PCOS ttc

tifsimmons91

I kinda self diagnosed myself with pcos cause im obese and have every symptom of it.... I lost weight a couple yrs ago and got pregnant with my son. My bf and i have stopped using bc for a yr now and i have not gotten pregnant but ive also gained 40 lbs since having my son..... Last week i went and had bloodwork done and today they said everything came back good except cholesterol slightly high... So does that mean i just need to lose the weight again and i can get pregnant? Has anyone else experience this?

apullum

When you say you had bloodwork done, does that mean you were diagnosed with PCOS? What exactly was the bloodwork? If you have not gotten pregnant in a year of trying, doctors will generally start looking into possible causes.

Blackandbeautiful1

I actually have PCOS. When you got your bloodwork done, the doctor could have found out if you did have PCOS. Other symptoms could be hair growth on face.

OpulentBobble

Weight loss for men and women generally correlates with an increase in fertility, but that isn’t a hard rule. Your doctor will probably recommend you lose weight but it isn’t an absolutely guaranteed solution.

LoPotion

A doctor could explain this much better than I could, but basically - if your weight is causing a hormonal imbalance that is interfering with your body's ability to ovulate, then losing weight could help regulate things. I would think that would show up in the blood work, though. Did they specifically test for PCOS?

Also, your hormone levels could be fine, but there might be actual cysts on your ovaries. An ultrasound would determine if that's the case.

ETA: don't forget, your boyfriend is in this, too! No harm in him getting tested for sperm count and motility. This isn't all on you.

kq1981

I have PCOS and the only way it was confirmed, after having all symptoms, was through an ultrasound. My bloods were normal but i still had many cysts. I was also put on metformin. There is quite a few forums here with lots of information. Its hard, but weight loss is a great start. Good luck, I hope everything works out for you

whitpauly

I don't think you can accurately "self diagnose" PCOS have the doc run some tests

ElenSouthgate

I too have self-diagnosed PCOS. You need 3 of the symptoms of PCOS in order to be diagnosed with PCOS. The final check that the Drs do is to check for "Cysts" or more accurately-named "Follicles" on your ovary (which are not cysts at all, they are "baby-eggs" which didn't reach maturity in time for a successful Ovulation). Blood tests are not very accurate at diagnosing PCOS. I had acne, irregular cycles and weight-gain after coming off the contraceptive pill which was hiding my PCOS symptoms previously. I have changed my diet to be sugar-free (I still eat fruit, but it is paired with nuts to slow down the absorption of the carb), dairy-free (dairy is not insulin’s friend) and I restrict plain Carbohydrates (vegetables are fine, but bread, pasta etc I eat in limited portions). I have also started taking Inositol which has greatly helped in reducing my symptoms and returning my ovulation. I am trying to manage my insulin-resistance with diet and supplements and hope that the weightloss will follow. I am currently 7lbs down (was 10lbs but I gained 3lbs over the Christmas period) and hoping to lose a further 10-14lbs in the coming months to help with TTC.

danae16

ElenSouthgate wrote: »

I too have self-diagnosed PCOS. You need 3 of the symptoms of PCOS in order to be diagnosed with PCOS. The final check that the Drs do is to check for "Cysts" or more accurately-named "Follicles" on your ovary (which are not cysts at all, they are "baby-eggs" which didn't reach maturity in time for a successful Ovulation). Blood tests are not very accurate at diagnosing PCOS. I had acne, irregular cycles and weight-gain after coming off the contraceptive pill which was hiding my PCOS symptoms previously. I have changed my diet to be sugar-free (I still eat fruit, but it is paired with nuts to slow down the absorption of the carb), dairy-free (dairy is not insulin’s friend) and I restrict plain Carbohydrates (vegetables are fine, but bread, pasta etc I eat in limited portions). I have also started taking Inositol which has greatly helped in reducing my symptoms and returning my ovulation. I am trying to manage my insulin-resistance with diet and supplements and hope that the weightloss will follow. I am currently 7lbs down (was 10lbs but I gained 3lbs over the Christmas period) and hoping to lose a further 10-14lbs in the coming months to help with TTC.

Does this help with facial hair?

ElenSouthgate

danae16 wrote: »

ElenSouthgate wrote: »

I too have self-diagnosed PCOS. You need 3 of the symptoms of PCOS in order to be diagnosed with PCOS. The final check that the Drs do is to check for "Cysts" or more accurately-named "Follicles" on your ovary (which are not cysts at all, they are "baby-eggs" which didn't reach maturity in time for a successful Ovulation). Blood tests are not very accurate at diagnosing PCOS. I had acne, irregular cycles and weight-gain after coming off the contraceptive pill which was hiding my PCOS symptoms previously. I have changed my diet to be sugar-free (I still eat fruit, but it is paired with nuts to slow down the absorption of the carb), dairy-free (dairy is not insulin’s friend) and I restrict plain Carbohydrates (vegetables are fine, but bread, pasta etc I eat in limited portions). I have also started taking Inositol which has greatly helped in reducing my symptoms and returning my ovulation. I am trying to manage my insulin-resistance with diet and supplements and hope that the weightloss will follow. I am currently 7lbs down (was 10lbs but I gained 3lbs over the Christmas period) and hoping to lose a further 10-14lbs in the coming months to help with TTC.

Does this help with facial hair?

Hi Danae, yes this would help with facial hair (hirsutism). Unwanted hair growth in PCOS can be caused by inflammation, stress, hypothyroidism, and the birth control pill, but the most common one is insulin resistance. High insulin stimulates the ovaries to produce more androgens (Testosterone and DHA-S) which result in the unwated hair growth. I've been using the PCOS Nutritionist podcast on spotify to learn more about PCOS and the changes I can make. Here's the blog post about hirsutism: https://thepcosnutritionist.com/resources/pcos-hirsutism/

danae16

ElenSouthgate wrote: »

danae16 wrote: »

ElenSouthgate wrote: »

I too have self-diagnosed PCOS. You need 3 of the symptoms of PCOS in order to be diagnosed with PCOS. The final check that the Drs do is to check for "Cysts" or more accurately-named "Follicles" on your ovary (which are not cysts at all, they are "baby-eggs" which didn't reach maturity in time for a successful Ovulation). Blood tests are not very accurate at diagnosing PCOS. I had acne, irregular cycles and weight-gain after coming off the contraceptive pill which was hiding my PCOS symptoms previously. I have changed my diet to be sugar-free (I still eat fruit, but it is paired with nuts to slow down the absorption of the carb), dairy-free (dairy is not insulin’s friend) and I restrict plain Carbohydrates (vegetables are fine, but bread, pasta etc I eat in limited portions). I have also started taking Inositol which has greatly helped in reducing my symptoms and returning my ovulation. I am trying to manage my insulin-resistance with diet and supplements and hope that the weightloss will follow. I am currently 7lbs down (was 10lbs but I gained 3lbs over the Christmas period) and hoping to lose a further 10-14lbs in the coming months to help with TTC.

Does this help with facial hair?

Hi Danae, yes this would help with facial hair (hirsutism). Unwanted hair growth in PCOS can be caused by inflammation, stress, hypothyroidism, and the birth control pill, but the most common one is insulin resistance. High insulin stimulates the ovaries to produce more androgens (Testosterone and DHA-S) which result in the unwated hair growth. I've been using the PCOS Nutritionist podcast on spotify to learn more about PCOS and the changes I can make. Here's the blog post about hirsutism: https://thepcosnutritionist.com/resources/pcos-hirsutism/

Thank you so much for the recommendation on the podcast and the blog post. I will have to read and listen to it.

AmyG1982

I’m also self diagnosed PCOS, pretty much all the symptoms and had a really hard time conceiving and eventually had an ovary removed due to cycsts found during my first pregnancy. For me, the thing that helped was taking an herbal supplement called vitex (got it on amazon lol). I tried to conceive for 2.5 years with my first and 8 months with my second and after 3-4 months on vitex I was pregnant both times (even with only one overy for the 2nd). It’s supposed to be really helpful regulating cycles and while my dr didn’t think it would help she agreed it certainly wouldn’t hurt anything. It did bring my cycles from 40-45 days to 28-30 days so it definitely did do something. I’ve had a few friends try it and it worked for some but not others... it’s cheap enough that I thought it was worth it to try (and I’m glad I did!)

Weight loss definitely wouldn’t hurt either!

katermari

i have cysts and follicles and polyps but have never been told i have PCOS.
now i am just confused LOL