Thin cysters who ovulate regularly?

runner22 · 10-07-2009, 12:07 AM

Hi, girls! I wanted to start a thread for us as we are such a specific population. I know it will help me to find people in this group. Maybe we can share things that have/have not worked? I am pretty early in this journey. We have been TTC just 4 months (going on 5 technically, I guess). My cycles are 35 days long. My first cycle on met was cut down to 32 days (not sure if that was really due to met or not though) which is very unusual. We are going on the 2nd cycle of 1000mg extended release. Soooo lucky that I have had no side effects whatsoever.

My main symptoms are annoying chin hairs and acne. I've had some abnormal bloodwork with mildly high testosterone and a very wacked LH:FSH ratio. I don't know if I am insulin resistant as my doctor doesn't believe that it really matters! (I would have to agree, after all that I have read.) But I actually think I am. I used to work at a camp for kids with diabetes, so I would check my blood sugar a lot, and it was usually a little higher than the norm.

So...I'd love to hear other ladies' stories who are in this category! Especially if you are TTC...maybe we can take this journey together! Thank you!!!

sassygirl09 · 10-07-2009, 02:39 PM

I think I ovulate regularly but this is only the second time I have taken a test kit.

Pink Nails · 10-08-2009, 02:54 PM

I think this is me too. I was on yasmin BCP for 7 years and now am on my 2nd cycle off bcp ttc#1.

I just started all this tracking with OPK, basal thermometer and also mucus and already there are promising signs that my body is having a normal cycles. Before BCP I always had a regular period, actually a heavy period. So I hope I ovulate all the signs are there - except I am not pregnant yet, but it is only month two of trying.

Now that I am ttc I am obsessed with trying to figure out what might be wrong so I don't have problems with pregnancy. I know I have high DHEA which is an adrenal source of excess androgen. I did not test as insulin resistant though I avoid sugar and carbs anyway because I feel crappy calories adds extra stress to my body it doesn't need.

I try to tell myself that the cause of my problems are just because I stress too much and am wreaking havoc on my hormones rather than an enzyme deficiency(which I cannot control).

So far in 2 months I have noticed:
An LH surge that seems like it might be continuous. I think it is not a reliable test for me since the LH is probably out of wack to begin with. Maybe that is what negativly affects pregnancy outcome?
Mucus seems to change during a period of ovulation matching the LH surge 12 days after my period but it is not super stringy, just a little bit. (Sorry tmi but it is pertinent and seems like the easiest thing to test)
My temp is very low (maybe a sign of hypoglycemia) and last month it rose after supposed ovulation but stayed high for only a few days which is a short leutal phase then I got my period. I think that is a lack of progestorone which keep the temp high to sustain a pregnancy. So now this worrys me.

I am trying to stay hopeful but there are a lot of things that can go wrong.

runner22 · 10-10-2009, 01:55 PM

Hi, Pink Nails! So, are you seeing a doctor at this point for the PCOS? What was it that lead to your original diagnosis? How long do you think your luteal phase was, and how long have your cycles off bcp been? My doctor gave me progesterone suppositories the last cycle to boost my progesterone. I did already have an adequate luteal phase length, but my p-levels were a little low. Doc said it should help make the following cycle stronger as well. I think the root cause of the low progesterone though is that the follicle that was produced in the follicular phase was weak, and thus turned into a weak corpus luteum. And that's why I'm taking metformin!
Yeah, I haven't tried OPK's yet because "they" say that LH is almost always high in PCOS and can give false positives. Is that what you've been experiencing? I've been thinking about trying them this cycle just to see what happens, but I can't decide if it's worth spending the money! I've only been ttc for 4 cycles. It sounds like a short amount of time, but it feels sooo long, especially since I expected to be pregnant by now

Where are you in your current cycle. I'm on CD 6, and I expect to ovulate around the CD 14-17 (hopefully closer to 14 because I'm away for work on CD 17!!).

Sassygirl09--Hey! How long have you been TTC? And how long are your cycles usually? What kinds of signs/symptoms do you have?

Thanks for your replies, guys!

Pink Nails · 10-12-2009, 12:55 PM

Hi Runner22.
I haven't had good luck with Doctors. They all say I look good and becuase I get my period I shouldn't worry about it. No metformin for me because I am thin. My dheas is high so they figure my excess androgen is coming from the adrenal glands so typical pcos treatment doesn't do anything for that. But of course I was on BCP, which did wonders for every symptom in my case, when they made that assessment. What they don't see is that I feel like the rollar coaster ride you get on in puberty I have not been able to get off of... I am 32 and exhausted from having my hormones out of wack.

Anyway here is what happened with my cyles off BCP:

#1 cycle was extended, including the last pill period it took 25 days to get ovulation signs. The I had the mucus change and LH surge and temp hike all how it is suppsed to work. The temp stayed high only for about 4 days then started to drop a little then down farther then I got my period (a weird clotty one with brown blood - usually I bleed more normal) in about 6 days I think. So I guess that was a 34 day cycle. I attribute that long first half of the cycle to the adjustment of getting off BCP. I am just glad I got a period that quick at least, some of the PCOS ladies wait months to get a period.

#2 cycle mucus changes started at day 10 so the first phase is more normal. LH stayed high. I detect a surge every day I test from day 10 on. I am currently on day 15 I think and my temp has risen from 97 to 98 over the course of a few days - but I Think it is supposed to sharply rise. I don't feel like I ovulated but now the waiting starts - no glasses of wine until I get my period. So I am only on my second cycle, half way through.

It is hard to figure out, it is also hard to be consistant and test everything everyday. Don't buy the LH test, for me it is a waste and a dissapointment to see it not working and basically telling me my body's hormones are elevated day - I already know that they are messed up I don't need the extra daily reminder.

I understand how 4 months seems long. Before this I felt like I was always getting my period and it interfered with my sex life. Now each day seems so long waiting for signs and the menstration is a breater period! It sounds like you are way ahead of me with progesterone and met. Keep in touch, you are doing all the right things and know what is going on, so I think it will work out for you pretty soon.

LivebyGrace · 10-12-2009, 06:51 PM

Hey ladies, I think I might fit in here too. I'm not exactly thin. I'm almost average. I gained 10 pounds after going of BCPs which made me slightly overweight. I'm just about down to my former average weight. I found out about my PCOS in May of this year. It took six months of exhaustion, 60+ day cycles, almost constant nausea, and headaches for me to go see my family practice doc. He immediately tested me for tons of things and recognized my PCOS on the first shot. I was truly blessed in that regard. My bloodwork showed that all my hormone levels were normal except for LH/FSH ratio in which my LH was too high. Over the first two months after being diagnosed I worked my way up to 1700mg of metformin and it has done wonders for me. I have much less of an appetite, I've dropped the nearly 10 pounds I gained in the 6 months after BCPs, my acne cleared up, my cycle shortened by about 3 weeks, my nausea and headaches left, my energy came back. I haven't felt this good in a long time - I really think I am insulin resistant, even though I've never taken a glucose tolerance test to confirm. I take my bbt every morning and have noticed a clear temperature shift every full cycle since starting metformin. Not to mention the clear change in how I feel around ovulation and the ovualtion pain. My DH and I have been TTC #1 for a year now, but I know I didn't start ovulating until 4 months ago. So technically this my 4th it-can-actually-happen-(I hope) cycle.

I'm CD 20 and ovulation is due anytime in the next week.

mlynn · 10-13-2009, 07:35 PM

Thought this thread was interesting...

I did not always ovulate regularly...actually never...until I started metformin 2000mg a day and avandia 4 mg and cinnamon 2000 a day. (check out the new study) This is my third cycle off of BCP since my 2nd child was born, and I have had 33 day cycles. This last cycle I caught my LH surge with an OPK, but it was a BFN at the end of the cycle. I was just so happy to see AF arrive on Sunday...I didn't even care I was not pregnant. I also am doing low carb, low sugar diet and exercise. This combination seems to work great for me. I feel GREAT-a lot more energy, I sleep WAY better too. I also notice that I am not hungry shortly after I eat like i used to be.

My first child was conceived 1st cycle off of BCP. (still amazed by that one) 2nd was WAY more difficult. We finally found the RX mix that worked for me-avandia and metformin and got pregnant the third cycle after I FINALLY started ovulating. I am SO HOPEFUL that our 3rd child will be conceived easily. Time will tell, but I am VERY happy with my cycles so far! We are lucky....we are getting cycles and think we are ovulating....I know how it feels on the other end to have my body doing NOTHING.
Keep up the positive thoughts!

Pink Nails · 10-19-2009, 04:11 PM

I assume I ovulate. I have a biphasic basal body temp chart in the two months off BCP. Always had a regular period before. Is it possible to have a biphasic temp change with no ovulation?

miyu · 11-27-2009, 05:26 AM

Hi peeps! I certainly fit into this category. I am 5'7" 118# and not IR. My RE won't put me on metformin because my GGT and insulin came back normal (low sugars and low-range-of-normal insulin, in fact). Labwise, I have borderline high free testosterone and high LH:FSH ratio. I do test LH because though my LH:FSH is high, the strip is still able to distinguish the LH surge from baseline. My HSG came back normal this week.

My symptoms are just acne and the occasional long menstrual cycle (45-80 days). Most of the time I have regular cycles of ~35 days. I get my LH surge around day 20 (I do the LH dipstick), which is always followed by a period 2 weeks later. That's how I am assuming that I ovulate regularly. They have not been able to test progesterone levels 1 week after ovulation to confirm this.

I've been TTC since March and have gone through one clomid cycle. It hasn't worked out at all, maybe because I'm ovulating late and the egg quality suffers as a result.

Runner 22: I do agree with you that our follicular phases may be weak, therefore causing the long menstrual cycle. I also suspect that my luteal phase is weak as well.

Have you gotten your egg quality checked? I think I will try to ask my doc to do that next. Please keep me updated on what you find out about the follicular phase being weak. I think I don't produce enough FSH or estrogen, which would explain the acne and late/slow developing follicles.

runner22 · 11-27-2009, 09:55 PM

Hello, ladies! I'm sorry I have been absent for a while! I've had a couple very discouraging months. Two of my grandparents died within a few weeks of each other, which just sucked. During that time, we failed to conceive twice and had some wacky stress-related ovulation delays, which really didn't help matters! Obviously, I'm still not pregnant and I'm so sad to say that I get more discouraged every day

I'm usually such an optimistic person, but I really feel like we should have conceived by now. I am sooooo scared that there might be something wrong with dh's sperm, too! What are the chances that we both have problems??? Anyway! In other news...I'm technically up to 1500mg of metformin. I'm on CD 11 of cycle 3 on met, and since I've had not a single side effect and this is a crucial time, I've bumped myself up to 2000mg. I know that's bad and I should stick to what the doc prescribed, but I can't help it!!! The earliest I've ever ovulated is CD 18, so I'm hoping to see signs soon! My little sister is pregnant and due in 4 weeks, and it just kills me when I see her

Pink Nails--you may have already found the answer to your question, but...it is almost impossible to have a temp shift without ovulation. I say almost because it's always possible that you have some kind of infection or it was just really hot in your room or some other fluke thing, but it's unlikely that this fluke would occur for more than three days. So, they say that if you have 3 or more days of a higher temp (and you haven't discovered that you have the flu), you can assume that you've ovulated. The progesterone that is released after the egg leaves the ovary (and ONLY after) is what causes the temp shift. That's really too bad that your doctor won't prescribe met...you might want to look for another one! Your luteal phase in the first cycle was pretty short. How did the second one go?

Thank you, ladies, for your stories! I will hopefully be able to participate more now!! I've been away for so long and I get so encouraged by this website; I think this is just what I need to be hopeful again!

Pink Nails · 11-30-2009, 02:17 PM

Runner22. I am sorry to hear about your gransparents. Stress and sadness doesn't do our health any favors.

You may want to get your DH's sperm tested. I had my DH get his sperm tested. He has very poor sperm morphology. 82% have tapered heads - they are deformed and cannot fertilize an egg. To top that off he has other "issues." It doesn't help our situation any but the silver lining is that I am not quite so hard on myself as our inability to conceive (so far) is not entirely my fault.

Anyway it sounds like your cycle is fairly normal at least a good place to start. I also ovulate. You are right abotu the raised temp. It was been that was for the 4 months I have tested so basically I ovulated every month on a now regular 27 day cycle. That at least gives me somehtign to be hopeful about.

However I have noticed my average temperature has been decreasing with each new cycle. I am not sure why that is happening and it concerns me even though there is a clear thermal shift in spite of that every month. Maybe it is just winter coming?

miyu · Yesterday, 12:23 AM

Runner22: My condolences about your grandparents... it is rough! I really hope the metformin works for you. I haven't started metformin yet and I ovulate on days 19-21 at best. I know what you mean about seeing other people pregnant. My whole housing complex is full of pregnant ladies and it just puts me in a bad mood all day.

Pink Nails: My husband has only 8.6% normal morphology, but the RE doesn't seem to care about this (he says it is "mild to moderately abnormal") as the standards for what is "normal" are too stringent. He has 54% acrosomal defects and 29% neck defects. I don't see a tapered head category on our lab form, only "large, small, duplicated/joined, and eglongated heads". Did your doctor tell you that the head defect is very concerning? I should bug my RE about it some more. There is a "hamster test" that I've read about where they see if the sperm can penetrate a hamster egg. I don't know if it is used in practice or only in research.

I am frustrated because I get all the signs of ovulation, have gotten follicles from Clomid, and I have my own periods. But still no answers after 8 months about what might be malfunctioning!

Ah well, one step at a time!

Pink Nails · Yesterday, 05:49 PM

ok, I totally don't understand sperm.

My DH went to the doctor they tested the sperm and sent us the report about the 82% tapered heads. That was it just gave us the results and said nothing about it so of course to me those odds look poor so I just assumed. I don't know what normal is.