Irregular Cycles

I have had a history of irregular cycles from the start of my period. I have very heavy periods that last for several weeks or months at a time. Then I don't have any sign of a cycle for months on end. For example, last year I had my period 3 weeks out of the month with only a few days not bleeding. This lasted for six months. For the next seven months, I have not had a period. I have seen my doctor regularly and have had many hormone level tests all of which turned out to be in the normal range. I have had 2 surgeries to remove paraovarian cysts in my fallopian tubes. When my period does occur, it is heavy enough to change a pad and tampon every 20 minutes to an hour. It is very painful with large clots (usually the size of a ping pong ball up to the size of a tennis ball). I have low iron levels and supplement with 365 mg of ferrous fumerate (iron) once a day. My iron levels have raised slightly but are still below normal. We have been married six years and have already adopted our first child. My concern is not just that we are unable to conceive (I have never been pregnant and clomid was not effective) but also in regulating my menstrual cycle. I have been on several different birth control pills with little success. It usually ends up that my periods last longer and are more painful when I take birth control. Is there any other option to try besides another birth control prescription?

[tina1111]

I'm not a dr, but the symptoms sound a lot like PCOS. Has your dr checked for it? If your dr is not a specialist, I would think about seeing one. Gynocologists can only check so much.

[Nat256]

I was diagnosed with PCOS several, several years ago and my hormone panels all came back normal as well so I don't really think that's unusual with the condition if that is indeed what you have. I am not familiar with cysts within the fallopian tubes. My own cysts are actually located in the uterus. So, of course not being a doctor, I am not sure if that is also something that might be indicitive of PCOS. My OB/GYN has been absolutely fabulous with not only diagnosing the problem but with helping me to manage it as well. However, I'm not sure if that's exactly what's going on with you or not. With PCOS I do have irregular periods and always have. Other symptoms of PCOS include excessive facial/body hair, mild acne, depression, infertility problems, brown or darker colored skin patches under the arms and around the genital area, etc... Metformin (it's the same thing as Glucophage, and Fortamet) are wonderful at helping to manage PCOS. It is a difficult medicine to get used ot (or at least it has been for me) but it is a wonderful medicine if you can deal with it until your body has had time to adjust. If it does turn out to be PCOS I would definitely look into metformin. Have you always been this heavy while on a period or is this something that began at some later point on? I ask this because in addition to the PCOS I was just diagnosed this past February with endometriosis and this heaviness with the EXTREMELY painful blood clots is exactly what I've experienced with the endometriosis. My OB/GYN was 99% certain I had the endo from my symptoms but said that a laproscopy must be performed in order to make the diagnosis officially. So he went in and did a laproscopy and yes, I do have it. He said that with endo you can either take birth control bills to help keep it in check (and he said there were some different things we could do and I didn't get into that with him because we were want to ttc anyway so...) or you can have a baby. Having a baby (which I realize puts you in a Catch22 and isn't really something that's probable in your case) will put it into remission. I think that if I were in your situation that I would most likely seek out a second opinion from an OB/GYN. Most OB/GYNs are well qualified to handle issues such as PCOS and endometriosis and handle these types of cases on a regular basis. I've been officially (since I was diagnosed with it) dealing with PCOS for 8 years and I don't know of any PCOS specialist and let's face it this is not a syndrome which is well understood. Check out the mayo clinic's website and do a search on PCOS for more info. and see if any of the other symptoms look like they might be similar to your own situation. I would seriously also check into endometriosis and get a second opinion.

[Nat256]

I really do think that you need a firm diagnosis or maybe multiple diagnosis-es to decide what the best course of action would be for you. My sister-in-law had endometriosis so bad she had to eventually get a hysterctomy. My doctor said he would advise this only in a worse case scenario where NOTHING else seems to help. He said there are many other things that we can try first though. I really do think though that you need to have a name to put with all of these symptoms so you can begin to manage what's been giving you so much grief/pain.

[Nat256]

I'm sorry. I was wrong. A specialist for PCOS would be a endocrinologist. I have not been to a specialist specifically for my very bad case of PCOS because my OB/GYN has proved quite reliable and competent in helping me to deal with and manage this syndrome. I would still seek another OB/GYN first for a second opinion and see what he/she has to say because I still think that first you should be diagnosed before being referred to a specialist as it seems to me that you may or may not have PCOS and you may or may not have something else going on besides.  My OB/GYN did refer me to my fertility doctor who is a reproductive endocrinologist when we decided to start ttc. I hope I've been of at least some help :)