what should I do?

lifesaverz · February 2013

Okay ladies, I could really use your advice on this. Some of you may have read my post a few days ago saying that I had high testosterone levels in my CD3 bw. Well, I heard back from my obgyn (via email), & she said this makes her think my "menstrual abnormalities may be due to PCOS". (my mind emphasized "MAY be", as in it's not for sure??). Then she asked what my goals were & if I still wanted to pursue pregnancy (which I found kind of odd). But she didn't suggest any kind of plan - further testing, etc. I thought it was strange to say that my issues "may" be due to PCOS w/out suggesting where to go from here.

So I guess what I'm asking is what should I do or what should I tell her at this point? Obviously I'm going to tell her that my goal is still to pursue pregnancy, but from there should I be asking for further testing to verify the PCOS? Or since she thinks I might have it should I request to go straight to an RE right now? We're about to start our 8th month TTC, which I know is early to see an RE, but I guess I'm not sure if that's what I should do if I have a diagnosis. Honestly either way is fine with me (it's not like I'm just really wanting to see an RE or anything), I just want to do the right thing, & mainly I just feel like if I do have PCOS I want to know for SURE, & not just that I "might" have it, you know? What are your thoughts?

penelopemaria · February 2013

If I were you and the BW came back abnormal at 8 months I would request to see an RE.

Twinkie0612 · February 2013

Seeing a RE at 8 months is not too early if you have a medical reason to do so.

You said your cycles are irregular, do you ovulate on your own? It looks like your last cycle was long, annovulatory, and was ended by provera. If you are annovulatory, with high testosterone and possible PCOS (I say possible because it will take more testing to make that diagnosis), it sounds like it might be time to head to a RE.

HoneyBunny13 · February 2013

Yes you should definitely seek further testing to find out for sure and develop a plan. If there are abnormalities then it seems to me you have reason to get a referral to an RE.

spacepotatoes · February 2013

I would definitely follow up on the "may be PCOS" and confirm that one way or another. Since you are also TTGP, it may be a good time to start with the RE too.

lifesaverz · February 2013

Twinkie0612:
Seeing a RE at 8 months is not too early if you have a medical reason to do so.
You said your cycles are irregular, do you ovulate on your own? It looks like your last cycle was long, annovulatory, and was ended by provera. If you are annovulatory, with high testosterone and possible PCOS (I say possible because it will take more testing to make that diagnosis), it sounds like it might be time to head to a RE.

Honestly I'm not sure if I ovulate on my own yet or not. I didn't start charting til the end of my 2nd cycle (in November), so if I O'd in my 1st or 2nd cycle then I missed it. And yep, you were right about my last cycle, 80 days, no O, & ended w/ Provera, so unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see if I O naturally or not. I'm continuing charting though in hopes of finding that out.

beckynsean11 · February 2013

I would go see an RE. That's probably where you'd go to confirm the PCOS diagnosis anyway. The bonus to going, they'll possibly monitor your cycle via TVUS & you get to see exactly when you ovulate if you do during monitoring :-) Good luck!

MrsN6912 · February 2013

I would definitely seek further testing at the very least! I was also just dx with PCOS and to confirm my OBGYN did an internal U/S. and sure enough my ovaries are covered in little cyst.

It is possible to move forward without seeing an RE just yet. Ask your doctor about Metformin to regulate your ovulating and cycles. But if you feel ready to see an RE, I would request that! We had also been trying for 8 months, but I just decided to start with a more conservative approach.

Good luck to you!

lifesaverz · February 2013

Thanks for the suggestions, I emailed my dr. & was able to catch her before the end of the day, & she just responded. I told her I wanted to know more definitively & asked if there were more tests we should do (I mentioned ultrasound). She clarified that based on the results we have, she believes I DO have it, & said we don't need further tests to prove that. Although she did say she would order the test to find out if I'm insulin resistant. She recommended referring me to an RE at this point (I didn't have to ask), but said I can still wait the full year if I want to. I'm still taking it all in.

I know if I go see an RE there were will significant costs (our insurance covers 50% I believe?), but I'm not sure if waiting will help anything either. My husband actually just went to work, so I'll have to talk w/ him about all this & figure out what we want to do. Part of me is still skeptical about the PCOS diagnosis, but I guess the only way to get any more clarification would be to see an RE at this point, otherwise I guess I have to assume she's right.

lifesaverz · February 2013

chickinNH:
OP - I just wanted to chime in and say that we are in an almost identical situation in every way (only with a couple months difference and I've been charting the whole time so I have more confirmation of the anovulatory cycles). I really feel like I had to press my obgyn to give me any kind of info about the PCOS dx. I also specifically requested an u/s to confirm the cysts and asked about any options for meds to regulate my cycle (i.e. Metformin). She said an RE would be the best one to help me with those things (including an HSG and additional testing), and that she didn't feel she'd be able to help me any further with TTC. So now I have my first appt coming up with the RE. At first I was unsure about it since I'm under 35 and felt we hadn't been trying all that long yet but now I'm starting to feel a bit relieved since he may hopefully be able to help me.
Before seeing an RE, definitely give your insurance provider a call to see what exactly they will cover. If it's 50%, you could look into maybe getting some of the additional testing done through the obgyn rather than paying for an RE but just a caution that I've seen other posters say that it's possible certain REs will want to redo some testing as well (particularly if a year has passed between the test and seeing the RE).
Feel free to PM me if you have questions and I'll try to help if I can help. You can also check out my blog if you're interested (click the chicken). Good luck! I know it can be very frustrating.

Wow, yeah this does sound very similar! Thanks for sharing, it honestly does help to know there are other people in this situation (although I don't wish that for people obviously!). It was really funny when I saw your blog was called "diary of a little chicken", because my blogger name is crazychicken! LOL. That is a nickname I have, we really are "soul cysters" apparently! lol. Sorry, really finding the humor right now. Anyway sounds like our Obgyns are very similar also, since mine doesn't want to do further testing. I'm looking forward to reading your blog & getting more info as I try to decide about seeing the RE or not. Feel free to read mine also, it's in my siggy!

lifesaverz · February 2013

chickinNH:
jordanm24:
It was really funny when I saw your blog was called "diary of a little chicken", because my blogger name is crazychicken! LOL. That is a nickname I have, we really are "soul cysters" apparently! lol.
I'm looking forward to reading your blog & getting more info as I try to decide about seeing the RE or not. Feel free to read mine also, it's in my siggy!
Haha, what are the odds?! Yes, I will def be stalking your blog too but FYI - the link in your siggy doesn't work (I'm able to get to it through the comment you posted on my blog)

Oh, thanks! I'll have to try to figure out how to fix that!

Want a personalized experience?

what should I do?

Re: what should I do?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards