Thread: Thin PCOS - the "most" challenging for drs??

Hi Ladies,

I haven't posted much on here...have been trying not to obsess so much over TTC so have taken a break from internet boards!! BUT, I'm really getting discouraged lately and wanted to see if anyone had any words of wisdom

I'm a thin cyster - 5'3", 102 lbs. ALL my bloodwork is fine, including ratios to indicate PCOS. But, I do have a slight string of pearls and a bit of excess hair in all the wrong places. No acne, cycles are a bit long b/c I always O on day 20 instead of 14, which is what my dr. says is the problem.

But, even doing 2 rounds Femara, 3 clomid, 2 IUIs, then lap surgery w/ all the customary diagnostic stuff (HSG, and even a tiny bit of ovarian drilling)....I just did a cycle of injectibles w/ IUI and nothing so, all told it's been close to 1 1/2 years TTC w/ not ever seeing a +++.

Here's my question: I went to get a second opinion, and that dr said he thought thin PCOS patients were the MOST CHALLENGING of all. He said there are different egg quality issues than with regular PCOS, and fertilization is often a problem even with IVF. Has anyone heard this? this is discouraging

BTW...I am on met - 1000 mg/day for several months, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything.

i have been mainly frequenting the ttc board and not this one for thin cysters. i dont have much to add here--i just made my first appointment with an RE for december to be evaluated. i was told i had pcos before and took metformin but had to discontinue due to other health issues complicating the side effects, etc.
i would get a second opinion. always. good luck.

First off, I'm sorry you are having such a difficult time.

Secondly, I don't think it is right for your doctor to be so negative about your condition thus far. He/she should keep the opinions to themselves for the sake of your stress level, which, certainly never helped anyone get pregnant. I would get a 3rd opinion, honestly, if your doc has this kind of attitude. Don't be discouraged, all great things come with time I am sending positive energy your way, since your doctor has lacked in that area.

Good luck,

Justine

I wanted to add my 2cents in here:-) My RE said that Thin PCOS is very treatable. I had the lap,hsg, diathermy & on 1500mg Glumetza. A question here, why does your dr. have you on 1000met? I usually hear/or/read of women being on like 2000mg of met. That could be something to inquire about. I know that met. or glumetza takes a good few months to get your body turning around in general, and if you aren't on a high enough dose to begin with...it may not be doing what it should for ya. just a thought~ also, I have started a low sugar diet which I really like. I read A Patient's Guide to PCOS and got the info for that. Don't get down or upset. You will see that +++++ someday:-) This could be a simple matter of dosage, diet, or possibly just getting a new RE. Best of luck:-)

Well, my current RE (not the one I got the negative second opinion from) specializes in PCOS. I was the one who asked about Met, and he basically said there IS research that shows it helps IR pcos patients, but only one study that shows it helped non-IR IVF patients get pregnant. So, I could try it if I want. He was just a little cautious about the IVF study b/c he said sometimes "non-IR" patients are actually IR, they just haven't gotten the most thorough testing to be diagnosed correctly, so there was some question to the study.

So, in a nutshell, I'm voluntarily trying it! I was on 500 mg/day at first, then asked him to up it. He did a blood test to make sure I wasn't having any adverse affects, and gave me the OK. So, I'm planning on working up to 1500 mg/day soon. We'll see about 2000 from there...

Wishing you lots of luck and hopefully we'll see some ++++++'s soon. Xing Fingers:-) Take care~

Originally Posted by Tummy

I have also been told by 2 docs that thin PCOS was harder to treat than "regular" PCOS in regard to getting us to ovulate, but they also said that with IVF, thin cysters tend to have better quality eggs and thus better results, so I'm surprised about that part of your doc's comment. I had zero issues with fertilization, it was just getting me to f-ing ovulate! For IVF, we didn't even do ICSI (where they have to inject the sperm directly into the egg) -- I had 10 mature eggs and all 10 fertilized beautifully. And by the end, 8/10 made it to beautiful blasts (day 5 embryos) and we have 6 waiting for us for the future (transferred 2).

Are you Insulin Resistant? I'm not, so I wonder if that makes a difference, b/c I usually do ovulate, just later in my cycle than the RE says is healthy.

I'm so glad you heard positive news about thin cysters' eggs! Although my FSH is fine, my biggest fear of course, is that my eggs are crappy. In fact, that second dr. that gave me the negative opinion said he ALWAYS uses ICSI on the very first try w/ thin PCOS IVF b/c sometimes not a single egg fertilizes

Hmmmmm......

Wow, ladies...thank you all SO MUCH for sharing your encouraging experiences!!! After 1.5 yrs ttc, clomid, femara, injectibles, iuis, met, tons of bloodwork, and lap/hsg/ovarian drilling with nothing working, I was losing hope. This gives me lots of that back!!!!