Just diagnosed - PCOS... what now?

[Aimz86]

Hi All

Finally I have a resolution to the past month of pain and missed period and strange symptoms...
I had an app with gyno today and found out I have PCOS, which could of been worse news, but not the best either!

I guess my question revolves around - what are the symptoms - or will I get them, I have read alot about weight gain, insulan issues, hair growth - or loss (on head), infertility and many more... I suppose my question is now, will I get them all - or will I just be subject to one or two?? What should I expect??

SO far, I have had PMS cramping for 4 weeks, painful - doc said birth control will fix that (as I havent had issues like this while I was on it) i have missed my period this month, but in the past have only had one every 6 months (only been off pill long enough to work that out!) I am thin, infact dont seem to put on weight that easily - will this mean now - I am going to put on a stack - one of my GF's did and now is having massive trouble loosing it...??
Hair growth - same thing, I am not hairy at all really, so does this mean I will get alot more?
Intfertility - worries me alot, I want a family very badly, and my boyfriend and I wanted to start this - which I suppose due to the pain - maybe reconsider timing as when I am not on bc - i am in constant pain... I have read alot about the fertility treatments on a few PCOS sites, and it seems they are high rating - its just upsetting knowing I cant just fall pregnant when I want babies - I will have to work hard at it and the gyno said - more then likely - only through induced ovulation - what does all this mean??

SORRY I know its long, and I have alot of questions I guess I am just curious to see what and how everyone deals with their symptoms... I am extreamly tired all the time, yet I do have troubles sleeping.... I am not quite sure but think i read tiredness is a symptom - how can I treat this? will bc help - I have always felt exhausted... so I am a lil confussed??

Thanks ladies - I am so SO glad there is somewhere for us to work through this together - have to say its very daunting atm, (just coming from docs today)... Thank you for any advise/reply I get... xx Wish you all good health!

[jayceecollins]

i was recently diagnosed with PCOS although i have had 2 children, 1 was by accident..i was on the pill....i am now trying for a baby again and im now 2 weeks late....i was not told how servere my pcos was, just that i had it....it came to light after my coil fell out, i did not know this until after a scan because my periods became heavy...i have a lot of hair but manage to keep it under control and i have gained weight which i am trying to get it off....does excercise have an impact on ya periods..??

[wanabb]

Metformin helps women get pregnant by regulating hormone levels.  so many women with pcos take metformin all the time even when they are not ttc.  met controls your symptoms so they don't get worse.  if you do nothing most likely they will get worse.  I am currently ttc and on metformin and clomid.  I am not allowed (per doc) to take birth control so i will continue metformin after i conceive.  so the in-between of not ttc and ttc is just metformin, no bc, no clomid.  this will keep you fertile when your ready, until then use condoms.  i don't recommend bc it made my symptoms a lot worse. good luck i hope you find something that works for you.

[sandy828]

oh and ... ive never had birth control cause i dont believe in it (i used to use condoms tho) so im not sure of the benefits but if you want a baby in a year you could start trying now by stopping your bc and having sex around your firtile days ...
before i get too graphic ifyou want to talk privately im here!
ive looked into ttc in lots of detail to try and help me get pregnant as i dont want to try fertility treatment yet
it can take a normally healthy couple a year to conceive soim doing naturally for a few months more!
good luck

[sandy828]

sorry to hear you have pcos
but like you said its not the worst! thats my kind of attitude to! :)
my symptoms are:
irregular periods (3 - 14 days late but never missed one)
weight gain (dont loose any even through dieting and excersise)
i have dark patches of skin on my neck and legs
on my ultasounds i have lots of cysts on both ovaries

i am ttc for 9 months now, around the same time i was diagnosed and no luck
i dont want to take medication yet, i want to conceive naturally if possible

DONT WORRY! i know plenty of people who have pcos and was told by a doctor they would never have children but they do! my old boss has just had her second naturally!

theres always hope!

and stick with thinking it could be worse, cause i find it helps a lot!

i wish you all the best

Pcos differs in every woman from symptoms to the severity

[Aimz86]

Thanks, wow it really seems to vary - with what symptoms are between woman, you have regular periods... its really interesting to me... what i am struggling with at the moment is what to do now i guess...
I am wanting children in around a year, so bc is going to be my option to regulate my cycle till then? (as I probably wont have a period - or maybe one or two a year) but till I want to actually start fert meds I have to wait? Whats your current status, I am so confused about what to do the options are - no babies - BC pill. want babies - fert treatment.... I guess I dont know when to start what as I am inbetween - I have no idea what to do... oh well - one day at a time... its so difficult trying to work all this out - as much as there is info out there - treatments dont really have an in-between for me to do?

[jazziez]

I am not an expert either and I am fairly new to all of this also.  But seeking support is the best thing you could do.  It's so very helpful to talk to people just like you because friends and family care about you and what is going on, but they can not fully understand like we can!  I was always very thin all through high school, but a few years ago I did start to gain weight and I am having a heck of a time getting it off!  I do not have excess body hair.  Everyone with PCOS is different.  I only have had 1 cyst on on of my ovaries over my entire span of all of this and I get my periods on a regular monthly basis.  What you are experiencing now is more than likely what your symptoms are going to be.  I don't think that it works like that where you just keep getting new symptoms.  You may experience some later in life, but don't worry about them.  Everything can be controlled under doctors care!  The main and most important thing is that you know what is wrong and there are people who can help you stay sane and happy!  Good luck!

[JG1225]

I'm no expert and I don't have advice I can share at this time but I just wanted to tell you that you have my unconditional support.  I hope that you discover all of the answers you are seeking re: PCOS :)

[wanabb]

Hi, I was diagnosed about 3 months ago with pcos and i am currently ttc. I also have been thin my whole life in fact in highschool my senior year i was 101lbs.  I did not have my first period until i was 18, my doc said it was bc i was underweight.  I started bc at 18 to control af not knowing anything was wrong.  I had a really hard time gaining weight my whole life until i had my period.  I gained 25lbs in three years which doesn't sound like a lot but that's 25% of my whole body weight!  I am still technically normal weight but it doesn't feel normal to me.  If you start treatment like metformin you should not gain weight.  it's when your not on treatment that everything goes haywire.  And just so you know peach fuz is abnormal no one told me this until i found it in one of the discussions on here.  
Induced ovulation is anything that makes you ovulate, so like clomid or femara both are pills taken on specific cycle days, or ovridel, follistim and gonal-f which are injectables.  The infertility issue is determined by how severe your pcos is, how many cysts, is you insulin and testosterone elevated?  The good news is treatment is usually pretty effective, i started metformin three months ago with over 86 cysts in my ovaries, now after only three months on met and clomid that number has dropped by half!  I'm still not ovulating but i feel i'm getting closer.  As for the birth control i know a lot of doctors prescribe it to treat pcos, there is mixed reviews some say take it some say don't.  I hope i answered some of your questions.
                        Amy