I was wondering if anyone out there had experienced the same problem I have been having. I was diagnosed with PCOS 3 years ago and have been on Glucophage ever since with no results. I have been through meds and shots and still no success in ttc. My RE suggested that I start a low carb diet. I started the diet in October. I tracked my ovulation in Nov. with an OPK. It said that I was ovulating and I am fairly certain that I did but a day or so later I began to spot. It went on for 3 days. I got my period exactly on schedule which was the first time in the 10 years that I have been having problems. It was light but lasted 4 days. I was very excited. I tracked my ovulation with another OPK and my temperature too. It said that I ovulated this time and I really felt like I did on one side. Then within 2 days I was spotting again. It last 3-4 days this time and there was some cramping. My RE said that he thought it was just break through bleeding but I am starting to worry. I would like to know if anyone else has had this problem and did it stop. Also if anyone has had this problem were they able to get pregnant. I am currently 35lbs lighter thanks to the low carb diet. I feel so much better and I am trying to stay positive but this is worrying me. I would appreciate any help that you could give me. Thanks.

I had a lot of problems when I got off of the pill to get pregnant... so I had to go back on the pill until I could loose weight. I lost about 60 pounds, started taking glucophage, got off of the pill and immediately got pregnant! As soon as I got off of the pill! It was amazing... just be patient!

Thank you for responding to my post and I am sorry that it took so long to reply. I was waiting until I had a chance to go to my RE. He said he thought the bleeding was from "irregular ovulation" and was nothing to worry about. I am not sure what he means by irregular ovulation but atleast he said he still thought I had a good chance to get pregnant. I am still having a hard time believing that it is going to happen. I get so discouraged when it doesn't. I am trying to think positive since I am seeing good signs but it is hard when everyone around me is getting pregnant so easy.
I was wondering though if someone with PCOS can trust the results of the home ovulation kits? Since I have started this diet I have had 2 positive tests but he says they aren't for people like me. Has anyone had a positive result and it been right? I am also having what looks like good CM too. I have never had that before. I am supposed to go next week and do a progesterone test if I get another positive test to see if I am really ovulating. I was hoping someone out there had a good experience with the home kits. He doesn't seem to think they are reliable for me and doesn't seem impressed with my 2 normal cycles so I was hoping someone had some good info about using them. Thanks!

My fertility doc also told me that the test kits would not be reliable. I was using them and getting positive results and then starting my period 2 weeks later, so I thought I was ovulating. The reason he says they don't work for us is this (if I remember him correctly)- they detect the LH surge, which is what triggers the egg to be released. In my case, I was having an LH surge, and a positive test result, but my egg or follicle was not developed enough or properly, so instead of releasing the egg it would just shrink back down and turn into a cyst. I may not have this exactly right, it's been a few years, but it's something like that. This was also confirmed by monitoring my follicles with ultrasound. We were doing a round of artificial insemination, and so he was watching them closely in order to know when to inseminate. They were developing well, and I had an LH surge, we did the insemination, then went back the next day for another ultrasound to verify that the eggs were released. Well they weren't. They had just become cysts.

Anyway, I stopped using the the tests. Kind of expensive and a pain to use if they don't really tell you anything. I guess they are good to indicate WHEN you would ovulate (if you are going to), but not necessarily that you WILL ovulate. Hope this all made sense and helps you understand.

Thank you for responding to my post. That does make more sense than him just telling me they are for Normal people. I am supposed to have an ultrasound this month if I detect another surge to see what is going on. Hopefully they will be able to tell me more then.
I was wondering though how they treated you after they found out that was happening. Were you able to concieve? I am very concerned that there might be something else wrong since I have been through 3 rounds of shots with multiple follicles and still no pregnancies.
Thanks again for your help.

He put me on Glucophage and said that he wanted to keep me on it for 3-6 mos before we tried any other procedures. I took if for 3 and was sooooooo sick the whole time - even taking a small dosage to try and build up tolerance - and it messed my periods up really badly. I was having flooding (superplus tampon every 10-15 min) and it would be sporadic with no warning. Also bleeding every couple of weeks. I stuck it out for 3 mos and then stopped it. I maybe should have stuck it out longer, my body may have just needed to adjust to it for longer. I know it's helped a lot of people. But I was just was so sick of trying to remember to take 3 pills a day and of always being sick and never knowing when or how much I was going to bleed, so I stopped. Then I never went back because I was feeling so emotionally burnt out from ttc.

Also, I had been doing a lot of research about PCOS and everything I was reading was talking about the importance of diet and exercise. My doctor did not say ONE WORD about diet or exercise to me. Just handed me a pill. That bothered me. So I guess I don't really have any success stories for you. I haven't been able to concieve. My husband and I are now in the process of adopting. But don't give up hope. It's totally possible. So many people have succeeded. And we may have been able to also, we just chose to go a different route. I couldn't take the emotional ups and downs, not to mention the expenses of fertility treatments. Also, it's just been the last several months that I have been able to stick to low carbing constistently. And I've seen huge improvement in my PCOS symptoms since then. So I guess it's possible that I'm now ovulating and just don't know it. How would I know without the ultrasound to monitor? I've come to terms with the possibity of never being able to concieve. If the LC helps and I do I would be very happy. If not, I'm okay. In the meantime, I just know that I feel loads better when I eat better and am loving the improvement in other symptoms.

I hope that wasn't too discouraging for you. Please don't let it be. I haven't put everything into making it happen (conception). So keep trying, if it's what you really want. There's so much great support out there on message boards with tons of people that have had great success. I just got to a point emotionally where I had to stop actively pursuing the fertility treatments and accept that maybe it wasn't going to happen.

Best of luck to you.

Hi! I am now 42 and have been the course of infertility and IVF and the pain and wondering if I had PCOS without being diagnosed.
One of the best books I have read on the subject was "Dr Lee's What your doctor won't tell you about premenopause"
Dr Lee promotes natural progesterone cream amoungst other things like low-carb to help women battle Estrogen Dominance.
I would highly recommend searching through his site for Estrogen Dominance, PCOS, ovulation etc. There is so much good information. Natural Progesterone has made a big difference for me I wish I knew about it in my twenties!
Unfortunately we lost Dr Lee last year but his web site is up and running to help us. He was truly a pioneer in Wonens health!
http://store.yahoo.com/johnleemd/index.html

Thanks for responding and sorry it took so long for me to write back. It has been so busy here lately. I know what you mean about the problems with Metformin. I have been on it for 3 years and have had a lot of stomach problems. I started on regular Glucophage and was basically chained to the bathroom. It was so bad that I stopped taking it and my doctor freaked and changed it. I am now on the XR form. It does seem to be better but I think the change in diet has had more to do with that. Since I have been eating better, my stomach problems are lessened but they haven't gone away. My doctor really never mentioned diet either except once at my very first visit. He mentioned Sugar Busters but never explained what it would do for me. When I went back and told him that I had lost weight and was having "normal" periods, he said "Remember I told you about loosing weight a long time ago." I thought, "no you really didn't tell me. I had to find out everything myself." Oh well, at least I am trying now.
Also, your post did not discourage me. It helps to know that others out there are going through the same things that I am going through. I have been really lucky to be able to pursue this treatment as much as I have. It is really hard to deal with the emotions though. I feel sometimes that my heart is being ripped from my chest but something is making me go on. I know what you mean about being emotionally burnt out. I feel like my insides are all twisted with stress. Then everyone around me tells me that if I don't relax it will never happen. Well, let them try having their husbands shove 13 needles in their legs and see if they can relax and not think about it. I know they are trying to help but if you haven't been there, you can't hardly understand. Right now we are planning to continue treatment as long as possible but adoption is still an option. I would love to adopt even if I am able to have my own child. There are so many children that need parents. I think it is wonderful that you are adopting and I wish you lots of luck and happiness. Please keep me updated on how it is going.