Anyone else have PCOS?

I have been told that i have PCOS and suffer from all the side effects from it - weiht gain, hair loss, you name it.
I have one clean ovary and one with a cyst in it.
I was told to start TTC immediately after i went off the pill.
I have not actually started TTC yet, but i want to be prepared for when i do, prob sometimes this summer.
with that said, and iknow everyone is different, but if anyone can relate their experiences, i would appreciate it.
just how much harder is it to conceive when you suffer from PCOS? can you do so naturally or must you always rely on drugs, like Clomid?

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

i have pcos also. every case of PCOS is different. there are some women with pcos that have regular cycles and still ovulate while others do not. In my case, I don't ovulate on my own so I am currently seeing a RE and on my first cycle using femara (similar to clomid).

I would recommend seeing a RE if you are worried about TTC. They can at least do some testing so you know what to expect and have a plan for when you are ready to start.

good luck!

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

I have PCOS. I would ovulate on my own maybe twice a year. I'm truly blessed because I got pregnant naturally. #1 was after 2 years and #2 was after about a year. I knew what signs to look for w/ovulation and got really lucky both times! I was just about to start clomid this past July and ovulated before I started it. The point of my story is women with PCOS can get pregnant. It's a scary diagnosis at first but it will happen for you!

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

i discovered i have pcos after getting off BCP. my skin broke out, my hair was really greasy and i gained weight. my cycles were awful. since we are not TTC until may, i went back onto BCP so I didnt have to deal with the stress and worry. I will begin our first month ttc on medication. i'm feeling positive about it

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

Thanks ladies, do you only ovulate twice a year if you have pcos? or is it different for every woman? and do you have to be off of birth control to go see a RE? What medications are you taking to help you conceive?

Message edited 2/9/2011 9:47:51 AM.

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

i have PCOS. i didnt know until i went off BCP to TTC. its a very long story so ill try to keep it short. basically after going off BCP i only ovulated once in 6 months. i decided to see an RE at that point. i did a clomid cycle and it did absolutely nothing for me, i didnt produce any eggs. so i moved onto injectables. got pregnant twice on those but both were chemical (early miscarriages). after 6 medicated cycles and no sticky i moved on to IVF. i had a textbook super successful IVF and finally got my sticky BFP 18 months after i started TTC..

every PCOS story is different. there are no standards. some people conceive naturally. others have to go my route. clomid is a miracle drug for some and does nothing for others. i DEF reccomend seeing an RE. ob/gyn just do not know enough about PCOS to treat it effectively. im not going to bore you with all of the details but please FM if you have any questions. good luck!!

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

i have pcos and for me i do not ovuate on my own..we have done 4 medicated cycles with timed intercourse and nothing yet so we r moving on to iui

i would def look into a re

good luck!

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

what exactly is a medicated cycle? like using something like Clomid? and you only have sex when you know your ovulating in the month?

Also, when you have PCOS, do you ovulate or just have a hard time ovulating?

Thanks!

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

I have PCOS, I've known since I was 15 (almost 15 years) and have been on Metformin ever since. I used to be extremely overweight, and at that time I didn't ovulate or have AF except for maybe 3 times a year. I lost weight and now get AF like clockwork.

One thing I learned about PCOS when we started TTC is that just because you get AF, doesn't mean you O. This is my first cycle temping so I won't know for a week or so more if I O'ed. I have my fingers crossed as I get the EWCM and O pains, but like the prior poster said every case is different.

Since I know I have PCOS, I gave it a few months and am now scheduled to see Dr. Braverman on the 15th. My thinking is it's better to get out in front of it than not, but then again, I'm super type A :)

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

what exactly do you mean by "Everyone has it" and how do you find out if you ovulate on your won or not?


As far as I know, temping is the only way to know if you O or not, and it only tells you after the fact. Your Dr. can also do blood tests to confirm I think.

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

do you have to be off BCP in order for these pills to be done or can they still be done while you are on the pill?
doen't the pill force you into ovulating?

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

I'm not a doctor but Im fairly sure you have to be off the pill for temping to work. Basal body temperature (BBT) rises because of the increase of progesterone in your system after ovulation. I think birth control affects the horomones.

I remember feeling very similar to what you are feeling, I was desperate to know whether I was ovulating and could get pregnant before I came off BCP. It was so scary being told from the get go that I may have fertility issues. If you ever need someone to talk to feel free to PM me. Like the prior poster said, everyone is different, but I'm happy to help any way I can.

A great resource that I use is fertilityfriend.com It lets you search people's charts based on certain criteria. For example, if you run a search of all published charts, 4% of those charts are anovulatory and 33% show pregnancy. If you limit the search to only people with PCOS, then 11% don't ovulate and the pregnancy rate is 29%. It's certainly not exact science, but very few things with respect to TTC are!

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

Re: Anyone else have PCOS?

if u were diagnosed with pcos and u want to ttc soon, i would have a consult with a RE.
U may just need only metformin to regulate ur cycles and help u ovulate. metformin takes about 2 months to start working so if it were me i would see a RE and tell them whats going on.