regarding Subject: OT DS cured me? ;-)

I am posting through google and your original post isn't there yet.
Thus the new subject line.

Dawn wrote:
I have PCOS. ... since his birthday, I have had regular cycles, and suspected
I was ovulating... I hope it means that the pregnancy with DS re-booted my
system... espcially thin PCOSers....anyone find the same (well, obviously Ms
Jen-full-of-Lily....*you* did ;-)

And not just Jen! I have PCOS too. I'm not really and truly thin,
but I'm not massively overweight and horribly acne prone, either,
thank heavens. I think, pre-pregnancy, I was about 10 to 15 pounds
over the top acceptable BMI for my height.

I used Clomid and dieting to get pregnant with DS. We'd been married
(and trying) for 3 years 9 months by then. When I wanted to get
pregnant again, I talked to my doctor and she had me see the
nutritionist. She put me on a diet and told me I'd be pregnant in 6
months, no drugs. About 5 months later, having pretty much forgotten
what she said, and being anxious for another baby, I went in for a
prescription for Clomid and (progesterone? whatever hormone they use
to get you to menstruate so you can take the Clomid).

I insisted that the doc give me a blood pregnancy test, just in case,
since both drugs would be very bad for the fetus if I was pregnant.
The doc thought I was being rediculous (shame on her) but it's a damn
good thing I insisted because I was a few days pregnant with DD. I
assume the drugs would have been the end of her if I'd taken them.

This time I completely and totally assumed I would need to diet again,
so I ate carelessly once I went off birth control -- thinking that I
would wait till the timing was exactly perfect for my long-term plans,
then diet, then get pregnant. And I got pregnant without even losing
weight. I was truly shocked. I have a little note on my 2004
calendar to start dieting in August. That's when I expect the baby
to be born. :-)

When I got pregnant with DD without drugs, I expressed surprise to my
midwife, but she was quite non-plussed. In her experience this sort
of "rebooting" or "cure" (or whatever you want to call it) is common.
So I think your odds of now ovulating normally - or much more normally
-- are probably quite good. However, I wouldn't assume that it means
your pancreas and your insulin and all that stuff are all working
properly. Maybe they are, but the health inplications of PCOS, as you
indicated you are well aware, are serious enough that I wouldn't take
ovulation as proof of a complete reversal. I'd still keep a really
active eye on it. Not that I am sure how to do that, actually.

--
-- Vicki
Married DH May 21, 1995. Ima shel DS, born 11/16/99; DD, born at
home 5/19/02, and "the Final Frontier", "due" September 4, 2004.
"Stay-at-home" Ima since October 2002.
An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. -Spanish proverb

-- Vicki
Married DH May 21, 1995. Ima shel DS, born 11/16/99; DD, born at
home 5/19/02, and "the Final Frontier", "due" September 4, 2004.
"Stay-at-home" Ima since October 2002.
An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. -Spanish proverb

Aww congratulations Vicki. Your due date is the day before my birthday. Good
time to have a baby ;o)
--
Sue (mom to three girls)
I'm Just a Raggedy Ann in a Barbie Doll World...

Vicki S wrote:

I am posting through google and your original post isn't there yet.
Thus the new subject line.

Dawn wrote:

I have PCOS. ... since his birthday, I have had regular cycles, and suspected
I was ovulating... I hope it means that the pregnancy with DS re-booted my
system... espcially thin PCOSers....anyone find the same (well, obviously Ms
Jen-full-of-Lily....*you* did ;-)


And not just Jen! I have PCOS too. I'm not really and truly thin,
but I'm not massively overweight and horribly acne prone, either,
thank heavens. I think, pre-pregnancy, I was about 10 to 15 pounds
over the top acceptable BMI for my height.

*g* I'm about that over the lowest acceptable BMI for my weight ;-) and
currently nearly the heaviest I've been in my life. *I'm* not really
and truly thin, when you see my sister who has a BMI of about 18
(seriously, I just went to see) (And no, before y'all get unglued about
that, she's not unhealthy, just takes after my dad's side of the family.)


I used Clomid and dieting to get pregnant with DS.

DS is from Puregon.

prescription for Clomid and (progesterone? whatever hormone they use
to get you to menstruate so you can take the Clomid).

Provera (nasty to babes in utero) or Prometrium (safe(er))

I insisted that the doc give me a blood pregnancy test, just in case,
since both drugs would be very bad for the fetus if I was pregnant.
The doc thought I was being rediculous (shame on her) but it's a damn
good thing I insisted because I was a few days pregnant with DD.

Seems wierd that the same dr who told you that you'd conceive had to be
convinced to do a preg test before giving Clomid. (I tried Clomid and
hated it, didn't do a thing for me, gave me visual disturbances, plus
i'm not convinced it's all that safe, given the half life and standard
menstrual cycle/early preg.)

I
assume the drugs would have been the end of her if I'd taken them.

Well i'm not sure they are abortifactants, or exactly how high the risk
is, but neither is something i would willingly take if I thought I might
be pregnant.


This time I completely and totally assumed I would need to diet again,
so I ate carelessly once I went off birth control -- thinking that I
would wait till the timing was exactly perfect for my long-term plans,
then diet, then get pregnant.

Hmmm, was it you we scolded for that? ;-)



When I got pregnant with DD without drugs, I expressed surprise to my
midwife, but she was quite non-plussed. In her experience this sort
of "rebooting" or "cure" (or whatever you want to call it) is common.

I suspect my mother is PCOS, for various reasons, and although she
apparently had no problems concieving me, she has mentioned that she was
very regular AFTER I was born, so I deduce from that that she wasn't
prior to her first preg. My sister is 15mo younger, so apparently there
was no problem after that with fertility (*g* depending how you view an
8 yr gap before the youngest of us was born)

So I think your odds of now ovulating normally - or much more normally
-- are probably quite good.

I really think the last 5 cycles have been ovulatory. It's kind of
exciting, if just to experience "normal" and "predictable" :-)

However, I wouldn't assume that it means
your pancreas and your insulin and all that stuff are all working
properly. Maybe they are, but the health inplications of PCOS, as you
indicated you are well aware, are serious enough that I wouldn't take
ovulation as proof of a complete reversal. I'd still keep a really
active eye on it. Not that I am sure how to do that, actually.


Me neither, since my weight isn't an issue, and anovulation is the
commonest other reason to even suspect PCOS....but I have an appt with
my beloved RE in March, and we're going to discuss various options. I'm
going to get copies of my bloodwork and evaluate what marker might be
useful for me to monitor (Even in my shockingly single state ;-) , I'm
not going to let my health go to hell in a handbasket for wont of
action. DS needs me here and healthy for a long time yet, *I* have no
interest in becoming unnecessarily unwell)

Dawn

Dawn Lawson wrote:

DS is from Puregon.

I haven't heard of it. Glad it worked, though!

Provera (nasty to babes in utero)

Yes, Provera. Thanks for the reminder. I forgot the name.

Seems wierd that the same dr who told you that you'd conceive had to be
convinced to do a preg test before giving Clomid. (I tried Clomid and
hated it, didn't do a thing for me, gave me visual disturbances, plus
i'm not convinced it's all that safe, given the half life and standard
menstrual cycle/early preg.)

Well, it was the nutritionist in her office who said that, actually --
the doctor didn't say that and I don't know if she even knew the
nutritionist thought it. I assume the nutritionist charted our visit,
but I don't know what she wrote!
Clomid didn't give me any side affects, happily. Glad you had an
alternative when it didn't work for you. That sounds awful! And no,
I don't think it is terribly safe, either. Especially when you take
as much of it as I did. I found out after I got pregnant with DS and
got on Usenet that most doctors won't prescribe nearly as much of the
stuff as mine did. Sigh. Water under the bridge at this point.

Well i'm not sure they are abortifactants, or exactly how high the risk
is, but neither is something i would willingly take if I thought I might
be pregnant.

Exactly. And I understand that Provera is an abortifaciant and Clomid
is a teratogen.

so I ate carelessly once I went off birth control . . .
Hmmm, was it you we scolded for that? ;-)

Yes, that was me. :-) Shouldn't have brought it up if I didn't want
feedback! :-)

I suspect my mother is PCOS . . .

I know my mother has it (speaking of gaps, 13 years between my little
brother and our little sister!) and some of my aunts, cousins, second
cousins... the whole family is riddled with it. Mom still calls it
Stein-Leventhal syndrome, because that is what they called it when she
was diagnosed many years back. Anyway, my mother luckily found a
gynecologist who is an expert in PCOS, so he is keeping a careful eye
on her heart and diabetes stuff. I can't see him because he practices
medicine over 700 miles away from where I live. :-)
Still, maybe that is the best way to take care of your health - get a
really good doctor and make sure both of you stay up to date on the
relevant research.

Sue wrote:
Aww congratulations Vicki. Your due date is the day before my
birthday. Good time to have a baby ;o)
Cheryl S.
and "the Final Frontier", "due" September 4, 2004.
Congratulations Vicki! I'm happy and excited for you. Do you
plan another home birth? I'm sorry if I missed this somewhere
else. PS Your due date is the day after Jaden's first birthday. :-)

Well hey! If I get that far the kid will have a fortuitous birthday.
:-) But I don't expect to go that far. (I have GOT to stop saying
this. I am SO gonna jinx this birth!!)
And yes, I am definitely intending to have this one at home also.
I've seen the midwife once already and I see her again at the end of
next week. I love my midwife. :-)

--
-- Vicki
Married DH May 21, 1995. Ima shel DS, born 11/16/99; DD, born at
home 5/19/02, and "the Final Frontier", "due" September 4, 2004.
"Stay-at-home" Ima since October 2002.
An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. -Spanish proverb

Vicki S wrote:

Dawn Lawson wrote:


DS is from Puregon.


I haven't heard of it. Glad it worked, though!

Injectible FSH. Had blood drawn today, and Fate is playing with me
again, the tech is PCOS and is seeing the (rude and arrogant) other RE,
and asked me about the RE I see (And adore). She was so delighted in
what I had to say, and I felt so good about being there at the right
time to say it ;-) (I would have gone to a totally different lab had
the woman I was supposed to meet this morning not basically stood me up
due to forgetting first about other commitments today and then about
phoning to let me know......)

Exactly. And I understand that Provera is an abortifaciant

Provera is progesterone. It's not an abortifactant unless you suddenly
*stop* taking it, but it's not good for fetuses. Prometrium is a
natural progesterone and doesn't have the nasty effects of Provera, so
it's safe to take, but stopping ANY progesterone supplement can cause a
withdrawal bleed, which if you're pregnant would potentially cause
abortion (loss of the pregnancy)

and Clomid
is a teratogen.

Yup, with a fairly long half life. I know lots of people use it, but I
just find it unsettling, even if I hadnt' had side effects.


I know my mother has it (speaking of gaps, 13 years between my little
brother and our little sister!)

*g* i suspect the gap has more to do with two kids in 15 months, the
younger of whom was a legendarily poor sleeper. Whether it took 8 years
to work up the courage with a history of 50% rotten kids ;-) or if bro
is an oops, I don't have the official scoop.

and some of my aunts, cousins, second
cousins... the whole family is riddled with it. Mom still calls it
Stein-Leventhal syndrome, because that is what they called it when she
was diagnosed many years back. Anyway, my mother luckily found a
gynecologist who is an expert in PCOS, so he is keeping a careful eye
on her heart and diabetes stuff.

I wish my mother would take my information to heart, and have a look at
herself in terms of all teh symptoms she displays (AN, body shape, carb
addiction, 3am insomnia, etc) but she will not.

I don't know about the rest of my family, because there aren't many...my
dad has one brother 7 years younger and my mom has one sister 5 years
younger. I have two first cousins. There are VERY few children, DS is
the first baby in 20 years. Most relatives had two or fewer children.
I'm not sure why.

Still, maybe that is the best way to take care of your health - get a
really good doctor and make sure both of you stay up to date on the
relevant research.

Yes, I think so too. Hence my absolute delight at being able to keep
seeing my RE. She's far and away the best dr I have ever dealt with.

Dawn

"Vicki S" wrote in message
om...
and "the Final Frontier", "due" September 4, 2004.

Congratulations Vicki! I'm happy and excited for you. Do you plan
another home birth? I'm sorry if I missed this somewhere else.

PS Your due date is the day after Jaden's first birthday. :-)
--
Cheryl S.
Mom to Julie, 2 yr., 10 mo. and Jaden, 5 months
Quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.