Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Community

Well, I'm sorry it's been such an issue to conceive for y'all!

I just want to add into this that you don't necessarily have to fit the profile to have PCOS. I'm 5'7. At the time of my diagnosis, I was respectively 155lbs - a pretty decent weight for my body type as an athelete. Due to medicines, I have gained weight but that has not too much to do with PCOS. I do have a ton of cysts, but they aren't in the typical "pearl" strand appearance. I'm not insulin resistant and don't have diabetes. But, I am now on Metformin. I'm not getting my periods at all anymore. It's been 12 months since a "normal" period. I took provera last month. I had a couple of days of spotting after, but nothing outside of that. There is a general "profile" for PCOS, but it varies so much. If your doctor is thinking it's PCOS, I would definitely trust them. Just be honest about everything along the way!

Good luck!

also, just curious. Why did he/she say "atypical" PCOS?

She thought it might be atypical PCOS because my periods are irregular, one month my cycle is 32 days, the next it might be 35 days. We are trying to figure out if I am ovulating right now. Also, one of my ovaries has cysts on it. Thanks for the support!

Well, I guess I will just say that every woman with PCOS has periods like that. Mine go from 14 days, to 35 days, to 72 days, to 12 months. There is never anything regular about periods with PCOS. As far as the cysts go, almost every woman (although there are some who do not) has cysts on her ovaries, or just one ovary. It varies from woman to woman, but it is common and I would be hesitant to say "atypical" PCOS because it seems pretty typical to me.

But, I hope they find out the cause for your issues! Everyone is always here if you have questions!

My RE told me that I had "mild PCOS". I had irregular periods but no cysts, facial hair, or other typical symptoms. He did start me on Metformin last year as part of my infertility treatments and I'm still on it. The Metformin was hard on my body at first, but after taking it for about a year, we got a bfp from #1 IVF. My sister has PCOS, also. She has the acne and facial hair. She's going to the same OB/GYN that I have and since she wants to have kids, I hope he can help her with her issues.

I can see why she wants to wait a year to send you to an infertility specialist. At your age, most doctors want to see that you've had issues for a year in order to diagnose you with "infertility". Keep us posted!

Did you have to take Chlomid with the Metformin? I've been researching the different options that doctors use for PCOS. Did you try anything before you went to IVF? I know I'm young, but I've always wanted a house full of kids and to be a stay at home mom. I want to try what is going to be my best bet first ,rather than after countless things don't work. I'm glad you were able to get pregnant, that gives me hop!

I was on Metformin and bcp for a few months and then I had to have outpatient surgery to remove some uterine polyps. They weren't cancerous, just preventing us from getting pregnant. After the 1st surgery, we did 1 IUI with Femara instead of Clomid. It didn't work , so we tried Femara again. When I went in for my 1st u/s, we found out that the polyps had grown back AND I had a cyst on my ovary. I was devastated.

My RE told me that since I was 35, he wanted us to go ahead and do a second surgery to remove the polyps, then schedule IVF right afterwards so that we wouldn't have to worry about those damn polyps coming back!!! IUIs might have worked for us, but my stupid polyps complicated our situation. I do have a friend who got pregnant with IUI and she had the same doctor I did. Plenty of women have success with Clomid, injectable stim drugs, and IUIs. We just didn't have the time to spend on these treatments. I already feel like an old woman going to the high-risk OB because of "advanced maternal age". (I'm also going there because we're having twins, but I still feel old LOL!! )

I'm glad that my RE was able to help us. I never ovulated on my own. My hormones were sooo screwed up. Talk to your doctor about what your options are. You guys can probably come up with a game plan, and when we did this, it made my husband and me feel so much better.

Also, a side note about having a house-full of kids: My OB told me that even if you have trouble having a baby, once you have one, sometimes hormonal problems correct themselves and you might just become more fertile!

(sorry for writing a book!)

Thanks for filling me in with what works for you!!! It is nice to hear a success story! I will keep you updated. I am keeping track of my basal body temperature and also using ovulation preditor tests. I go back in April to see where we are at and maybe try Metformin. If that doesn't work than in July we will go to see an infertility specialist. DId you husband have to have a semen analysis?

He had 2 SAs. The first one was really horrible, less than 2 mil. The next one was really good, like 20 mil. Our RE said that he was probably somewhere in the middle. Since we did IVF, it didn't matter if he had low numbers, problems with movement, and/or shape. The SAs were like $90 each.