that results can come back as normal even though you do have it.

I speak from some experience, being diagnosed with PCOS on the basis of one bloodtest. I needed to get a second and third opinion before I was satisfied that I was in good hands, medically speaking. I was prescribed Metformin without doing the insulin resistance tests and fell pregnant after a few months on it. I am a PCOS woman who had severe fertility problems, so it worked like magic on me.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

Ok, so i'm confused. You're saying i do not have PCOS? My GP was qualified in obstetrics and infertility. So i think she knew what she was talking about...

Although as i said, i was 17 years old at the time and didn't even know how my body worked let alone knowing if being diagnosed off one BT was dodgy.

I'm just not sure it's worth going through all this trouble because i've had bad experiences with doctors fobbing me of because i am young. I had one say they wouldnt do anything because i was only 19 and had my whole life to do something about it and to go out and have fun and not worry about this pish posh :(

Tegan, sorry to confuse. PCOS needs to have a number of symptoms in order to get the diagnosis. A single bloodtest cannot provide this. You really do need an internal u/s of the ovaries to see the 'string of pearls' appearance, although in a small percentage of women the ovaries do appear normal. BUT... there needs to be a number of symptoms all together, that's why PCOS is a 'syndrome'. My first diagnosis was from an OB/GYN who 'diagnosed' on the basis of a single bloodtest, so he should have known better (hence your GP also should have, so don't assume that the GP really is knowledgeable enough on PCOS, actually most don't know much about it at all).

I'm not saying you don't have PCOS. After all, I had all the extra tests done and I was confirmed as having PCOS. But there is a possibility that you don't have PCOS. Metformin can have some really nasty side effects (gastric), so you'd want to be sure that it might help you before you took it. I'd seek a second opinion from a doc who really does deal with PCOS a fair bit, if I were in your shoes.