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PCOSFrom: angie (anonymous@obgyn.net)Sat, 27 Jan 2001 00:34:31 -0600 (CST)
I spent many years trying to get pregnant without being diagnosed with PCOS. My OB-GYN wanted to put me on birth control which I tried, but didn't get any results. I have had absent or few periods since I began menses. The few periods I had would last 2+ weeks and be very heavy, cramps, diarrhea and caused me to miss school and work. This all began when I was approximately 12-13. My physician at the time told me to take birth control, but I had many side effects, so stopped. Not having a period was great as a teenager, but I married at 19 and wanted to try to have children around age 20. We tried for years going to several different OB-GYN's who recommended that I loose weight, try basal body temp charts (useless without a period). I finally found a OB that was willing to explore the entire situation. I had a work-up and a hystosalpingogram (dye in fallopian tubes) to see if my tubes were blocked. My husband had a sperm count done. Everything checked out okay, so the physician tried me on clomid up to 250 milligrams and artificial insemination. I had to take provera to have a period, hcg if the temperature charts showed that I may ovulate, and then artificialy insemination. This was all totally useless. The physician would check my levels to see if I ovulated, make me wait to see if I would have a period (usually a month), then start over. She finally told me that she could do nothing else. I found out about reproductive endocrinologists from a wonderful lady I babysat for while in college. He was a 45 minute drive away. I regret that I wasted years before going to a specialist, but I didn't know. Everyone I knew was getting pregnant without difficulty. The first day we walked into the office and met my physician, I knew I was in the right place. The specialist examined my records, me and did blood work. He was able to tell me immediately that I had PCOS and there were treatments available. I had progressively gained more and more weight and was up to 204 pounds. He tried clomid and dexamethasone one cycle only, and told me that I was clomid resistant and we would not waste any more time on that. I was given prover to have a period,and was started on Metrodin which is injected into the muscle daily for a certain number of days during the cycle. My husband actually gave me the injections which was an adventure in itself. The first cycle I did not ovulate. The physician has you come in every other day for labs and ultrasound to monitor during the cycle. If the cycle was not working and my ovaries were not responding properly, we stopped and started again. There was no waiting for a month to see if I would get a period that never came. This situation was very expensive and my insurance did not cover it, but well worth the expense. My husband was at ease and felt like we were at least giving our best shot. It took until the first cycle for my eggs to mature to an adequate size, I was given hcg injection to make me ovulate, and became pregnant on the first cycle that I ovulated. I only had one egg to mature to the proper size to ovulate. Some women have multiple eggs. I was told that my age 27 was a good age, usually with positive results. I was started on progesterone suppositories and monitored until I was 16 weeks pregnant and transferred to a regular OB-GYN. I developed pre-eclampsia during my pregnancy, but otherwise no problems. I delivered naturally at 37 weeks, and I have a wonderful 3 year old son now. He was worth every penny. An added benefit of the pregnancy was that I actually lost weight! I didn't gain any weight during the pregnancy, and lost 22 pounds progressively, without trying after the birth. I maintained this weight loss for the entire year that I nursed. It did progressively come back even with dieting, but I guess thats part of the PCOS. The point of this message is just to tell any of you trying to get pregnant, don't waste your time with OBGYN's go directly to a specialist who knows how to manage the disease. I now have another baby who is 18 months old. We conceived him the same way, except used Fertinex which I could inject into my own arm. It was a newer drug. This time I did not respond as well to the drugs and my dosage was increased. I was 30 at this point, two years made a little difference for me. My doseage was increased and I did become pregnant. This time I had two eggs the proper size. I became pregnant with twins and develped ovarian hyperstimulation which was very, very painful. The physician did frequent ultrasounds and I was out of work for almost 5 weeks unable to move a lot. My ovaries were huge and painful. Unfortunately, one of the twins was not growing as fast as the other, and I ended up bleeding at 11 weeks and losing of the babies. Fortunately, the other continued to grow and we have another precious son. He was delivered naturally at 36 weeks. I also lost weight during and after the pregnancy, but again gained it back after stopping breast feeding at 12 months. I know everyone's situation is different, but I truly believe a reproductive endocrinologist is the best bet whether trying to conceive or just manage PCOS. My physician is great and I plan to see him again to try to conceive once again. I am now 32, but he tells me that 35 and under is a good age with pretty good results. Many insurers now cover infertility treatments. I regret that I did not work at a company that paid this expense. The fertinex injections were $60 per injection and I had two a day during the inductions cycle plus the labs were outrageous. The ultrasounds were $262 per time. I ended up charging my second son, but he is paid for now. Anyone trying to conceive has my prayers. It is definitely different. I hope that this message will encourage someone. I wish that someone has told me to go to a specialist sooner, instead of telling me to go to weight watchers and that would cure me. Physicians now a little more about PCOS today, but endocrinologists deal with it every day. Good Luck. - Angie
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