Hi all,
I have been popping on and off this forum now for over 10 months now....I usually post on the CD part of the forum, but as a fellow pcos sufferer I often pop on to read through your posts as I find them all fascinating. Anyway I have decided to share my story with you all. My name is Nicki I am 39 and will be 40 in July (Eeeek!!!). I was diagnosed with Pcos when I was just 13 and I wasn't really told about the symptoms or side effects of it...so over the years I grew bigger and bigger and bigger...as I put on the weight I started to get hairs on my neck chin and upper lip...which I pluck or wax! I was told that the likelihood of me conceiving naturally was virtually non existant and that I would need help from a fertility clinic. I was desperate to have a child and was in a stable relationship of 5 years so was referred to see a fertility specialist at the Royal Free Hospital in London, at 15 stone 9 lb I was immediately told to lose at least 2 stone before they would even consider me for treatment. I was sent away with a flea in my ear and told to book an appointment for 6 months time and lose the weight by then. We went off with our tails between our legs and considered our options...at this point I hadn't had a period for about 4 months which was very normal for me...I had been upto 6 months or a year without one before. My partner and I decided we would try and lose weight together so we could revisit the clinic in 6 months time and prove to them that I could do it! Anyway a month after the original appointment I began to feel unwell...I had sore boobs that did not go away, I had stomach cramps and an overall feeling of being unwell. After 2 weeks of feeling like C***p I decided to do a pregnancy test...to my astonishment it gave a positive result. I tested 3 times and each time the same result...I was Pregnant naturally no intervention at all...I went straight to the Drs and got it confirmed and as my LMP was over 4 months prior I had to have an immediate dating scan....it turned out that I was nearly 10 weeks pregnant. I had a happy healthy pregnancy and gave birth to a healthy baby boy...my pregnancy notes made me laugh as pregnancy is dated from the first date of your last period it turned out that I was pregnant for over 60 weeks which is longer than the gestation period of an elephant!!! How ridiculous. Well that was over 17 years ago and my healthy baby boy is now all grown up at 17 & 1/4 years old! Anyway we tried for years to give him a baby brother or sister but it just did not happen for us. Instead I continued to pile on the weight and my Pcos symptoms were getting out of control...by 2004 I was 21 stone and I had gone from having hardly any periods to having constant heavy bleeding that just would not stop...I continued to bleed for the next 5 years continuously which resulted in 2 bouts of anaemia and numerous tests and investigations at the hospital. After all the tests I was told there was no explanation for the uncontrolled bleeding and sometimes there is no answers it is just classed as unexplained bleeding and I would have to deal with it or have a full hysterectomy, I was told thet in older Pcos sufferers sometimes this heavy prolonged bleeding occurs for no reason. It was really bad and I was sometimes housebound because of it due to the instant flooding and large clots that used to bypass the tampons and just fall out of me...sorry TMI I know but I am just trying to tell you it as it is. The Gynae prescribed me with Provera to give my body a break for 3 months but Provera cannot be taken for any longer than that without having a break from it of at least 3 months...which meant bleeding for 3 months on and 3 months off. A solution I was content with anything had to be better that the 4 year hell I had just been through...I was also told that losing weight would help me control the bleeding too as well as Metformin (I have tried this in the past but upsets my stomach too much...so not really an option for me). Anyway after about 6 months on and off the Provera I started to become a bit immune to the Provera and the chemical hormone that was supposed to switch off and override my hormones were not working as well as they did in the beginning and I started having break through bleeding. I was getting more and more frustrated and just wanted it all to stop...enough was enough! Well I got to June 2009 and decided that this weight I was carrying really had to go...I was a whopping 22 stone 10 lb and was so unfit and unhealthy, I had started to feel like a prisoner in my own body. I started the Cambridge Diet in June 2009 and have sole sourced for most of my weight loss journey....as I started to lose the weight my bleeding got slightly better and I was having fewer episodes of prolonged bleeding...the last time that I took the Provera to give me a break was October and by November I had stopped bleeding altogether I was about 16 stone at this point and felt fantastic. By the time February came I weighed in at 15 stone and I experienced my first normal period in a long time..it came it stayed for a week (my normal bleedtime) and then stopped on it's on.....FANTASTIC My body has really started to sort itself out...losing the excess weight was really the answer to the PCOS dilemma!!!! Now in March I am at 14 stone 2 lb and I feel great....I still need to lose about another 2 stone so that I am completely happy....which I have had to postpone for now as I have just found out that I am pregnant again! Yes, I cannot quite believe it myself yet...I only found out on Wednesday and have done over 10 tests...It is very early days still and until I have my dating scan next Tuesday I don't know exactly how pregnant I am (approx. 3-4 weeks according to Clearblue digital). All I can say is that I feel very pregnant...symptom wise (moreso that I did when I was expecting my son). It just goes to show that body weight plays a large hand in the fertility stakes. We have never used contraception since my son was born 17 years ago and I have never in those 17 years had a pregnancy...we lived by the if it happens it happens rule. My body is obviously comfortable between 14 and 15 stonish as this is the weight I was when I conceived the first time round. What a marvellous thing a body is after all the troubles of the last 5 years, I have finally achieved the most natural thing in the world that most woman take for granted.... the miracle of life. I can't believe my body has managed to do it on its own without even trying!
Although I am very shocked to be pregnant and nearly 40...I am very pleased..I am very anxious and won't actually believe it til' I get past the 12 weeks and see it for real on a scan. Fingers crossed it will be fine...we'll see....I will keep you updatedas to my progress and I hope I have given all you PCOS sisters ttc some hope for the future.....just relax..lose weight....and stop trying so hard and I am sure it will hapen for you too. If it can happen for an ole' bird like me...then I am sure there is even more hope for all you spring chickens out there. Good luck and don't forget to have fun trying!!!
I have been popping on and off this forum now for over 10 months now....I usually post on the CD part of the forum, but as a fellow pcos sufferer I often pop on to read through your posts as I find them all fascinating. Anyway I have decided to share my story with you all. My name is Nicki I am 39 and will be 40 in July (Eeeek!!!). I was diagnosed with Pcos when I was just 13 and I wasn't really told about the symptoms or side effects of it...so over the years I grew bigger and bigger and bigger...as I put on the weight I started to get hairs on my neck chin and upper lip...which I pluck or wax! I was told that the likelihood of me conceiving naturally was virtually non existant and that I would need help from a fertility clinic. I was desperate to have a child and was in a stable relationship of 5 years so was referred to see a fertility specialist at the Royal Free Hospital in London, at 15 stone 9 lb I was immediately told to lose at least 2 stone before they would even consider me for treatment. I was sent away with a flea in my ear and told to book an appointment for 6 months time and lose the weight by then. We went off with our tails between our legs and considered our options...at this point I hadn't had a period for about 4 months which was very normal for me...I had been upto 6 months or a year without one before. My partner and I decided we would try and lose weight together so we could revisit the clinic in 6 months time and prove to them that I could do it! Anyway a month after the original appointment I began to feel unwell...I had sore boobs that did not go away, I had stomach cramps and an overall feeling of being unwell. After 2 weeks of feeling like C***p I decided to do a pregnancy test...to my astonishment it gave a positive result. I tested 3 times and each time the same result...I was Pregnant naturally no intervention at all...I went straight to the Drs and got it confirmed and as my LMP was over 4 months prior I had to have an immediate dating scan....it turned out that I was nearly 10 weeks pregnant. I had a happy healthy pregnancy and gave birth to a healthy baby boy...my pregnancy notes made me laugh as pregnancy is dated from the first date of your last period it turned out that I was pregnant for over 60 weeks which is longer than the gestation period of an elephant!!! How ridiculous. Well that was over 17 years ago and my healthy baby boy is now all grown up at 17 & 1/4 years old! Anyway we tried for years to give him a baby brother or sister but it just did not happen for us. Instead I continued to pile on the weight and my Pcos symptoms were getting out of control...by 2004 I was 21 stone and I had gone from having hardly any periods to having constant heavy bleeding that just would not stop...I continued to bleed for the next 5 years continuously which resulted in 2 bouts of anaemia and numerous tests and investigations at the hospital. After all the tests I was told there was no explanation for the uncontrolled bleeding and sometimes there is no answers it is just classed as unexplained bleeding and I would have to deal with it or have a full hysterectomy, I was told thet in older Pcos sufferers sometimes this heavy prolonged bleeding occurs for no reason. It was really bad and I was sometimes housebound because of it due to the instant flooding and large clots that used to bypass the tampons and just fall out of me...sorry TMI I know but I am just trying to tell you it as it is. The Gynae prescribed me with Provera to give my body a break for 3 months but Provera cannot be taken for any longer than that without having a break from it of at least 3 months...which meant bleeding for 3 months on and 3 months off. A solution I was content with anything had to be better that the 4 year hell I had just been through...I was also told that losing weight would help me control the bleeding too as well as Metformin (I have tried this in the past but upsets my stomach too much...so not really an option for me). Anyway after about 6 months on and off the Provera I started to become a bit immune to the Provera and the chemical hormone that was supposed to switch off and override my hormones were not working as well as they did in the beginning and I started having break through bleeding. I was getting more and more frustrated and just wanted it all to stop...enough was enough! Well I got to June 2009 and decided that this weight I was carrying really had to go...I was a whopping 22 stone 10 lb and was so unfit and unhealthy, I had started to feel like a prisoner in my own body. I started the Cambridge Diet in June 2009 and have sole sourced for most of my weight loss journey....as I started to lose the weight my bleeding got slightly better and I was having fewer episodes of prolonged bleeding...the last time that I took the Provera to give me a break was October and by November I had stopped bleeding altogether I was about 16 stone at this point and felt fantastic. By the time February came I weighed in at 15 stone and I experienced my first normal period in a long time..it came it stayed for a week (my normal bleedtime) and then stopped on it's on.....FANTASTIC My body has really started to sort itself out...losing the excess weight was really the answer to the PCOS dilemma!!!! Now in March I am at 14 stone 2 lb and I feel great....I still need to lose about another 2 stone so that I am completely happy....which I have had to postpone for now as I have just found out that I am pregnant again! Yes, I cannot quite believe it myself yet...I only found out on Wednesday and have done over 10 tests...It is very early days still and until I have my dating scan next Tuesday I don't know exactly how pregnant I am (approx. 3-4 weeks according to Clearblue digital). All I can say is that I feel very pregnant...symptom wise (moreso that I did when I was expecting my son). It just goes to show that body weight plays a large hand in the fertility stakes. We have never used contraception since my son was born 17 years ago and I have never in those 17 years had a pregnancy...we lived by the if it happens it happens rule. My body is obviously comfortable between 14 and 15 stonish as this is the weight I was when I conceived the first time round. What a marvellous thing a body is after all the troubles of the last 5 years, I have finally achieved the most natural thing in the world that most woman take for granted.... the miracle of life. I can't believe my body has managed to do it on its own without even trying!
Although I am very shocked to be pregnant and nearly 40...I am very pleased..I am very anxious and won't actually believe it til' I get past the 12 weeks and see it for real on a scan. Fingers crossed it will be fine...we'll see....I will keep you updatedas to my progress and I hope I have given all you PCOS sisters ttc some hope for the future.....just relax..lose weight....and stop trying so hard and I am sure it will hapen for you too. If it can happen for an ole' bird like me...then I am sure there is even more hope for all you spring chickens out there. Good luck and don't forget to have fun trying!!!
