New here ... PCOS/supplements???

[zilla]

Hello,

I wouldn't say we class as "LTTTC" but this is the only place where I felt I could post! I hope you don't mind.

My son was born in December 2012. I intended to BF but I had problems with milk supply (which apparently can also be a side effect of PCOS, I read this on the internet).

Apparently for those who don't BF and choose to bottle feed, AF should return in around 6 weeks. 8 months later and still no AF (except for a fake one brought on by Provera a couple of months ago).

After about 4 months, I knew something wasn't right. I went to the GP and he did tests on LH FSH TSH Prolactin, which all came back normal.
(Is that normal for PCOS? Maybe I just have PCO?)

Then he put me onto Provera to induce AF in a hope of kick starting my cycle. It managed to give me a fake, withdrawal AF but 2 months later and no sign of AF or O. I've had a few +OPKs which I haven't got a clue how they happened. (gave charting and OPKs a miss after that)

So went to the GP and had a scan a couple of weeks ago which shows PCOS.
Had blood tests last week on SHBG and progesterone, which I should get the results from next week.

Obviously I don't know that PCOS will make it impossible to concieve again, but I was told that it's going to make it somewhat harder.
We wanted to start TTC pretty soon (I'm an only child and really want a brother or sister for LO),
I'm sort of at a loss now really!

... Frustrating thing is to hear "oh well at least you've got LO" from friends and family ... I know that I am very lucky to have him, as I know that some people find it impossible to conceive once. I know that. But LO is going to be the one missing out on having a brother or sister, which is the bit that people don't think about.
One member of family actually told me to "put up with it and get over it" and that she "had brothers and sisters and wasn't close to them so it doesn't matter if LO is an only child" ...

.... so that's where we are really. Thanks for listening/reading!

Is anyone else suffering from anovulation? What can I do? I've read a lot on the internet about Vitex/Fertilaid/Soy Iso but I'm really wary about taking anything that isn't recommended by a doctor.
Does anyone know how long it would take of TTC before a GP might prescribe Clomid? Or do I have to have AF in the first place to start a round of Clomid anyway? Could they do Provera to induce AF and then Clomid?

Sorry for all the questions x

 

[frsttimemama]

Hello! I'm so sorry that you have to deal with people telling you things like that. Obviously you are well aware that you are lucky, but that doesn't stop you from wanting, wishing, hoping, and dreaming! They need to be supportive or be quiet I say! I can sympathize with your situation in a way. My story is kinda long, but here it goes:

I stopped taking birth control pills in Jan. 2012 because we wanted to start a family, and I wasn't having regular cycles.. maybe once every 90 days or so. (I always did before I took birth control for 3 years.) My regular doctor told me in September he thought it was PCOS and to lose some weight because that may help regulate my cycles. (I am too heavy by the books, so I do have some to lose.) I started eating a low carb diet, lost 20 pounds, and found out we were pregnant in October. Everything went fine. No problems with the pregnancy at all. We lost our son at 39 weeks due to a cord condition that is rare and went undetected. He was stillborn. It has nothing to do with PCOS. That was a little over a month ago. We are ready to try again; not to replace him but because we are ready to be parents.. SO here I am back on the low carb diet trying to drop these pounds! I have 7 to go til I'm back to where I was when I got pregnant. I've read a lot about PCOS on the internet and they do recommend a lower carb/low GI type diet due to insulin resistance. I don't know if that's an issue for you, but it helped me the first time. I pray it helps this time around, too. I'm not seeing a fertility specialist at this point, just my regular OB/GYN. If I'm not having cycles in a few months, she is going to give me Clomid to try to help with that. I am absolutely terrified that I won't be able to have anymore children.. I want our son to have a sibling, even though he isn't with us any longer. I just want one. I'll be thankful for that. If we decided later that we want another one, we'll cross that bridge when we get here.

I suppose I'm suffering from anovulation? No ovulation leads to no periods leads to no pregnancy I presume? Like you, I'm WAY too nervous after what happened to us to take anything not prescribed specifically for me by the doctor. I just take my regular pills and prenatal vitamins. I try to eat a low carb diet. I'm trying to learn about the low GI diet. I try to exercise a couple times a week. I try to drink lots of water (at least 100 ounces a day!). I try not to stress about all of this as stress can make it all worse, which I'm sure we all know, and my doctor reminded me of it, too..

Given your history and having the evidence to back up the PCOS diagnosis, I wouldn't imagine it would take long for your doctor to prescribe Clomid I would hope? My GP told me that he would refer me to an OB/GYN. I already see one due to having been pregnant and she is WONDERFUL! She told me that she would give me Clomid in September if I wasn't having cycles by then (or pregnant!). She is not the one that diagnosed the PCOS, but she must buy into it. I was hoping my cycles were irregular d/t having been on birth control, but she told me that she didn't think that was the case after a month or two of it.. SO we are taking it a day at a time.

I'm curious about taking Clomid and not having AF. Maybe they could induce it with Provera and then do Clomid? I didn't think to ask about that. It's all so much to take in.

My hubby is confident it will all work out and we will get pregnant soon. I'm trying to eat what I think I should, lose the pounds, stay positive, stay busy, and pray like it's my job!

Good luck to you!!

 

[MrsShadow]

I have PCOS, and I have had months on end with no flow as well. My OB/GYN actually suggested Clomid to bring about my period wen I was not trying to conceive and it worked at restarting my cycle for a bit before I started not having AF again. I have been told the you have to have been trying to conceive with no luck for 1 year before they will prescribe any kind of fertility medicine. I have been trying for 5 years now with no luck but I am also diabetic and overweight. The most important thing you can do to increase your chances of conceiving with PCOS is loose weight and exercise. Even if you are not really over weight changing your body weight by as little as 5 pounds can make a difference.

If you do try with clomid, some things your doctors might forget to tell you. Clomid reduces the amount of lining in your uterus making implantation less likely and it can also make your CM to thick for the sperm to get through. Many women who have tried clomid also take a cough syrup for congestion a few hours before sex to help thin it out and eat extra iron to help with the lining. My friend has PCOS and is prego with number 8 thanks to clomid with the iron supplements and cough syrup.

 

[zilla]

Hello! I'm so sorry that you have to deal with people telling you things like that. Obviously you are well aware that you are lucky, but that doesn't stop you from wanting, wishing, hoping, and dreaming! They need to be supportive or be quiet I say! I can sympathize with your situation in a way. My story is kinda long, but here it goes:

I stopped taking birth control pills in Jan. 2012 because we wanted to start a family, and I wasn't having regular cycles.. maybe once every 90 days or so. (I always did before I took birth control for 3 years.) My regular doctor told me in September he thought it was PCOS and to lose some weight because that may help regulate my cycles. (I am too heavy by the books, so I do have some to lose.) I started eating a low carb diet, lost 20 pounds, and found out we were pregnant in October. Everything went fine. No problems with the pregnancy at all. We lost our son at 39 weeks due to a cord condition that is rare and went undetected. He was stillborn. It has nothing to do with PCOS. That was a little over a month ago. We are ready to try again; not to replace him but because we are ready to be parents.. SO here I am back on the low carb diet trying to drop these pounds! I have 7 to go til I'm back to where I was when I got pregnant. I've read a lot about PCOS on the internet and they do recommend a lower carb/low GI type diet due to insulin resistance. I don't know if that's an issue for you, but it helped me the first time. I pray it helps this time around, too. I'm not seeing a fertility specialist at this point, just my regular OB/GYN. If I'm not having cycles in a few months, she is going to give me Clomid to try to help with that. I am absolutely terrified that I won't be able to have anymore children.. I want our son to have a sibling, even though he isn't with us any longer. I just want one. I'll be thankful for that. If we decided later that we want another one, we'll cross that bridge when we get here.

I suppose I'm suffering from anovulation? No ovulation leads to no periods leads to no pregnancy I presume? Like you, I'm WAY too nervous after what happened to us to take anything not prescribed specifically for me by the doctor. I just take my regular pills and prenatal vitamins. I try to eat a low carb diet. I'm trying to learn about the low GI diet. I try to exercise a couple times a week. I try to drink lots of water (at least 100 ounces a day!). I try not to stress about all of this as stress can make it all worse, which I'm sure we all know, and my doctor reminded me of it, too..

Given your history and having the evidence to back up the PCOS diagnosis, I wouldn't imagine it would take long for your doctor to prescribe Clomid I would hope? My GP told me that he would refer me to an OB/GYN. I already see one due to having been pregnant and she is WONDERFUL! She told me that she would give me Clomid in September if I wasn't having cycles by then (or pregnant!). She is not the one that diagnosed the PCOS, but she must buy into it. I was hoping my cycles were irregular d/t having been on birth control, but she told me that she didn't think that was the case after a month or two of it.. SO we are taking it a day at a time.

I'm curious about taking Clomid and not having AF. Maybe they could induce it with Provera and then do Clomid? I didn't think to ask about that. It's all so much to take in.

My hubby is confident it will all work out and we will get pregnant soon. I'm trying to eat what I think I should, lose the pounds, stay positive, stay busy, and pray like it's my job!

Good luck to you!!

Hello lovely.
Thank you for your reply
Thanks for saying that you understand - bless you xx

I am so so so, sorry for your loss. I can't even imagine what that must have been like to get through. You sound like you're very strong and coping well though! xx

I'm sorry for your issues too. What are the best ways for a low GI diet??

Yep, pretty much if you're not having AF, you're not ovulating = difficult to concieve. Are you going to try Clomid? I know some of the side effects are supposed to be horrendous, but I know it's all worth it in the long run.

I spoke to my GP today and SHBG/Progesterone levels are normal. So are my LH/FSH/TSH/Prolactin. I've not got any issues - weight issues, acne, hair etc, so I'm not sure what's going on. I know that it's possible to get PCO without PCOS - as in, have the cysts but no syndrome. But my GP disagreed as I have anovulation. Personally I think it might be PCO and the anovulation might be down to something else?! Maybe I'm over thinking it!
He also said that if I haven't got pregnant by November, I need to go back and then he will refer me to a specialist for fertility treatment. Which will probably be December, when we will have been trying for 9 months and I'd have gone 12+ months without AF. I thought we would have needed to try for 12+ months first but apparently it's 6+ months if you have known problems already.

I've started trying to eat healthy and I'm trying to lose weight. I started Insanity this week. .... that lasted all of 7 minutes

 

[zilla]

I have PCOS, and I have had months on end with no flow as well. My OB/GYN actually suggested Clomid to bring about my period wen I was not trying to conceive and it worked at restarting my cycle for a bit before I started not having AF again. I have been told the you have to have been trying to conceive with no luck for 1 year before they will prescribe any kind of fertility medicine. I have been trying for 5 years now with no luck but I am also diabetic and overweight. The most important thing you can do to increase your chances of conceiving with PCOS is loose weight and exercise. Even if you are not really over weight changing your body weight by as little as 5 pounds can make a difference.

If you do try with clomid, some things your doctors might forget to tell you. Clomid reduces the amount of lining in your uterus making implantation less likely and it can also make your CM to thick for the sperm to get through. Many women who have tried clomid also take a cough syrup for congestion a few hours before sex to help thin it out and eat extra iron to help with the lining. My friend has PCOS and is prego with number 8 thanks to clomid with the iron supplements and cough syrup.

Hello thanks for your reply. My GP did the same with Provera, to try regulate my cycle but it didn't work. 5 years that's a long time, are you taking anything at the moment??
My BMI is sitting at around 21. Which is right in the middle of "normal", I'm trying to get fit though.
Thank you for the tips!! Extra iron definately sounds like a good idea, I'm vegetarian and probably don't get enough of the stuff as it is. xxxx

 

[frsttimemama]

Hello lovely.
Thank you for your reply
Thanks for saying that you understand - bless you xx

I am so so so, sorry for your loss. I can't even imagine what that must have been like to get through. You sound like you're very strong and coping well though! xx

I'm sorry for your issues too. What are the best ways for a low GI diet??

Yep, pretty much if you're not having AF, you're not ovulating = difficult to concieve. Are you going to try Clomid? I know some of the side effects are supposed to be horrendous, but I know it's all worth it in the long run.

I spoke to my GP today and SHBG/Progesterone levels are normal. So are my LH/FSH/TSH/Prolactin. I've not got any issues - weight issues, acne, hair etc, so I'm not sure what's going on. I know that it's possible to get PCO without PCOS - as in, have the cysts but no syndrome. But my GP disagreed as I have anovulation. Personally I think it might be PCO and the anovulation might be down to something else?! Maybe I'm over thinking it!
He also said that if I haven't got pregnant by November, I need to go back and then he will refer me to a specialist for fertility treatment. Which will probably be December, when we will have been trying for 9 months and I'd have gone 12+ months without AF. I thought we would have needed to try for 12+ months first but apparently it's 6+ months if you have known problems already.

I've started trying to eat healthy and I'm trying to lose weight. I started Insanity this week. .... that lasted all of 7 minutes

Thank you! We surely are trying to deal with it well. I feel like we're doing a pretty good job (most days ).

Honestly, I'm not sure how the low GI diet works exactly. I looked at it, and it didn't mesh well with my low carb diet (which worked for me before so I don't want to no do what worked in the past if you know what I mean!), so I opted not to do anything with it.

Yes, I plan to try the Clomid IF my cycles aren't happening like they should in the next month and a half. I'm hoping I don't have to, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes.

I'm glad that your doctor is taking you seriously and not making you wait. Some of them are difficult and do! My GP was going to last year, but my OB isn't now so that works for me! Hopefully you will get pregnant and not need to worry about it at all!

I would not even last 7 minutes with the Insanity work out! You've got one up on me!

 

[zilla]

I'm glad you're coping...x
xxxx