Hypothalamic Amenorrhea and lean PCOS. Anyone else?

LadyAnne · 02-22-2009, 04:45 PM

Hello ladies. I am new to this forum, and was diagnosed on Thursday with Hypothalamic Amenorrhea and lean PCOS.
I am 5’ 7” with a BMI of 19-20.
I stopped taking birth control (after 10 years) in Dec. 2006.
I haven’t had a period since and I am not ovulating.
The first DR I saw told me to wait and see if my body will correct itself.
After unsuccessful tries with Prometrium and Prempro, I was referred to a specialist.
This week, I saw a RE and had an ultrasound. As you can expect, we saw the “string of pearls” – many tiny little cysts that is common with people with PCOS.
According to my hormone tests back in November, everything is normal. My estrogen (52 pg/mL) was low to normal, according to my DR. Everything else FSH, LH and TSH seemed fine.
I have more blood work to do next week so they can check prolactin.
After that he wants me to start on Femara since my DH and I want to conceive.

Besides taking Femara and increasing my body fat (since October I have gained 6 pounds) what else should I be doing? I have already stopped spinning, lifting weights and jogging. My only exercise is yoga a few times I week, and walking. Should I be taking prenatal vitamins too and eating foods that are suppose to increase estrogen like tofu and yams? Or should I focus on consuming more protein – beans, lean beef and nuts?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

keohanel · 02-22-2009, 07:00 PM

welcome - i would definitely take prenatal vitamins if you are planning on TTC within the next 6 months.

other than that: good luck!!

LadyAnne · 02-22-2009, 10:20 PM

Thanks for the advice. I bought some prenatal vitamins today.

35&TTC · 03-01-2009, 08:01 PM

We sounds similar, I have amenorrhea and string of pearls cysts on ovaries also. I tried Femara and it worked well, on ultrasound I had two great follicles and got pregnant (except I had an early miscarriage). So, try, try, again!! Are you going to use a trigger also? My Doc also wants me to gain weight (which is harder than I thought it'd be). He also has me on a prenatal vitamin. Good Luck!!

LadyAnne · 03-02-2009, 09:31 AM

My doctor prescribed Femara but I haven’t started it yet. I’m waiting on some more results to come back – prolactin and insulin, etc.
Weird thing is, my estradiol, FSH and LH levels were all normal. In November my estradiol was 52 pg/mL, which is low-normal.
Since 6 months ago, I have gained about 8 pounds. Recently, I feel like my body must be returning to normal b/c I’ve had PMS symptoms the last 2 months but no AF yet.
Even though I am TTC, I am almost reluctant to take Femara because I am worried about multiples. I’m not sure if I will need trigger shots or not.
There is another forum where I found a ton of information about HA. The ladies are very supportive and have answered a lot of my questions.
You may want to check it out. I can't post the link since I've only had three posts. However, you may find it on Fertile Thoughts under General Infertility. The thread is Hypothalamic Amenorrhea.
Good luck to you!

keohanel · 03-02-2009, 09:35 AM

i think femara is similar to clomid in that it releases 1 or 2 eggs - so you could end up with twins, but it isn't actually that likely. on my thin expecting thread (under the pregnancy buddy boards) there are some girls who used femara and they have singletons. also, you may want to look at the TTC buddy threads - there is one for thin cysters.

keohanel · 03-02-2009, 09:48 AM

you may also want to check out the infertility and TTC forum on this website as this page moves pretty slowly

LadyAnne · 03-03-2009, 12:46 PM

Thank you for the advice. Since my diagnosis, I have been scouring the net for information concerning PCOS, Femara and HA. I’ll check out these other threads.

mercadmj · 05-21-2009, 09:22 PM

Hi!

I have amenorrhea and pcos - I have had 7 pregnancies all of which were naturally conceived. I don't understand it, but I'm suspecting I have other underlying health issues and maybe these things are secondary. I gained alot of weight since quiting the pill. Gradual weight gain. I skipped vitamins and now I'm paying for it. When I nurse my baby I get bone pains meaning I'm lacking Vitamin D. My fault for not sticking to the vitamins!!!

I'm constantly experiencing ovary pains. It is miserable. If anyone else has experienced illness/sick feelings please let me know what it could possibly be. I'm usually told I'm crazy and it's all in my head.