PCOS and hypothyroidism- questions about pregnancy

[krisssa.livejournal.com]

So I went to the doc a little over 2 weeks ago and had an exam. She ordered some blood work b/c I told her we were TTC. I finally did the bloodwork the other day b/c I've been bleeding/spotting ever since that exam randomly (I posted about that b/c I was a bit concerned about the bleeding for that long.) Anyway, they told me my luteinizing hormones were elevated (the other hormones they checked were normal) and they think I might have PCOS. So I have a couple questions:

I'm on meds for my hypothyroidism right now, but I know my thyroid is a little more hypo right now (not bad, TSH is 3.49 but we're trying to get me to a 2.0). Is it possible that my thyroid could be causing the symptoms of PCOS including the luteneizing hormone to be out of whack?

Also, anyone here with PCOS who was able to get pregnant without the help of fertility meds? We think we'd rather adopt than take any fertility meds (and adoption is in our plans regardless) but we'd really like to have one of our own. If you did get pregnant, how long did it take?

Any other suggestions for helping reduce the symptoms of PCOS without meds? For what it's worth, I'm not considered overweight (one issue with PCOS that I think is pretty common) though I do have trouble losing weight and work out A LOT to try to maintain and not gain.

Thanks!

Comments

[gunshotbeauty.livejournal.com]

in regards to pcos how much do you know about it? i can give an AMAZING faq about pcos that covers every issue if you want. in regards to losing weight with pcos the reason it's near impossible is because your insulin levels are too high and when they are high your body can't lose weight. going on metformin and a low gi diet lowers your insulin and gives you the right kind of food so you are able to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight. metformin can also help with your period and the reason why it's hard to get pregnant with pcos is because you don't ovulate regularly so it's hard to chart and conceive. losing weight, being on metformin and being at a healthy weight increases the chance of getting a normal cycle which means it increases the chance of getting pregnant. getting pregnant with pcos without fertility drugs does happen but more often than not something like clomid is used and then it happens.

the women in pcos and pcossupport have all their tales about getting pregnant and everything there so i'd recommend you join and see their experiences. i have nothing against adoption and think it's a wonderful thing but with pcos to conceive naturally we just need a little bit more assistance.

i hope that helped

[krisssa.livejournal.com]

thank you very much! I just found out yesterday about the PCOS so I don't have really any info yet aside from the minimal googling I've done on it. I often find that the people on this site or more informative/helpful than google anyway. :) I really appreciate the help and am interested in the FAQ that you have.

[gunshotbeauty.livejournal.com]

http://www.inciid.org/faq.php?cat=infertility101&id=2

[arularia.livejournal.com]

Not everyone with PCOS is overweight. You having issues with not losing weight may be an indicator that you're insulin resistant which occurs pretty frequently in women with PCOS. My inability to lose weight despite doing everything by the book was what got me to the doctor for a thyroid work-up and eventually led me to an endocrinologist who told me I was insulin resistant and he was 90+% sure that I have PCOS.

I've had a ton of success with the South Beach diet. It was easy for me to follow cause there's no real measuring, counting, etc., just a list of things to avoid. I lost 20 pounds over the course of a few months without really trying which was the first time I'd ever been able to lose weight. I've also noticed that I just feel better when I'm eating this way--like there's some kind of foggy cloud that's been lifted off of me.

As for the connection between PCOS and thryoid issues, it's definitely possible for one to be affecting the other. Your body is a system, after all, and problems with one organ system can easily cause problems in another.

Also, I'll second the suggestion of checking out pcos. Those ladies have a wealth of knowledge, especially when it comes to supplements you can take and other more holistic options to try and avoid having to take medication. Not to mention the fact that you're also free to just go and vent about your troubles.

[krisssa.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for the response. I will look into the South Beach Diet... my husband had suggested Weight Watchers to me and I know a lot of people who have had success, but I'm similar to you in the sense that I can't see myself counting things here and there and working up some big math problem in my head about it. ;)

I will definitely check out the pcos community.

Thanks again for your response!

[arularia.livejournal.com]

I tried Weight Watchers as well as the Slim Fast program. They're both good programs and I know tons of people who have had success with them, but because of my IR, I just couldn't lose weight on them. After I cut out the really starchy carbs (white potatos, non-whole grain bread and pasta, etc.) the weight literally just fell off. I never counted calories, I let myself cheat once a week and eat whatever the heck I wanted, and about the only exercise I had was walking around on campus each day. And now, even though I haven't been on South Beach for awhile due to stress and laziness, my weight is still stable which I take as a sign of some significant improvements in how my body is able to handle what I've been eating.

[krisssa.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's really interesting! We only eat whole-grain bread and pasta, etc. so I'm not sure what it is. I do love carbs and breads and stuff, but we're already doing the whole- grain thing. I need to look into this South Beach thing!

[arularia.livejournal.com]

The diet works in phases. The first two weeks will probably be the hardest for you because they're the most strict. Phase 1 is designed to help get rid of the sugar cravings. You'll basically just be eating a lot of lean protein and veggies. The hardest part for a lot of people is that fruit isn't allowed during phase 1. (You can have all you want in Phase 2 though so don't worry. :) )After that you can start reintroducing whole grains, but the diet suggests you limit the bread, pasta, etc. to two servings a day. There's a bit of experimentation to that part though. Some people can have something starchy with every meal and still lose weight while others can't. But if you stop losing weight, it's easy to just readjust things and get back on track.

But I'll stop now and let you do your own research. :) If you decide to track down a copy of the book, it's pretty interesting. Dr. Agatston writes about how he came up with the plan and the trials that he conducted with it and what kind of results he saw in his patients. There are some pretty awesome success stories, including a few about women who had been unable to conceive and then, at the end of a weight loss trial, discovered they were pregnant.

[ashleykristin.livejournal.com]

If you want a good board to ask questions on, I would suggest pcoscommunity.com. I love it there and have been there since we started ttc 3 years ago. If its hard for you to lose weight than you might be insulin resistant. Did they do a fasting blood sugar and a glucose tolerance test? If not, they need to. You may not want to be on medications, but I am on metformin and that helped me conceive both times. The first I was on met, and we did clomid (which is about $12.00 at the pharmacy) and we conceived the first month. Have you tried charting your cycles using FAM? This is what we did for several months and it told us that I wasn't ovulating by myself. The second time around I was on the met again and lost about 10% of my body weight and we now have my oops pregnancy. I know there are books about certain diets to help with pcos...and I think a lot of doctors either recommend south beach or weight watchers. I'm on weight watchers now, thats how I lost my weight.

[krisssa.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info about metformin. Do you have to give yourself shots with that one? I just didn't want to spend a ton of $ and have to go through shots and other procedures of the like. If it's just a pill I'm not against that.

I had a fasting blood sugar test done years ago. Everything came back ok. I have always had periods where I feel like I have LOW sugar (shaky, light headed at times, etc.) when I haven't eaten for a few hours.

I haven't charted yet b/c I haven't had a cycle to chart (although I did just have that random bleeding but didn't realize it was a possible period.)

Thanks for all the info!

[arularia.livejournal.com]

Metformin is a pill so no worries about shots. It's also known by the trade name Glucophage. I get mine at Walmart and it's $8 a month. (It's part of their $4 generic program, but that only covers dosages as high as 1000mg/day. I'm on 2000mg, hence double the price.) Met isn't specifically a fertility aid, but lots of docs prescribe to help women start cycling on their own. It works to help the body work against the insulin resistance.

Clomid is also a pill and is also on Walmart's generic program. I believe that it's $9 for a five day course which I assume is the standard treatment protocol. (Don't quote me on that though. I'm not TTC so I kind of only know the basics on Clomid.) All of that info is available on their website though if you want to check it out. It's probably also available at any other pharmacy that's doing the $4 generic program.

[ashleykristin.livejournal.com]

Metformin is just a pill you take three times a day, its $4.00 at walmart without insurance. They need to test your fasting insulin with it. If its just a FBS they don't always find it. Also, when I got my bw done, they said my insulin was just a little bit above normal, but if I was ttc, it was way above normal. They like to see it lower if you're ttc, because if its too high, it will mess with your other hormones. I used fertilityfriend.com (free!) to chart. You can get a basal body thermometer from walmart for cheap as well. Oh, and I swear by preseed. We used it with our first, as do a lot of women I know with PCOS, and they all got pregnant. Its a sperm friendly lube. It helps get the swimmers to your egg. I've done a ton of research (and had lots of experience) so don't be afraid to ask me anything! Good luck!

[krisssa.livejournal.com]

I'll look for preseed, thanks! I have a BBT... unfortunately it has been mostly neglected. $4 is nothing for that med! It's good to know that they look at the levels differently if you're TTC or not as well.

[archangelbeth]

I don't know if the thyroid could be sending you PCOSy, but it certainly isn't likely to be helping. If you can get down to a TSH 2, or even 1, and re-evaluate the PCOS symptoms?

Anyway, good luck!

[krisssa.livejournal.com]

thank you! I am really hoping this is the main issue (thyroid and perhaps not pcos, just b/c it would be nice to only deal with one issue, ha!) I need to see an endocrinologist. I know you and I have talked before about how docs say "Oh, your numbers are fine" when in fact you still feel like crap and none of your symptoms have disappeared. So I am on an official search to find a doc who is on my side about this thyroid business.

[archangelbeth]

**Definitely** crossing my fingers on the doctor-search, that you can find one soon!

[krisssa.livejournal.com]

ugh, thank you. I know that you know what a nightmare that can be. SO frustrating that it has to be "us vs them" sometimes instead of having them pulling for us and doing the best for us!

[miss-heni.livejournal.com]

Well, I know PCOS and thyroid issues are often linked, not sure about which causes which or whatever, though. Maybe ask your doctor or do some googling?

A lot of the symptoms of PCOS are thought to be linked to insulin resistance - basically it's kind of a vicious cycle between unstable insulin levels and other hormone levels including LH and testosterone. So, many ways of treating PCOS revolve around breaking that cycle. Losing weight is one natural way of doing this, as the proportion of fat cells in your body affects these hormone levels, so even if you're not considered overweight you might benefit from trying that (assuming you don't become dangerously underweight). Another, related way of breaking the cycle is attempting to stablise your blood sugar levels through diet, which in turn will help with insulin resistance. This can be done through following the principles of the GI diet - in summary, eat little and often, eat protein at every meal, and avoid refined sugars and carbs. Because it's often insulin resistance that prevents women with PCOS from losing weight, following the principles of the GI diet is often the best way for us to go about trying to do this - but even if you're not trying to lose weight it's a good principle to follow.

Metformin is a medication that stablises blood sugar levels and so affects insulin levels in the same way as eating a low GI diet (possibly more powerfully). And no, you don't have to inject it, it's a pill you take a couple of times a day. Generally it's fine, can give some digestive discomfort to some people though.

But the main thing I wanted to say was: my mum has PCOS and got pregnant without any fertility treatment three times. She was TTC for a fair while and went to the doctor who was going to refer her to a fertility consultant, but like you she and my dad were against the idea of fertility drugs. She started tracking her cycle, even though it was irregular, extremely carefully, and got pregnant before her referral to the consultant came through. So although not every woman with PCOS can conceive naturally, it can be done!

[krisssa.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your reply. I will look into the GI diet and also metformin as an aside.

It's good to hear a story of someone else who wanted to conceive naturally and who was able to do it! I appreciate it! :)

[koka-loca.livejournal.com]

i also just found out twwo months ago im hypo but ive had pcos for six years, thaats how long ive been ttc. i lost fifty pounds and my cycles came back but still no pregnancy so i went to doc to get on met hoping it would help me ovulate when they found i had high prolactin levels and i was hypo so they put me on levothyroxine witch brung thyroid to normal levels the first month and the met. the reason for the met was cuz i was on day fifty of my cycle it was the first time id been off since i lost the weight but just a few day taking the met aand my period came i will keep u posted im going to be charting but i suggest the metformin if u have pcos it helps with a lot of symptoms(weight,regular cycles, ovulation)also soulcysters.com is a great place to learn and vent, ive learned everything from there they r great women check it out.

[krisssa.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Since that post I actually DID end up going to a fertility doc. I had an IUI and got pregnant with my now-11 1/2 week old daughter! My friend took Metformin and it really helped her out too. I hope you become pregnant soon!!! Thank you for the website too, I'm going to go check it out!