Maybe a stupid question?..?

Kitkatishbakk

I have amenorrhoea and have been told I have PCOS. Without breaking my brain researching this can you ladies tell me simply: Will charting even help? Should I just go to OB and tell them I want to start TTC?

When I was diagnosed (15y/o - amenorrhea) (18y/o - pcos) they told me I would need to seek fertility to have a baby.

I was on BCPs to regulate and force AF to come, but physiologically nothing has changed(?). I've been off BCP for 2 months and no AF.

Charting useless? I really have no clue. When I last saw my OB in January, she told me to "try" normally for 3 months, then call her back. But if charting is useless, ::im so confused:: and I think I'm now rambeling on and on...

austxgrl

Unfortunatley, charting really is not going to do much for you.  There are always miracles and exceptions to the rule, but with both of those, you really need to discuss with your dr. before trying.  I highly recommend making an appointment with Dr. Seeker.  It will probably take at least a month if not longer to get in with him so I would go ahead and make the appointment.  Havea all of your records from diagnosis on transferred over to him before your appointment.  Given the little info that you have just shared, I bet that Dr. Seeker will take you straight to fertility treatments (when you  are ready to TTC). 

Kitkatishbakk

I live in Temple, so I'll have find someone at Scott & White. No way could I get out of work often enough to make that trek to Austin.

That's sad though. I guess more the reason to tell DH its time to start trying. I wish my doctor would have been a little more up front with me.  I found some sad info on Wiki.

"Unless receiving eggs from an egg donor or in vitro fertilization, a woman is unable to conceive while she is amenorrhoeic. On the other hand, 'athletic' and drug-induced amenorrhoea has no effect on long term fertility as long as menstruation can recommence. The best way to treat 'athletic' amenorrhoea is to decrease the amount and intensity of exercise. Similarly, to treat drug-induced amenorrhoea, stopping the medication on the advice of a doctor is a usual course of action."

Kim777

I would definitely try to find someone who is proactive. My cousin just got pg after a two year struggle with secondary IF due to amenorrhea. The poor thing dealt with a doctor who made her wait over a year and a half to start fertility treatments, which was absolutely ridiculous considering she knew full well she wasn't going to get pg without ovulating. After all that time she got pg on her second cycle of the lowest dose of Clomid. Having a doctor who is willing to be proactive would have made the difference between her being pregnant now or pregnant two full years ago.

That wiki article is definitely limited in info. Most people don't need IVF or donor eggs to get pg with PCOS. Clomid is the lowest level fertility drug and will often start ovulation up. There are several Clomid babies on here.

Taytee

I know at least a dozen women with PCOS, only 1 of them had to go to IVF to get pregnant and she had some other factors against her anyway (age, sperm issues etc)

Definitely seek help now and you'll avoid a lot of frustration. Most of my friends needed something to regulate their blood sugar and/or Clomid.

naclh2otaffy

I have PCOS. Before pregnancy, I didn't have periods without BCP.  I was able to conceive my child on my first round of 50 mg Clomid, taken on cycle days 3-7 in the morning.  It is not all hopeless.  

I would find a doctor who better understands your condition.  I saw Dr. Vaughn with Texas Fertility Center (TFC), but Dr. Seeker is also great for this.   Your doctor may be going with the possibility that you could theoretically conceive on your own those first few months off BCP, if you were trying right now.  The reason for that is sometimes BCP can trigger ovulation/fertility in the first couple months off it.  But if you are off BCP and waiting for your cycle to start and regulate so you can then start trying, you may very well miss a window.  Although you sound like maybe you are like me - I didn't ovulate at all off BCP.  Other PCOS women are lucky and do (one of nesties has been blessed twice this way).

I have a book PCOS and Your Fertility that I am trying to find a new home for - would you like it?  If so, email me at naclh2otaffy at gmail with your mailing address and I will happily put it in the mail to you.  It will be much more informative than the wiki article.  Just from the quote you posted, I'd say don't ever go back to that article.   

 

mcgee

I have PCOS and do have periods off bcp, but they are irregular. I was told by more than one Reproductive Endocrinologist that my best odds of conceiving were in the first couple of cycles off birth control pills. My daughter was conceived in the very first cycle off bcp (took them for years), and my son (due this fall) was conceived on cycle 4 off bcp. I charted both times, and with this second time ttc, I did not detect ovulation until cycle 4. In both cycles in which I conceived, I really was not expecting to ovulate. We just had a lot of sex, and we happened to time it just right. We got lucky, in other words.

When we ttc the first time, we went straight to an RE because I knew I had PCOS. I would probably recommend the same thing for you - a regular OB is only going to be so helpful if ttc ends up being difficult for you. The plan was for us to ttc - and chart - for several months off bcp, and then if I did not conceive, we were going to move on to a couple of cycles of clomid. They also wanted to do a SA to make sure DH's swimmers were functional.

If I were in your position, I'd go ahead and chart, even if you think it won't be helpful, because the chart may be useful for the doctor. BUT, if you haven't had AF at all since coming off bcp, I'm not sure what you'd even consider CD1. If you aren't having AF at all, I'd probably go ahead and look into seeing an RE. 

Taytee

BTW - If you haven't already, reading "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" is still an excellent book to read. Even if you're not going to chart. It will help you to understand what's going on in your body, the challenge(s) you face and how to overcome them.

In short, once you ovulate, one of two things happen. Either the egg gets fertilized and you're pregnant (yay!) OR AF comes in about 12-14 days. If you're not getting AF, you haven't dropped an egg yet. Obviously, by the time you get AF, it's too late and even then - "AF" doesn't mean you actually ovulated. You can bleed without ovulating but you don't ovulate and not bleed (except in pregnancy or extreme circumstances) Confusing I know but once you read the book and understand it, I feel it makes getting pregnant make a whole lot more sense.

Keep in mind that I'm a registered nurse and I didn't know half of what I read in that book!

KSandAE2008

I have problems with amenorrhea as well and we got pregnant with a combination of provera to induce my period and clomid to help with ovulation. Good luck!