higher risk of MC with PCOS?

[nicoleE]

Hello all,

Im not sure if this is the correct place to post this, happy for Mods to move it if need be...

Firstly I would like to say I am so sorry about your losses, I cant imagine how hard it would be and to be honest, I hope I dont ever find out... (nor you go through it again) :( :hugs:


I have been diagnosed with PCOS and am currently on Clomid, I have read that there is a high risk of MC with women with PCOS. Has anyone else heard this and if so why would this be and is there anything you can do to help prevent one?


Just another thought on the topic...
Is there anyone who believes that a MC is meant to be and it may have meant that the little 'bundle' just wasnt healthy enough to survive? Im kind of in two minds, It might sound silly but I dont want to potentially save a pregnancy if it means the baby would be born with a severe health problem and wouldnt survive anyway.... Sorry if that upsets anyone, its just been on my mind and I wondered how others felt about it.

[Holly_Golightly]

I have PCOS and will try my best to help.

There is a greater increase of miscarriage but studies range from 20-50 percent increase. A miscarriage may happen for the same reason it happens with any woman- genetics, infection, overall health, internal dysfunction (such as fibroids and shape of the uterus, prior to starting treatmant you probably underwent alot of tests that would have picked these up) but with us it can also be hormonal.

We have the wrong levels of hormones during our cycle. That's why our eggs can be released late or not at all and be of poor quality. We end up with a string of pearls because our body gets confused bc our levels are too low or high and keeps popping out more eggs so we have a whole lot of eggs that don't get released or all these tiny eggs get released at the same time. During the time when we want the egg to stick the lining of the uterus might not be fat enough to sustain the pregnancy.

I am unsure if I ever fertilised an egg and miscarried in the early stages but I never had a late period on a cycle so would like to think not.

If you are on Clomid, are you having follow-up injections? I had to take three injections a couple of days apart after the ovulation injection to keep my LH levels stable.

These injections only provide the egg with a normal environment for pregnancy. If there is something else wrong then you will still miscarry but it assists us through that difficult time before our body picks up on the messages and starts producing the correct levels by itself.

Only other thing to do is keep healthy. Eat a sensible diet particularly if you are insulin resistant. This helps keeping our hormones regulated. I am still naughty though.

Hope I helped. Happy to answer any other questions. Good Luck with the clomid, it is very successful and the least invasive. It did not work for me and I needed to go the next step up to FSH injections and IUI but we ended up falling pregnant on the one month break between clomid and my first IUI. I think the Clomid and injections helped regulate my body into doing its own thing.

[nicoleE]

Thanks for that.

I am not having injections, this is my first round, I am on day 5 today (take my last tablet tonight before bed). On Monday i go for a blood test to see how things are going. By my calculations (from what I have read) if it is going to work I will ovulate anywhere from next Thursday to the following Wednesday.

I have not ovulated in 5 months after coming off the pill and have been diagnosed with PCOS after a scan and blood tests. Both my older sisters also have it. One of them also has another problem with the thickness of the lining and has been unsuccessful so far in getting pregnant (she has tried IVF). The other sister had Clomid and was unsuccessful until they gave her an injection to release the egg, Clomid was getting the egg ready to release but she lacked the hormone to actually release it. She now has 2 DD!

Im not IR, at least I dont think I am, no one has bothered to test me for it because I am not overweight. I do however want to go on Metformin to help with acne and darkened hair and although I am not classed as overweight I do want to loose a little bit which I am having trouble doing, despite eating a very good varied diet (im a vegetarian) and excercising (i go to the gym 5 times a week). I have to bring this up with my FS next time I see him.

[~beckkles~]

I have been pregnant 3 times with PCOS the first two ended in late mc's
There is a link between low progesterone and mc and PCOS, my sucessful pregnancy I was progesterone for 12 weeks till the placenta was fully formed and producing enough prog to sustain the pregnancy. I have an article on it ...I will come back and post it later
Bec

[nicoleE]

great thanks! will bring this up with my FS

[lizzymcfizzy]

hi Nicole. Just reading this old thread, are you on metformin yet?

I have PCOS and didn't realise we have a higher risk of m/c. Do you have any links I can check out?

Just wanted give you a hug. I did about 4 clomid cycles then took a break and fell pregnant while on a break :) I also had the flu at the time!

I have my fingers crossed for you.

[nicoleE]

Hi Lizzy

Im not on Metformin, because Im not IR or overweight the FS said it wouldnt help me with the acne or hair at all.

The FS didnt seem to be worried about any 'increased risks' of M/C with PCOS. I believe it is more to do with the Progesterone levels which, if they are not high enough wont build and sustain a decent utirine lining. This can happen to anyone I guess it may be more common with PCOS because our hormones are all screwed up!
My levels were good which I know because I am on monitored cycles at the moment but Im sure nayone who is worried could get a BT from a GP to see what the levels are after ovulation. I didnt have any web links sorry.

You will be fine so dont stress! :hugs:

[lizzymcfizzy]

thanks Nicole, good to hear you don't need the metformin, thanks for your quick reply, probably not as much of a concern as I think it is :) I might mention it to my GP on my next visit but will try not to get my knickers in a knot till then :)

[~beckkles~]

OHHH I'm so sorry Nicole I forgot to come back and do this ..I'll pm it to you now
Bec

[lizzymcfizzy]

would you mind sending it to me too?

[lizzymcfizzy]

If anyone else is reading this for their own research, I was just looking for more info and found this

"....can be considered high risk do to insulin resisitance (which sometimes manifests into pregnancy diabetes) and high misscarriage rates. "


So basically its only because of the higher risk of gestational diabeties.

[katyjoy76]

hi girls,

Have just had my first mc and was diagnosed at the same time as have polysistic ovaries, there were more than 15 on one ovarie and an enlarged ovary too. What does all this mean???? Am i now going to have problems with getting pregnant and staying pregnant?

I am seeing my GP today but find them next to useless so i don't really know what is going to happen, but we are back ttc again (even after such a short time) but we so want a baby now that its hard to know what to do. WE are both ready and were both disappointed and saddened with out loss, but knew it was bound to happen as soon as i started bleeding and didn't stop for 11 days.

Any info you can give me on polysitic ovaries would be great as i can search the net for polysistic ovaries Syndrome butr not just polysistic ovaries......maybe they are one of the same???

Thanks girls.

Kate

[aardvark]

I have PCOS, and have had 3 healthy pregnancies with no MC or threatened MC.

My mother (who does not have PCOS) had at least 3 MC while I was a child. She did tell me a couple of years ago that at least two of the MC were "abnormal" babies, but had no further info.

[~beckkles~]

The reason for my miscarriages was LOW progesterone causing bleeding and repeat bleeding weakened my membranes causing my waters to break the first time.Second pregnancy I was on Progesterone pessaries and had incomp cervix ( something that is becoming more common in pcos sufferers research is being done at the moment) But no bleeding.
My 3rd Pregnancy was treated with progesterone cervical stitch and I had GTT tests at 12 weeks 20 weeks and 30 weeks. I had uncontrollable GD with insulin injections 4 times a day..That doesnt cause miscarriages just bigger under developed babies with a sugar problem at birth.
I know you can be really lucky and have no problems with mc ...but if you do go looking for some answers before they say...oooh you will be fine next time
I lost babies way too late by not talking to the right doctors
Bec

[lizzymcfizzy]

Hi Katy sorry to hear about your loss,
check out the conception and trying to conceive thread, there is alot of discussion on PCOS there.

From memory I think polycycstic ovary syndrome is different from polycystic ovaries. A really good book you can borrow from the libary is by John Eden, I'm pretty sure its called Managing PCOS.

Or try just searching for "PCOS" on the web instead of polycycstic ovary syndrome, that will get you some better results.




hi girls,
Any info you can give me on polysitic ovaries would be great as i can search the net for polysistic ovaries Syndrome butr not just polysistic ovaries......maybe they are one of the same???

Thanks girls.

Kate

[nicoleE]

Or try just searching for "PCOS" on the web instead of polycycstic ovary syndrome, that will get you some better results.


Actually try searching for PCO, this is Poly systic Ovaries, whereas PCOS is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

PCO is where you have the cysts on your ovaries but do not have the hormonal imbalances that go with them such as high testosterone and sometimes (but not always) Insulin Resistance.

This is a web site for PCOS but it also discusses the differences to PCO and you can still get info and help (it has a forum) on both...

http://www.posaa.asn.au/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1
Part of the link above reads...

Although polycystic ovaries can be one of the symptoms, they aren't present in all sufferers, making the most common name of the syndrome confusing. In addition many women without PCOS have polycystic ovaries but none of the other symptoms and there for it is important to understand the difference between the syndrome and having only polycystic ovaries.

[lizzymcfizzy]

yeah thats the one :D been awhile since I did the research, you described it perfectly Nicole

[ellesbells]

Polysystic ovaries are when you have sists on your ovaries. Polysistic ovarian syndrome is a disease (?) that causes the sists. So you could have both or either. Confusing i know. I have PCOS and have concieved naturally twice and had two healthy boys. With the second we had been trying for a few months, i had just found out about PCOS and had been told i would never concieve... after pointing out that i already had one son the doctor took it all back. I started HRT but then realised i was alredy preg. Been trying again now for nearly a year with no success. Giving it till the end of June (which will make it 12 months) and if still no luck will go back 2 doctor 4 more HRT. Have started googling for natural remedies but can't find much that doesn't cost a fortune or available in Australia! *frustrated!*