PCOS diagnosis

llc418 · October 2015

Hi all,
So I was recently diagnosed with PCOS. My OB said to TTC for 6 months and if nothing happens she will refer me to a specialist. I'm wondering if it would make sense to go see a reproductive endocrinologist right away because from what I've been reading it looks like most women with PCOS need medications to help with concieving. Any advice/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

PCOSbaby · October 2015

Hi,

Does your insurance and/or the specialist require you to have a referral? I would call the insurance company to inquire.

I have PCOS and my previous OB told me the same thing. I went ahead and scheduled an appointment with a RE without the referral.

Hopefully that helps!

Wicked4589 · October 2015

Id go right away to the RE.

HBamama2B · October 2015

Some suggestions that 100% depend on your age:
1) start with a dietary change. No carbs, sugar or soda, increase protein (even if you do go on a medicated cycle, doing this for 3 months will improve your egg quality and luckily us PCOS gals respond well so you may get lots of follies with high quality eggs.
2) start temping right away and don't stop till you are pregnant or see an RE and get on meds. This way you will know if you aren't ovulating and be able to tell your RE with confidence.
3) try for a max of 3 months of your BBT confirms you aren't ovulating despite the diet improvement. Zero reason to go longer than that of you know it's not working
GL hope you get your BFP soon!

llc418 · October 2015

Thanks! Yes I've been temping for last two months but my periods have be so irregular since coming off BCP in June this year so I've been having difficulty figuring out when exactly I'm ovulating.And my OB said I'm I the minority with PCOS bc I'm not overweight but I'm hoping if I limit my carbs and eat more protien it will help. I'd just like to get a professionals opinion bc my OB was not helpful with going over anything that had to do with PCOS. She basically brushed it off like its no big deal and said keep TTC for the next 6 months...

llc418 · October 2015

AyeWat said:
Hi,

Does your insurance and/or the specialist require you to have a referral? I would call the insurance company to inquire.

I have PCOS and my previous OB told me the same thing. I went ahead and scheduled an appointment with a RE without the referral.

Hopefully that helps!

I'm not sure if my insurance requires a referral.. I will need to call and find out. I'm leaning towards making an appointment despite my OB telling me to wait 6 months.

HBamama2B · October 2015

@llc418 thanks for sharing! Definitely if you've been temping and seeing no distinctive biphasic pattern even with longer cycles that suggests that you are having annovulatory cycles. I think your instincts are spot on to head for the RE in that case. I have skinny PCOS too and no high insulin resistance so they didn't put me on metformin but the first thing my RE said was no simple carbs. I noticed a big difference once I changed my diet. Also, ask about letrozol when you talk to your RE. Mine said most of us skinny PCOS gals don't respond well to clomid so he sent me straight to that and I got several mature follies each cycle.

PCOSbaby · October 2015

Go with your gut!

I have skinny PCOS and no issues with insulin resistance. My OB dismissed me so I fired him! I found another OB and a RE within a week.

The RE ran a ton of tests to confirm PCOS. As of last Friday our plan is for me to have a laparoscopy to remove fluid from my cul de sac/Femara/Trigger/IUI.

Hopefully your insurance doesn't require a referral so you can get the ball rolling. Keep us posted!

takethelongway · October 2015

We tried for 8 months knowing I had PCOS and then I made an appointment with the RE. She said I could have gone to her from the get go because I have a known fertility disorder. Luckily I have insurance that doesn't require the referral. I just finished my first cycle of letrozole + trigger that ended with a bfn because for some reason my body started to ovulate on its own! New plan coming on Wednesday

Basically what I'm trying to say is see an RE as soon as you can because you have PCOS and need all the help you can get

llc418 · October 2015

Thank you girls so much! I will keep you updated on what happens next! I wish you all luck!!

PCOSat25 · October 2015

Skinny PCOS here. I am going to go against the grain and say hear out your ObGYN. Many people with PCOS do not have fertility issues and are able to get pregnant on their own with a few months of trying. I know when you come to boards like these it feels like everyone with PCOS has fertility trouble but that is not necessarily the case. Remember something like 10% of the population falls somewhere on the PCOS spectrum. Many of those women don't even know they have it. And definitely not all of them have infertility. These infertility boards are not a representative sample. Unfortunately we all have a known infertility component to our PCOS and that is why we are all here. Many women with PCOS don't have a need for these boards as they don't have an infertility component.
Your OB likely just wants to give your body a chance to get pregnant on its own. I would say this is especially the case of you JUST started trying versus if you went in and said you had already been trying for 6-12 months. I know getting the PCOS diagnosis is a scary and makes you feel a real sense of urgency. But they type of treatments you may have to undergo are NOT glamorous and NOT cheap. Any one of us would choose to avoid them.
I don't know you history, your age, your anything, only you know that. You will know what to do and what is best for your body. I hope this post doesn't offend you in any way. I just would hate for these boards to give you so much pressure and fear that you jump into something hastily.

runmeg91 · October 2015

Hi there! I agree with @HBMama2B about temping for sure. If you are temping you should be able to tell within 2-3 cycles if you are ovulating based on whether or not you see a biphasic pattern. If you are not ovulating it doesn't make sense to try on your own for much longer than that. If you are ovulating, I'd give it at least 6-12 months. After 9 months of not being able to get pregnant we finally got a referral to an RE. Because of my age, my obgyn really wanted us to try for a year before seeking help. We ended up having to go the ivf route, however I truly think that was more because of my husbands male factor infertility than the pcos. We did one round of Letrozole and my body responded really well to it, but my husbands count on the day of the IUI was only about 1 million sperm, it should have been at least 5-10 million. I guess my point is that although PCOS may have played a role in our infertility, i may have fallen pregnant earlier if we didn't have male factor as well. You just never know with pcos.

mskeenan · October 2015

Hi there ! I also have PCOS and don't really have problems with weight . I went to an RE right away despite what my OB said because I cannot figure out when i ovulate at all . I only get 1-2 periods a year so didn't want to just play a guessing game . If you are more regular than me then maybe you could try temping and trying on your own . But ... If insurance will cover RE visits can't hurt right ? I have loved seeing an RE because for once I feel normal and like I understand when and how I ovulate. Good luck !

llc418 · October 2015

@mskeenan my periods have been irregular for last 4 months since coming off BCP in June and by irregular I mean having a period twice in one month (this happens twice so Far). I am temping but I'm still having trouble figuring out when I have ovulated. I think I may just make an apt with a RE depending on if my insurance covers it :-S

pumaprnc7 · October 2015

I'd make sure your insurance covers first and then I'd go. I was dx with PCOS at 23 and I have yet to achieve a BFP, I'm now 37 and this trying and disappointment is wearing me down. Also reduce your carb intake and ask Doctor about metformin, it has helped me greatly at keeping my blood sugar levels in the normal range. I eat 1450-1650 calories a day and try to keep carbs under 126g a day. I have struggled with my weigh ever since diagnosed and this is the only thing that has helped me. Good luck to you!

sunsweet6 · October 2015

Hi all. I was originally diagnosed with PCOS from my OB/GYN but thanks to insurance I was able to go see a specialist right away with referral. I am lucky enough to to have my weight under control but after additional blood tests it Turns out I have hypothalamic amenorrhea and not PCOS. The plan with IUI moving forward isn't much different but it's helpful to know just because of the different hormones that are affected. Just my two cents!

ShesMermaid · October 2015

I have pcos and am irregular. He gives me provera and Femara every month. I am also not the "pcos type" from what the doctor says because my weight is under control.

But to anwser your question I think it would be a good idea to move on to a RE. My obgyn didn't even think anything about me seeing one but wanted my hubby to be seen for his sperm count and the RE was really upset about how my doctor was doing things so he took my case over..

Wicked4589 · October 2015

I've never been told to avoid carbs with PCOS. I understand how it's all intermingled and even with things like diabetes, but during my whole quest to get pregnant I never changed up my carbs. I got pregnant twice with specialists and twice on my own. So as another poster said, PCOS isn't an immediate need for an RE. But they can help guide you one way or another. Even if you try on your own for 6 months after seeing them. I've had three miscarriages from the four pregnancies but that's just because of my bum tubes.

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