All about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Just some info I have picked up about PCOS. It is important to know this information when having trouble getting pregnant, because it is a leading cause of infertility in women. Also, learning about PCOS helps you support friends that have this disease, and spreads the awareness to women who might have it and don’t even know it exists.
How many women are affected by PCOS?
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome affects an estimated 5-10 percent of women of childbearing age and it is a leading cause of infertility.
What are the symptoms of PCOS?
You don’t have to show all the symptoms to have PCOS. If you have a few of these you might want to talk to a doctor about testing.
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Irregular periods
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Lack of Ovulation
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Cysts on ovaries
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Enlarged ovaries
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Hormone imbalance
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Insulin resistance or diabetes
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Chronic pelvic pain
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Obesity or weight gain
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High triglycerides or cholesterol
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High blood pressure
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Excess hair on body and face
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Acne, oily skin, dandruff
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Dark patches of skin
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Thinning hair or baldness
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Skin tags on neck or body
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Depression or anxiety
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Infertility
How can I be tested for PCOS?
There are a few ways that you can check to see if you have PCOS. The most common tests are very simple and include a blood test to check your hormone levels, an ultrasound to check the size of your ovaries and check for cysts, and looking at what symptoms your body shows compared to the results that are found. Because each person can show different signs and symptoms, sometimes getting a diagnosis can be difficult, so don’t be afraid to seek a second or even a third opinion if you suspect PCOS.
What is the cause of PCOS, and what is the cure?
Unfortunately at this time, there is no known cause for PCOS. There are many theories being tested, but as of right now, there just aren’t many answers. Some suspect that it may be hereditary, because in many cases there is more than one woman in a family with PCOS. Because there’s so little information known on PCOS, they have not been able to find a cure. There are medicines and procedures out there that can help with the symptoms caused by PCOS, though. Pills and injections can be given to make a woman ovulate, and help them get pregnant. Also, diet mixed with medicines such as Metformin have been shown to help with the insulin resistance and help regulate the body, decreasing the symptoms caused by a woman’s PCOS.
What are the long-term health risks associated with PCOS?
PCOS is associated with increased risk for endometrial hyperplasia, endometrial cancer, insulin resistance, type II diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease. Even if a woman is not trying to get pregnant she should be sure to have her blood sugar, insulin, cholesterol, and triglycerides checked once per year. Hormone treatments, such as birth control, may also be given to keep the hormones in order to prevent other issues from forming.
Please note, I am not a doctor, and all this information I believe to be correct. If you see something incorrect in this blog PLEASE don’t hesitate to correct me.
Learning your fertile signs
Learning your fertile signs – Am I ovulating?
Once you understand how your body works, you now have to learn all the signs that your body will give you to really pinpoint when you are ovulating. As I mentioned before, ovulation is key to making a baby, because if there is no egg released, then it can’t be fertilized, and every other step you do is pointless.
I mentioned keeping track of your cycles, but some of you may not know how to do that. You can print off a cycle chart and write in everything on paper at your home. Here is a free chart that I found. http://www.justmommies.com/chart2.pdf or if you choose, you can go and search for one yourself. Some basal body thermometers come with a free chart in the package and you can use those instead.
Many women, myself included, prefer to chart online, where others can view your chart and make suggestions. My personal favorite is at http://www.fertilityfriend.com/ . They do have a free 30 day trial, and after that you can choose to purchase the VIP chart, or just use the basic one for free. What I like most about fertility friend is that it can analyze your data to help you determine what your body is doing. It also has a lot of information that can help answer questions that you may have during your cycle.
The basic thing to chart is the start of each period and when you have sex (also called BDing, or Baby Dancing). Other things you can chart are your basal body temperature (BBT), your cervical mucus (CM) and cervical position (CP), any ovulation tests or monitors that you use, your signs, and your medicines. By charting these things you can look at where they all line up in order to better pinpoint when you are ovulating each month.
Basal Body Temperature
For many, your BBT is the most helpful looking back to see when you have ovulated. It cannot tell you before you ovulate, so it’s best to track your other signs as well. To take your BBT, you must take it as soon as you wake up, at the same time every morning, and after at least 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. You can take it orally or vaginally, though from my research I believe that vaginally is the MOST accurate. Also, make sure you are using a thermometer that specifically says it’s a BBT. You can find it at most pharmacies, or order it online. http://www.early-pregnancy-tests.com/bbt-thermometers.html
Take your temp and plug it into your chart each day and watch the pattern. At the start of your cycle, your temp will be lower. When you ovulate, your temp should spike up above the cover line. If you are chartinging online it will do it automatically, but if you are charting on paper you’ll have to do it manually. What you’re hoping for is for your temp to stay above the cover line. Each person is different, and so the pattern can change, but the ideal chart would stay well above the cover line if you are pregnant, and if it goes down below the line, most likely your period is on the way. It is not always the case though, so if your chart does not show this, don’t be discouraged. Charts can always shock you.
Your cervical mucus and position
Some women like to check their CM and/or their CP. The CM is the easiest of the two to check. To do this, insert two fingers in your vagina until you can feel your cervix and collect the fluid around it. Remove your fingers and pull them apart to check the color, consistency, and feel. If you do not wish to reach to your cervix, you can check the CM on the outside of your vagina, or use toilet paper to collect it.
To record your CM, you must know what you’re looking at. Your least fertile CM is dry or creamy. Your CM is dry if it is not present at all and you feel “dry.” Dry days are usually before ovulation after your period, and after ovulation. Record “dry” if you are not able to gather or see any cervical fluid, even if your vagina feels slightly moist inside. Your CM is sticky if it is glue-like, gummy, stiff or crumbly and if it breaks easily and quickly and if it is not easily stretched. It will probably be yellowish or white, but could also be cloudy/clear. This can sometimes happen before and after you ovulate. Your CM is creamy if it is like hand lotion, white or yellow or cloudy/clear, like milk or cream. It may stretch slightly but not very much and break easily.
Your two most fertile CM are watery and eggwhite, and if you see either of these you should make sure to BD. Your CM is watery if it is clear and most resembles water. It may be stretchy also. It comes before ovulation, though sometimes it can come after you ovulate. Eggwhite CM is your most fertile CM. It looks like real eggwhite, is stretchy and clear, or clear tinged with white, or even clear tinged with pink. You should be able to stretch it between your thumb and index finger.
If you choose to check your CP, you will be looking at three things: position, firmness, and openness. Make sure to check it at the same time every day and not after a bowel movement or after sexual intercourse.
The positions will either be very low and easy to reach, medium if it’s slightly higher, but still easy to reach, and high if it’s hard to reach or you can’t reach it at all. The firmness will be firm and hard to the touch, medium when it is softer but still kind of hard, and soft and most likely a little wet. The openness of your cervix will either be closed, medium when it is slightly open, but the hole is still small, and open. Your most fertile CP will be High, Soft, and Open, and your least fertile will be Low, Hard, and Closed.
Ovulation Tests (OPKs, or OPTs)
OPKs are a great way to know when you are about to ovulate. You need to start taking these a few days before you usually ovulate, or if you are unsure of when you ovulate, start taking them about CD 10. Unlike pregnancy tests, you will need to take these in the afternoon and not with first morning urine, and should be taken at the same time everyday. Follow the directions on the tests that you purchased for how long to hold in your urine and how long after you take them that they are invalid.
Most likely, you will always have a faint line with OPKs, and this is considered negative. With OPKs you are looking for your LH surge. This surge will happen about 24-48 hours before you ovulate. When looking at your OPK, you want to see the test line become as dark or darker than the control line for it to be considered positive. Keep testing after you get your positive until the line starts to lighten again. You should BD for sure as soon as you get a positive to make sure the sperm is there when the egg releases. If you don’t like the line tests, you can purchase digital tests that will tell you a yes or a no if it is a positive surge. There are also other electronic monitors that can help determine your fertile days, but I will write about these on a later date.
You can purchase OPKs at almost any store. If you are pretty regular with your cycle, then you can buy a pack of 7 tests and take them the week you should ovulate. If you are irregular, Answer Daily OPKs come with 20 tests for $20, so you have 20 days to test. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10719896 You can also buy OPKs online for cheaper than most stores. http://www.early-pregnancy-tests.com/ovulationtests.html
Please note, I am not a doctor, and all this information I believe to be correct. If you see something incorrect in this blog PLEASE don’t hesitate to correct me. The majority of the information on this post can be found here, along with additional information I did not include: http://www.fertilityfriend.com/HelpCenter/FFBook/ff_fertility_signs.html
Learning your body
Learning your body – How is a baby made?
So I find myself constantly thinking back to when I was in school learning about where babies come from. I remember my teacher warning us that it only took ONE time of having sex to get pregnant, and that sometimes you can even get pregnant without having sex if you aren’t careful (don’t ask, lol). At the time that thought scared me so bad I never wanted to have sex until I was married because I didn’t want to get pregnant. Maybe that’s why they said that, to scare us into not doing anything.
While sometimes this is true, many women can just have sex and BOOM they’re pregnant, but for the majority of women they need to have at least a little planning. For many of you reading this, you already know how to tell when you are fertile and when you are not. But for those of you that don’t quite understand what is going on with your body, this blog is for you.
So we’ll start with the basics. When you’re having issues getting pregnant, the first thing you need to do is learn about your body. The average person will have a 28 day cycle, from the start of your period until the next start of your period. By tracking this, it will give you an idea of what’s going on. Most women will ovulate an egg 14 days before your period. The days between when you ovulate and when your period starts is your Luteal Phase (LP). Having a short LP can cause complications (see below in the hormone section).
So if you have a 28 day cycle, you will most likely ovulate on cycle day (CD) 14. So let’s say your cycle is 34 days long. Subtract 14 days and that means that you ovulated about CD 20. Some women are like clockwork and work the same EVERY month, but for most of us, that’s not the case. This just gives you an idea.
The sperm can live in the body up to 7 days, but most will die in the first 2-3 days. The egg on the other hand, will only live about 12-24 hours. This means to conceive, the sperm needs to be there waiting for the egg when it is released, so your most fertile days are before you ovulate. This is why tracking your fertile signs is so important, so you know before you ovulate and not after.
Your body is controlled by hormones, each causing a different reaction but all working together. Some women, like myself, have issues with their hormones, and this causes their infertility. If the hormones are out of whack, it can delay or even prevent ovulation. Getting these hormones in line is the first step because if you don’t ovulate, you can’t get pregnant.
The main hormones that you need to focus on are estrogen, luteinizing hormone (LH), and progesterone. The estrogen is key before you ovulate, it is what creates follicles on your ovaries. Follicles are what actually release the egg, so it’s important that they grow in the early start of your cycle. Before ovulation you will have a surge in your LH hormone (as well as another hormone, FSH). This is what triggers ovulation and the egg is released. The progesterone is what comes after you ovulate. Low progesterone can keep an egg from sticking and can result in you not getting pregnant, even though the egg fertilized.
Here’s a graph showing how this all works in your cycle (courtesy of Wikipedia.com) The blue line is your estrogen hormone, the green line is your LH, the red is your FSH, and the black is your progesterone.
If you are not ovulating, there may be an issue with not producing enough estrogen. If your LP is short, you may have low progesterone, which can keep you from getting pregnant. Both can be fixed with medicines prescribed by your doctor. If you notice that your cycles are not regular, speak to your doctor about getting your hormone levels checked.
So this is how it all works. A little more confusing than what the teachers taught, but I know personally if my teachers had tried to teach all this I would have gotten lost and stopped listening. To learn more about reading your fertile signs to know when ovulation is taking place, check back for the future blog “Learning your fertile signs”
Please note, I am not a doctor, and all this information I believe to be correct. If you see something incorrect in this blog PLEASE don’t hesitate to correct me.
Low Sperm Count
Low Sperm Count – What can we do?
So maybe you are suspecting that you might have a sperm count issue, or have already been told by a doctor that you do. It can be very upsetting and you may feel upset about it, but remember, you only need ONE sperm, so try not to be too discouraged.
If you have not had a semen analysis, you can get kits to test his sperm in the privacy of your own home. ( http://www.early-pregnancy-tests.com/mafepr.html ) Remember that the results may give you an idea if there is a problem or not, but the tests are not 100% accurate, so if you are able to, try to back up your findings with a semen analysis. A semen analysis will confirm if there is a problem with the sperm, and there are more issues than just count that need to be considered. A doctor can get you an order at most labs to get a semen analysis, and most insurance companies will cover it. If it is not covered, it is not too expensive out of pocket (perhaps about $50).
Unfortunately with low sperm count, your BEST bet is with IUI or IVF. Most insurance companies will not cover either of them, and most will have to pay out of pocket. Here in Shreveport, LA, an IUI will cost you about $750. But with IUI, you have to have AT LEAST 5 million sperm for them to even do the procedure. IVF can be quite costly, and requires quite a bit of monitoring and medicines before the actual procedure. Personally, I have chosen to go overseas if we must move on to IVF. It’s cheaper over there, and more successful than in the states. ( http://www.myivfalternative.com/ )
If the count is the problem with the sperm, then there are a few things he can do. No smoking or drinking, give up caffeine, take a multivitamin or even fertility supplements for men ( http://www.early-pregnancy-tests.com/mafepr.html ) . GNC also has a fertility blend for men that is proven to raise sperm count & motility within 90 days…it’s kind of expensive at $40.00 for 30 pills, but it comes highly recommended. Also, try to stay cool, no hot baths or hot tubs, and switch to boxers if he wears briefs. Also water is the sperm’s best friend, so he needs to drink as much water as he can.
If you have to pay out of pocket, you can try to get a CareCredit credit card, they work out payments and are usually no interest if you make the payments that they set. I use mine for dental and for my pets, but I also plan to use it if/when I move to IUI to help with the cost. ( http://carecredit.com/ )
You can also try using instead cups. they help to pool the sperm around the cervix and can help with a lower count. ( http://www.early-pregnancy-tests.com/softcup.html ) not guaranteed or anything, but better than nothing if you’re still trying without the IUI/IVF. I have been told that you can get them at Walmart, but I’ve never checked. You can also get theConception Kit, which works the same as the instead cups, by pooling the sperm around the cervix. The kit does have a lot of success stories, but it is a little pricey. Check with your insurance, because some do cover it. ( http://www.conceptionkit.com )
Please note, I am not a doctor, and all this information I believe to be correct. If you see something incorrect in this blog PLEASE don’t hesitate to correct me.
