What to do while waiting? Newbie!

Hi!

I'm new here so will give a quick run down of my situation if that's OK?

I was diagnosed with PCOS last year when I went off the pill and had no AF for 8 months and developed acne. My GP said to go back on the pill to have a regular AF and to help with the cosmetic symptoms of PCOS until I wanted to TTC. I also have a dermoid in my left ovary, which is slowly getting bigger.

I have an appointment with a specialist on 13 Sept (which was made 3 weeks ago- the waiting is killing me :lol:). I went off the pill about 5 weeks ago and surprise, surprise :rolleyes: nothing is happening again.

I've begun charting temps and looking at CM in the off chance that spontaneously ovulate while waiting (:cryinglaugh:). I've bought Vitex and DH and I are Bding every couple of days. Is there anything else I can do while waiting? And how do I know when to do a HPT just in case???

Any ideas/comments would be great!:)

Hi there and welcome, i to am TTC. what day are you at the moment , what is your chart doing , are your temps up or going down?

Just getting the hang of this sorry! I posted twice!!

Hey- thanks for replying. It's hard to know if anyone will answer a question from a newbie when they've probably answered it a million times over!

I don't know how to answer the first question "what day are you?" Well I guess I'm day 42 but I'm not sure that I actually have cycles. I had no evidence of one last time I was off the pill (8 months) but you never know- this time might be different!:pray: My temps have been around 36.8 and dropped to 36.5 2 days ago. Since then they've been 36.6 and then 36.8 again today.

Again, thanks for replying!

are you charting with fertility friend, you temp are still up , it will be a wait and see, have you do a pregnancy test yet?

No I'm not using FF but will look into it. My temps have been 36.8 since I started taking temps (about 2 weeks ago) except for the 36.5 that I mentioned. I have done a couple of HPT as I don't know if AF isn't coming because of PCOS or PG. All HPT have been BFN as expected. I think my irregular cycles are due to PCOS. I'll keep testing though- you just never know!

Just wondering if there's anything I can do to pass the time that will help on my journey TTC while waiting for specialist appointment. Is there anything I should be doing now, except for what I'm already doing?

BTW, my basal thermometer that I bought has the brand BD on it. I wonder if they know what BD means in Internet lingo?? :lol:

not much you can do but wait . I am waiting to O . dont know much about thermometers.when do you see the specialist next, we see ours in november, hope to be BFP before that.

Thanks.

We see ours next month. It's been a 10 week wait which is driving me crazy!

Hi peekay,
I was just diagnosed with PCO (not PCOS) last week. In the last 7 months I've had 3 cycles. I totally understand your frustration. I had my FS appointment last Monday. She was sure that I hadn't O'd but I was sure I had - and the BT proved it. Like you my whole last cycle DH and I BD'd every 2 days (very tiring as it was a 75 day cycle!). I did temping, checked cm and used OPKs. I'm lucky I guess in that the OPKs really work for me and it then gives me a 12-36hour window of when I will O. Some women with PCOS however are unable to use OPKs as their LH levels are always high and so the surge before O won't be detected. So OPKs are something for you could try. As far as the temps go unless you've been charting for the whole cycle its very hard to know if your temps are up or if that's how you always are.... Once you then know when you O then you'll have a good idea of when AF will arrive. Average luteal phase length (length of time between O and AF) is from 11-17 days. CM observations also can be fairly reliable. If you see the ewcm then you could expect AF about 14 days after that.
Good luck in the rest of the wait for your FS appointment. Its a long wait but you'll get there. There's heaps they can do to help you so just hang in there. Just keep observing what you can and enjoy BD!

Hi Peekay,

I was diagnosed with PCOS 13 years ago but I am not a particularly bad case of it as I am non-insulin resistant - but I still get the acne and the hirsutism. Before bubs, my cycles were up to 6 months long.

5 weeks is not long to be off the pill, so I am not surprised that nothing has happened yet. I believe it takes about 6 weeks for the hormones to get out of your system.

Did a health professional prescribe the Vitex?

I am just asking because this does need to be used with caution if you have PCOS. In women with PCOS, Vitex can actually increase luteinising hormone which can be too high anyway if you have PCOS. A high LH to FSH ratio can actually overstimulate your ovaries and stop ovulation. I know when mine is high (5:1) my ovaries don't work and they are fulls of cysts - the most I have had is 40 each side.

I tried Vitex once, amongst other herbs that were meant to regulate O under the supervision of a naturopath and it was a TOTAL DISASTER - it totally stopped AF from coming at all for 5 whole months!!!! So I'd exercise extreme caution.

There are other lifestyle things that can be done to help with PCOS while you wait for your FS appointment - such as low GI-diet, making sure your BMI is within a healthy range, and reducing stress, increasing exercise.

O can creep up on you at any time, so keep up with the cm observation. My DS happened when all BT and ultrasounds said I wasn't Oing - it can happen really suddenly and even Drs can't predict it.

Good luck.
TICKLISH

Thanks for replying!

Ticklish- This is my 2nd time off BCP. The first was for 8 months and nothing happened- no AF, no pregnancy, ultrasound picked up no ovulation etc. I was then diagnosed with PCOS and went back on the pill to resolve skin problems and would TTC this year. I know 6 weeks isn't long but I'm not confident that this time around will be all that different from last time (which was only last year). I'm hoping like crazy :pray: that it is very different and some resemblence of normal cycles (even long ones!!) appear soon. That leads to me my next question. Is there anyway to tell if I'm in the middle of a really long cycle, or if there is no cycle so to speak? I'm guessing it's just another waiting game. :wall:

I saw a naturopath about Vitex. She said that Vitex 'corrects' an imbalance of hormones, rather than supply one type if that makes sense. I figured I had nothing to lose. I have a pretty low GI diet (although I love chocolate) and have no weight problem (48kgs). I also go to the gym 3 times a week. As far as I can tell there are few other lifestyle changes I can make.

I also have a 3.6 x 3.2cm dermoid in my left ovary (well that's the size last time I had it checked). My GP said anyone would be reluctant to remove it before I have children considering my existing fertility problems associated with PCOS.

I will keep checking CM though. I'm a strong believer in 'you never know!'

Principessa76- thanks for replying. It's the most frustrating thing in the world at the moment! I really wish my GP could give me the clomid so that I didn't have to do all the waiting!!!

With OPKs, I bought some a while back and no luck. I'm wondering though without a 'normal' cycle or not knowing where you are in the cycle, how do I know which days to test? It's pretty expensive if I was to test everyday. Is it just a guessing game?

peekay,
Regarding the OPKs I use Ovunow and I buy them online. There are also some OPKs from lullabyconceptions.com that are pretty cheap. I think I get 50 for about $40. And yep it was totally a guessing game. I did an OPK every day until I got a +ve. By the time O actually happened I'd gotten through a whole box! I'd not had very good cm observations the previous cycles but this cycle I'd had some ewcm and so was hopeful O was on its way. I then confirmed it with the temping. I've just started on Clomid now. My FS is monitoring me very closely due to the high risk multiple births and over stimulation of the ovaries. This is a matter definitely best handled by a specialist and not a GP...... Hang in there. The 13th Sept will be here before you know it!

Thanks for that principessa! It feels good talking about it with people who know and can sympathise. Will check online for OPKs. The ones I bought were just from the pharmacy and were around $20 for 7.

Good luck with clomid! My fingers are crossed for a BFP for you very soon!:crossfingers:

Hi Peekay,

Glad to hear that you are taking the Vitex under supervision. Unfortunately for me, I have tried Naturopathic herbs and Chinese herbs and each time they have stopped my AF DEAD in its tracks. The hormone that does go out of whack for me with the PCOS is the LH, so Vitex is a big NO NO for me. Not all Naturopaths know about it - I only found out about it after the naturopath I was seeing totally stuffed up my cycles, yes I was told it regulated the hormones too, but very wrong in my case - she also used other herbs. If you can get a hold of the book "Women's Trouble" by Ruth Trickey and Kaz Cooke, there are recommendations in there for the herbs appropriate for PCOS.

No real way to tell if you are in the middle of a long cycle. I find cm to be the best indicator, although this can be confusing too. I find that it can be semi-fertile if my ovaries are getting stimulated in the follicular phase but because they have the tendency to produce lots of cysts, I can have the wet semi-fertile cm but the follicles can get stuck because there are too many of them and hence none can pop out and O. When this happens I never get the ewcm. I know this because I have had ultrasound cycle tracking in the past. Then when O fails, it tends to be creamy non-fertile cm. With temping, you'd probably just notice it just goes a little up and down but with no definite pattern indicating a cycle.

48kgs - defintely no weight problem for you. Doesn't sound like the major lifestyle factors are a problem with your PCOS.

Have you had a full hormonal assay done?

Have you had your thyroid checked? I just ask because PCO can have a relationship with a hyperactive thyroid for small number of women.

I know how frustrating this can all be. I hope you get some answers soon.:)
TICKLISH

Hi Ticklish,

Gee, that doesn't sound great about Vitex for you. My concern after reading your story is I really won't know what it's doing to my body (in terms of making AF out of whack) because there hasn't been AF for me anyway.

I've had my thyroid tested as my mum has hypothyroidism. I've had it checked (for hypo and hyper) every couple of years in fact, as my doctor said it can just happen one day. All seems fine there. As far as I'm aware, my GP did full hormonal blood screening. High androgen levels, LH:FSH ratio abnormal (although she didn't tell me the ratio). She did comment that my oestrogen levels were quite high which she said was unusual for PCOS. I don't know much about oestrogen levels and PCOS to tell you the truth. I haven't had IR tested- maybe I should ask.

I also had an internal ultrasound which showed right polycystic ovary and dermoid in my left. I'm really confused at the moment about that, but I've started another thread so I won't go on about it in here.

I found out yesterday that my baby sister (20 years) has just found out she is pregnant. She was taking antibiotics while on the pill and fell pregnant just like that. While I'm happy for her, I don't think I've cried so much for years. :( It's so hard and it's only just begun...

Hi Peekay,

I understand how you are feeling when someone close falls pregnant easily when you can't. I have SO been there. :hugs:

Glad to hear you have had thyroid checks - with a family history of it - I am not surprised because it can have an association with PCOS. Not everyone knows about this either. Me - mine is normal but it can go hyper if I take iodine supplements - a story for another day!

A high oestrogen level with PCOS is not that unusual. I am like you - mine is high too. Plenty of oestrogen, but don't have the progesterone to balance it when I am not O'ing. True - it is not unusual to see a low oestrogen level with PCOS either. I vaguely remember my FS telling me that having plenty of oestrogen was a good thing with PCOS - but don't quote me. I don't have high androgen levels either. I could go on more about the hormonal thing and how they get converted if you want me too - I had this thing for 13 years so I have read a bit about it, gets a bit boring!!!

A LH:FSH ratio is considered abnormal if it is higher than 2:1. The ratio does depend on where you are in your cycle. It is actually the poorest indicator of PCOS but this is the only thing that has ever explained my absent, non-existent, and really long cycles - apart from when the thyroid went hyper!!

With the herbs, both the naturopathic and chinese, they caused me a little bit of brown spotting and then NOTHING for months!!!!! That book I mentioned by Ruth Trickey is quite useful if you want to take something to your naturopath. I could email you the relevant pages if you want to read it - just PM me with your email address. Ruth Trickey writes a lot of stuff about women's hormones from both the scientific and naturopathic view and has support in the medical profession too.

I hope you get answers soon.
TICKLISH

Just to update that I went and saw my GP yesterday to make sure that eveything that can be done is done before I see the spec next month. I had to see a new GP as my old one only works one Saturday a fortnight now. I was worried about seeing someone new but she was lovely, sympathetic and knowledgable.

I'm now taking Metformin, which I am really happy about. Although I have no weight probs, my GP said there is research to suggest that met and clomid in combination work better than just clomid, even for non IR people. I have to wait until I see the spec for clomid obviously, but am thrilled that I'm officially doing something about my infertility! :dance: It feels so good!

I'm also having another ultrasound on my dermoid to check its size. Fingers crossed it's still smallish :pray: and won't interfere with my progress.

Thanks for listening (or reading as the case may be!)

Thanks for the update Peekay.

Fingers crossed for you that everything goes well.

hey there,

everyone seems to be talking about terms I am not sure of - like af? whats AF?

I have pcos and regurlarly go to gp. I have had ultrasounds and tests show i do not ovulate.I was told I cant do anything at moment with my pcos until I want kids. gp will put me on metformin.

Would u know anything I can do in the meantime?

Chatterbox26 - AF is just an abbreviation for Aunty Flo - meaning the monthly flow!

It is simply not true that there is nothing that can be done about PCOS until you want kids.

Everyone is different but there are definitely some lifestyle factors are involved for most women - like being overweight, being stressed (which for some women like me sends cycles loopy), not exercising enough (I'd better put my hand up for this one too!!).

Try searching out some sources you can read for yourself to work out what might work for you. Colette Harris - an english gal with PCOS writes about lifestyle factors in her books. Also there is a book by the GI diet people specifically for PCOS - I just can't find my copy right now to point you in the right direction!

Studies have shown that if you are overweight - a weight loss of 10% - might help ovary function.

Of course, there are some women with PCOS - like Peekay - who are not overweight!