Alternative Medicine PCOS and Infertility - My Experience

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There are so many different avenues people use to treat their PCOS when conventional medicine doesn't provide the answers and solutions needed. Before talking about the avenues I've explored to treat my PCOS, Recurrent Miscarriage and Infertility, I wanted to point out that working with your Doctor/ GP/ Specialist is always of the utmost importance when it comes to exploring other avenues alongside your medical treatments... it is really important to let your healthcare provider know exactly what your are thinking about trying and doing before commencing any new treatment to make sure it is safe.

The other point I wanted to make is that if you are experiencing any issues with PCOS, miscarriage, or infertility it is helpful to get a referral to consult with a well regarded specialist in that particular field first as there are many test and scans that they can do to find a reason for your health concerns. When I first went to see my fertility specialist she ran a huge amount of blood tests and screens for many things from insulin resistance, thyroid function to blood clotting factors, lupus etc... I also had internal examinations and ultrasounds to investigate the structure of my reproductive organs.

When my testing was complete and the reason for my recurrent miscarriage unexplained I decided to try complimentary therapies to see if they could provide some solutions alongside my conventional treatments.  Over this journey I have become an avid participator in the online fertility world, as we all do from time to time, and have learned about different methods and treatments used around the world.

The first was vitamin supplementation for PCOS. I remember watching a Youtube vlog a while ago where a fellow PCOS "cyster" talked about vitamin D and that her doctor had found many women with the condition are found to be low in the sunshine vitamin, so I immediately got tested in my doctors office and sure enough I was low. From then on I started supplementing and trying to go get as much exposure to the sun as possible... all my BFP's have been achieved after my levels rose, my cycles have become more frequent, albeit still very long compared those without PCOS, but I would definitely say that for me this has made a marked improvement. My doctors don't seem to say much when I talk about the improvements I see after having taken Vitamin D so I don't think there is anecdotal evidence to say that it helps necessarily, just so you know. If you are thinking about trying Vit D, it is important to get your levels checked first and then follow the advice of your Dr. regarding the kind of supplement needed and the safe levels to take as too much Vit D can be harmful.

I did consult with a Naturopath once, as I had heard there are many useful treatments out their to combat reproductive issues. I haven't revisited this option as yet which could have been due to the person I saw or the way I was feeling at the time, I did get a host of vitamins and supplements during that consultation that are still sitting in my cupboard... I got a little scared about the idea of bombarding my body with too many things at once and I chickened out... the Naturopath also felt I needed 6 months to sort myself out with supplements and I was due to start Clomid the next week - I got my BFP the next month but miscarriage again at 9 weeks so perhaps she was right or perhaps it was a coincidence - who knows?. This may be something I think about re visiting next year.

Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture is something I have been doing for the last 10 weeks. I started just after my last miscarriage in desperation to try something new in the hope that it would be our ticket to success. The clinic I visit specializes in reproductive health including IVF support which I felt was important. I can't say I have found its changed my life but I do feel better, less anxious, happier and more relaxed which I attribute to my weekly sessions. I stopped taking the herbs as instructed by my fertility specialist but will continue with acupuncture after any future BFP's to support and increase blood flow. My cycles haven't become normal through this treatment but I am 12 weeks post miscarriage and have had two D&C's so I wasn't expecting too much this early on.

I have also found walking for 30 minutes each day has been a nice way to relax and hopefully strengthen my reproductive health and I will continue to do this throughout my next treatment cycle and beyond. Diet reform has also been a huge plus with dealing with my PCOS see here for a run down.

Eating and PCOS - My Diet - Foods I Eat & Those I Need To Avoid

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From the time I was diagnosed with PCOS the term "lifestyle changes" has filled me with dread. Dramatic I know, but they always seem to feel like they are being said with judgement rather than understanding!.

So in my attempt to never hear these words uttered in my presence I began making my own "lifestyle changes" to improve my digestive issues and lessen my PCOS symptoms.

Not necessarily all but some women with PCOS also have digestive in tolerances ranging from gluten sensitivity through to dairy and as well all know sugar. I think anyone with PCOS should consult with their caregiver or a dietitian upon diagnosis as to which foods groups are best to avoid and which foods are best to eat and here is a little example of some of the kind of foods that work for me and some of the foods I try to avoid.. are there any foods you eat/ avoid with pcos?

What I will say first is that food is a constant challenge for me, I crave sugar and find that I always feel like snacking... so I'm constantly working on my eating habits..

Everyone should consult with their doctor or dietitian before commencing a healthy eating program as they can advise you on how best to balance your diet to ensure your getting all the good things you need for your particular lifestyle.

Making The Decision To See A Fertility Specialist

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When my husband and I decided to start a family we knew we faced some challenges... Having PCOS and very irregular cycles would always prove difficult to pin point my most fertile times of the month, if they occurred at all... I remember in the early days purchasing OPK's (ovulation predictor kits) and trying to track the physical signs of pending ovulation with very little success but non the less it was all new to us, so in we jumped. 

I went off to see the GP and had the usual pre pregnancy check ups and from there was sent for yet another specialist internal ultrasound to check my ovaries and ensure all was ok... the Gynecologist saw nothing out of the ordinary and sent me on my way with the news that I was about to ovulate and if we were trying the next few days would be a great place to start. OMG, I thought, this is it, IT HAS TO BE OUR TIME!. Having had both sisters conceive in a flash I thought perhaps this would be me and the timing of this ultrasound meant it was fate... we had a BFN 15 days later and AF arrived within 24hours!.

After 6 months of trying on and off, and promising myself I'd lose weight first and then we'd really give it our best we conceived and had our first m/c 3 weeks later. After the shock and devastation passed almost a year later we found ourselves pregnant again this time miscarrying at 6.5 weeks. There was no where to hide now, I needed to do something, so after a few months rest I began losing weight in preparation for our consultation with a Fertility Specialist.I remember thinking I'll be damned if I was going to have anyone tell me to lose weight and come back to see me or that my weight was the reason for my miscarriages and that I couldn't seek treatment until my BMI was under a certain level, it would have crushed me...

So I did as best I could, lost 25kg and went into the specialists rooms feeling cautious but optimistic... We had our third miscarriage under the care of our specialist at 9 weeks... In one way it kind of made me feel a bit better to know I'd really tried this time, I'd completely changed my lifestyle habits and it still happened... I didn't hate nor blame myself quite as much and having the care of a specialist made me feel like we were getting closer to the solution and that perhaps one day I may have a healthy child to call my own.

 If I had my time again I would have seen a specialist much sooner. I think they say after one year of TTC with no pregnancy you should see someone but with PCOS especially if you have irregular periods I would get a referral for a fertility specialist after 6 months of  trying to conceive without a BFP.

PCOS - My Story

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Someone once described PCOS as having a strand of pearls wrapped around your ovary, and I thought, how gorgeous! In reality Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome is not so gorgeous, yes there are small cysts around the ovaries (that every women has but anything over 12 per ovary is considered cystic I'm pretty sure!?) but to liken the havoc they reek on your body and mind to a string of lustrous creamy pearls is far too complimentary!.

I was diagnosed with PCOS at the age of 16 after suffering with chronic menstrual cramps and sometimes no cycle all together. Fainting, vomiting and unable to function kind of cramps were the ones I had and was given a script of the pill (Yasmin) and sent on my merry way. I lasted about a week taking the pill and then just lived with the symptoms up until now. Some years I had maybe 4 menstrual cycles at the most all heavy, painful and mentally draining. Now in my early 30's I have some seriously happening facial hair, adult acne, my cycles are still unpredictable and the weight is now not budging amidst the sugar & carb free low low calorie diet I've been on for about a year.

Some people believe that PCOS involves the over production of male hormones or insulin or a mix of the two, this then effects the ovaries by inhibiting their ability to produce adequate amounts of  the hormones needed to support ovulation and the sufficient maturation of your egg and this where cycles are missed and PCOS induced infertility can be the result. 

The good news is there are a number of ways to assist in overcoming or lessening the effects of PCOS based infertility as well as lifestyle changes that can support and increase the success of your treatments medical or otherwise.

xx

Recurrent Miscarriage - The Unexplained Phenomenon

We've experienced miscarriages just about every time we've ttc'd. The first was in May of 2011, we hadn't formally started trying so when I had prolonged spotting but not an actual flow I took a pregnancy test and there was a line... I have never felt anything like it before, we were instantly filled with so much love for our little one in the making and the visions for our future as family... I now see how crazy that was but when you want something this badly your emotions take over and you can't help but dream about the possibilities in front of you - by the time we had our HCG bloods back from pathology my levels were at 29 and I miscarried that evening. I was too scared to try again so we postponed until Jan of 2012...

On a whim I decided to take test, I have irregular cycles with my PCOS so dates and cycle stages mean very little to me... and there again I saw a beautiful second line... scared and wiser this time we waited and tested at home for 2 weeks before heading into the doctor's office and having our heart broken all over again. We finally consulted with my GP but I began spotting two days later and then discovered my HCG had gone from over 1000 to 690 - I miscarried a week later at home.

At this point I was completely freaked out, I felt like my body was poisoning my babies... more than anything I blamed myself, why couldn't I've been fitter, weighed less, tried not to panic so much ... Those around us didn't seem to understand the enormity of the situation we were in, our devastation seemed to go unnoticed or perhaps that is how it felt for us.

I then spent the next year improving my health by losing 25% of my body weight and cutting out all the PCOS trigger foods such as sugar, unrefined carbs and processed fatty foods... we started seeing a fertility specialist with particular interest in PCOS and after a huge array of tests and no findings we were prescribed clomid to bring on and support ovulation. I started with a 25mg dose for 5 days and we got another blessed BFP shortly after.

It was Easter weekend and we tested on the Saturday,so there would be minimum 3 day weight before seeing our specialist. I started spotting again on Easter Monday - once again our hopes were dashed... My specialist called Tuesday afternoon to congratulate us and said my spotting was most likely normal pregnancy related spotting as my HCG levels were tripling every two days so things were looking good. At 6 weeks we saw and heard a heartbeat of 124 and our little one was measuring correctly - at 7.5 weeks all looked well again on the ultrasound though I continued spotting but was reassured that I had a less than 2% chance of miscarrying at this stage with everything considered.

On the 9th of May 2013 I went for my first Obstetric consultation and during the ultrasound at 9 weeks there was no heart beat detected and I had a D&C 24 hours later... our little one had stopped growing just prior to 8 weeks.

Pathology later reported no chromosomal abnormalities with our little boy.

So the mystery continues....

The TTC To The BFP Journey So Far

The only way to commence writing this blog is to start at the beginning... so here I go!.
My husband and I married in 2006 and have been trying to start a family since late 2010, it has been a struggle from day one and it is one that continues...

I think I have always known I'd struggle to have a baby, I remember always thinking, from very young, how lucky people are to have children and that if I could just have one healthy happy little baby I would have won the jackpot... my lucky numbers are yet to come up!.

So this blog is all about my journey, it has been both really positive and negative at times... the biggest positive of all is that my husband and I have grown closer with each day and every challenge we've faced so far.

I hope at some point this blog can provide a sense of community to the hoards of people out there who are on the same journey.

xx T
ttc to the BFP