Do You Have PCOS? What are you doing to help?

[joobilee]

I was Dx'ed with PCOS 11+yrs ago. Never had a confirmed pregnancy, although have never done anything to prevent except bcp when I was first married. The dr thought it might kickstart my body...Nope. I have a few things I take and it has helped tremendously.

Anyway just looking for fellow PCOSers and wondering what you all are doing for it. And if you have been able to acheive pregnancy what did you do to achieve it? and did you deliver?

TIA

[Chloe'sMama]

I was diagnosed with PCOS, although didn't have many symptoms, really just the cysts on my ovaries (healthy weight, normal testosterone etc.) I was having anovulatory cycles and was on Chlomid for 6 cycles. I had a miscarriage in there, but the Chlomid didn't work after that.

Anyways, fast forward a couple years... I changed my diet and exercised every day. I started ovulating on my own and having a 11 day LP. I was able to get pregnant on my own.

I just had my first PP period and am wondering how all of this is going to play out now that I have had a child.

We will see.

I always recommend acupuncture too, I don't know if it helped me ovulate, but it did help regulate my cycles.

Good Luck to you!

[ErikaG]

Metformin and acupuncture, along with treating my bad thyroid with Synthroid (thyroid problems are often found in PCOSers along with the PCOS, so if you're unsure about the state of your thyroid, get it checked out...it can have a lot of impact on fertility and healthy pregnancy.) Obviously, I eat a diet appropriate for PCOS and get the right kind of exercise-with PCOS, while cardio is important, muscle building is essential-weight training, etc, which, when not pregnant has made up much of my routine.

I used Clomid to get pregnant twice-my daughter is 16 months old, my next baby is due in December. My husband also has fertility issues, and the Clomid enabled us to time things more precisely. My luteal phase is on the shorter side-not in the LP defect zone, but on the shorter end of things, and I think the Clomid also helped with that.

[JustKiya]

Exercising - weights, mainly, metformin (1700mg), and trying to stick to a semi-low carb diet.

Oh, also avoiding dairy and soy.

Haven't conceived yet.

[joobilee]

That's great news about the BFPs and babies! It gives me hope.
Glad I'm not alone here.

JustKiya: I see you have been trying for 2 years. Have you tried any fertility meds/natural remedies, or seen an RE?

[JustKiya]

Originally Posted by joobilee

JustKiya: I see you have been trying for 2 years. Have you tried any fertility meds/natural remedies, or seen an RE?

I've tried - FertilityBlend, accupunture, and a whole host of natural supplements. Most either do nothing, or screw up my luteal phase. I'm currently only on EPO for the first 14 days of my cycle - it seems to be helping with CM, some.

I've been to the RE, had all the blood work, had an HSG, and a treatment to clean away my 'overthick' lining from months of really wonky annov cycles - he's the one who diagnosed me with PCOS, and prescribed me my Metformin. I have a script for Clomid, and that's going to be my last resort, as our insurance doesn't cover any ART (the Clomid will be out of pocket), and we can't afford ART, anyhow. My FSH is still pretty good, so that's a high point.

So, yeah, we've done a lot of what we can do, so I'm addressing my diet and overall health/weight, now. It's an odd waiting game of hope.

[joobilee]

have you heard of DCI (d-chiro-inositol)? You might want to look into that. I'm a member on a PCOS forum (soulcysters.net) and there are a lot of ladies having a ton of luck with it. I used to have no cycle what-so-ever and now I'm actually cycling. Haven't gotten pregnant (yet) but at least there is hope again. There is a short video on the chiralbalance home page that explains how it helps, you might be interested. The coolest part about it is it's basically just a B vit (metabolite) that our PCOS bodies have a hard time making and they excrete it very rapidly. I really love this stuff! Good Luck with whatever you decide! BABY DUST!!!

[JustKiya]

Hrm, no I haven't. I have noticed that my cycles seem to be much more regular when I take my b-complex religiously.
I tried to join soulcysters, and never could for some reason.

Thanks for that - I'm currently looking into iodine/iodide supplements, too....

I wish there was a place where you could custom order supplements, and have them all mixed in a single solution/pill.

[joobilee]

Yes, that would be AWESOME! I would pay big money to have them custom mixed for me so I don't have to keep track of how many of this and when and how many that, and etc.

[Liadan]

My sis-in-law was diagnosed pcos. She eliminated white flour and sugar from her diet. Maybe dairy too. Exercising daily. She also took some herbs but I don't know which ones. She is due in Feb!

One of the main things with pcos i've read when researching natural remedies for my sister is to avoid foods that mess with your insulin--the carbs and sugars.

[happyalltime]

Originally Posted by joobilee

have you heard of DCI (d-chiro-inositol)? You might want to look into that. I'm a member on a PCOS forum (soulcysters.net) and there are a lot of ladies having a ton of luck with it. I used to have no cycle what-so-ever and now I'm actually cycling. Haven't gotten pregnant (yet) but at least there is hope again. There is a short video on the chiralbalance home page that explains how it helps, you might be interested. The coolest part about it is it's basically just a B vit (metabolite) that our PCOS bodies have a hard time making and they excrete it very rapidly. I really love this stuff! Good Luck with whatever you decide! BABY DUST!!!

how much is DCI and what are the fuctions, ive never heard of it

[MandyB]

I have PCOS and was able to get pregnant with DS1 after eight months of trying on our own. In order to get pregnant with DD's 1&2, we saw an RE who put me on BC pills for a month each time, then we took chlomid and it helped me to ovulate. Once they confirmed on u/s that I had ovulated, they gave me a shot of HCG to make sure the egg would drop. This "plan" worked for us on the 1st month with DD1 and on the 3rd month with DD2.

Baby #4 was a total and complete surprise out of nowhere!

I belong to an infertility group as well and I know that VITEX and natural progesterone cream has worked WONDERS for many of the pcos ladies on that site! There were many people in that group with PCOS who had been through multiple IVF's and once they started taking vitex for a few months, they actually became pregnant on their own!

[lifeguard]

I conceived after almost a year on metformin during which I also exercised aggressively almost daily (mostly weights) & cut refined carbs & sugar from my diet so I lost 70lbs. The cycle I conceived on we were using clomid & I had a hcg shot as well when the follicle appeared to be ripe.

None of the weight has come off pp yet but I'm starting to get back on track (we've had a lot of upheaval this year (moved 3 times) so it's taken time for things to settle enough for me to focus on this). Haven't had a pp af yet but as soon as they return we will start ttc again.

[Jenne]

Hey, I'm a PCOS TTCer too.

I take Metformin and iodine at night and synthroid and baby aspirin in the morning. I see an acupuncturist. I was seeing an RE but I'm not sure what to do now about that situation. I'm on Femara. I may or may not be ovulating on it. I did not ovulate with the trigger shot.

I eat what I want. I don't really exercise. I have high testosterone and therefore am not to do weight lifting exercise as that will only exacerbate the situation.

A year ago I weighed 35 pounds less than I do today but it makes *0* difference in my cycles. 2 years ago today I weighed 20 pounds more than I do today (yes, I was able to lose about 65 pounds in a few months 2 years ago) and didn't cycle on my own either. In high school and college I didn't cycle on my own either and that is 70 pounds less than I weigh right now. I find the whole weight thing an issue. :/

Anyway, I'm having a "PCOS sucks" day. The time in my life I felt the best and weighed the least I was on spironolactone, met, and BCP. If we decide to give up TTC I will probably go back on spironolactone and the pill.

[Sasha299]

My experience is similar to yours. I have PCOS, was not overweight at diagnosis, had regular periods, appear to ovulate regularly (have all the signs including the prog surge which indicates but is not definative of ovulation), and tried (naturally, temps, CM, medically then IVF) for over 13 years - I finally had my DS in January of this year. I have tried most of the things many suggested - metformin/glucophage, cinnamon, soy, B complex, weight loss, weight gain (I was just under the recommended weight when I started TTC), immune testing (many women with PCOS have immune issues caused by the unbalanced hormones also many tend test positive for MTHFR gene which increases the need for folic acid and the likelihood of clotting issues), etc and nothing worked. At that point I went to the specialist, while they still have not determined what the issue was, I went on to have 3 IVF cycles and only had success on my last.

I recommend,

• no weight gain/loss while TTC (My doctors supplied documentation that doing so reduces the proability of pg since the body is busy trying to readjust to the weigh change),
• consistent exercise (weight bearing exercises did not increase my testosterone levels which were already high but they helped regulate my insulin levels which inturn helped my hormones level out),
• prenatal vitamins and extra folic acid,
• diet low in sugars/empty carbs,
• acupuncture, yoga/pilates
• personally I would stay away from BCP - our hormones are already messed up from PCOS and being on BCP made it worst - DH calls it BCP horromones

I may be willing to try DCI even though it is expensive since it has given some women relief of symptoms. At a certain point though, I would move on to a fertility specialist esp if I were ready to move on to Clomid/Femara, etc.

[Grace and Granola]

I was dx'ed with PCOS when I was 18 then was on BCP for about 7 years after that. Stopped taking them when I started a more natural way of living. I did not spontaneously get pregnant while off BCP (and not trying), but after one year of TTC, charting, fertility blend, metformin, etc....I was still not pregnant. I had a friend at the time who was studying to become an herbalist and also had PCOS and TTC, she created an herbal formula for each of us that was according to our individual and very different symptoms. After three months on the herbs, I was pregnant, and after a month later my friend was too. After my first was born, I wasn't on any herbs or meds and had a spontaneous pregnancy seven months later!

I think because PCOS manifests itself so differently in each person, it's important to have an herbalist create something just for you. This is what I would do if I wanted to TTC again. Best of luck to you!

[joobilee]

I don't know of any herbalists around here. Is that what they are officially called is herbalists or is there another title for them?

[MoonStarFalling]

I've tried a lot of things in the 10 years I've been married and TTCing. Cutting out refined foods, blood type diet and exercise are the best things. Secondly I believe that cinnamon and chromium GTF help me just as much as metformin with none of the side effects.

[dakotablue]

Cutting Gluten and processed foods made a world of difference for me. Once I am done with this pregnancy and back on the gluten free diet (I had to come off due to hypoglycemia) I want to get tested again to see where my levels are. 6 months into the diet I was almost regular.

We still used meds for this pregnancy, but I'm thinking timing of bd was also an issue.

[princesssparkles]

That herbalist thing sounds really interesting and after TTC for five years with no success I am willing to try just about anything. If you can please give me some more info on how to find someone like this I would really appreciate it. Thanks...