New to boards/Newly diagnosed/Runner/Confused :)

RunningInCircles · 05-10-2009, 12:41 PM

Hi, everyone!

This is my first post--I'm new to the boards. My husband and I have been TTC since March 2008, which as I type it, is hard to believe. I'm thin (5'6, 120 lb), don't have any family history of diabetes or weight issues, but do have some acne. I'll be 27 in a couple of weeks, and my husband is 28.

I went off bcp in December 2007 to prepare for TTC, and I've been getting periods every 30-40 days. They've been irregular in length, but I seem to be O'ing. We went to a fertility specialist this April, and I did all the fun blood tests, ultrasounds, etc. Most of my hormone levels were normal, except my testosterone was 52, which is within the normal range but high for someone of my size. My ovaries, however, were polycystic, hence the diagnosis. It's hard for me to believe--is anyone else in this boat?

I guess I just question it all--I'm getting my period, I chart, so it seems that I'm O'ing, my CM follows the "normal" pattern--I'm thankful for all of that, but it just makes it really confusing!!!

We haven't tried any medications/interventions yet, and I'm still unsure if we're going to. In November, I'm going to switch to my husband's insurance, which has better coverage. The first step would be timed intercourse with clomid, trigger shot, and progesterone. I guess I'm just scared that if this doesn't work, it'll be even more devastating than a natural "failed" cycle. I admire the strong women on this board who have done these things multiple times. I feel pretty worn out.

In the meantime, we're still trying naturally, and I'm trying a low-gi diet. Also, I'm a runner--any running ladies out there? I ran a marathon in March 2008, right before beginning to TTC. I was so naive--such a planner

I thought, OK, I'll do this, then I'll TTC. One goal after another

My periods were normal through training and normal (30-40 days) after. Now I've been running shorter races and training a lot less. I run about 4 days a week. My doctor said that my running should not affect TTC, and that running under 35 miles a week is fine. I think right now I only run about, oh, maybe 15 miles a week, on a good week!!! Anyway, I do worry about sabotaging myself, but I feel like if I don't run, I'll become stressed.

ANYWAY, if anyone made it through this saga, I'm impressed. You can tell that I don't have a lot of people to talk to about this. I'm looking forward to making some friends here who get it. Right now I'm on CD5, so looking ahead to another month . . .

JMac30 · 05-10-2009, 10:00 PM

Nice to meet you, it sounds like we have sort of similar situations. I've been ttc since May 2008. I had cycles ranging between 40 and 50+ days, so I started charting and found I was ovulating, just late into my cycle. On one cycle I didn't ovulate until CD58 but it turns out we CONCEIVED a pregnancy!! BUT sadly I found out on an ultrasound that the baby had died when I was 11 weeks along.

I had to have a d&C on Jan 22, 2009 for the missed miscarriage, and since then I charted and charted and just never ovulated since. So I went to see my OB who ran blood tests and found I had an LH:FSH ratio of 2:1. He said everything else was within normal levels and diagnosed me with mild PCOS. He sent me off and said I could come back to see him if I wanted to try Clomid.
I am a healthy weight, not super thin, average I would say - 5'7" and 145 lbs, give or take a few!

My only other PCOS symptom is some mild acne as well.
I just started running! I am training to do a 10K in a month, and ran a 5K today. Not quite marathon distances but I am really enjoying it so far.
So right now I am trying to get as healthy as I can through a healthy diet, acupuncture, trying some herbs, etc. If I cant ovulate again on my own I will probably turn to Clomid in mid-July. I just kind of feel like I conceived once and was ovulating before.... I'd like to do it again on my own, and now that I know my diagnosis, maybe I can do things differently to have a healthier pregnancy....?? I dont know. The doctor told me my miscarriage would not have been related to the PCOS but I am not entirely convinced.
HA, thanks for reading MY novel....!

runnergirl23 · 05-11-2009, 12:19 PM

Hi Circles

. I'm a long-distance runner too (and triathlete though I took 2008 off and now 2009 because I'm now pregnant, due in August). I had no idea I had PCOS until June of 2008 when I went of the pill and never got my period. I'm 5'4" and 125 - 130 normally, very muscular and wear a size 2. I ran a marathon in April of 2008 and am very regular about exercise since it's something I just love to do. At first my doctor said I was too thin but I insisted in August I get testing. The only thing different about my was elevated testosterone. It was higher than yours but not much -- maybe 60-something -- but enough to diagnose PCOS (they didn't check for cysts because I had been on BCP for so long). Anyway, since I still never got my period 15 weeks post BCP by September, I saw an OB that specialized in reproductive endrocrinology and he prescibed provera (to bring on my period) and then clomid (to make me ovulate). The 50 mg dose of clomid didn't make me ovulate, but the 100 mg dose the next month (November) did and we got pregnant!! I'm now 6 months along, actually still running but MUCH less. I ran all along the process -- not a ton of mileage but maybe 20-25 miles, running 3-4 times a week with a longer 8-10 mile run on weekends, some speed work, etc until I got pregnant. Now I've cut it back to 10 or so miles a week total! I don't think running will hurt you at all, it might actually keep your body healthy as long as your don't overdo and you are eating right. Not sure if it helped but I also switched away from no- and low-fat dairy to full fat dairy after reading about The Fertility Diet, and I started accupuncture in early November 2008.

I would recommend you start temping (see Fertility Friend's website if you don't know how, I used that website to track my cycles) and then just make sure you are timing intercourse at least every other day leading up to ovulation! Even on Clomid I ovulated a bit late, so we were just very structured on our timing until I knew that I had ovulated.

Good luck and feel free to message me with any questions. This is a tough process but don't be afraid of the meds to help everything along. I'm very happy I was so proactive in my treatment -- especially now that I feel my baby boy moving inside of me.

(What marathon did you run?)

RunningInCircles · 05-11-2009, 09:37 PM

JMac and Runnergirl, thank you so much for your responses! It's so great to hear from others.

JMac, congrats on starting to run! 5Ks and 10Ks are no joke. I found it's helped me so much with stress, and I hope it helps you, too. Have you noticed any changes since trying the herbs? I'm not familiar with any of that stuff . . . I enjoyed the "novel"--thank you for posting!

Runnergirl, it's so great to hear about your success!! Congratulations!!! I've been charting my cycle, and I seem to be ovulating each month. I guess that's what's tricky--my charts appear "normal," so I can't shake the part of me that feels like I'm just being impatient.

It's so great to hear that you've been keeping up with your running, too! I really cut back at first, and then I felt silly. Now I'm training for a 10-miler, and I figure if I do get so lucky as to become pregnant before it, then I won't run it. If not, then at least I'll enjoy the training and race--last year I watched my husband run the same 10-miler and was annoyed at myself for sitting out.

I ran the National Marathon in DC--you?

I didn't know about The Fertility Diet, but will definitely look it up. I will take you up on your offer to message as we navigate this crazy marathon

Best to both of you.

krissie · 05-12-2009, 05:27 PM

RunningInCircles,

Hello and welcome! I think you'll find a lot of us who have been where you are right now. I am also a marathon runner and thin (6 feet and 140lbs). I've run since high school and through college, and now I do marathons. I also was shocked to discover I had PCOS. My hormones were all normal, but they did find cysts on my ovaries and I do get some adult acne. My periods were somewhat regular (less so during my marathon training) and if I wasn't overdoingit with my running and wasn't overly stressed, I seemed to ovulate (though I too seemed to ovulate late in my cycle-- which is a problem because the egg may not still be good later in your cycle).

After being diagnosed, I started acupuncture (which helped some), but I still wasn't pregnant after a year of ttc. So, we proceeded to a reproductive endocrinologist who put me on clomid. I did four rounds of clomid with a trigger. It did make me ovulate, but I never got pregnant. We moved on to IUI and did three rounds of that- none of which worked. Again, I responded wonderfully to the meds, but things just never came together. Finally (almost two years after we began ttc) we moved on to IVF-- which, thank God, worked on the first try. I am now almost through my first trimester (still so nervous about it since it was so hard to get to this point). It was a long and difficult journey, but from the getgo my doctor said women with mild PCOS (like us) will get pregnant. It was just a matter of time.

I am sorry you're going through it. Wanting desperately to be a mom, and struggling to get pregnant is such a horrible thing to go through. Some steps I took that helped me (and everyone is different) included:

- giving up running (First I cut down drastically then I just gave it up completely-- which was so hard to do, but I replaced it was walking and yoga)

- going to acupuncture

- changing my diet (I needed more protein. I substituted sprouted grain bread for bread made with flour. I cut down drastically on pasta, even though it was whole wheat, and started eating brown rice and other whole grain/non-flour carbs instead. I cut back on sugar-- I'd been eating fat free ice-cream which actually can have way more sugar than regular ice-cream. Oh, and no caffiene)

- started taking a prenatal vitamin right way.

- tried to minimize stress as much as possible (I know, kinda hard to do when you're stressed about getting pregnant).

- paid close, close attention to how late in my cycle I was ovulating and how long my luteal phase was.

- read up on PCOS (books by Colette Harris) and the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. As I said, a lot of us have been in your shoes. Be gentle with yourself, and know that you are not alone.

xoxo