Well, I’ve known for years that there are issues with my fertility- I have always skipped periods for no apparent reason, sometimes for almost a year. I always chose to ignore it- since, well, it didn’t bother ME if it didn’t show up-especially if I knew I couldn’t be pregnant.
Well, seeing as I am now with 8 days of turning 27, I decided the time has come to get everything checked out(did the full physical, ob/gyn, eye doc, etc.) I actually discussed my concerns with each doctor-which is a first for me, and I established that there are things-like cholesterol, that I do need to work on.
Part of what came out of this is a PCO(Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) diagnoses. Means that I may be able to have kids, but will probably need expensive fertility treatments to do so. Now, I never planned to have kids, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have changed my mind. Anyone have any good web sites that may help? I need some more information-doc gave me some, and said I can call him at anytime-but I feel so confused by this- it really has thrown me for a loop.
At the same time-I’m kind of irritated that I spent so much on birth control over the years and my not have even needed it. (just kidding y’all… I know that one of the things with this is that you never know IF you are ovulating in a given month or not…so there is no way to be totally sure…plus, disease protection is a must)
My daughter’s story is almost identical to yours. She is 27, irregular periods, overweight, hirsute, all the classic symptoms on PCOS. Are you overweight? There is a direct correlation between PCOS,testosterone and insulin levels. It is pretty complicated but in a nutshell PCOS is a hormone imbalance causing increased testosterone levels which make your body resistant to insulin causing you to be overweight and the extra weight adds to the insulin resistance. In this case carbohydrates are your worst enemy and you tend to crave carbs, you know, taters, noodles, pasta, cookies, bread. The popular carbohydrate addict’s diet-a la Oprah-is the recommended treatment. By the same token, losing weight dramatically inproves your chances of conceiving.
My daughter is Missy. She is going through fertility treatment now. This sounds worse than it is. It mostly involved monitoring a lot of hormone levels and giving meds accordingly until she had a period. She finally had one about a week or so ago. That magical day seems to be the starting point for a great deal of counting days, lab draws etc. The good news is that if able to concieve, pregnancy is usually completely normal.
I searched on Dogpile and Northern Light and found literally hundreds of links. If you want to E mail me I will send them to you. Also, if you want, I’ll talk to Missy, and give her your E-mail address. Maybe you two can correspond. I know she would like that and you would too; she is a great girl.
My sister in law was told by the first idiotic fertility doctor that she was overweight and that was causing the problems. She was NOT overweight and proportional to her size and bone. Nonetheless, she obsessed about her weight and diets constantly.
Skip forward several years, after fertility treatments, it wasn’t her that was having the problem ( she was ok) it was her husband.
I have heard no less than dozen people independently recommend the book “Take Charge Of Your Fertility” by Terry Weschler. Even if your problems need the help of medicine to fix (or even if you have no problems at all) this book is supposed to be an excellent source of information about what’s going on in your body.
That may be a help to you, having it.
And I know the boards on parent’s place and babycenter have discussions on stuff like this. Granted, they’re oriented towards people who are actively trying to conceive (or have been successful). I know I’ve seen those initials a lot, so you’re not alone. Peeking in there might give you a taste of the PCOS “community” and what fertility treatments await you, when the time comes.
Hi all! I am Missy, daughter of Mojo… she told me about the questions in here, so I figgered I would stop by and add my two cents Yes, Lsura, in the beginning of all of this, it can be overwhelming but trust me, after taking a little time to do some research and talk to other people, it DOES get better and not nearly as scary. About the second opinion thing… its really not like that. PCOS isnt a disease like cancer where a misdiagnosis can kill you… either you have it or you dont… either you ovulate or you dont… either you have a hairy chin or you dont… get my picture? What PCOS all boils down to is that you have a hormonal imbalance. Your body is producing too much testosterone which is making itself think that it doesnt really need to do all of those things that women should like, uhm… ovulate. The treatments usually consist of provera to get you to have a period, Clomid to get you to ovulate and Metformin aka Glucophage to help keep your insulin in check. Not every doctor agrees on the use of Met but many women take it, and many of those women get pregnant. No, PCOS cant kill you but there are a coupla things that it can affect. There is a higher miscarriage rate among us cysters. We are more likely to develop diabetes so watching your sugar intake now cant hurt ya. When you dont have a period for long periods of time (i went nearly 300 days without one) it leads to a higher risk of endometriosis. And it makes getting pregnant a real bitch. Yes, I HIGHLY suggest going out to get “Taking Charge of your Fertily” or TCOYF as we call it in the TTC (trying to conceive) world… (we are quite the cryptic bunch) It is a wonderful book and will help get your ducks in a row, so to speak if getting pregnant is what ya want. If pregnancy isnt what you want… then, make sure you stay on a birth control pill to keep you regular-orthotricyclen is the worst for us PCOS people- and watch your diet. A low carb diet has worked for many of us cysters. If anyone has any questions, I will try whatever I can. Keep talking to your doctor… keep a journal of all of the bloodwork you get. become informed of your body. I have a huge list of links-a PCOS starter kit, if you will- If ya want it, just e-mail me. Mizzy810@aol.com