I have PCOS and need help please?

Question

I am 22 years old and to be married next year. My fiance' and I are planning to wait a couple of years to start trying to have a baby. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 15 and have been on and off birth control pills since. I have recently started taking them again regularly to prevent pre-marriage pregnancy. However, I am so afraid of not being able to conceive when we'd want to start trying. What are some steps I can take NOW to ensure an easier time to get pregnant when the time comes? If there's nothing I can do now, then when and what can I do? I really don't want to have to go thru IVF since it's very invasive, the success rates are low and it costs major money that we won't have. Please help? And no wisecracks please, this is a serious question. Thanks :)

Answer 1

You can help yourself now by watching your weight, and getting exercise. If you are overweight, the sooner you get it under control, the easier it will be to conceive. You should also cut back/out junk foods, and start taking a daily vitamin to increase your health.
That way when you decide to start trying, you will aleady have all that out of the way. My obgyn told me that fertility pills range from around 30 to 40 dollars and up. But thats in this area, I wouldnt be sure about where you are.

Answer 2

IVF is not the only option for fertility treatment when you have PCOS, there are other less costly methods that can be effective.

Treatment for endometriosis and PCOS are somewhat different.

Any hormonal based contraceptive has the risk of decreasing fertility options for a PCOS patient when the time comes, so if you can use another method of contraception it would be best.

Maintaining a healthy body weight, through diet and daily exercise will also be key. PCOS will make it harder to maintain a healthy weight (or lose weight), but it is one way to minimize the effects of insulin resistance which is related to PCOS.

I don't wish to scare you, but it can take several years of trying to concieve before success comes. Your chances of success are better the earlier you try. Your natural fertility starts dropping at 25 and significantly drops after 30. Consider adjusting your life plans to ensure that you and your fiance do not wait too long to try to concieve. People have been known to concieve in later 30s - but this is rare and the odds of needing more invasive and more expensive fertility treatments such as IVF drasticly increase.

Good luck. Enjoy your first year of married life. Don't put of kids too long.

Answer 3

Im the girl to talk to you about this... I started the pill at 15- I have had PCOS for years.. the pills made me infertile and the PCOS was NEVER controlled by either the pill, metformin or other.

Get off all those meds. SEriously, they will not help you but harm you. Use another type of contraceptive if you are having sex before marriage. This is a very hard thing to have to deal with the PCOS. I have never had a child from it.

Good luck-

Answer 4

I was diagnosed with PCOS last year. Before that, I was on the pill for 6 years. I stopped taking the pill 5 months before my husband and I got married and didn't conceive until this year (4 years later).

All of last year, we went through fertility treatments. My doctor told me that medically, you're not considered "infertile" unless you've been ttc for over a year. Since I wasn't on the pill, my periods weren't regular at all; I was getting them 3-4 times a year (if that). Thank goodness my job provides excellent insurance so that I was able to do the fertility treatments. My doctor put me on provera, which is a pill that is supposed to "bring down" your period, not necessarily make you ovulate. I was on it for 3 cycles. Then, my doctor prescribed clomid for another 3 cycles -- this helped me ovulate. She also prescribed metformin (glucophage), which also helped me to regulate my periods. I also had 2 unsuccessful IUI's (inseminations). I was supposed to go through with an IVF, but since I didn't have enough mature eggs, I had to pull out of it at the last minute. By the end of last year, my body was exhausted, physically and mentally. My husband and I decided to take a break from it all and save some money to start our treatments again in the middle to the end of this year. We decided that we weren't going to be so obsessive with trying to conceive. So, we focused on other things. I started to work out regularly and eat right -- I wasn't so tense. I was still on Metformin until May of this year and we finally conceived!

So, I would recommend that you go to a doctor to see what your other options are besides IVF. Start watching what you're eating and exercise (if you haven't started already).

Good luck to you!

Answer 5

I just did some quick research, as I'm not familiar with this. Of course, you're more likely to get a good answer from a doctor who knows you specifically.

As far as the Pill goes, there are two real reasons for you to be taking it - one for a regular cycle and two for avoidance of pregnancy.

As far as a regular cycle goes, there's a recommendation to take Provera, which is Progesterone only. It will regulate the menstrual cycle and prevent endometrial problems, but not interfere with conception.
If you want to avoid pregnancy, than you have the usual options.

So, then, you might want to consider trying other birth control methods, but use Provera to regulate the cycle - thus getting the benefits of both.

Again, your doctor would be your best source of info. Self-prescribing...not so good.

Answer 6

Well, unfortunately there isnt much you can do.

A lot of cases of PCOS have been linked to insulin resistance. Do you have high risk of diabetes? Healthy eating helps a healthy body. Cut back on sweets and starches, and get your glucose levels checked. If you can ix-nay the insulin resistance then you might be able to inadvertintly cure your PCOS.

I have it too, and have been trying for 3 years with my husband with no luck. If I am not able to afford IVF and can not concieve by the time I am 30 then we will consider adoption (since you have to be 30 in order for most agency's to consider you as a parent (totally weird huh?).

Good Luck hun

Answer 7

There's not much you can do, however, you can at least consider which birth control you'd like to be on before trying to conceive. If you've been on the pill then you are supposed to wait a while before trying. I don't have PCOS but have had a long history of cysts and endometriosis. My Gyn and I thought I'd have a terrible time getting pregnant so when I got married, knowing I'd want to try to conceive in a few years, we switched me to the Nuva Ring. When my husband and I made the decision to have a child all I had to do was remove the Nuva Ring and *POOF!* my body was instantly ready to attempt pregnancy without the fear of hormone in my system. Also, a good physician who is well informed on Nuva Ring can help predict when you'll ovulate. I'd been on continuous Nuva Ring for a year with NO periods (to help with the endometriosis) so we weren't really sure when I'd get my first period but my Gyn was sure he knew aproximately when I'd be ovulating. He told me when to have sex and then when to expect my first period. I never had my first period because we got pregnant on the first try. My husband and I were as shocked as the doctor! I'm not saying Nuva Ring is the method of BC you'd want to try, but something that can quickly be removed from your system would help.
Best of luck to you!

Answer 8

IVF (in vitro fertilization) treatment; IUI, ICSI and Laparoscopic surgery is very cheap in India. The cost is very low and the medical services are very good in India.

My cousin and her husband got their IVF treatment in India through the Forerunners Healthcare in India and is all praise for this company. She is a known case of PCOS.She is a very happy mother of a baby boy now. She just paid 2500 pounds for the full IVF treatment in India for which she was quoted 8000 pounds in private setup in UK.

Forerunners Healthcare is very famous in India. I read a lot about them in the newspapers. I have also read about a Chinese couple who planned surrogacy through the Forerunners Healthcare. They arrange financing for USA, Canadian, UK and other international patients who plan to have surgery and infertility treatment like IVF, IUI, and ICSI abroad for low price. They also have photos pasted of their International patients. You can checkout their website. There are huge cost savings. As a doctor I personally believe that surgery and treatment can be easily handled in India, as the quality of healthcare available In India is simply best in the world. The surgeons are USA/UK trained and facilities are 5 star.

http://www.forerunnershealthcare.com
Hope this helps.

Answer 9

i have pcos and a 4 year old boy. you need to see an endocronologists. i was on metformin and later took clomid to get pregnant. i also had to lose a little bit of weight. don't take birth control that just hides the symptoms it doesn't help u to regulate yourself. i took it for years and once i came off the pills my period just went back to being irregular.