Just Diagnosed with PCOS.... What Now?

I don't have PCOS but my dh and I suffer with infertility. We did IVF and have a 4yr old daughter and want more kids. I got TONS of support from www.ivfconnections.com There are so many women there and many of them have PCOS. I think there is even a message board for women with PCOS.

Take Care!
J.

I was also diagoned with pcos. I think doctors over diagnose. My periods were 65 days apart so I was having a little trouble tracking to get pregnant. I used a microscope that I found online it was called the fertility tracker to monitor when you ovulate. I got pregnant the second month I used it. Good Luck. Don't let the doctor scare you I was just irregular.

HI. My friend saw your post and let me know about it. I was diagnosed with PCOS about ten years ago. The information on PCOS is vast and at times very confusing, but don't let it overhwhelm you. I was able to concieve and have my healthy baby boy with no complications. The major challenge with PCOS is watching your sugar and your weight. Make sure that your obgyn is knowledgable or if not, then find the info yourself. Most obgyn's do know alot about it now and can help you monitor your diet. The biggest downside when I was pregnant is having to take extra progesterone which makes digestion of food really hard. For example you can be ravenous, have three bites of a sandwich and feel like you just stuffed yourself. But all things considered, that was the worst of it. You will need to keep any eye on cysts on your ovaries which can inhibit fertility, but if you haven't gotten them so far, you may never get them. I don't but my friend who has it does. But she doesn't have extra weight or histutis(extra hair growth on your chin or other fun places) so I guess its a tradeoff.

If you want to talk more or just plain vent, feel free to email me.

K.

Have I got some info for you! I was diagnosed w/PCOS in late 1997. I was lucky cuz we were only trying to get pregnant for about 6 months before I got impatient & starting asking more questions. It helped that my older sister also has PCOS & had been trying to get pregnant longer than us. She passed on a lot of info so I knew to ask for blood tests & we got the whole process started. I look back & realize I was exhibiting symptoms in early high school. Even tho I started my period early - 12 years old - I didn't have a regular cycle. Sometimes, I'd go months w/o a period or sometimes I'd have a period for over a month.....not fun. I also now realize that having been on the pill from about 18 - 29 years kept my PCOS in balance. But not every woman has the same symptoms or needs the same sort of drugs to get pregnant. We now have 2 boys ages 6.5 years & almost 2 years. But they didn't come easy. It took a little over 2 years to get pregnant the first time....trying out different meds & then finding the right dosage plus having Kaiser (a blessing & a downfall) & their 'protocal' made it a bit of a lenghty process. I did injectable infertility drugs & then we inseminated. So, my husband gave his 'guys,' who were then cleaned & swirled around & then shot into me via a turkey baster.....at Kaiser. Don't worry, we didn't do it at home! With our second son, my body was acting more normally in that since our first son, I had regular monthly periods but very low ovulation. We tried a couple of things but then went right back to what worked the first time out. We were lucky that w/each boy, I suffered no miscarriages, the first stab at insemination worked & that we had no mulitples. I was 38 w/our second son so my age & the drugs put me at a very high risk of multiples. My husband was quite relieved each time that we had a single baby! So, my advice to you....find a good endocronologist. They will get you pregnant but usally don't see you after that. Second, do a lot of research & ask questions....of everybody! There are A LOT of women today who have PCOS. Third, a good rule of thumb, if a drug hasn't worked in 3 months, chances are it won't work at all so ask to be moved on to another drug. Some women just need chlomid to get pregnant. I had a bad reaction to this drug....very angry, & edgy & a short fuse. Lettrozal (I think that's how it's spelled) caused less side effects but didn't get me pregnant. Research the drugs, too, cuz they all come under different names & have various side effects. For some women, they just need a 'jump start,' ie. a round of drugs to get pregnant & then they may be able to get pregnant again on their own. Women w/PCOS also tend to be a bit on the heavy side & we retain that weight in our waists so weight loss can help. In fact, it did w/me. After our second son, I lost about 35 pounds & managed to get pregnant the old-fashioned way. I had also turned 40 but sadly, had a miscarriage. Odd to us since I didn't when we were trying before. Probably due to my age. My sister, who is 43, recently had a girl the old-fashioned way, too! She also has Endomitriosis, had to do IVF several times to get pregnant w/my nephews (now 7) & she has only one fallopian tube (!) due to an ectopic pregnancy. So, don't think you're safe from every having to use birth control again! I went back on the pill cuz of that plus I had too much testerone & too many zits for my liking & age so now I'm all balanced out again! I am prefeclty willing & happy to answer any of your questions so, please, feel free to contact me directly if you want. Hope this helps & god luck! K., ____@____.com

Hi! I have PCOS and went through fertility treatments to conceive my son. Not everyone has to do that though. I have a friend who also has PCOS and takes Metformin daily. She was able to conceive naturally. With my pregnancy, the doctors just restricted my diet so that I wouldn't get gestational diabetes. The fertitily procedure that worked for us was intrauterine insemination. With diet and exercise, PCOS can be easily managed. Hope this helps!

I was diagnosed my freshman year in college, 1989. Was told that I would likely need help getting pregnant. Was married for 5+ years and went to endocrinologist at Kaiser when I was ready to get pregnant. took glucophage (metformin), lost 40 lbs, and ironically got a divorce as my husband decided he did not want kids and did not want to be married...(mid life crisis). I took the metformin for approx 6 months, and it stabilized my system. I got really into exercise and I am now the mom of two boys, both conceived naturally. I am 37 and my oldest is 3.5 yrs and youngest is 6 months... Its the chicken and egg scenario, when you gain weight, you are prone to PCOS, when you have PCOS, you are prone to gaining weight. My doc back then put me on Atkins and the Glucophage and it jumpstarted my system by allowing me to loose the weight. I did get gestational with my first baby. I went on nutrisystems which focuses on the glycemic index....and lost all my weight ...... and easily got pregnant within 2 months of trying for my second....so I think balancing weight and sugars is definitely the key....best of luck..based on all of the responses I've read, I think you have a lot of stories, where PCOS women have lots of babies!! I also went to a natural healer / massage therapist who did a few sessions focused on this as well...a bit hokey, but hey , something worked. I think that if you think you can...you can.

PCOS is becoming more and more prevalent and you are certainly not alone. I was diagnosed back in 1998, showing almost all the yucky symptoms. I am not a huge fan of drugs, so a couple years after diagnosis, I chose the route of diet modification. As has been stated previously, this is an insulin based disorder, so it became apparent that I need to eat low-glycemic foods (http://www.glycemicindex.com/). I lost over 40 lbs., my period became more consistent, and my hormones seemed to regulate. I conceived both my kids naturally. I must say, that it has not been a cake-walk and I've struggled with my diet at times, but I see the results when I am disciplined with my eating.

This is a disorder that attacks your femininity and affects so much--tap into the resources that are available (many stated below) and feel free to contact me directly if you have questions about the route I chose.

You already received many great responses, but I thought it's always reassuring to hear more hopeful stories, as late as it may be. I was also diag. with pcos in high school. I wasn't having periods and so on. Needless to say, I was told I'd need drugs to help me get pregnant. Though I'm not your typical pcos patient, I'm not overweight and I don't have many of the symptoms, I was able to unexpectedly get preg. with my older daughter. With my second, I did need to take progesterone then clomid. But the first dose of clomid worked. So if you haven't gotten preg, yet, keep hope alive. Just because you have pcos, doesn't mean your doomed to not have any children. Good luck to you in all your pregnancies!!

J.,

I actually know a couple of women who have PCOS in real life and I've got some online friends who do too. I belong to a couple of mommy groups. I know several women with PCOS who were able to get pregnant by losing weight (which I know is really tough when you have PCOS!) and I know a few others who were able to get pregnant with the help of fertility treatments (but who's doctors still wanted them to lose weight because there is a link between PCOS and diabetes). If you have trouble getting pregnant, you should see a reproductive endocrinologist and/or a fertlity specialist. One of my real life girlfriends who has PCOS (and isn't trying to conceive) has had really good luck losing weight using "food combining." I don't know a whole lot about the specifics but she said she learned about it out of a book and the whole idea is based upon only eating certain types of food in certain combinations to keep your blood sugar level. It really worked for her. She lost about 50 pounds in 6 months. And she said that once she got going, it really wasn't that hard to maintain the diet. She said it is one of the few diets she's done that is doable for long periods of time because you can eat and eat enough to not be hungry all the time. Good luck!

T.

Hi J.,
I too was diagnosed with PCOS about 8 years ago. I went through fertility treatments to get pregnant with my 1st child who is now 6 and then promptly got pregnant naturally with my 2nd. My son and daughter are now 6 and 5... 10 1/2 months apart. If i can answer anything more directly, please drop me an email. ~N.

Wow, it is so great to hear that there is hope... I have PCOS and was told this back in 2000, and my older and younger sister have it. My older took the Met. meds and she has a baby now, so I am thinking that's the way to go. I know it's the weight that causes the problem, I haven't had a cycle in over a year, and I went from a size 9 to a 16...disgusting I know, so I think if you and myself, can get the weight down, you may just be surprised at what happens...to many times I have heard of woman losing the weight and then they got pregnant. Good luck. And to the others who responded, I just wanted to say thank you because you have given me new hope....

Hi J.,
I was diagnosed with PCOS about 8years ago. I have the typical side effects, weight gain, insulin resistance, excessive hair growth, etc. I found this out when I was trying to conceive. I was lucky and didn't have any problems getting pregnant, but at the time the doctor wanted to prescribe Clomid, I believe was the name of the fertility drug. When my last child was born I started a medicine called Metformin(glucophage) and (Aldactone)spironolactone to control the physical side affects.
I want to warn people out there with PCOS that the reason it is called a syndrome is because the medical professionals do not know what causes it or how to cure it. Also, there are some emotional side affects, because some people, like me suffer from raised hormones, like Testosterone, there for we are more prone to depression and rage. I hope these are not problems you have experienced, but if they are look into natual healing. I have found wonderful herbs and essential oils for calming and balancing. Good luck to you.

Hi J. ~ I was diagnosed with PCOS 8 years ago. At that time it was a fairly new diagnosis but I was very fortunate because it was found by an endocrinologist. The first thing I would say is not to try to let your ob/gyn treat your PCOS. They will treat only a small part of the problem. An endocrinologist is likely to put you on Metformin (Glucophage) and this will treat the root of your problem. PCOS is not just about your ovulation. Your ovulation is a problem as a result of insulin resistance. When you consume sugars your body doesn't recognize it so you overproduce insulin in order for your body to respond. This causes you to store as fat even the smallest amount of sugar. Also if the root cause - insulin resistance - is not treated it can lead to diabetes. I was told in 1997 that I would need fertility treatment in order to conceive due to the cysts on my ovaries (this was the diagnosis of my ob/gyn) they did not at that time tell me I had PCOS. After I had my first child (those doctors clearly don't know everything cuz infertile me conceived all by myself - ha, ha) I was diagnosed with PCOS and put on glucophage. In addition to loosing weight (the added bonus - though the meds are tough on your system for the first two or three weeks) I started having regular periods and conceived three more times on my own. Don't worry that you won't be able to have more kids if you want them! Hang in there and if you need to talk I am seriously the walking talking billboard for this disorder.

This response is so beyond late I wanted to see how it's all gone for you. I just read your request from forever ago, LOL. I too have PCOS told that almost 3 yrs ago had to do Clomed worked the first go around. My daughter is now two. I didn't think I could get pregnant again nor did I want to after her delivery. I have had two emergency c-sections and almost didn't make it with her nor did she. Anyway's, I found out two weeks ago that I am able to get pregnant without drugs or even trying, LOL. So it all works out.

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I don't have PCOS so I can't offer any advise about that. I'm not sure how tough it might be to become/maintain a pregnancy, but IF you can't have any more children naturally and you and your husband both want more children, have you thought about adoption?

I had two very difficult pregnancies and I would very likely not have lived through a 3rd, but I had two boys (whom we absolutely adore) and my husband and I still wanted a girl. We knew that we couldn't risk me having another baby so we went the adoption route. We got our daughter when she was 2 days old and she came home at 4 days. She is now almost 14 months and it makes no difference to any of us that she is not biologicaly ours. We couldn't love her any more if she was.

I found out about a year ago that I had PCOS. Have yall been trying to have another and found out due to issues conceiving? They have a medication that they put my bf on due to her PCOS and cycts which is called MET and within 2 months she was pg with her now 1 yr old son. I would say to try before getting on the meds and if that does not work then talk to your doctor and see if that is the route that you should take. Also a great site to check out is http://www.soulcysters.com/ They have a lot of useful info about PCOS and a mesage board to get to know other moms going through the same things you are.

Hope that helps and if you would like to talk feel free to message me.

T.

I have PCOS as do many of my friends. Depending the severity, it could be easier than you think to have kids, or it might be more difficult. It's hard to say without knowing all the details (which I don't expect you to share with me). There are Yahoo groups for women with PCOS, both conceiving and not - I highly recommend them.

As for me, I had other issues in additional to PCOS, so we chose surrogacy to build our family, as did a friend of mine. However, my best friend just entered her third trimester!

No matter what, do your homework, be informed of all your choices, and above all, don't give up!