PCOS Symtoms & Diagnosis

I also have PCOS. I'm overweight, have bad skin and my ovaries are covered with cysts.

I have my period about 3 or 4 times a year. I fell pregnant on my own first time round and had a MC at 6 weeks. We tried to fall pregnant 2 years with no luck. Finally went to seek help and fell pregnant on my first round of fertomid. My LG is now just over a year old.

Glucophage is given to balance blood sugar level and is not a fertility drug. You could start charting your BBT so that you can see if you ovulate or not.

Good luck and hope you get your BFP soon.

Wow Chanz thank you! I feel understood

I think I will call my gynae tomorrow and hear what she says. She doesn't strike me as the 'make money out of you' type (I have only been with her for 6 months) but she doesn't call me in for every little thing she will often advise me telephonically if she can. I think the fact that she suspected it after my first exam she will be willing to pick it up from there straight away. I fell pregnant almost exactly a year after going off the injection. I have been on some form of contraception since I was about 16 so I don't know what normal is for me. My doc did say after the miscarriage that 'on the up side' at least we know I am ovulating and there is nothing wrong with DH. But I suspect that I may ovulate irregularly which is why when AF returned it was only every second month and not every month.

Anyway, thank for your reply and for making me feel better.

PS good luck with your final stretch

Sjoe Dinky...I can see you really wanna fall pregnant. Reminds me of how anxious I was.

I have PCOS with Insulin Resistance. After 2 years of ttc with no luck and using clomid for 3 cycles I decided to see a Fertility Specialist. My first gynae said to try for a year. Bearing in mind I was on the contraceptive pill for 7 years. Then I went for a second opinion, and with my first appointment he diagnosed me with PCOS and IR. I have all the physical symptoms of PCOS aswell as the cysts. I have facial hair, overweight but no acne really. What he did to confirm was test my insulin levels and mine was 20. Normal insulin levels are supposed to be between 1-10. My scan showed my ovaries looking like I had fishnets over them. My right ovary was the worst. Well so I thought. So he said he would only treat me with glucophage first and start on a low carb diet. He gave me 3 months. Which came and went and he kept gettn annoyed coz I kept coming back because my bleeding got real bad. Sounds gross but I had clots that looked like liver chunks. I had to wear a super tampon and night pad which both together only lasted me 30min. I felt frustrated because he kept blaming my weight even though I had lost weight. Thats when I decided to see a Fertility Specialist. I saw my fs in Jan this year, who also confirmed my PCOS with IR and went further to say my left ovary is terribly covered with cysts and the right one is getting there. But he gave us hope, started me immediately on clomid and did scans to monitor the growth. He told us to try intercourse at home etc... When my follicles grew to the right size he gave me the trigger shot. Because when you have PCOS you either don't ovulate at all or you ovulate irregularly. Our first month never worked. The second month we did the same except we did IUI. Which worked, and I am now almost 7 months pregnant.

The other point I need to make though, not all PCOS women have the physical attributes. Some just dont ovulate. Something you need to know about PCOS is that its a hormonal disorder and there is no cure. If you have a family history of Diabetes, your chances of pcos are a bit higher. The most important thing about controlling PCOS is to focus on your diet. Don't ever crash diet or do any of the fad diets. Just eat a low carb, high fibre and protein diet. I lost weight by just following these 3 points. My fs also changed me from glucophage to glucophage SR. Made a huge difference.

I could be very wrong, but from what a gynae told me. The injection can take up to a year to leave your system. What I also learnt, dont let a gynae bully you into taking contaceptives to correct your problem. By doing this they are not getting to the bottom of the problem but rather treating a symptom. I have vowed to never touch a contraceptive again. Condoms is the only thing that won't affect your body in a bad way.

I would advise to ask your gynae to test you for PCOS and Endo. If she is hesitant then get another gynae. Some gynaes will take forever to do tests just so they can make money out of you. I learnt this the hard way. Also bear in mind, if you already dont ovulate according to your results, then don't take clomid without being monitored. Its pointless.

Hope this helped a little. If you have any more questions, please feel free to post.
Let us know how it goes

Hi there.

Sorry about your miscarriage. I have PCOS and because of it do nor ovylate on my own so iwas prescribed clomid while ttc. I have friends with PCOS though who conceived without meds and others that stil couldn't ovulate on clomid. It really does depend on the individual. I would suggest you speak to your doc and they will do some blood tests and scans.

Good luck!

Hi ladies,

I hope someone can help me.

I haven't been diagnosed with PCOS but I am worried I might have it. Here is my history (long I'm sorry).

I was on the Nur-isterate injection for about 3 years. Last year DH and I decided to start trying for a baby. I had my last injection in April 2010. I did not have AF the whole time I was on the injection. I had my first AF in January of this year and again in March. I went to see my gynae in April 2011 because I was concerned about when AF would come back properly. She did an internal scan and said I have cysts on my ovaries. She asked me if I had put on alot of weight or had excessive hair, I answered no because that was my initial thought. But, when I got home I thought about it more and I have put on alot of weight over the last 5 years or so and battle to lose even 1kg. My normal weight is 52-54 I used to call that my happy weight. At the moment I am around 60kgs! Throughout high school even if I was carrying a little extra weight my tummy was always fat. Now I definately feel like I have a"tyre" or even two. Because I have dark hair I have always had to shave/wax often but I have found that recently I have more facial hair than I used to. I have to wax my upper lip reglarly and I have found long, dark, course single hairs growing out of my neck or cheek! Sounds gross I know! I also have bad skin, I never have beutiful clear skin. I am however lactose intolerant and have always put my bad skin down to a bad diet. It is not terrible acne bad but I always have spots and sometimes they are red, inflamed and sore!

Anyway, after seeing my doc in April she sent me for a CD21 progesterone test. I don't know what the exact level was but I know it was low, very low according to her. She said to wait and see if I got an AF the next month and if not we would take it from there. I however fell pregnant the next month which was confirmed with a blood test in May. My baby didn't develop past 7 weeks and I had a D&C in June. 8 weeks after the op I still hadn't had AF so I called her. She prescribed Provera to induce a bleed. I took the last pill last night and am now waiting for AF.

Do you ladies think I am being paranoid if I call my doctor to explore the possibility that I have PCOS?

If she says it's possible what will she do to confirm? What are my chances of having a successful pregnancy?

Thanks as always for your advice and support.

PS my mom has Endo - could this be related?