PCOS questions

[Carr87]

Hi girls iv sneaked in her form ttc, iv posted in there about my GP thinking i have PCOS, just waiting on my bloods coming back next week for diagnosis. I have all of the symptoms tho and had a scan a cpl of years back which showed cysts but i wasnt given any other tests at that time, they just gave me the mirena coil as my main issue was very heavy periods. Iv since gotten married and had mirena removed back in october in order to start ttc. Im yet to have my periods return. This is why iv had bloods done. My silly GP sent me for bloods last week after saying that mirena should be out of my system 11 weeks down the line but he didnt bother to test my oestrogen, progestoen or testosterone, just did evrything else! Iv had those done thismorning tho as he has consulted a gynea doctor who has brought up PCOS again and as iv never really been tested properly for it before i think that its going to turn out that i do have it so i want to get peoples advice/ oppinions on it so im prepared. If it turns out i do have it what are the next steps? Iv looked over other posts where metformin and other drugs are mentioned, what does this do? I have the exess hair, im overweight, although i can lose it, it is a struggle and my weight has been up and down the past few years and im at my heaviest now!
Iv started up with exercising daily again and eating healthy as i know it will improve my chances of ttc and my health in general.

Im sorry for the long post i just wanted to explain where im at and see if theres anyone with similar experience or advice on PCOS. Thanks ladies xxxxx

 

[Lara_M]

Hey, I can tell you lots about this. Been through it all. I have PCOS. Have known since I was 14.
PCOS can't be cured but many girls have successful pregnancies with the condition, look at Victoria Beckham! The main thing they will want to look at is how "out of balance" your hormones are. The other thing is how much this ends up affecting your ovulation. i.e some cycles you may not ovulate, you may just produce a tiny cyst. I only ovulate about 4 or 5 times a year. Sometimes you may still have a period but with no ovulation.
Now, the absolute best thing you can do to help yourself is get reading about low GI diets. PCOS is closely linked with insulin resistance which means our blood sugar levels are very prone to swinging up and down when we eat high sugar. Unstable blood glucose level plays havoc with your female hormones and in turn makes it harder for us to produce a nice healthy egg and ovulate.
If you are overweight then its very important to get to a good BMI with PCOS. this alone improves your chances of conceiving and ovulating better. Have a read on GI diets. And try to follow it as a rule. Very basically it means you need to eat as natural as possible, avoiding refined sugar. Avoid all the naughties like cakes, chocolate, white bread. Swap normal potatoes for sweet potatoes because sweet potatoes release sugar into the bloodstream in a much slower way than our friend the jacket potatoe!!
Never never get up in the morning and eat high sugar cereals or snack on biscuits. If you want to eat pudding then eat them after a meal with protein because sugar is dealt with by the body better if it goes through us in a carb/protein mix.
Exercise is an absolute must, my pregnancy was acheived when I was regularly exercising - and my cycles became shorter.
Metformin is an option if you are overweight but I was told by my specialist that brand new research shows it does nothing for girls who are already at a normal BMI.
So as an alternative I was offered clomid and I am due to start that next month to induce ovulation. Clomid has a good success rate in inducing ovulation in girls with PCOS.
Hope thats not information overload. shout if you have any more questions! x x x

 

[Carr87]

Hey, I can tell you lots about this. Been through it all. I have PCOS. Have known since I was 14.
PCOS can't be cured but many girls have successful pregnancies with the condition, look at Victoria Beckham! The main thing they will want to look at is how "out of balance" your hormones are. The other thing is how much this ends up affecting your ovulation. i.e some cycles you may not ovulate, you may just produce a tiny cyst. I only ovulate about 4 or 5 times a year. Sometimes you may still have a period but with no ovulation.
Now, the absolute best thing you can do to help yourself is get reading about low GI diets. PCOS is closely linked with insulin resistance which means our blood sugar levels are very prone to swinging up and down when we eat high sugar. Unstable blood glucose level plays havoc with your female hormones and in turn makes it harder for us to produce a nice healthy egg and ovulate.
If you are overweight then its very important to get to a good BMI with PCOS. this alone improves your chances of conceiving and ovulating better. Have a read on GI diets. And try to follow it as a rule. Very basically it means you need to eat as natural as possible, avoiding refined sugar. Avoid all the naughties like cakes, chocolate, white bread. Swap normal potatoes for sweet potatoes because sweet potatoes release sugar into the bloodstream in a much slower way than our friend the jacket potatoe!!
Never never get up in the morning and eat high sugar cereals or snack on biscuits. If you want to eat pudding then eat them after a meal with protein because sugar is dealt with by the body better if it goes through us in a carb/protein mix.
Exercise is an absolute must, my pregnancy was acheived when I was regularly exercising - and my cycles became shorter.
Metformin is an option if you are overweight but I was told by my specialist that brand new research shows it does nothing for girls who are already at a normal BMI.
So as an alternative I was offered clomid and I am due to start that next month to induce ovulation. Clomid has a good success rate in inducing ovulation in girls with PCOS.
Hope thats not information overload. shout if you have any more questions! x x x

Thanks that was great! im pretty clued up on low gi diet already, i followed the 'eat clean' regiem last year religiousley and lost 4st in about 6months, stopped doing it and iv put it all back on! so i know it works for me, i just need to stick with it, it helped with my ibs too so i know it the way forward. It sounds terrible but my ttc goal has given me the kick up the bum i need to start afresh and get healthy! thanks for the info and once i get my results next week i shall update and no doubt have more questions! i was pretty upset in secret last nite, dont want to worry hubby with ut until i know for sure next week, but i feel more accepting today and have spent a cpl hours cluing myself up. I would qualify for metformin as my bmi is high enough! Iv printed out some research info on it to show my gp next week xxx

 

[blondy13]

Hi Carr.
Welcome to LTTTC. I hope that it turns out that you don't have PCOS. But if so, it's not the end of the world, although it does feel like it when you first find out.
I suspected for years that I had PCOS as my aunty had it, and have always suffered with bad skin and had irregular periods before going on the pill, however when you're not TTC it doesn't matter too much as you know so didn't think much of it until I stopped the pill and haven't had a natural period since. I seem to be on the worse end of the scale as you will know if you've read my other post lol, but there are varying degrees of PCOS, some people just have the cysts and no symptoms.

If your bloods come back suspecting PCOS your GP will probably send you for another internal scan, and then refer you on to the fertility unit. Don't take any rubbish about having to try for 2 years etc, PCOS is a known fertility issue so they have to see you sooner!

Hope you get on with things ok and pm me if you want to chat xxx

 

[Carr87]

Hi Carr.
Welcome to LTTTC. I hope that it turns out that you don't have PCOS. But if so, it's not the end of the world, although it does feel like it when you first find out.
I suspected for years that I had PCOS as my aunty had it, and have always suffered with bad skin and had irregular periods before going on the pill, however when you're not TTC it doesn't matter too much as you know so didn't think much of it until I stopped the pill and haven't had a natural period since. I seem to be on the worse end of the scale as you will know if you've read my other post lol, but there are varying degrees of PCOS, some people just have the cysts and no symptoms.

If your bloods come back suspecting PCOS your GP will probably send you for another internal scan, and then refer you on to the fertility unit. Don't take any rubbish about having to try for 2 years etc, PCOS is a known fertility issue so they have to see you sooner!

Hope you get on with things ok and pm me if you want to chat xxx

Thanks so much for that ill keep you updated xxx