Wanting to Get Pregnant but Having a Hard Time Doing So.

I also was diagnosed with this about 3 years ago. I had been having very irregular periods since going off the pill. My doctor recommended a couple of things. First was diet and exercise to lose a few pounds. She also prescribed Metformin, which is commonly used to treat diabetes. PCOS and diabetes can be related. It did work to regulate my cycle and a few months later we ended up pregnant. I stopped taking the Metformin after the first trimester and haven't restarted since the birth of my first child. As far as side effects I remember that she started me off on a lower dose and had me work up to full dose to minimize any side effects. But I don't remember having any adverse reactions to it.

Good luck!

I also have PCOS. I used Chlomid to conceive my first pregnancy. It worked in just a couple cycles at the second dosing level we tried. My second pregnancy came without intervention to everyone's surprise. I had been on the pill between the 2 pregnancies and I think that brought my body some regularity.

I also have a PCOS friend that was adviced to try the Zone diet. She got pregnant without intervention after a few months on that. I tried the diet as well between my 2 pregnancies. It did amazing things for my energy level but I got pregnant so quickly after being on it that I don't think it was related for me. Once morning sickness hit, I could never do the Zone again.

I also have PCOS and discovered it about the time that my husband and I were ready to start having children (about 4 years ago). My diagnosis actually happened by accident. My doctor discovered I was borderline diabetic, but confused that I didn't fall into any of the main risk-factors. Turns out that PCOS was the cause. She decided to treat both with Metformin. Before Metformin, I was not ovulating. (All those years & $$$ on birth control wasted! :)!) I think I was on that for 3-6 months and went in to test for ovulation and was given a prescription for Clomid, just in case. I ended up not needing to fill that prescription because I was ovulating and did get pregnant during that cycle. My doctor chose to play it safe and I stayed on the Metformin through the pregnancy and also saw a maternal-fetal medicine (high-risk) physician for prenatal care to make sure that I didn't develop gestational diabetes. I had no complications and gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl (now 3) and went on to also be blessed with a baby boy 2 months ago (still thanks to the Metformin)!!! I am still taking that medication today, not only did it help with the ovulation, it does help with the other symptoms that I have from the PCOS. I initially started with a pretty high dosage - I was taking 3-4 pills per day, now I take 1 and that seems to be all I need as I am fairly certain that I'm now done having kids. Luckily, we did not have to spend too much money as my doctor was able to relate all of the diagnostics back to the PCOS, but I know that if we had to get the Clomid or get into other infertility treatments, that it would've gotten expensive because insurance would not have covered it. And as far as side-effects from the Metformin, I did not experience too bad. Initially, it upset my stomach, but then I switched to an extended release version and that was much better. Both doctors that I worked with had no significant risk to baby information and actually were of the opinion that the benefit of taking it through pregnancy was probably better than the risks of not taking it. I hope this information helps and wish you and your husband the best of luck. Also, feel free to contact me directly if you would like any more information.

Well, my best friend accidetally got pregnant on her own with having PCOS so it is very possible to do it without medication. However, what I would advise is to start charting your cycle so you can find out when you ovulate or if you are. A great book that can really help you out is one called... "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" I highly recommend it. This book has tons of great info about trying to concieve, charting your cycle as well as PCOS and other issues. Best of luck! I hope you get pregnant very soon.

I have PCOS and have birthed a set of twins and am currently working on my second pregnancy. I did this without Clomid or any of the other drugs (just super spermies - per my husband and mother's statements).

I think you need to decide how yo would like to treat this. There are natural (non-lab created chemicals) or if you want the lab created chemicals.

There are actually two types of PCOS, one that is an insulin based issue, the other is where your body is creating too much testosterone and not enough progesterone. See a book called Living with PCOS by Angela boss, Evelina Weidman Sterlin and Richard S. Legro M.D. There is a lot of information and a great starting point to learning about it and how to deal with it. It discusses the drugs and alternative options. And how it affects your day to day life.

Since not all women ovulate when they have PCOS finding out if you are ovulating will be key in how you decide to get pregnant. If you are ovulating then let nature do the job for you. If you aren't ovulating then use the help.

I personally dislike taking drugs that may not be necessary and so I looked to a Naturopath. I increased my fruit and veggies and was taking progesterone which is a bio-identical hormone that my body was not creating to the level that my body should have been making it at.

In taking the progesterone, my period became regulated, I won't say normal because it was still outside of what western medicine defines as normal but it was regular in that I new that with in 2 dates I would start my period. I did not find that I was more emotional due to the additional hormone I actually found the opposite, I found I had better control of my emotions. I wouldn't fly into rages or be depressed. 4 years later I got pregnant with twins. At the time I wasn't trying to get pregnant it just happened, but I love them.

I have also just recently become pregnant with my third or potentially fourth child without using the traditional meds. good luck in your research and your path. It isn't an easy thing to decide how to handle this. You just need to look at what you want and what sounds best for you. Feel free to email me with any further questions!

S.

Hi, I too was diagnosed with PCOS. At first my OB/Gyn had me use clomid(fertility drug-pill form) at a certain point in my cycle then I would come in for an ultrasound for me my body was maturing eggs just not releasing them so she then put me on Metformin- this is a drug normally given to diabetics for insulin control as it is insulin that triggers the ovaries to release the egg. It took some time to find the right dosage of metformin but once we did that was all it took to get pregnant. For my second pregnancy we just went back to the dosage of metformin that we new worked and the first month we tried I got pregnant. The only side effect I suffered from the metformin was as my body was adjusting to the doseage level I would have some "intestinal distress" and feel yucky for a couple of days but it was not awful or debilitating in any way. Good Luck!

I also have PCOS. You should find out if you ovulate, some of us do and some don't. (you can get ovulation test kits from Amazon.com - I found them to be the least expensive) If you do, you can try to get pregnant on your own. Use a chart. If you don't, you could take a medication called Metformin (it's for diabetics, but for some reason helps PCOS patients with fertility). I took metformin and I also took clomid (less than $10). You need to be careful with clomid. After 6 months, your body will probably not respond to it anymore and it is not wise to take it for longer. I got pregnant the second month we tried and then miscarried. The second time I got pregnant was the first month we tried. I found the ovulation test kits invaluable. Good luck!

Hi, my sister-in-law has pcos. She and her husband tried for 10 years to get pregnant. They had mostly no luck (they had one miscarriage). I did a lot of research because I wanted to help them. She tried Clomid and glucophage and neither worked. She lost a lot of weight which helps some people, but it didn't help her (for getting pregnant anyway). I tried to get her to see an acupuncturist and gave her a book called "The Infertility Cure" by Randine Lewis about chinese medicine and fertility. But in the end she got pregnant with no special intervention at all. The only things that were different were that they came out to visit us in Portland and hung out with a lot of pregnant women (I was pregnant and so was my sister and there were others too) before going home. I wish you so much luck. Read up a lot... the specialists know how to prescribe drugs, but they're not that good at knowing how your diet and lifestyle are affecting your fertility.

Sorry, I don't have any first hand experience, but my cousin and a friend both have this condition. In my cousin's case, after 2 years of trying and just about ready to start fertility treatments, she finally concieved. My other friend went in and did AI. Not sure on the cost involved, but I know she did do hormones (and was quite sick from it) and a lot of testing. She now has a very healthy little boy and has another one on the way (with the same treatments). Good luck!!!

I did Metformin and Clomid. You can do both at the same time. But Clomid didn't work for me. Really it was the Metformin that did it. Are your cycles regular? Do you have elevated fasting blood sugar? Those are my two problems, and by far Metformin is the best and CHEAPEST way to go. They have generic and it was about $5 per month.

Working with a reproductive endocrinologist is key. Metformin helped me get regular, which led to my first baby. The second was an "oops" because I wasn't taking anything and didn't think I could get pregnant. Ha ha ha. Here I A. at 39 weeks and ready to burst. Good luck with your journey--PCOS is frustrating.

I was diagnosed over 4 yrs ago and it took me 2 yrs to get pregnant. I went through the normal options the Dr's suggest; metformin and clomid. None of them worked for me and had bad side effects from metformin. Unfortunately it's a very stressful time and gave up. I wasn't ovulating or getting regular periods and also tired of seeing Dr's and taking pills all the time. So, I gave up for awhile and took a break. I finally got a period between a 6-month span and without thinking or truly trying, only hoping, we got pregnant during that cycle. I hate to give this advice because it's so hard to do but it can work, relax! That's what it took me for my experience. Since then, I found online a site called Insulite Laboratories that deals with PCOS. It's a little spendy but I started to take it to see if it could at least help me with the additional hair growth that PCOS causes. It's worth the money for my self esteem. But the pills also help you regulate your cycle for women who want to get pregnant. There's not too many side effects from it and I just started. And it allowed me another months cycle on it's own and that's exciting, LOL! Just another option to consider. Good luck! I know how frustrating it is.

Dear R.,
It looks like you have had a lot of responses already, but I wanted to resopnd as well. :-) I was diagnosed with PCOS about 7 years ago. It took a very long time to discover it. I started having problems when I was 19 and now I'm 32. Anyway, I tried Clomid and that didn't work for me. I tried it about three of four different times in several years. I also tried Metformin. I got really sick from it, so I had to stop taking it. It was frustrating to me to not be able to take them and other people were taking with no problems. After the pills weren't working, I decided to try the ovulation kits. I think I ovulated once after I lost 60 pounds. I thought the kits were a good idea. As far as treating PCOS, I think that a lot of people have had success with Metformin AKA Glucophage. As far as my husband and I, we decided to adopt. I had several surgeries to fix the polyps in my uterus, but they kept coming back. Anyway, I am very grateful for the option to adopt. Our little boy is almost 2 and we've been married for 12 years! I wish you the best luck and God bless you. I know how hard PCOS can be. The side effects of it are so hard to deal with. After having problems for sooooooo long, I decided to have a hysterectomy. I had more problems than PCOS, so it was necessary for me to have the surgery. I would advice you to keep on keepin' on. Remember that you are a precious woman and that you will make it through this. Infertility is a very hard thing to deal with, but I'm sure you are strong! You can do it! If you ever, ever, ever need to talk to someone please feel free to e-mail me. God bless, J..

Well I want you to know that having PCOS is more common in women and can sometimes be the hardest to get diagnosed or to struggle with to get pregnant. Working with just a doctor in the office can take a while since well you can only ovulate each month and well with PCOS you sometimes dont each month have a regular cycle. Going to a specalist who is avalible to help you and that is also going to work with you 365 days a year (holidays too) is what you will probably want so that you can get your little one sooner than later. Each person that has this can be treated just a bit differently than others.

A couple of people that have already responded to you were on either clomed or metphorman to help. When I was working with our dr I took both and even some months a baby asprin too. They can run blood tests that are for you specific and help you. No one person having this condition will be treated the same.

Yes after the hormon changes can make it easier to get pregant again. We tried and used assistance for our 2nd and nothing for a while and well it just happened naturally for our second so now we have 2 beautiful kids.

Not being stressed always does help your body and you physically. Loosing sometimes even a couple pounds can help too and make you healthy. The slightest things can help you get pregnant.

If you want to talk to a specailist that is wonderful and one of the best in the state. He is just so sweet. His name is Dr. Johnson. He has an office in Totem Lake and Bellevue 425-646`4700. Good Luck to you!

I have not been through this, but have friends who have taken the hormone drugs and there are side effects, such as cancer risks, that you should definitely be informed about. I recommend the book "Taking Charge of your Fertility" as a great resource to educate yourself. If you have a doctor you like, and feel is a good partner in this venture with you and your husband, then that is great. Otherwise I would look for another provider, preferably one who specializes in your condition. Best of luck to you!!

Hello
Rolfing or structural integration has helped many who cant or have not yet gotten pregnant. It alligns the body so that all ails go away with balance in the structure. The work is of Ida Rolf and can be found at www.rolfguid.org or the 2nd school that teachers her work, www.rolf.org

Taking Charge Of Your Fertility is a great book to learn how to know where you are on your cycle without the need of anything you need to buy or use and also gets you in tune with your body at the same time.

Also i would suggest acupuncture and Chinese herbs first before any other of the high drug programs. I would think it would be best not to poison yourself before having a baby inside you.
blessings and visualize it happening... That works too and try not to give into the fear and think about it negatively.

I also have PCOS and what helped me was a medication called Metformin. I had 2 doctors tell me I was never going to have children. I now have an 8 month old daughter and just found out I'm due in April! My daughter was conceived naturally... but I was taking Metformin after her birth, which I believe assisted in my current pregnancy.

Don't give up hope. If you eat healthy and try Metformin, it just may work for you! Consult your doctor about it!

Good Luck!

J.

Hi R.!
You are not alone! I have the same condition & it took taking Chlomid (pill) to get pregnant. I've heard it can result in twins, but we had been trying for 4 yrs, so that didn't conern me. We now have 4 children! The first two pregnancies were with chlomid & I didn't have twins. The last 2 kids were surprises (no fertility meds).....my dr said sometimes with all the hormone changes of being pregnant that this syndrome can correct itself. With chlomid, they start you out on the smallest dose, & if it doesn't work, they increase the dosage each month. It worked on the first try with our oldest son. It took increasing the dose once with our second son. I know that i was the most stressed when we were not getting pregnant....but if you can reduce your stress levels at all, it really does help! Good luck! :>)

Hi R.- I was incorrectly diagnosed with PCOS about 10 years ago and found an awesome support site. I can't remember the address but you can google it and find something. I would highly recommend that. The girls there can recommend what to do for PCOS and I learned a lot about other ways to tell when you are most fertile.
Also you can get pregnant with PCOS, so keep positive, but you may have to try a little harder. I would recommend getting a good fertility book to learn about taking your temperature and checking other signs of fertility- also an ovulation prediction kit in conjunction for a few months, if it still doesn't work you can try the dr again. They typically start you on clomid first which is an oral drug. Has some emothinal side effects for some people but I didn't experience any. Make sure that at this point you have a good fertility dr, don't just go to yout OB/GYN it is usually a waste of time which is precious when you are trying to get pregnant.
I have a healthy 11 month old boy who is the joy of my life but he was achieved by IVF( and Gods Grace!:) Also I had 5 IUI,s 2 with injectable drugs and 3 with clomid so I have some experience with infertility. I understand your pain and frustration, the ups and downs but I am sure you will get your precious bundle!

I was diagnosed with PCOS about 3-4 years ago. I took metformin 2000mg daily, worked out religiously for one year, lost a total of 14 lbs. and got pregnant after that one year of treatment. It was kind of a shock because I told my doc that I was surprised that I got pregnant so easily, and she said with a sly grin, "well, were you taking the Metformin?" Of course I was. This drug works so well, it is not harmful, but it does have some nasty side effects that largely go away after a few weeks on the high dose. It is relatively cheap too. Also check out the soul cysters website this is a great forum site for PCOS. PCOS is a big problem with not a lot of media coverage in my opinion.

Also, I truly believe that accupuncture during this time also played an important role in helping me with my cycles and energy level. It is truly remarkable! I was once a skeptic.

You can definitely get pregnant with PCOS!

Stop stressing out about it and just enjoy having sex and all that. The moment people start stressing out about getting pregnant is the moment it becomes a thousand times harder.