Any gals rarely or never get AF?

[TurboTurtle80]

Hi.

I'm trying to reach out to any ladies who are in my same boat. I struggle to develop some sort of a cycle. I haven't had a natural period in years (I wanna say 2007?? was my last af), and provera doesn't give me a normal period. I just spot abnormally for weeks. I definitely do not ovulate, but I have plenty of healthy eggs in there.

Just wondering if anyone has found a magic potion that could help me. I'm so frustrated lately. I know the first response from Docs is to lose weight, but there's so many out there who are overweight and have normal cycles and several babies.

Apologies for the rant. I'm just seriously exhausted from the metformin ick and still not getting anywhere. Thanks ladies.

 

[tansey]

Sorry I do have cycles but I wanted to sympathise and say how awful for you to not have regular cycles!
I see you have weightloss in your signature so you are trying to do something about it - good for you!
I have got to say that I've been on here for ages and I have read about women who are overweight who fall pregnant after losing some of it. So stick with - you never know!

 

[gypsygirl1018]

I very rarely see AF myself. I will get one that lasts a month or two and then see nothing for months. My doctors have told me to lose weight as well, but I already know that will not do any good. I have been like this since I first started my cycle at 12. During high school I had AF during school 2 times which was kind of nice. I was well within my healthy weight back then. The only thing that has given me regular cycles are BCP, but I hate taking them. Luckily for me the last 2 times I had AF it only lasted 2 weeks, but one was in July and one was in January. I am trying Vitex right now as I have read that it is supposed to work to regulate my hormones and in turn my cycles. I have been on it just over a month but have yet to see AF, it can take several months to get in your system and start to really work though.

 

[TurboTurtle80]

Sorry I do have cycles but I wanted to sympathise and say how awful for you to not have regular cycles!
I see you have weightloss in your signature so you are trying to do something about it - good for you!
I have got to say that I've been on here for ages and I have read about women who are overweight who fall pregnant after losing some of it. So stick with - you never know!

Thanks Tansy. They say at least 10% weight loss should be enough to kick cycles into gear, but even when I do that it doesn't help. I'm miserable.

I very rarely see AF myself. I will get one that lasts a month or two and then see nothing for months. My doctors have told me to lose weight as well, but I already know that will not do any good. I have been like this since I first started my cycle at 12. During high school I had AF during school 2 times which was kind of nice. I was well within my healthy weight back then. The only thing that has given me regular cycles are BCP, but I hate taking them. Luckily for me the last 2 times I had AF it only lasted 2 weeks, but one was in July and one was in January. I am trying Vitex right now as I have read that it is supposed to work to regulate my hormones and in turn my cycles. I have been on it just over a month but have yet to see AF, it can take several months to get in your system and start to really work though.

Yeah, I was the same. High school I was pretty regular. In college, when I lost tons of weight, my cycles pretty much stopped. If anyone has a messed up body, its me. It gets really old. I feel like I've tortured myself my whole life just to jump start them, but nothing really helps long enough to get me pregnant. Its such a short lived solution each time. I feel like such a weirdo. I hope I'm not the only one out there.

 

[tansey]

Can you afford to try acupuncture?

 

[TurboTurtle80]

I've been going to acupuncture since June of last year. Luckily my insurance covers 24 sessions a year. I love it! It helps me with everything else, but it hasn't done much for my cycles. Like now I get the emotional sides of cycles. I PMS severely with the cramps, moodiness, and bloat, but I never really get anything else. Its definitely more than what I was getting a year ago, but I'm not getting any younger.

 

[gypsygirl1018]

Have your doctors run any tests to see why you are like this? I know you said you were on metformin and they had tried provera to jump start AF but it didn't work. Have they tested you for anything?

 

[Lily7]

hi turbo, meeeeee as you know I never get af or ovulate on my own or with fertility drugs blahhh ! (well twice in 19months, once with clomid, once with tamoxifen and then never again!) provera isnt always reliable either, it has not worked more than it has. I know how you feel, hope your ok xx

ps is the met not helping? I have been begging my fs for it but he said no! No idea whats next. x

 

[TurboTurtle80]

Have your doctors run any tests to see why you are like this? I know you said you were on metformin and they had tried provera to jump start AF but it didn't work. Have they tested you for anything?

Yeah. I've been to an RE for a year now. The next step is clearly clomid, but they are trying to get my af going. I don't build a lining at all and she said that its probably due to low/imbalanced estrogen and since clomid thins your lining, its not really a choice for me at the moment. The metformin is to try and level me out, but for the most part, all of my hormones appear within normal levels. I know for sure I have high LH tho bcz I almost always get a dark line on my opks. I also have pcos, which is clearly a factor, but even pcos gals get at least a few periods a year. I get nothing. =( Oh, and my thyroid was really low for a while there, but we got that fixed in September. Idk, I have issues for real, but I see a lot of women w these same issues and they still get af and ovulate. Everyone is different I know, but it still frustrates me.

hi turbo, meeeeee as you know I never get af or ovulate on my own or with fertility drugs blahhh ! (well twice in 19months, once with clomid, once with tamoxifen and then never again!) provera isnt always reliable either, it has not worked more than it has. I know how you feel, hope your ok xx

ps is the met not helping? I have been begging my fs for it but he said no! No idea whats next. x

Lily my lovvveee! I didn't even know you didn't get af. I'm sorry my sweets, I just thought you weren't ovulating. So we are the same. I'm scared even clomid won't work. I've only been on Metformin for a month and I haven't seen anything yet. Other girls have been getting AF like right away. Maybe I'm not responding bcz I'm not really insulin resistant? They did the fasting blood sugar and my levels are fine. You should try another doctor and have them prescribe it. Beanhunter was successful with it. Lots of girls are.

 

[Lily7]

yeah unfortunately we are in the same situation,sucks doesnt it? yeah dont get af because of not ovulating. Dont quote me on this but I read somewhere on here that the met can take on average up to 3 months to see results, That was my gp and my fs who both said no, they just dont use it here, they say there isnt enough evidence to support it but I just want to try it ya know? I hope clomid works for you if thats what they are trying with you, they dubbed me a " clomid failure " and looks like tamoxifen has failed too so I am waiting for injectables but waiting list is massive, they said I can expect to get called Dec 2012 / Jan 2013 so nothing until then NHS is RUBBISH!!!!!!

I know exactly how you are feeling so if you ever need to talk, I'm always here x

 

[TurboTurtle80]

I'm betting you're right about the 3 month thing. My RE said give it 3 months and then we'll go from there. Idk if I can do 3 months of this sickness thing. I have the worst time getting up from 1000mg to 1500mg. I'm so very thankful I have insurance. Without it, baby making would be completely impossible. My doc bill w the RE are really high as it is. I hope its all worth it. I really feel like its a waste at times. I only get $2000 total for a lifetime for infertility meds, so if injectables are really expensive, it may not be an option for me. =(

 

[gypsygirl1018]

My obgyn put me on metformin for a while a couple years ago but it didn't do anything for me because I am thankfully not insulin resistant. I stopped going to him though because he told me he wouldn't try clomid with me because I was young and had plenty of time before I was unable to get pregnant. I lost alot of confidence in doctors then. All the metformin did to me was make me sick to my stomach so I stopped taking it.

When I was 18 I had a period that lasted for 6 months and the doctor I was seeing at the time did some kind of scope, I have no clue what it was. They knocked me out and when I got the results they said that everything looked normal. I don't get cysts on my ovaries, my doctors have never seen anything on ultrasounds, The only thing they have told me is that my estrogen and progesterone are really low and my testosterone was a little high. They never really went into any detail what exactly that means to me.

When I do get AF, it lasts anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months and is extremely painful. I stay in bed the whole time curled up in a ball with my heating pad. I only get that one to two times a year though. It is nice not having to worry about it at times, but at the same time sometimes I wish that I got it normally so I could plan for it. It has decided to show up at some very bad times, and I never know when it is coming. I have no symptoms until it starts, and then I feel like I am dying.

 

[Wanttobemummy]

Hi, I'm in exactly the same situation. My last AF was jan 2006 - so its been a while! I've been on metformin for the last 6 weeks 850mg twice a day... What dosage are you on?
I've had 3 rounds of clomid but unfortunately it didn't work for me. I do ovulation tests but I've yet to see a positiv one :s...
I too am trying to lose weight, but I find it near impossible... And the metformin hasnt done anything yet either.
I've heard vitex is meant to be good for starting ovulation, but takes a while to build up and I think you have to stop all meds to take it...
Good luck x

 

[TurboTurtle80]

Gypsy, I get periods forever also if my Acupuncturist doesn't stop them. I'll spot for weeks after provera. I don't get like a normal af. So weird and frustrating.

Wanttobemummy- I'm on 500mg met 3 times a day and I don't take the ER. Full on torture method for me. I've been doing exactly as the RE tells me because my Acu'ist really gets on me when I try my own route. Still not getting anything productive other than increasing PMSing. I guess I can be thankful for that.

 

[Wanttobemummy]

Yeah, I've found that my pms'ing has increased on the metformin... I've web cramping for four days now with no actual sign on af... Which annoys me!
I've never had acupuncture, considering it though, just don't want to waste more money if it's not going to work!
x

 

[TurboTurtle80]

Mummy-Since I've been taking the provera I've noticed less bloat and cramping. Maybe you can try that with some met?