What can thin cysters do to increase their chances of conceiving?

*DesertRose* · 04-06-2003, 05:41 AM

Hi girls,

I have to admit that I am starting to get really frustrated with this whole PCOS thing ... okay, I know I should be thankful that I don't have any symptoms except for the classic string of pearls on my ovaries and irregular (no) ovulation/periods/cycles ......... but sometimes I just wish I could start losing weight and exercise and everything will be back to normal .......

great! I already am normal - except for those messed up hormones! .... so what do I do???

I would love to start a discussion thread on what we thin cysters can do to improve our chances of conceiving!!! Maybe some already have experience or stories to tell ....

Lots of love to everyone ~

Shaima

waiting for first · 04-06-2003, 10:12 PM

To my knowledge there isn't a whole lot we can do. I suppose find out if you are IR if you haven't already, and even if you aren't, glucophage/metformin can sometimes help regardless. I haven't responded to 3 cycles of clomid and am waiting for AF so I can start a my 1st cycle of injectables (gonal F) with IUI.
I think having a good doc helps obviously. Avoiding insulin-raising foods is just good for your health even if you aren't trying to lose weight. Take your vitamins...some studies have shown magnesium to be helpful though I've never noticed a difference.
That's about all I know...I wish there was more. Maybe some others have suggestions I'm forgetting right now. I hear you though...my only symptoms are anvoluation/amennorhea, and very slightly elevated androgens (but no hair growth or hair falling out). I wish there was more I could do...I'm hoping gonal-F at least gets me to O...I haven't at all since stopping bcp in sept 02.

Beth

SallyRB · 04-07-2003, 09:46 AM

does anybody know if its more difficult for thin cysters to respond to clomid? and if so, WHY?!?!?!?

waiting for first · 04-08-2003, 06:30 PM

Based on what I've read, and this is some speculation too (I'm a thin cyster who didn't respond to clomid at 50 mg 3-7, 100 mg 4-8 or 100 mg 3-10 and am awaiting af to arrive so I can start gonal-f)...this is what I think.

I read several articles that indicated that women w/ PCOS have hormonal issues that are "more firmly entrenched" than larger cysters. This may be for a few reasons, but this is what I think...while it is definitely possible for a thin pcos'er to be IR, it isn't terribly common. This means that glucophage/metformin while it can be effective, often isn't as effective as it might be for someone overweight or technically IR. I think that sometimes our insulin issues are more related to our body not using insulin well...even if our levels aren't too high, which can be harder to treat with diet, meds, etc.

Anecdotally, it seems to me that a lot of overweight cysters still get their periods and ovulate, though this may be very irregular. In a lot of cases, it seems like the thin cysters often aren't Oing or getting their peroids at all or very rarely. I think the heavier cysters tend to have an easier time getting clomid to give them that little push to get them to O, whereas we have a larger hurdle to overcome.

I wish I understood more about it, but that is just some of my thoughts...by no means a good explanation. It is very frustrating as there is so little research on pcos in general, and if you are a thin cyster, there is even less research, and we do seem to respond differently in a lot of cases. Right now I'm battling to try and find out some dietary things...I take metformin (but am not technically IR) and have been low carbing. I was only doing 50 g of carbs per day and 1500 mg of met and was starting to feel dizzy a lot. I bumped up to 75 g of carbs and felt better. But I still can't find ANY research on how many carbs w/ met is ideal...should I be doing something as aggressive as atkins or sticking to just an IR-type diet? I'm not trying to lose weight, just help regulate my insulin. There is so little info on met and diet together even in overweight women, let alone thin cysters. Very very very frustrating, isn't it?

Good luck!
Beth

Pale Pink Aura · 04-09-2003, 02:04 AM

Yeah, I agree = it is REALLY frustrating. I'm currently trying so hard to make myself feel healthy. I conceived my daughter with IVF, so I am sooooooo bleased to have her. I really thought my troubles were after after she was born, but my PCOS symptoms just got worse and worse. Now I'm so fatigued all the time and feel like I'm dying. Sounds pretty dramatic, but heh, that's how I feel. There is such conflicting advice on different diets and yet it's all pretty limited for thin cysters. If I low carb I get very, very dizzy and the weight keeps falling off (so my docs keep getting cranky at me, seeing as I'm already underweight). So I've been trying to eat a diabetic low GI diet. I've also been trying to buy organic when I can (but in Australia it is soooooooooooooo hard to get!!) based on the theory that the base of PCOS is oestrogen overload from all the chemicals/pesticides/hormones etc we ingest with food. I'm also on metformin - the docs refused to let me get tested for IR until I developed gestational diabetes with my pregnancy and now I now I am. I do find that I feel 'better' ie not as fatigued and moody when I've cut out all sugar from my diet. Again, it's not so easy to do. When I'm really fatigued I don't have the energy to cook, so often eat quick things which inevitably are 'bad' things. Ideally I only want to eat things I've prepared from fresh ingredients or whole grains. No packet mixes or sauces, no processed flour or basically anything from a can that has preservatives, additives, colours etc etc. If only it was easy to find organic foods and have the energy to keep up the cooking and hopefully one day.... ovulate??!!

AmandaC · 04-10-2003, 05:11 PM

Hi Shaima
I'm another thin(ish) annovualtory clomid resistant cyster. I did get pg but only with injections and since my dd was born have repsonded badly to the injections as well. What I have been trying since stopping ivf is the approach from Colette Harris's book. (I think its on the books/resources for pcos board). I've been trying to cut out toxins so trying gradually to increase the amount of organic food (I started with organic milk and butter because I reckoned that some of the hormone affecting toxins deposit in fat). I have tried (not very well) to increase the amount of filtered water that I drink. I've cut out coffee, sugar etc and cut down on alcohol and tea. I'm not doing a low carb diet but have been pretty good at cutting out refined carbs and trying to cut down on other carbs. I do have pasta but wholegrain and basmati rice (lowish gi). I didn't like the texture of brown rice but didn't notice any difference really with wholegrain spaghetti. I am trying to bump up the maount of fruit and veg I have and also oats and lentils. I've been doing yoga for the destressing part of Colette Harris's approach. I did try and exercise but I hate it and have to keep trying again with that. Finally I have been seeing a medical herbalist and slowly af is coming back (cycle is now about 55 days having been every 12 to 24 months). I've been temping since January and have had one O although the next cycle now looks anovualatory. It has been hard work combining so many different changes but I didn't want to totally give up ttc any more children even though we won't try any more ivf. The improvements are quite slow as well but looking back over the last 6 months things have definitly improved and although its quite a long timescale 4 years of ttc using conventional approaches puts that in perspective for me. I'm not sure that I'd recommend this approach if you haven't exhausted the conventional route but it can't hurt in between conventional treatment cycles. I wouldn't want to self medicate on te herbs either because I don't think I would have kept going without regular discussion/feedback from my herbalist.
HTH Amanda C

sunnier · 05-15-2003, 08:58 PM

hi shaima
i was so glad to see your post, as i am muslim as well. when you say you are an islamic healing student what do you mean by that?

i too am a thin cyster. I have no periods on my own w/out being induced by Provera or taking BCP. I am now TTC and I am taking Metformin as I was told by my Endo that I am IR. I lost 20 pounds down to 130 height 5'6 1/2 and thought that would bring my
periods back but nope they are not back yet.

Its quite frustarting but in the end we have to leave it up to God he will decide whether we get blessed with a child or not.

me-30
dh-28

ttc #1 since March 2002

*DesertRose* · 05-18-2003, 06:35 AM

salaam sunnier ~ I know that the "Islamic Healing" sounds kind of confusing, so let me try to explain it to you.
It is a 2-years-course which specializes in alternative remedies (as mentioned in the Qu'ran and Sunnah). It teaches you about the benefits of fasting, why we are not allowed to eat pork, the healing powers of honey, etc.
It also talks about other healing methods used by Arabs such as colour healing, reflexology, herbalism, etc.
I only started the course 2 weeks ago and I am currently studying the history of medicine (incl. ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, European, Chinese and Indian medicine) ... it is sooo interesting and I just love it

I also wanted to thank everyone for answering ~ I know it is a little bit late, but I was kind of going through a depressing stage of my life, so I didn't post that much on SC :o

3 weeks ago I decided to take matters into my own hands and started eathing a healthy (and I mean REALLY healthy) diet and exercising daily ...
I also started looking into alternative remedies ....

sunnier · 05-18-2003, 01:42 PM

hi shaima,
sounds like a very interesting course you are taking. thats good you are enjoying it.

you said you have started eating healthy totally, what do you eat for lunch and dinner, those meals are the hardest i find to eat the right things. how do you stop yourself from eating sweets, i am finding that so hard to give up.

if you get more information on alternative therapies regarding PCOS, i would love to know about that.

if you want to ever email, my email is zindiki@hotmail.com

amber

*DesertRose* · 05-19-2003, 09:44 AM

amber,

when I say that I eat healthy, I don't mean that I am following a strict diet (e.g. atkins) ...

after reading the "PCOS Diet Book" I learned a lot about complex carbs, protein, etc. and how you should try to eat certain foods and avoid others ....

during the day when I am at work I usually eat a fresh fruit salad and maybe a greek salad in the afternoon .... I always have a 1 1/2 litre water bottle standing next to my computer, which I have to finish by the time I leave the office ... this way I control my fluid intake ...... I also drink tea (but usually only Red Raspberry Leaf tea, which is supposed to strengthen your uterus) ...

when I get home I first have a vegetable soup and then either fresh fish or fresh chicken along with some basmati rice and salad ...

when I feel like snacking I usually eat a couple of nuts (e.g. cashew nuts - unsalted) instead of reaching for cookies or chips ...

once you get into the habit of eating healthy, you really don't have those chocolate cravings anymore ..... maybe once in a while .... and if you decide to take a bite, it won't hurt you either ... it's the excess, which is bad for you! .....

I have to admit that since we have a cook at home, it is easy to stick to eating healthy as you don't have to spend any time preparing daily fresh meals ....

I have no idea how much of a difference all of this makes as far as my polycystical ovaries are concerned, but following a healthy diet can never hurt

it might also not be the best diet for other people, but just wanted to share what I am currently eating ....

oh yeah, and once I get to learn about herbs or other methods of treating hormonal imbalances I will let you know ...

Take care ~