*Women health>>>Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Pregnancy?

I am 21 and was just diagnosed with PCOS. I just wanted to know if your chances of becoming pregnant worsen with age or with the progression of the syndrome (if it even progresses, I'm not entirely sure). The reason I ask is that I desperately want to have children and if my chance is higher now I want to seize the opportunity. I would be just devasted if I was able to conceive now but didn't try and then in a year or two try and be unsuccsessful. Women with PCOS: were you able to get pregnant and give birth? What complications did you have?

The infertility aspect of PCOS is making me very depressed and I just wish I knew for sure if I was ever going to be able to give birth.

My hubby is adopted (his parents had fertility issues) so I know he is ready to go that route if needed. However, I have always dreamed of having my own child and carrying it to term and sharing that special bond.

Andrea,

You are actually very fortunate that you are 21. It would be highly unlikey that your ovaries have any problems producing good eggs at this point. But even though your ovaries are good, it might take some changes in your hormones to program them properly.

Have a good discussion with your husband regarding your overall life goals and timeline. In general, you should not have to force yourself to get pregnant at such an early age. In general, waiting until you're 25 should NOT have any harmful effects. However, if you are planning to wait until you are over 30 or even 35, then you get closer to the point where you could have greater difficulty conceiving.

In my professional opinion, there is a better than 90% chance that waiting until you are 25 will not be harmful vs you trying now. Good luck!

Meanwhile, if you are one of the PCOS patients who has severe insulin resistance, you might focus on staying thin and healthy!

Here is a very brief summary of findings in PCOS patients.

http://fertilityfile.typepad.com/fertili...

From what I have read, it can become very difficult to get pregnant. In fact, I think it is one of the leading causes for infertility. You basically do not produce an egg for a sperm to inseminate, which makes pregnancy impossible. I have heard, however, that it can be fixed via surgery and/or your eggs can be harvested from your ovaries before they turn into cysts (which is what PCOS is) and then they can be artifically inseminated with your husbands sperm.

I would discuss it with your doctor. I do not know if it gets progressivly worse with age, but she should be able to tell you the severity of your particular case. Perhaps instead of letting you try naturally for a year, which is the length of time a normal couple with no problems would try before being deemed infertile, she can put you on fertility medication from the get-go. Of you should perform surgery before you try and conceive that way you are good to go when you want to conceive in a few years! Its all fixable, don't worry!
Yes, there will still be hope for you down the road not need to rush into getting pregnant. Wait until you and hubby are ready. Then consult your dr. they will probably put you on some meds and a fertility drug called Clomid, it works wonders for people with PCOS.
Enjoy the next few years and then try and get pregnant when you guys are ready.
TTC #1 ~ 3rd round of Clomid
Hi Andrea,

Here's my take.

I think you're lucky to have found out at your age, because now you can plan better. So see that as a positive.

Now is the time to start the communication with hubby as to when to start a family. I don't think you have to rush to do it now, but I do think you should plan on having your family complete in the next 10 years.

Depending on your situation, you could get pregnant on your own relatively easily, or it could take years to conceive. Fertility starts to decline in your 30s, so why put that extra burden on top of things. Decide now about how many kids you'd like to have, how many years in age in between you want, and then calculate when to start trying so that you're finished by the time you hit 30 or so. If you only want two kids, for example, you could conceivably put off pregnancy for a good 5 years or so. If you want more, you should plan on starting sooner.

You can still have babies. You just may or may not need help and it may or may not take longer than average. The first step is to have a heart to heart with hubby....figure out what size family you want, what it will take for you to prepare (financially, emotionally, etc.), and go from there.

Good luck.
In all honesty age doesn't have anything to do with it when it comes to PCOS. Since you have been diagnosed early you will know what is to come when you are ready to start trying. Most women go years without knowing they have PCOS and then find out so it seems that it's harder.

I was 18 when I found out I had PCOS, that was 14 years ago! Back then, not many doctors knew what it was or how to diagnose it. I was lucky to have a doctor who kept up with everything. In fact, he is the reason I have my 2 year old son today!

Once you are ready to start trying for a baby, it can be a lot of work and a lot of stress involved. It all depends on your body. From the time my husband and I decided we wanted to have a baby until the time we finally got a positive pregnancy test, we'd been through the ringer. All kinds of tests and different fertility treatments. Once we found the right combination of medication I needed to take it took us 4 months to get pregnant, it's all a timing thing once you know what you need to take.

I have many online friends who are and were in the same situation. Some of them it took the first cycle to get pregnant and some it took longer. All together from the time we started trying to the time I got pregnant it was 2 years, but it happened.

Good luck and do lots of research and find a very good and proactive OBGYN or Reproductive Specialist when you are ready.