wondering if I have PCOS?

[bonbon1981]

Hi Ladies,
I haven't posted on here before, but thought I would.
first of all I have severe endometriosis, this has caused issues with fertility. I went through IVF due to a blocked fallopian tube & severe endo.
My first IVF cycle I miscarried, not sure of the reason why the miscarriage, we transferred 4 eggs 2 stuck, 1 of the eggs was a blighted ovum, the other baby I miscarried, or maybe due to poor sperm/motility with my husbands sperm- i miscarried.
my other 2 cycles didn't work out. With my 2nd cycle I was overstimulated on the fertility meds & got 1 egg which eventually died, so I didn't make it to my transfer.
my 3rd cycle, we got 5 really good developed embyros (we used donor sperm) which all 5 were transferred & nothing stuck.

I thought also I possibly may have PCOS too, i'm not positive for sure that I do. I have thought this for a while.

i have always had upper dark chin/lip & body hair. I have drk brown hair on my head, I'm not sure if the drk. hair all over is from having dark brown head hair or PCOS?

I just recently went to my ob/gyn & she ran some blood tests, i had my testosterone tested which came out as: 71.2 (normal range: 14-80) almost high, or is this result ok?
my DHEA sulfate was tested it came out at: 374.1 (normal range: 98.8-340.0)
So the DHEA was higher. This indicates I might have: PCOS or maybe a tumor. I'm not sure which one it is. I guess DHEA sulfate has something to do with the adrenal gland, I'm not sure if the adrenal gland is in relation to PCOS?

I am having a hard time with telling when I ovulate: I'm not sure if this is due to having my period to often. due to an endo cyst, I usually get my period every 21-28 days. sometimes I'll have my period 23 days later, then get it
24, 25, 26 days later.
This month I was really surprised I got my period 21 days later (alot sooner than I expected). I can never tell when I'm going to get it. I'm not sure why I get my period so early each month. I'm wondering if anybody else has this problem?, I know with PCOS you can get your period later.

With ovarian cysts, I get one cyst alot of times with having severe endo of the ovary, I think a couple times it's showed 2 cysts. My ultrasounds don't show multiple cysts.

I don't have male pattern balding, no drk. skin tags, no overweight, no diabetes, no multiple cysts- which I know are common symptoms of PCOS.

I do however have drk. body/chin/lip hair, High DHEA sulfate level. I"m not sure the cause of my messed up ovulation.

my ob/gyn told me to make an appt. with the endocrinologist to make sure everything is ok. I have an appt. next month with the endocrinologist.

I'm wondering if anybody has anything helpful? Anybody have PCOS with the same symptoms that I do? Are there any medical tests I should ask for besides DHEA sulfate to fully diagnose PCOS?

Thanks so much,
Bonnie

[BC-Nova]

My PCOS was dx'd with my fasting insulin level, high testosterone, high cholesterol and the uneven ratio of my FSH & LH levels, in addition to the symptoms of a nearly absent cycle, inability to conceive, hirsutism (?sp), and the over-abundance of diabetes in my family.

The ob-gyn I was seeing at the time put more importance on controlling the insulin resistance.

I've since used a number of alternative remedies (after dutifully giving Met. a good 6 months to work). It's been 5 or 6 years since I used Met., and my blood tests last year showed no trace of insulin resistance (though there was still a glucose absorption problem), my LH/FSH ratio was 1:1 as it should be, my testosterone was normal, and my cholesterol was lower, but still needing work. My cycles aren't normal yet without the help of Prometrium or natural progesterone cream, and I don't know if I'm ovulating.

Your endo will know what tests to run. If s/he's looking for PCOS, most likely you'll be tested for insulin resistance, FSH/LH ratio, testosterone levels, cholesterol, progesterone, and probably others I'm not aware of.

I hope that helps.

[bonbon1981]

thanks for the response the info helps me alot.
I have an appt. with the endocrinologist on June 2nd.
I'll ask him if he can run tests to see if I (maybe) have PCOS.

[BC-LittleaBige]

I was diagnosed with PCOS based off of high testosterone levels/insulin resistance and lack of regular cycles (I would have maybe 2 cycles a year). BC-Nova gave you some great insight, I don't have much more to add. Please keep us updated on what you find out!

[NorthernGirl]

I am just wondering what else they use to control insuline resistance? After 8 years of Unexplained IF i was told about 2 weeks ago that my IR level was at 219. I have been on met since the end december. I was tested for this IR after I had been taking the met and it was still that high. I'm wondering if it is even working or if there is something else that i should be doing. My dh and i are thinking that this is what has been causing our problems and why we havent been able to conceive. Anybody have any insight. We are going for our first IVF treatment in august and I am hoping to have this under control by then to increase our chances of a sucessful pregnancy...

[bonbon1981]

Hi Northern Girl,
I'm pretty sure I do have PCOS; with out being insulin resistant.
I'm not sure about the insulin resistant issue, you could post something on here about that & maybe somebody can help you out.
Good luck with your IVF treatment. I went through IVF 3x's due to endometriosis; which sadly didn't work.

[BC-Nova]

Originally Posted by NorthernGirl

I am just wondering what else they use to control insuline resistance?

You might want to research Essential Fatty Acids and iodine supplementation. Both assist with hormone receptors. Insulin is a hormone, and insulin resistance means the receptors aren't working properly (unable to utilize the insulin).

Here's a link to the Alternative Treatment Board's Resource board where there's info posted on iodine supplementation: Iodine -- Dr. Flechas' radio broadcast

PCOS is mentioned during the medical doctor's radio program.

Iodine -- BreastCancerChoices.org's iodine info

I've been taking iodine (in the form of Lugol's Iodine) for 2 years now, though inconsistently. My blood tests show that most of my PCOS-related imbalances (LH, FSH, progesterone, testosterone, fasting insulin level) have returned to normal levels. My cholesterol is still high and my cycle is still very long (quarterly at best, instead of monthly), but I figure part of that is 20+ years of having a very irregular cycle. I'm using Prometrium to make sure I have a monthly cycle, though I have no way of knowing whether or not I've ovulated.

I had blood drawn a year ago which is the first time the positive changes showed up, and I had blood drawn again yesterday. I'll try to remember to let you know what those results are.

Have you tried one of the Insulin Resistance diets along with taking Met? I can't recall any specific names, but I'm sure there are a couple diet books out there.