Women's Health Hormone Balance

I have PCOS and have been trying for 4 years now. The worst thing that has ever happened to me. Any suggestions gals?

Excuse my ignorance, what is PCOS?

Polycystic ovary syndrome en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycystic_ovary_syndrome

I have PCOS, and I fell pregnant after nearly a year of Ovulation Induction in conjunction with acupuncture and chinese herbs. My husband also was on the chinese herbs (which taste foul) but we got pregnant within 9 weeks of seeing the Chinese doctor. Do some ressearch into the chinese doctors, they are amazing.

Personally, I am not sure that these natural remedies are the immediate cure, as I believe that if you think that they are working, it will seem as though they are, its all in the mind and these people make alot of money from that. If you believe that something works, it does! Its mind over matter, just let nature take its course and without upsetting anyone, sometimes things do not happen for a good reason.

Hi Julie, Thanks for clarifying your reasoning. It helps to understand where you're coming from. I would like to make a few points. There are a lot of women and I'm one of them, who had difficulty conceiving and there are others who had difficulty holding onto a pregnancy. This does not mean that they are "not meant to" have children. There are many, many women who are happy and fulfilled mothers, thanks to alternative therapies or medical help.

Think about heart transplants or even heart bypass operations. Are the recipients of those procedures "not meant" to live. Should they be left to suffer an early death when medical help is available. Should people with type 1 diabetes not be given insulin injections? What about kidney and liver transplants?

As Stephanie points out, a little tweaking of a woman's diet and nutrition status, with the aim of achieving a much wanted pregnancy, is surely something to be applauded. It is very easy for those not affected by infertility to underestimate the emotional pain it causes. I would not wish for anyone to have to deal with it if there is help available. Being a mother is a very sacred desire for some women and it is painful in the extreme to be told that "sometimes there is a good reason why they are not capable of carrying a fullterm pregnancy". although I am sure you did not intend this.

have to agree. I suffer from polycystic ovaries also as well as type 2 diabetes as well as my husband had a low sperm count - so we were served a triple whammy. It was always hard to see friends and others fall at the dropof the hat "or not even trying" as well as all these unwanted teenage pregnancies -its a very emotional and trying time for a couple.
We tried for 2 years, suffered two miscarriages in the 3rd year and the 4th year after 10 cycles of CLOMID as well as my husband on the chinese herbs - we fell and now have a beautiful little boy whose almost 2. We've been trying again now for about 6 months and having no luck so we're about to start the CLOMID again cause that obviosuly helped us last time. Research whatever u can to help you and try not to stress or think about it too much. Life will find a way :-)

Hi - I have just completed my 8th round of CLOMID. Its day 30 and no period which I assume is coming cause I took a pregancy test on day 28 and it was negative. We lost another baby January this year. In February my husband took another sperm motility test and it shows the count even less. Do we give up on the CLOMID now and just start looking at IVF options? It took 21 months (including 12 months naturally + 10 cycles of CLOMID, to fall with our firstborn). This time we've been trying even longer.
Does anyone have any advice? I have heard IVF costs upfront are very expensive and we really don't have many savings.
R

Adoption isn't always the answer Julie - have you seen how long it takes?

Hi, i'm 35 - i have been off the pill since Oct 2010 and have been taking conceive well & I-folic for those past 6mths. My partner does fly in & out and he is always flying out 3 days before my egg should be release. What are my chances of falling pregnant? I'm getting nervous and frustrated due to my age. I have never had children before and my partner has 2 children from a previous relationship. Is there anything else i could be taking or doing? (and yes my partner needs to change his roster too)

Hi again Cheryl
your words of strength are encouraging - thankyou so much for listening and I do treasure every moment I have with my boy. I'm a full-time working mum so juggling home and office and grateful for what I have.
Thankyou for being so lovely..........

Hi Katly, a couple of ideas:
1) www.npan.com.au

2) www.sandracabot.com/books -Infertility: the hidden causes (You need to read this!!)

3) Accupuncture - see if you can find an accupuncturist that specalises in fertility/IVF suppoprt. It's not a matter if you believe in them or not - they really do work - Accupuncture has been the ONLY help to my Migraines (in 15 years!)

I am going through the same as you- I'm on my last cycle of clomid - last chance EVER to conceive - my time is up -so everything is crossed!
Good luck!

Hi All you beautiful women, I have PCOS ans so does my sister who is also type 1 diabetic. Both of us now have one child each and we credit this to a wonderful Naturopath Amanda Haberecht. She was working in the NAtural Fertility centre set up by Francesca Naish & Janette Roberts - they have written several books as well - preconception and post- "The Natural Way to Better Babies", is one.

Amanda now works in Balmain NSW at the Darling Street Health Centre.

All The BEST to you on your journey:) XOX Lisa

I too have PCOS. I cannot believe how common it really is.. Luckily hubby and I have not started trying for kids yet as I believe it will be very difficult for us. Trying to do it naturally and reverse the symptoms and lose those stubborn kilos that won't budge, and avoiding the risk of becoming diabetic while I can! Have tried naturopaths, low GI diet books for PCOS, calorie controlled diets, and lots of excersise on top of that. STILL no weight loss. Today I started seeing a clinical dietician. Hopefully I see some results soon.. otherwise it looks like it is Metformin for me!- Has anyone heard anything about this? I am worried about the long-term side effects.

Hi nnn. I’m sorry to hear about the difficulty you have had losing weight. PCOS can be a very complex condition involving multiple hormones – which unfortunately can impact on your weight, and make weight loss difficult. I’m glad to hear that you’re off to see a clinical dietician – hopefully they are able to help you. Have any of the practitioners you’ve seen in the past checked your hormone levels? If not - I think this would be very helpful to have done as it will enable you to find out exactly what is happening in your body & a treatment protocol can be designed especially for you. Metformin is a drug used in conditions where insulin resistance may be a factor (such as type 2 diabetes, PCOS, etc) – but it would be best to discuss the use of this medication with your healthcare practitioner. All the best nnn. Warm regards, Charmaine (Blackmores Naturopath)

I was diagnosed with PCOS 13 years ago but Im now cured. I was 56kg at the time of diagnoses and found it incredibly hard to gain weight. I had lap surgery to clean out the cysts from my ovaries before I started IVF. On the first round of IVF I fell pregnant. This was 11 years ago. I have had several scans since the birth of my son and there are no signs of any cyst. Previous to falling pregnant I would have 1-2 periods a year but since the birth of my son it's like clock work. I am now 40years old and am thinking about having a second child. What would be the best medicine to take to boost my furtility??