PCO help

[Tashie87]

Hey guys I have just found out that I have PCO and was wondering what it
Means for me in the future.
My sister has it and had to have a bub through IVF does that mean I will have to do the same?
I'm so confused as to what I need to do now =[ i know some people replied in my other post about this so I thought I would make one so I can get all the information in one spot =]

[little_O]

Hi tashie,

That's good you got a proper diagnosis. At least you can work with it now.

I was diagnosed with pcos and the fs said for me to start on clomid to get me ovulating and regular. Only issue I had with this was you can onlybe on it for 6 months ( for health reasons from what I understand) and then he said we'd have to look into ivf. I felt I was too young to have to go to that extreme straight away so I thought hey I have time let's try natural first.
What I did was this:
-started charting my cycle so I could get familiar with how my body was working and when I was actually ovulating. This helped a lot to understanding what our bodies do and what I was working with!
-tried traditional Chinese acupuncture and herbs. I did this for 5 months before I got my bfp. So for me this worked
- took organic kelp tablets, this helps with regulating your hormones

Might not work for everyone but I had success without resorting to more invasive treatment.

[little_O]

Oh and diet and exercise play a large part in getting your body right too

[RhiChiChi]

Hi Tashie, I have PCO and I'll give you the background story for me. Obviously this is my story & yours may be different.

- TTC our first back in 2005, had 2 m/c in one year & was referred to my OB/GYN for tests etc.... happened to fall pg again prior to my appt & was fortunate enough to stay pg (during this time did see a Naturopath)
- TTC our second when DD was 1 yo, so in 2008. 2 more m/c then referred back to OB/GYN who did an u/s and bloods to see if I was ovulating. u/s showed PCO but no insulin resistance. Was put on Clomid for 6 rounds & had no luck falling pg even though bloods confirmed I was oing. Had a laparoscopy, fell pg 2 mths later only to m/c again.
- Referred to F/S. DH sent for sperm analysis (all ok) I had more bloods and u/s which again confirmed PCO still present. FS won't prescribe metformin but I am advised to lose weight.
- Before starting IUI go to Chinese Medicine and have accupuncture and chinese herbs (no preg)
- Lost a little weight & start IUI on FS advice. No luck falling pg & decide to take a break.
- Lose 15 kgs and start IVF. First round unsuccessful, second round fell pg.

I also started taking CQ10 during IVF, not sure if that helped....

FS told me having PCO increases your risk of m/c & makes it harder to conceive b/c your eggs have a harder outer layer, which makes it harder for the sperm to penetrate..... HTH

[Melbournemumma]

Hi Tashie. I have pco and insulin resistance. I lost weight and fell pregnant naturally with my first child. I had some bleeding with that pregnancy.with my second I was.put on diabex too help regulate my cycles. It took 5 months for me to fall pregnant again. This time I was left on diabex until 16 weeks and didn't have any bleeding with that pregnancy. I haven't had any miscarriages but will have too go back on diabex to have another bub. I think it depends on the severity of your pcos.

[HotI]

I had many cysts identified on my ovaries when i was younger (20 ish) and went on the pill to regulate my cycles, and because i was told it can protect your ovaries from more cysts (never looked into whether this was correct). I used to only get 2 or 3 periods a year. When i stopped the pill just to see what my body would do by itself my cycles were semi regular and i fell pregnant shortly after. I was never given an official diagnosis of pco or pcos, but i tell my story only because there can be different degrees of pco and you prob need to get info specific for you.

[Tashie87]

Thank you guys =] all this info has helped a lot. How much is ivf normally as I haven't looked into it much and don't want to resort to that =[

[PumpkinZulu]

IVF would be a long way in the future. There are a load of things to try before you come to that. Charting, diet and weight changes, clomid or metaformin. Most some with PCO or PCOS don't need IVF.

[nothing2lose]

About $5500 for the first IVF cycle.

[RhiChiChi]

^^ What N2L said... but depends on your clinic and what Medicare will pay and won't pay. You then have added scans if you fall pg that aren't covered (most of the time) in the IVF cycle.

But I do want to second what PZ has said, I highly doubt you will be referred straight to IVF - they will try less invasive methods first. Best of luck

[TeniBear]

I was diagnosed with PCOS last Monday, after having been told a few years ago I had PCO without the syndrome (I fell pregnant with DD two weeks after being told that ).

The doctor who told me I have PCOS said that I'd have to TTC for a year without help, then she can put me on Clomid if I wanted her to. She mentioned IVF, but only as a distant possibility. If it does come to that for me, I'll have to be content with one living child since there's no way we could afford IVF.

It's entirely possible to conceive naturally with PCO/S. I've been down in the dumps this week about my diagnosis, but to be honest it shouldn't bother me too much. I've likely had it for a few years, since my periods started going screwy in 2003ish, and I've managed to get pregnant by accident once and on purpose once (with a possible accident/miscarriage before either).


Sent from my iPhone, probably while a toddler sits on my head.

[Lenny]

Tashie87 - Bellybelly is a great place for advice and sharing helpful stiores, but it's really no substitute for actually going to see your dr.

PCO is not PCOS.

You had an ultrasound (pelvic i assume) and the sonographer saw many cysts, hence Poly cystic ovaries. Most women get cysts from time to time. You may have it mildy or severely, but one ultrasound is probably not enough to determine that just yet. Especially if you have no other syptoms.

It may have absolutely no effect on your fertility. It's probably very early to be discussing IVF.

Your own GP would be the person to discuss all this with you and talk you through what the sonogragher saw, and what the implications are for you.

[k4t]

As all the others have said PCO is not the same as PCOS, not everyone with PCOS needs help falling pregnant and if they do there are several options before IVF. Also PCOS can come and go from what I understand - there have been follow-up studies on women with PCOS and 5 years later some of them no longer meet the diagnostic criteria even without weight loss.

As for my story, I was diagnosed with PCOS last year after 6 - 7 months TTC with very irregular periods (ie. one every 3 or 4 months). I started clomid as there were no other issues for me (normal weight and sugars), conceived first cycle and am now 35 weeks pregnant.

So don't stress about IVF at the moment. Try to be a normal weight, exercise and eat healthily as we all should be doing all the time anyway. Then hopefully when you do want to conceive you'll have no problems.

[little_O]

K4t I sound the same as you, what's the difference between pco and pcos?
The doctor never distinguished for me?

[myturn]

PCO - is polycyctic ovaries - it means they have found cysts on the ovaries - but that's not necessarily a problem, as the others have mentioned - lots of people have them...

PCOS - Polycystic ovarian syndrome - it's a collection of symptoms - included the cysts - but often difficulty losing weight (so often women with PCOS are overweight), insulin resistence, excess hair on face a body, irregular/infrequent/heavy periods, acne and difficulty becoming pregnant.... it presents slightly differently for everyone.

You do need to go to your GP and probably a fertility specialist (gynocologist) to check it all out. There may be other things going on for you as well.

Hopefully you can get some advice soon and find out what is going on for you.
I hope it all works out.

[little_O]

Ok that makes sense, I had all the tests and so that's why they said pcos not pco! Thanks!

[TeniBear]

K4t I sound the same as you, what's the difference between pco and pcos?
The doctor never distinguished for me?

PCO is one symptom of PCOS. There's a few other things that make it into PCOS, like hirsutism and (I think) a certain length of time with annovulation.


Sent from my iPhone, probably while a toddler sits on my head.

[PumpkinZulu]

Wait, does that mean I have PCOS or PCO? Because I have heavy AF, difficulty losing weight, annovulation and very irregular cycles. But I was told PCO, and that it's not PCOS. Not that it really matters