Hi, my doctor told me yesterday that I have pcos. I think she made this dx solely on the fact that i have cysts on one of my ovaries (oh, and I haven't ovulated or had a period since going off the pill 7 months ago after 11 yaers on it!). She indicated that my estrogen was low but my other hormone levels were normal...doesn't pcos mean you have high testosterone? I do have bad acne, but am normal weight and no extraneous hair. Also, does the fact that I only had cysts on one ovary mean anything? A previous doc gave me clomid, I wonder whether that caused the cysts and it's not really pcos...any input would be most appreciated!
You should try to get a copy of your bloodwork from your doctor. Although your testosterone may not be high, according to your lab's ranges, it may be high enough to indicate a problem. I had one doc tell me my testosterone was "barely high" b/c it was 93, and the top of my lab's range was 88. I've read that anything over 50 indicates a problem - and I had another doc tell me it really should be around 30. You can have high testosterone w/o having hair issues too.
I believe the official diagnostic criteria of PCOS are 1) irregular and/or annovulatory cycles and 2) high testosterone. You don't necessarily need to have ovarian cysts to have PCOS, and you can have cysts without PCOS.
I'd suggest getting a copy of your lab results and consulting another doctor. If you haven't already been to an endocrinologist - or possibly a reproductive endocrinologist (who specialize in infertility) - you may want to consider meeting with one of those specialists. They tend to be more educated about PCOS (and other hormonal disorders) than most GPs or OB/GYNs.
Hope you get a clear answer soon! Good luck!
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Thanks for response! I did call and get my exact numbers, and they are:
Estradiol - 32
FSH - 5.4
LH - 2.06
Total testosterone - 45
DHEAS - 114
TSH - 1.514
Prolactin - 3.2
All normal so far as I've read online! What she indicated is that althogh my testosterone isn't high per se, it is high relative to the estrogen (which apparently means something?). Do those values jump out as meaningful to you? Oh - and this IS my second doctor! When I meet with her next, I'm going to ask about seeing an RE. I won't see her for a month and a half, unfortuantely. I"m supposed to gain weight and taking hormone replacements in the hopes of finally bleeding (it's been almost 8 months!), so that when they start the fert. meds, it's in the right place of a "cycle".
hmm. . .very interesting! I'm no doctor, but I wouldn't look at those labs and say you had PCOS. Your total testosterone looks OK (maybe a little high by my doc's standards, but not dramatically so). Often another tell-tale sign of PCOS is an "inverted LH / FSH ratio" - meaning the LH is higher than the FSH (often 2x-3x higher). And yours is the opposite. Actually, early in your cycle they're supposed to be about 1:1.
When did you have the tests done? For the LH / FSH ratio to be meaninful it has to be done in the early days of your cycle (CD3). I'm assuming since you haven't had a period since you came off BCPs you just had them done at a "random" point - in which case it can be hard to judge what's going on there. You may want to get them redone early in your next cycle.
Your DHEAS looks good too. A lot of PCOSers have high numbers there. I do.
I wish I knew more about estrogen, but I never had mine tested. I do know that estrogen is the dominant hormone in the first half of your cycle and helps build your uterine lining and trigger your body to produce other necessary hormones. So if you're not making enough that explains why you may not be cycling.
We're you regular before BCPs?
You may want to try posting your questions in the "what's on your mind" forum. That forum tends to get a lot more traffic & there's a lot of smart ladies around this site who know tons about various lab tests and what the results mean.
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Your Problem Sounds A Lot Like Mine. My Periods Were Completely Normal Before Bcp. I Was On Desogen For About 4 Years Or Maybe A Little Bit Longer. When I Got Off The Pill, I Had Normal Period The First Month, But Then I Went About A Year Without Having One. I Went To My Gyn, And They Did Thyroid Labs, And Diagnosed Me With Hypothyroidism. I Went To An Endocrinologist, And They Have Been Trying To Get My Labs In The Normal Range For About 8 Months Now. But In The Process Of All The Blood Work Being Drawn, My Testosterone Was Drawn And It Came Out To Be 80. But I Had It Drawn Again About 1 Month Later And It Was Around 50...a Drop Of About 30 Points. They Told Me That They Thought I Had A Mild Case Of Pcod. My Blood Sugar Levels Were Completely Normal So They Said I Was Not Insulin Deficient. I Am Not Overweight Either 5'4" And 130 Lbs. My Ovaries Look Normal To Me Also. My Testosterone Is Just A Little Elevated. Everyone Thought My Problem Was Just Due To My Thyroid, But Now My Thyroid Is Normal And My Periods Are Very Irregular. They Have Me On Prometrium 200, But Sometimes I Will Have 2 Periods A Month And Presently I Haven't Had A Period In 1 1/2 Months Now....and I Did Take My Prometrium This Month Too.
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I had my estrogen tested a couple of weeks ago. It was 8, and the doctor said this was low. I was in my last day of menstruation, and I hear that while you are menstruating it is common for estrogen to be low...but is it normal for it to be THAT low?
kmacc - according to the chart I found, normal estrogen values on day 3 are between 25-75 (peaks into the hundreds later in the cycle). which also indicates my doctor was full of something when she said mine was low at 32 Are you by chance very thin?
My bloodwork all indicates "normal" as well. While I am a thin sister (well, at least before steroids for an eye disease), I have always had normal periods, not obese, not horrible acne, etc. My only "other" sign, besides the cysts on my ovaries, is that I am "hairy".
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danaesb- thank you for responding 32 does seem to fit into the normal range, but one could say it is on the lower side. I think it depends on the other symptoms you mentioned such as acne and no period. I definitely have both of those as well.
My estradiol levels were 8 L pg/mL. I am around 145 lbs, about a size 8, and am 5'7'', so I am definitely not extremely thin, but not overweight either.
its so hard to tell whether doctors are trying to help you or just make money...all i know is that 8 sounds like a very low number to me. I think I may try another doctor and get a second opinion.
new with questions about dx of pcos 
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