[wildflower18]

Not sure where to post this....but I wanted to get some feedback from others with PCOS. My first son is almost 19 months now and I have not had a proper AF. I had spotting about 3 months ago, but not a true cycle. I've not started charting yet, since there's really nothing to chart.

Anyway....my question is, for a momma who is still BFing, how long should I wait before saying that it's PCOS causing my lack of cycles? Prior to having DS, I would have irregular AF, most typically being anovulatory. So having no cycle is new to me. Nice, but disconcerting if I ever want to try for #2!

 

[Julia'sMom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildflower18 Not sure where to post this....but I wanted to get some feedback from others with PCOS. My first son is almost 19 months now and I have not had a proper AF. I had spotting about 3 months ago, but not a true cycle. I've not started charting yet, since there's really nothing to chart. Anyway....my question is, for a momma who is still BFing, how long should I wait before saying that it's PCOS causing my lack of cycles? Prior to having DS, I would have irregular AF, most typically being anovulatory. So having no cycle is new to me. Nice, but disconcerting if I ever want to try for #2!

Well...it depends on your doc. My OB wouldn't test me until I stopped breastfeeding. However, around 18 months I realized that I finally started to feel like my old self, so for me, that's when I think the PCOS caused the lack of menstrual cycle. I got my prolactin tested around 19-20 months. Since the level was well within normal range (not elevated breastfeeding range), I took prometrium to force a cycle. That cycle was really intense, again showing me that my body was building the lining, but not shedding due to PCOS.

Good luck as it's so hard when docs and insurance won't help discern the cause.

 

[biochick]

Oddly enough, I seem to have regular cycles when I'm BF.

I know you say there is nothing to chart but I think it's worth a shot. I got pregnant with ds when I did think I had a normal cycle...no visible AF at all but according to my charts I was ovulation. It might just give you some idea of what could be going on.

 

[Solose]

I am in the same situation you are. DS was conceived "by accident" when I skipped a few days of BCP. But after having him, i realized how much I want more and that with PCOS I might not be able to have babies if i wait too long.

Have you gotten checked out by a doc? I was sure everything was fine because I've always been very irregular like you. But I had a blood test and found I had extremely high insulin resistance ( it's pretty common in pcos) and my hormone levels were all out of whack. Now I'm on metformin and trying too lose some weight. I am not even that overweight, but my doctor said appparently it's pretty common for the PCOS symptoms to worsen after the first, especially since you might not be paying as much attention to what you eat with a LO to take care of. I can't speak much to the BF question as I had low milk supply, but I do know that most mamas who EBF get theirs sometime between 6-12 mo. usually. I think at 19 mo., unless your LO is really BF quite a lot you usually should have it.

 

[wildflower18]

Well, I called the doc to see what he said and now have an appt in the beginning of May. So we'll see how he decides to proceed.

We're not actively pursuing #2. I wanted to let him BF until at least 2 years before making a decision about how to proceed. I took Femara to conceive him and would have to wean should I need to go through that process again.

I work full-time, so he doesn't BF throughout the day, but he does BF a fair amount at night - a little sip about every 1-2 hours or so, just to make sure mama's still around!

He still nurses at night as well - can't really tell you how often since we co-sleep and I don't really fully wake up.

I know that there's something to chart, as I've had some mucus, but it never results in AF. So I'm pretty certain I'm not Oing, although charting really is the only way to know for sure (well, that an an oops pg

). So, the doc wants me to start charting....ugh.

You are so right that I'm not watching my diet. I'm a thin cyster, but have been able to tell that around 1 year my food cravings and insulin resistance returned. I started taking Cinnamon which helped slightly, but not sure if it's really doing anything. I'm not sure what they'll do if I'm still BFing. I don't want to stop just to get AF.

Did one of you say that you took progesterone to force AF? Did you do that while you were BFing? I'm really concerned about taking anything while still BFing.

Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Julia'sMom]

I've taken provera to force af while breastfeeding. Since the body produces progesterone naturally, it's not harmful to the infant. Check out Dr. Hale's book "Medications and Mother's Milk" for the safety of drugs with breastfeeding. However, be forewarned that it can decrease your supply, just as AF or pregnancy can decrease your supply. Good luck.