Blood Tests for PCOS?

[FuzzyCaz]

Hi all

Not been here in a long time as the whole ttc thing was starting to completely overwhelm me and put me in a dark place.

Hope you're all well, and I hope that some of the old familiar usernames have had their bfps and moved on to other forum sections!

We've been ttc for what feels like forever, and I always put the bfns down to my age/weight/thyroid/whatever-else-else-I-could-blame-it-on-that-day

Chatting to a lovely friend, who is 26 weeks gone with #2, and she has convinced me to get tested for PCOS. She explained that a lot of the symptoms go hand in hand with my thyroid issues, and that the two are often linked anyway. She's now headed off to sunnier climes for 6 weeks (lucky B!), so I can't bend her ear on the testing procedure now that our discussion has been absorbed and processed in my head.

So what blood tests can be done for PCOS...and is it critical to have them done at a certain time in the cycle?

I'm due to get my next lot of thyroid bloods soon, and at €50 a go for a doctor's visit, I'd rather time it (if necessary) to have it all done in the same appointment...so I don't want to have my thyroid bloods done, then be told I need to come back again, and spend another €50 to get any bloods drawn for PCOS testing.

Thanks in advance.

 

[threemakefive]

Hi all

Not been here in a long time as the whole ttc thing was starting to completely overwhelm me and put me in a dark place.

Hope you're all well, and I hope that some of the old familiar usernames have had their bfps and moved on to other forum sections!

We've been ttc for what feels like forever, and I always put the bfns down to my age/weight/thyroid/whatever-else-else-I-could-blame-it-on-that-day

Chatting to a lovely friend, who is 26 weeks gone with #2, and she has convinced me to get tested for PCOS. She explained that a lot of the symptoms go hand in hand with my thyroid issues, and that the two are often linked anyway. She's now headed off to sunnier climes for 6 weeks (lucky B!), so I can't bend her ear on the testing procedure now that our discussion has been absorbed and processed in my head.

So what blood tests can be done for PCOS...and is it critical to have them done at a certain time in the cycle?

I'm due to get my next lot of thyroid bloods soon, and at €50 a go for a doctor's visit, I'd rather time it (if necessary) to have it all done in the same appointment...so I don't want to have my thyroid bloods done, then be told I need to come back again, and spend another €50 to get any bloods drawn for PCOS testing.

Thanks in advance.

I've always been told around cd 3 is the best time..although mine was done after not having a period after having a baby so I was on cycle 11 months lol ... They will typically check lh/fsh ratio, testosterone(androgins), thyroid, cholesterol(common in pcos), prolactin(ruule out that as reason for symptoms of pcos) and often glucose(lots of pcos women have issues).....some drs order more some order less...some want fasting numbers some don't...also some do ultrasound of ovaries in combination with blood work...

The Dr may also ask for family history, and symptoms which might include: skin tags, overweight, inability to lose weight, high cholesterol, high bp, high glucose levels, facial hair, male pattern baldness, abnormal cycles...just to name a few...

Hope this helps.

PS I'm a mother of 2 and pregnant with our third...I have pcos and hypothyroid

 

[kimberleybub]

Hi,
I am 39 years old with pcos and underactive thyroid. I have 3 children conceived naturally.

I am finding it really hard to conceive now, my next step is ivf. I believe it is my age, not pcos, although my ovulation did go pear shaped after the age of 35 because of the hormone imbalance associated with pcos. So my doc put me on clomid to induce ovulation.

I found out i had pcos through ultrasound, the ovaries follicles form cysts on them and they can be a little painful when they grow, but mostly they go away on their own and new ones grow.

I think you need a good gyno that can monitor your cycle, on day 10-12 is when i get mine checked for the size of the mature follicle and how many follicles i have.

I hope this helps...

 

[FuzzyCaz]

Thanks to both of you for your replies

I've always been told around cd 3 is the best time..although mine was done after not having a period after having a baby so I was on cycle 11 months lol ... They will typically check lh/fsh ratio, testosterone(androgins), thyroid, cholesterol(common in pcos), prolactin(ruule out that as reason for symptoms of pcos) and often glucose(lots of pcos women have issues).....some drs order more some order less...some want fasting numbers some don't...also some do ultrasound of ovaries in combination with blood work...

Thanks for that - my cholesterol levels seem strongly linked to my thyroid levels, when my TSH/FT3 are out, my cholesterol levels are out too, and when the others are good, my cholesterol levels fall back into range. So, far, despite my size, the glucose levels are always spot on...which surprises a lot of nurses & docs haha!

The Dr may also ask for family history, and symptoms which might include: skin tags, overweight, inability to lose weight, high cholesterol, high bp, high glucose levels, facial hair, male pattern baldness, abnormal cycles...just to name a few...

A few of those tie in with thyroid symtoms (so its posible I've been attributing them to the wrong disorder? ) but I definitely have more skin tags than I ever remember having, and in awkward, painful places too (just under bra strap, in my armpits, back of my neck etc), as well as a strange patch of brown skin under my chin....it looks like I've got a grubby face but it won't scrub away - that's a relatively new thing, appearing about a year ago. And yes, some odd facial hairs that seem to appear out of nowhere...I have tweezers at the ready at all times

And my cycles....LOL, my posting history on here shares some of my abnormal cycle woes...it seems my AF has her own agenda and turns up whenever she feels like it, often with absolutely no warning, or adherence to any kind of *normal* routine.

PS I'm a mother of 2 and pregnant with our third...I have pcos and hypothyroid

Congrats on #3 - you've shown me there is some hope

Hi,
I found out i had pcos through ultrasound, the ovaries follicles form cysts on them and they can be a little painful when they grow, but mostly they go away on their own and new ones grow.

I can get mild cramps out of nowhere, at any time during my 'cycle'. And as for cramps during AFs visit....argh, my GP is prescribing stronger and stronger painkillers each time, and nothing so far even comes near to controlling the pain....and yet, other times, I get no cramps at all, whatsoever, nothing, nada...sounds bliss to others I'm sure, but I find it really quite eery and unsettling.
The cramps always coincide with large, dark clots...in other words, when I'm rolling on the floor with pain, white as a sheet, and moaning the house down I know that next time I go to the bathroom to attend to the underwear armaggeddon there'll be an almighty jelly bloodclot to deal with.
TMI, sorry....but can any pcos folks relate to this...? Or is this something else completely?

Whenever I mention the clots to my GP she makes me lay on the couch with my knees up...but all cervical smears come back A-OK.

Thanks again to both of you