PCOS...

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Edited by kelzie_rose

Im so sorry to hear your story.

From what I know, there is no "Cause" of PCOS. No "one" thing will trigger it. Its just one of those unfortunatly VERY common things.

Heres my story of PCOS, i might help a bit...

I started getting AF at 11 and my mum knew quite early on something wasnt quite right. It started with horrendously heavy periods, every month. I do not exaggerate when I tell you I needed a super tampon and maternity pads at the same time as a tampon would only last 30-45 minutes.

Mum took me to family planning who put me on the pill, this also helped with the acne that started around the same time as AF.

By 13 AF was still heavy but even with the pill was very irregular. I would have AF for months then nothing for months etc etc. By 15 years old I was sexually active and my mum didnt trust the pill was working so we tried Depo. Depo didnt work! and I fell pregnant! The PCOS was diagnosed once my full history was discussed with the Dr's and confirmed by ultrasound, I dont have cysts ON my ovaries, my ovaries are full of them.

Unfortunatly due to being on the Acne medication Roaccutane during the early pregnancy (obviously I didnt know) I was advised to terminate.

For the next 7 years I used contraception on/off hoping to control the PCOS symptoms and obviously avoid pregnancy. at 20 after 2 years of being with my partner I decided Id had enough of the emotional side effects of taking the pill and while I risked AF becoming out of control again (i used to "skip" it on the pill, only having it every 3 months due to the heavyness and the extreme pain) we decided to try an IUD as I had read online how it helped other woman.

While AF stayed very irregular with the IUD, it wasnt exeptionally heavy and the cramping was bareable. Anything was better than the pill that I felt made me go loopy lol.

I was 22 when we decided to try for a baby. Knowing my AF cycle was so irregular because of an-ovulation caused by the PCOS I was aware it would take time. I researched HEAPS on the net, read a tonne of other woman's stories and spoke to my gyny at Auckland Gynaecologists. We both agreed that weight loss is THE NUMBER ONE remedy for PCOS.

Now in saying that, its not easy, and the amount you have to lose might be drastic, in my case it took 14kg to regulate my cycle. Part of me thinks it was 50/50 weight loss and actual strenuous exercise that did it. A walk a few times a week wont do it I think, I worked my ASS off lol.

It took 7 months to get my cycle from 87 days to 33. The 6th cycle was 35 and I knew I had ovulated, the 7th was 33 and im semi certain I ovulated, the 8th I think would have been about 30 and I know I ovulated because we concieved!

Not everyone has such good luck as we did, I know I was extremely lucky. Even after losing 14kg I was still quite overweight, and I do blame alot of my weight issues on the PCOS.

Another down side of having PCOS is you are at a MUCH higher risk of developing gesational diabetes and sure enough I did. Its not the end of th world, just another little hurdle PCOS throws at you.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions, im a PCOS pro haha. You might find if you talk to other woman inyour family (both your mum and dads side) that you will find a few woman with PCOS symptoms. Actually diagnonis is quite a new thing, and I discovered my aunt and grandmother on my dads side both had Gyny issues that were quite possibly PCOS related.

Sorry for the novel, just hoping to help. I know I felt a bit lost and unsure so I hope I can help in some way!

Thank you guys for sharing.

This PCOS is a tricky bugger with no easy explaination!

was diagnosed at 15.
my history:
Started puberty at 8 - had B cup breasts by age 9.
Stopped growing height wise at 10. (seen a paed specialist every 3 months from age 8 to 16), so know exactly when i stopped growing.
AF started at age 10 & 2 months. been like clockwork since day 1, but always 10-14days naturally and heavy for all of them with demon PMS symptoms...
Weight piled on from age 10. by age 15 i was 94kg, very hairy, my back looked like a gorilla, i had no definition of pubic area, it all merged into my hairy thighs and the rest - yet never any exces hair on my face..
upon diagnosis my testosterone levels was 104 and insulin resistance was confirmed.
I was started on spironolactone and Estelle contraceptive pill to 'sort out' my AF and testosterone levels.

the spiro worked i now have 'normal' hair growth patterns and the pill never worked on controlling AF, it was still 8-10 days of heavy on the pill but marginally better PMS wise.
As of October (just turned 21) my testosterone levels are 137 so still not controlled but manageable as they have plateaued.
these being high have contributed to my weight gain as the testosterone converts estrogen to fat cells (or something like that as my specialist explained).

Numerous ultrasounds have confirmed I have no cysts on my ovaries just all the other symptoms but my diagnosis remains.

I now have a Mirena IUD, get AF every 28-40 days and it is light (only need a liner) and lasts about 4 days and OMG heaven i dont suffer for 2 weeks of the month now.

oh and im currently 102kg and its steadily creeping on no doubt becasue its a side effect of the mirena and the PCOS doesnt help.

but i have set myself a goal to be 80kg by october and im doing my best to get there.

PS: sorry for the novel

Edited by Mucky_Tiger

I found out I had PCOS when I came off the pill to TTC and, apart from the pill's withdrawal bleed, AF just never turned up. Six months later I was getting worried and asked for investigations to start and found I was both annovulatory (not surprising with no periods!) and that I had dozens and dozens of cysts in each ovary. Looking back I suppose there were some warning signs, I've always had to work at weight management quite hard and the very reason I went on the pill in the first place as a young teen was difficult periods. I never had elevated testosterone or excess hair though. I was quite literally shocked to find out it was PCOS in the end. I'm just so grateful that we have treatments available now to help. If it weren't for fertility treatment and surgery we wouldn't be expecting this little miracle, I'm so thankful it isn't 50 years ago.

I was diagnosed 1 year ago tommorrow & I'm 25. I had always had regular periods since I was 13, on the pill at aged 17 for being sexually active, came off it around 22, again periods were regular. Around this time I stopped playing sports (due to a car accident that damaged my back) & started gaining weight, went from 63kgs to 85kgs and now at 107kg but it is going down by actively trying and using metphormin. My periods were fine till I was 23 and then I didn't have one for 5 months and that is when I went to see the doctor, went for an ultrasound and found out i had pcos, and recently it started being a bit more normal, had 2 of 5 months gap, then 2 months and then I had my period recently for 7 weeks, but that is now due to finding out I had a miscarridge (I just got married and we weren't not, not trying).

I never had any signs or symptoms, but mine is believed to be directly in relation with my excessive weight, which is now going down nicely, but still proving very difficult. My husband and I want to start TTC at the start of 2012. It's amazing how wildely different everyone is with signs and symptoms.