Has anyone been told they have PCOS?

ssnova

As some of you now know we lost our baby at 12 weeks and I have been desperate for answers as to why. Recently my midwife told us we should think about being tested for PCOS since my periods are so irregular and I don't believe I ovulate every month...if anyone has had it confirmed that they have this and can explain their story to me I would appreciate it, thank you

mskeenan

Hi !! First of all , I am so sorry for your loss . I had a loss last month and know how tough it is . I hope you are holding up ok !!

Yes I was diagnosed with PCOS this past May . I've always had irregular periods . I have some of the other symptoms of pcos as well including hair growth in weird areas (chin , chest , stomach ). Weight issues are considered another symptom but not all women have that . PCOS can be confirmed with a pelvic ultrasound . I saw a reproductive endocrinologist and when they did the ultrasound they knew immediately it was PCOS . I have what looks like a pearl necklace of small follicles (cysts ) in my ovaries . With PCOS women have issues with follicles reaching maturity to release eggs each month . Because I ovulate SO infrequently (1-2 x a year ) I have been doing fertility treatments . However , not all women have issues that have PCOS .

Were your progesterone and estrogen levels checked during your pregnancy ? If you do in fact have PCOS it would be important to get that checked as those hormones play a really important role in keeping a pregnancy . There could be a hormone imbalance you are unaware of that would make it difficult to sustain a pregnancy . It's definitely worth looking into to rule it out . I was monitored closely and my progesterone was normal so my MC was ruled a genetic abnormality .

Again I'm so sorry for your loss . If you have any specific questions about PCOS I'm happy to answer !! best of luck to you !

ssnova

Thank you you've been a great help just in that...and I'm so sorry for your loss as well...trying to find out what happened to our baby has defiantly helped as well as the mothers on this site!!! I hope you're doing well...so we recently switched to a midwife after our loss since our dr failed to mention a few things to us regarding our pregnancy which were upsetting..our midwife looked over our med records and said my progesterone was a bit low and recommend we see an RE since I also have an irregular cycle...that's really the only symptom I have had for PCOS and even with that this last year Ive had a cycle each month (except while pregnant) so we are just trying to figure out it its worth thing waiting to be tested or I f we should try again and watch everything closer...I've also heard getting pregnant can be difficult with PCOS, (we got pregnant 3 weeks after stopping with protection)...we don't want to suffer through another miscarriage if we can help it but also don't want to have unnessary testing if that makes sense.

mskeenan

Hmm well it sounds like maybe just the low progesterone could be the issue . Obviously I'm no doc but I would think that since you have not had issues conceiving that a diagnosis of PCOS wouldn't really be all that helpful . They could just run blood work to see if you need to be put on progesterone (or other hormone) supplements . I am given progesterone supplements that I take the day after I ovulate all the way through my pregnancy tests . If my tests are positive , they run bloodwork to see if I need additional progesterone or if my levels are fine . If my test is negative , I stop progesterone . My sister, who does not have PCOS , also was given progesterone suppositories during her first trimester because her levels were low . I think it can be pretty common !! Hope that helps !!

ssnova

it did thank you, so is the progesterone supplement given to you because of the PCOS?

angelbab807

I haven't had a period since my d&c almost 2 months ago. Cramping twice about a month apart, but no flow. Had ultrasound done to check for scar tissue and he said everything looks fine but he wants to test me for pcos. I really don't think i have it since I've never had irregular periods and he said my ovaries look good and like they want to release an egg but just haven't done so yet. I'm going tomorrow to get the blood work done but he's not testing me for all the hormones. I'm a little confused since he said he could probably just put me on metformin and that may fix everything.

mskeenan

@ssnova I don't think its bc of PCOS specifically . I do know that most of the women that have fertility treatment due to hormone issues are put on it when trying to conceive .

@angelbab807 I'm so sorry for your loss , hon . Were you regular prior to this ?

ssnova

@mskeenan I spoke with our RE the other day and after explaining our story and answering a few questions she didn't believe I have PCOS and that it wouldn't be worth testing but that we could look into MTHFR mutation testing (its a blood clotting disorder) so our midwife told us we could wait and test in January or TTC and watch my progesterone levels, since my medical records showed that they were low during my pregnancy.

angelbab807

I was regular before the mc, but I was also on the pill for almost 10 years. There was a short time in there that I wasn't and I was completely regular. Even when I first started getting my period it was almost like clock work. My dr really seems to think I have pcos but I don't and I'm starting to think he just wants to have me keep coming in for the money. Really debating on switching to a new dr. I have been hearing some great things about another one close to me

mskeenan

@ssnova oh well that's good that it's probably not pcos ! Low progesterone levels are easily fixed so that's good news !

krzyriver

Hey ladies! Those of you that have PCOS... are you on any other medications or being treated for anything other than progesterone? I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was a teen and I also have hypothyrodism. I'm on something for the thyroid issue but nothing for the PCOS. I'm concerned because I just had another MC at 9 weeks. I don't have a problem with my progesterone levels, although I was on a progesterone supplement during my pregnancy simply because they tested my levels WAY to early (about 1DPO). So that wasn't the cause of my MC. But since I have PCOS, is there something else I should be on that I should talk to my doctor about?