PCOS will it hurt my fertility

[JaneSmith1010]

i recently have had some horrendous ovarian pain and an ultrasound found alot of small cysts...assuming larger one(s) had burst. if this is polycystic ovary syndrome will it get worse and possibly hurt my fertility?

[Ruthla]

First of all, you can have cysts on your ovaries but still not have PCOS.

I had one cyst that burst many years ago, before having kids. Then I had another cyst causing pain before I got pg with DS. I had an u/s that showed the one big cyst plus a whole bunch of little cysts, and when I looked up "ovarian cyst" online I got tons of info about PCOS and I also got a little freaked out.

It turns out that I actually don't have PCOS. The simple presence of cysts does not indicate the entire hormonal mess that is PCOS. In my case, cysts caused discomfort but had no effect on my fertility.

[JaneSmith1010]

Oh yes, I understand that cysts doesn't = PCOS. However, looking through some of the info, I had alot of the symptoms and issues that seem to be associated with it. My mother and sister have also had it. I, of course, will wait to be diagnosed with it by a doc. I just like to get second opinions from people who are not of a closed mind...as I find many docs here to be.

[jlpumkin]

I have PCOS and two amazing children that were conceived without medical intervention. I hear that I am very blessed. I had one Dr tell me no way no pg without his help, another said possibly but it could potentially take longer because I would often only ovulate 3x per year - fewer chances sort of thing. There are many natural methods for managing PCOS that increase fertility just as a side effect (for example if you ovulate 1/mo as opposed to 3/yr you have many more chances for success). To learn more about these you can visit our PCOS tribe in finding your tribe - come on over

[harmonymama]

I have mild PCOS, and was told I was not ovulating and would not be able to conceive. But I conceived both times faster than I thought possible. So don't let anyone tell you you won't be able to conceive. Trying is the only way to know. That said, conceiving earlier rather than later is a safe bet for all women.

[thismama]

I have PCOS. Eating a sugar and refined grain free, protein rich diet makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE for fertility for many of us. Seriously. It can be much more effective than medication.

A med used for treatment that can also be helpful for fertility is the diabetes drug Metformin, as it stabilizes insulin, which is often the underlying problem with PCOS (blood sugar can be normal, this does NOT mean you don't have insulin issues).

To conceive, if Met and diet change don't work, many women have good luck with a Met/Clomid combo.

[Kappa]

PCOS women tend to be very fertile with treatment. Metformin worked for me within the second cycle I was on it. Many of us have high levels of insulin, causing the rest of our hormones to go out of wack. Once you reduce that insulin level with metformin or a diet, your sex hormone levels will be restored, and given no other problems you will likely get pregnant almost instantly. Well, at least this is how it happened for me. Unless you have another problem aside from PCOS compounding your fertility problem, you should feel pretty secure that your fertility will be restored with treatment from a decent OB/GYN or RE.

[Mavournin]

I have PCOS too. My first two were major surprises so I don't think my fertility was impaired much. But I had a harder time when I got pg with my third. My PCOS was in full swing and I had had several ruptures, I wasn't ovulating and had about every symptom in the book. I think the only reason baby #3 is here now is because of Metformin, diet changes and especially acupuncture. After well over a year of little happening I was pg six weeks after my first treatment.

[JessicaE]

I have PCOS as well. I lost 80 pounds and got to a normal BMI before getting pregnant, but I still didn't ovulate on my own. Diligent exercise, low-carb high protein diet, still no O. Added Metformin for 6 months (up to 2000 mg), still didn't ovulate. Clomid sparked late-cycle ovulations for me, but I didn't get pregnant until we did IVF. We were dealing with a male factor too, though. If not for the male factor, who knows, maybe I would have gotten pregnant on the Clomid cycles.

I have seen a lot of PCOS easy-pregnancy success stories, and others who have struggled a lot. Either way, the "sugar and refined grain free, protein rich diet" can only help. I'm really glad I found my way there before getting pregnant,even though it wasn't the magic ovulation inducer for me, as I do think it made for a much healthier pregnancy.

Best wishes to you! I know I felt really empowered when I got my PCOS diagnosis because I finally had something I could wrap my brain around to regain control of my body.

[carla72]

I have pcos. concieved first with one round of chlomid. Second was a wonderful suprise (no meds and I was nursing)

[JaneSmith1010]

Well, I have Celiac disease which often messes with fertility but I got pregnant successfully the first time. However, I have always suspected having high levels of androgens b/c I have hair in some places only men have it...though not so much as a man....I am very,very oily, have always had acne problems and have had alot of bloodsugar problems. I am not confident that a doc will diagnose PCOS correctly, so I will have to watch my diet carefully and not wait too, too long to have the next and last baby. Were the cysts your only symptoms of PCOS? Like I said, after reading I have all except 1 symptom/factor that would indicate that this is the problem.

[Ammaarah]

I have PCOS and have a beautiful daughter thanks to the Metformin/Clomid combo. I'm working on improving my eating and activity habits and hoping to conceive #2 naturally, but it hasn't happened yet.

[jlpumkin]

In my case, cysts were not used for the diagnosis, though they are present - mainly insulin other hormone levels. I have the typical PCOS symptoms - junk in my trunk, thinning hair, acne & misplaced hairs - yeah, it's a barrel full of monkeys here. I have not explored met, mainly I manage by diet modification.

[pampered_mom]

Yes, PCOS can certainly effect your fertility - my secondary fertility issues were actually one of the main reasons I discovered I had PCOS. If that turns out to be what you have, feel free to join us over in the PCOS FYT thread! :0)