Anyone with Polycystic ovaries ?

[Sita]

Hi All,

I was wondering whether anyone has polycystic ovaries and has been sucessful with IVF ? I am hoping to have my 2nd attempt in Feb/ Mar 06. My period was regular for some months last year but I have not had a period for almost 3 1/2 months now. Last year I had very heavy bleeding as well. This was just after my father's death. Not sure if this was stress related ?

My periods are so unpredictable. Please let me know if you have has similar experiences.

Thanks,
Sita

[bella-s]

Hi Sita,

I have PCOS, but I haven't had a successful IVF (yet!). I've had all that you described - non-existent periods, irregular periods etc etc. DH also has a low sperm count & low morphology, so we have both female & male facter fertility issues.

My doctor did say to me that if it was just me that had polycystic ovaries, then I could go on clomid (I think...) to regulate my periods so we could try naturally every month. I think there are a number of women on this site who do that. Our Doc dtermined for us though there would be little point as my DH issues would still be there.

What happened with your first IVF attempt? Did you successfully fertilise eggs etc.? All the best for your next cycle - I am trying again in Feb too!

Bella.

[reddy]

Hi Sita, even though you have PCOS, you will get pregnant. Don't worry much about PCOS. I have PCOS and I have a 7yr old girl with clomid. I had irregular periods. I can suggest some options to regulate periods. Try accupuncture and do regular exercise. Did you check your thyroid levels and insulin(Diabetic) resistance? If not, ask your doc to do those blood tests. When I had my first baby, I was 28 and didn't have to check all these blood tests. Now I am 36 and I had a little elevated thyroid and insulin not functioning properly. I am going through some medication since feb '05. Now everything is under control, but still 2 ivfs failed. I am counting on my FET. I believe I am pregnant now because of accupunture I went, before FET. Good Luck.

Reddy

[Barny]

Hi Sita,

I have PCOS and managed to get pregannt with fertility treatment. My periods are irregular and we also have a male factor - hubby has abnormal sperm morphology (high percentage of sperm that aren't properly formed). We got pregnant with IVF - unfortunately it turned out to be ectopic but that as nothing to do with the PCOS. We then tried IUI and were successful the second time round.

Try to stay positive. At least you know what your problems are so you can find the right treatment. I'm sure it's much worse if your infertility is unexplained.

I wish you lots of luck,

Barny
x

[Ady]

Hi sita,

Although i didn't have PCOS myself, i had a cousin who had that. Her periods were irregular and she managed to get pregnant with 2-3months of chlomid.
Stay positive and things will definitely fall in place.

Good luck,
Ady.

[Terri2]

HI Sita

I have PCOS, only diagnosed a few months ago. My only symptom is irregular periods.

I took clomid for 6 months with no success, apparently it made me ovulate but no pregnancy so as far as I'm concerned it didn't work. I may be starting injectables soon. Injections worked for my sister and she has two children now.

The last 3 months while I wait to see the doctor, I have not been on any drugs but have started to have regular 4 week cycles. I put this totally down to the acupuncture I have been having. It is amazing! also I have less period pain. Okay, so I'm not pregnant yet but I hope that it will happen soon with the help of acupuncture.

MY DH has low morphology too but they tell me its not a problem as count is high. I'm not sure if I believe them.

anyway, I recommend that you buy the guide to infertility by Zita West as this tells you a lot about natural things you can do to help. I have changed my diet and given up caffeine.

good luck, lets hope we all get pregnant in 2006!

[sophie]

Hello.

I have PCOS caused by a pituitary tumour. When I was diagnosed in 1998 I was told I would NEVER concieve as both the pituitary tumour AND the PCOS cause infertility - double whammy!. (I was diagnosed after going to the doctors with concerns that I only had a period once or twice a year).

2years later I had acupuncture, homeopathy and fertility meds and within 2 months I was pregnant. When I went to the docs with severe nausea he diagnosed food poisoning and said I couldn't possibly be pregnant. I believed him but finally did a home test after 2 weeks and it was positive!

Judging by the replys posted to you, PCOS need not stop you having children, it just makes it a bit more difficult.

I wish you the VERY BEST OF LUCK!!!!!

Sophie x

[susanp]

Hi Sita,
I'm 36, was diagnosed with PCOS at 17. I am now 20 weeks pregnant with a baby boy. We did 3 rounds of clomid; 2 IUIs one with clomid and injectables; and then 1 round of IVF.
Good Luck!!
-Susan

[Sita]

I like to thank all of you for replying and giving me so much encouragement.

In response to Bella's query, I did have 4 eggs and two fertilised. They were then transfered but I did not get pregnant even though I took time off after egg transfer and tried my best to relax. I did not have any extra embryos to freeze.

The doctors suggested that I go on a higher dose of stimulants so that I can produce more folicles. The last time, I have 5 follicles.

Hopefully, there should be better luck next time. I am happy to hear that accupunture has worked for some of you. Is this readily available in UK hospitals ? How did you get this treatment and when do you start this ?

Do you need to start the scupunture a few months before the treatment ?

I will appreciate your views on this.

Thanks
Sita

[Susie]

hi, I have polycystic ovaries, causing me to ovulate about once a year if I'm lucky! My DH also has low sperm count and morphology. We had IVF with ICSI due to DH's sperm count but it defineately works for us! I dont think having PCO affects the result of IVF
Good luck
Susie

[Sita]

Thanks Susie

That is very encouraging !! Congratulations !!

I like to know a little more about ICSi.. is this similar to IVF but using the assisted hatching technique ?

Did you consider trying using the standard IVF procedure ?

Will appeciate your views.

Love,
Sita

[Susie]

Hi, ICSI is basically where the sperm is injected into the egg rather than putting the sperm and egg into a dish and hoping they find each other!
We were never given the option of IVF as we were told that if a man has a low sperm count then ICSI will give you a better fertilisation rate. It doesnt give you a better chance of success but does mean you will get more embryos.
On my first ICSI attempt due to my PCO I was only given a low dose of the stim drugs so I only got 3 eggs, one fertilised and was replaced then that one became my daughter. On my second attempt the doctors knew how I responded to the drugs so my meds were better controlled and I got 11 eggs of which 7 fertilised, I had 2 replaced and am now pregnant with a single baby and have 5 embryos in the freezer.
On your second go you should produce more eggs as because you have PCO the stim drug doseage on your first attempt is kept low as there is a high risk of hyperstimulation. now the doctors know how you respond to the drug they can treat you better next time.
Hope this answers what you want to know but feel free to ask anything
Susie

[Sita]

Hi Susie,

Thank you so much for your response. It helps me to understand why my consultant was more positive about the next cycle. I am hoping I will have more eggs and be able to freeze some embryos as well.

Did you take time off after embryo transfer Susie ?

Also for the FET, which parts of the IVF process do you not need to go through? Did you just have to take some stimulants to get the womb ready ?

Will appreciate your views.

Thanks,
Sita

[Susie]

Hi again, sorry I dont know anything about a FET as mine were both fresh cycles, but as regards time off, I had a week off work, but I was looking after my 4 yr old daughter so whether that is still classed as a week off I dont Know!
I had a week off both times then when I went back to work I only sat at a desk all day so it wasnt too strenuous anyway!
I feel the reason IVF worked so well for me is I was always relaxed about the whole thing.
On my first attempt I was only 25 and went in with the attitude that if it didnt work I still had many years to try again. On my second attempt I had the attitude that I still had a child anyway whatever the result so the stakes werent that high.
I think staying calm about the whole process is best, and I think your doctor is right to be optimistic about getting more eggs next time
HTH Susie

[sophie]

Hello again Sita

Regarding the acupuncture, I am not sure whether you can get it through your hospital but it's worth asking. It's usually best to start a month or two before IVF but even a few sessions during IVF are said to help. If you have private health care they may cover it on that.

I am in the process of having FET at the moment - there are 2 ways that I know of. I am doing everything the same as before (start buserelin on day 21 of cycle, wait for AF then oestrodial (menopur last time) with lots of scans along the way) so the only difference to me is not having the egg collection and that the 2nd lot of drugs are different to the 1st lot(which made me produce lots of eggs). I know of some other people though who simply have the embryo transfer having only progesterone a few days before. They must cater to individual requirements. I suspect that with PCOS they do the whole IVF again (without the egg collection) as we don't have regular cycles and that simply replacing embryos without treatment would be reliant on regular cycles. I could be wrong!

I must admit that I was surprised when you got 5 follicles. Women with PCOS are at risk of OHSS because they often produce too many. I produced well over 30 which was a nightmare as I got OHSS and couldn't go through with the transfer. That is why I am doing FET now. I would chat to your consultant to ensure that they don't increase you dosage too much.
I am sure that this next tmt will be succesful!!!!!!!!!!

Lots of luck!!!

Sophie xxx