Hello everyone, Im new to the forums...in fact I have been diagnosed for 5 years and this will be the first group help I get...eek. Absolutely no support groups here or educated medical staff that I can find. Needless to say I have been avidly reading everything i can get my hands on but some of the stuff freaks me out. I am going to be trying to get pregnant in the next year or so but I have some problems. When I was 12 I was diagnosed with PCOS their cure for me was progesterone and birth control which got rid of the PCOS but I have been on birth control ever since(im now 21). I tried going off the pill but again the same problems...no period. Now, I am starting to miss periods even on the pill!!!!! Along with that I had my gallbladder removed in November and I just now found out Im supposed to be taking Digestive Enzymes...so I have gained quite a bit of weight ! So what I would like to know is if you guys had any advice or information for me...I would be so grateful!

SINCERELY,

Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

Welcome to the board, this is a great place for information. I don't know a whole lot about PCOS, but I do know that it can cause issues when trying to get pregnant. I belong to another board, and a lot of ladies with PCOS have to take glucophage or metaphormin (sp) these are pills to help with the insulin resistance. So do you have celiac disease? Have you been gluten free for awhile? I have read a lot on this board that they recommend waiting a year to get pregnant after going gluten free as this gives your body a chance to heal. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Send me a private message if you want to talk more.

Take care and good luck!

Stephanie

wow. you were diagnosed with PCOS at 12? I didn't think you could have it that early but that's interesting. I have PCOS as well. I got pregnant in December and had a miscarriage at 8 weeks then I was finally dx'ed with celiac in February and went gluten-free in March. I fully believe the MC's were a direct result of malabsorption and celiac than anything else. We took somewhat of a hiatus and just started again in June. I went to my OB/Gyne who told me in JUNE that my ultrasound in JANUARY showed ovarian cysts consistent with PCOS (I guess they felt telling me that in the midst of a MC was just too much for me to handle or SOMETHING). Anyways, my doc. suggested the Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor which I found on Amazon for $200. Expensive I know but I used to think I ovulated by day 15 but apparently I don't ovulate until day 20 or so of my 41 day cycle. I was off by five days which is a lot of time considering the short life of an egg Also, she ordered blood tests to measure certain levels of hormones etc. during my cycle which helps them determine what might be out of whack. If you have been on BC since 12, your body probably has never had a chance to be itself so what you experience when you go off BC might seem abnormal but your body needs to adjust to what it is meant to do naturally. Definitely talk to your OB/Gyne B4 starting TTC and talk about your options and history and don't stress!

thank you alamaz for all your advice, it is going to be very helpful to me. Thank also stephanie for posting me back! Yes, I have been gluten free for 5 years...but i got cross-cantminated yesterday and all they could give me is vicodin....i hate pills! Anywyas I also thought it was strange that they dxned me so young with PCOS. I feel like I should stay off the birth control but im scared i wont get my period. My friend in a very similar case miscarried last week which further discourages me but im trying to get out of that mindset. Another thing I was thinking and maybe you guys have some advice is whether I should do a natural birth with just a midwife bc I have no trust in the doctors here...what do you guys think? any experiences? I appreciate the feedback, thanks guys!

First of all, I don't have Celiac disease, but I do have PCOS and thought this might be helpful to Cheryl. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was about twelve years old by my general practitioner. He was a wonderful doctor and diagnosed me right away based on my very obvious symptoms. (I have irregular periods, insulin-resistence, weight issues, and hirsutism.) I was also put on low-dose birth control pills, which did regulate my periods, but did not affect my other symptoms in any measurable way. Anyway, when I was about 18/19 years old, I went on a sugar-busters-like/diabetic diet and lost quite a bit of weight, which helped to regulate my cycles further in combination with the birth control. (Even a small amout of weight loss will help with PCOS-induced irregularity.) I stopped taking birth control when I lost medical coverage, but as long as I maintained a reasonable weight, my cycle was relatively regular.

At 23/24 yrs old, my husband and I wanted to get pregnant. I went on Metformin (glucophage), which is a diabetic medication prescribed to regulate insulin levels and improve insulin-resistence. This is turn regulates ovulation, making it possible to get pregnant. I was on this medication for about a year, and, after a myriad of fertility testing for both of us, I was told that we couldn't, in all likelihood, get pregnant. At the time I was told this, I was already 6 weeks pregnant!

I continued to take metformin throughout the first trimester and was then taken off of it. Maintaining through the first three months is believed to reduce the chances of miscarriage, as insulin-resistence is thought to raise the risk of PCOS patients having misscarriages. However, as no conclusive study has been done to determine the risks to the fetus if meds are continued throughout the pregnancy, my doctor and I elected to stop taking the medication. BTW, metformin is only a class B medication, and should be safe for the baby, however, it's better to error on the side of caution if the pregnancy can be maintained without any medication.

With PCOS, you are at higher risk of gestational diabetes and pre-eclampcia, so get regular testing done. Your doctor, though, should be aware of these risks and test you automatically. There has also been some discussion about clotting issues with insulin-resistence and PCOS, but you should discuss this risk with your physician/mid-wife.

I am now about 6 1/2 months along, and have had no problems. My weight gain is near 16 lbs. now, which is more than my doctor and I discussed, but still within a good limit. (I was at/close-to a normal weight when I conceived.) The last ultrasound showed the baby (boy) to be of completely normal size with no physical abnormalities. It is also a PCOS-based risk to have very large babies if you yourself are overweight; conversely, PCOS is also associated with premature births due to fluctuating hormone levels and possible clotting issues disrupting uterine blood supply.

Overall, there are risks associated with PCOS and pregnancy. But, there are risks with pregnancy alone, not to mention pregnancy within a chronic disease. Discuss the medication with a competent physician. Metformin worked for me to both regulate cycles and ovulation, but some women have used it in conjunction with Clomid (ovulation stimulator).

As far as the gallbladder goes, I had mine removed when I was 15 years old. I never took enzymes, but I do avoid high-fat foods, as they upset my stomach.

I hope this was informative and will help you to get proper medical care. It always helps to be over-informed when it comes to choosing a physician you can trust. Feel free to e-mail me (reiko-fairy@cox.net) if you any more PCOS questions (a topic I've been researching extensively for 10+ years).

Rei

Hi Cheryl, and welcome to these boards.

Since you have been gluten-free for five years, the celiac disease should not be a problem with pregnancy at all. As long as you are careful about avoiding gluten, celiac disease is not an issue.

As for the other problems, you've had great advice, I believe.

Hi! Nice to meet you. I was diagnosed with celiac just over a year ago (nov 06) and have been gluten free since then. I stopped taking birth control in December, and then my period stopped. I didnt get a period for 4 months, so I went to the doc. She said sometimes stopping the pill can shock your body. She gave me some meds to jump start my period, but I wanted to see if my body would get itself back on track. Im not one for medical intervention. Two months later and still no period. The doc said this was bad bc my uterine lining could be building up and not shedding. So I took the meds and after six days I got my period. Then it wouldnt stop. Lol. I got it every other week for 6-8 weeks. Went back to the doctor who told me it was just my body trying to shed all the lining that had built up. She told me I could wait and let my body clean itself out, have the lining scrapped off with a D&C, or start the pill again to regulate my cycle. I choose to wait and let my body heal. Like I had said, after 6-8 weeks the bleeding stopped. The next week I got pregnant. Fifeteen weeks with a healthy baby!

Cheryl,
It's unfortunate that I see this 6 months later. I hope you are doing well. My advice to you would to seek out a good corrective and preventive care chiropractor. My family has been seeing one for over a year now and have benefitted not only in health but in knowledge of the body God intended us to have..... the way he created it. I am sure you would discover many alternative solutions to your medical problems. Medications are not the answer to bodily problems (I would say, for the most part). I feel sad that you had to have your gallbladder removed when I believe very strongly that you could have gotten a different kind of help for your body. Please consider this suggestion to see a chiropractor. Not just a crack 'em and send you on your way, but a good chiropractor. I will say a prayer for you and I hope you get well. Kristi

Rei,
Hello. I also suggested the same thing to another member. I would suggest a good preventative and corrective care chiropractor. I would predict a subluxation in your spine to be causing these types of health problems. It could be caused by the way you were born or from any truama you have had in the past that would cause your spine to degenerate in these ways. Please consider looking into this type of alternative care. An exray of your spine could be a good answer to some questions. The spine needs to be in good shape to send the nerves through your body. It is your central nervous system and needs to be well cared for. Just like going to the dentist, your spine needs checking and adjusting. I hope this is helpful, take care, Kristi