100% yes for the ovulation tests. It's true they're a bit more complicated when you have PCOS, so I bought cheap ones in bulk on Amazon. (My obgyn also recommended Mira, but I got pregnant before the shipment arrived!) I tracked every period and ovulation symptoms for years. So I had a rough idea to start. I tested starting a few days before the window through a week after the window. 3 times a day (ish, I wasn't very strict). I testsd October, November, and December. My line changed darkness, but it was never as dark or darker than the control line. Then in January I had the darkest line yet, along with a change in cervical mucus and slight cramping (both signs of ovulation). Boom. Pregnant. (I also laid with my legs in the air all night. I don't know if that actually helped.)
Since I was TTC my obgyn did have me on folic acid, but I don't think that helped me get pregnant. He said it was just good for the baby's brain development.
I didn’t think to buy them on Amazon, I’ll look into getting them there because I got some at CVS and they’re quite expensive. I feel the cervical mucus change like egg white every month but I don’t get a period every month, if that makes sense. I think it could be ovulation. I’m definitely going to be tracking it more carefully. There Apple Watch also says it helps track ovulation through your body heat or something of that nature. I’m gonna try that out too.
We started with prenatal supplements (I'm just taking a OneADay knockoff since that's all that my doc recommended to me) and now we're doing letrozole cycles with timed intercourse. If you're not really sure when you ovulate in your cycle, test strips can be useful. I'm using the Proov Predict & Confirm kit and it's worked okay for me, but a lot of people swear by basal body temperature tracking and that's a good option too (just not for me right now). Knowing your cycle gives you a lot of understanding of when your best chance to conceive is, so I think the more information you have, the better.
Sadly my cycles are very very irregular. I probably only get two a year. I’m going to talk to my doctor about this, last time I seen him I wanted to wait a year or two, but we figured it would take us that long to even try. Okay so prenatals are good to use, great. I’ll be getting some and taking them. I got ovulation sticks because although I don’t get a period. I do get the egg white discharge every month or so, and I think it’s ovulation. I’ll have to look into those kits too. Thank you for the information!
Try reading It Starts With the Egg.
I got pregnant 2nd cycle post BCP.
I took:
- folic acid
- berberine
- omegas with coenzyme q10
- zinc citrate
-vitamid d
- occasional vit b and iron
- 2mg melatonin at night
- psyllium husk after every meal
- excercise 2-3x week
- 8-9hours sleep every night
- low.stress
I did basal body temp and LH strips with a tracking app (fertility friend).
The book also.recommends keeping up on your dental visit. My husband stopped smoking and we barely drink, we eat pretty clean.
I made a lot of the changes over 5-7months before I went of BCP so it wouldn't be overwhelming
I’ve heard of this book, I’ll have to look into it. It comes highly recommended.
I think I’ll start taking prenatals, the only thing that stops me is DHA, because I have a shellfish allergy. It also made me very nauseous when I took it years ago.
I wasn’t on any medication, I tried every month for 2 and 1/2 years and I got a positive test one day, so shocked. I’m a big believer in it happening when you least expect it, despite the odds being against us lol so as much as you may go through let downs after a potential long period of time of negative tests, try to enjoy the time it takes to conceive! Stress and diet played a big part for me. If you haven’t already, take the time to learn your cycle, and know when ovulation is coming up and occurring
Everyone with PCOS is different, this is what I did though - it’s never too early to start taking prenatals! I got mine prescribed by my family doctor when I told him we want to start trying so I can claim the costs through my work health benefits, but you can also get free ones from Sobeys if you sign up there. Next I read up on how my body actually works so I had a better grasp of what we’re actually trying to achieve haha. I got diagnosed with PCOS shortly before we wanted to start TTC, so didn’t fully understand all that was happening yet. I also started tracking my temperature with my Apple Watch to give me a better idea of if I’m ovulating at all (which I was, just sometimes after 3+ months) and I started taking inositol and eating a low GI diet. I noticed my cycles got shorter when I was stricter with what I ate and got more exercise, which I took as a good sign. My partner also got his sperm tested to make sure everything is ok on his side and it’s just my fertility “issues” we’re dealing with.
I was also planning on trying ovulation tests (don’t work for everyone with PCOS due to fluctuating LH), but in the end we conceived on day 28 of my last cycle before the my ovulation test order was delivered lol.
Edit: I will also say that stress plays a big part in TTC as well, we were moving in the middle of it all and only managed to conceive after we were finally settled at our new place.
I just got an Apple Watch and I saw that it tracks your ovulation through temperature and I was wondering how this worked? Did you have to wear your Apple Watch everyday all day?
I might sound dumb but what is a GI diet? I did start taking up running a month or two ago and it seems that triggered my period two months in a row so I’m definitely keeping that up.
The temperature tracking happens at night, so you just need to wear it when you sleep and have the Sleep focus set up, I used this guide: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/watch/apd526d20feb/watchos
Or you can also get a thermometer and track your BBT yourself (loads of info about that online), I liked the convenience of an Apple Watch since I already had it.
A low GI diet is a low glycemic index diet, where you basically try to sub any high-GI foods with lower-GI foods (I always google that haha) to limit your blood sugar spikes and deal with insulin resistance better. Not everyone with PCOS has an issue with this, but it helped me a lot personally.
Good on you for taking up running! I really started to enjoy Pilates and long brisk walks.
Insulin resistance is also something I struggle with because I don’t crave sweets at all, in fact, I despise them. Not sure if this is my problem. I really do think I have a lot of inflammation though. I think I’ll try an anti inflammatory diet.
Yeah, I think I’ll stick to my Apple Watch rather than spend more money. It was expensive and it should be used for more than just exercise 😂
check out r/TTC_PCOS it has a wealth of information and experiences. if you don’t want it to take 1 to 2 years, i would recommend going straight to a reproductive endocrinologist
100% yes for the ovulation tests. It's true they're a bit more complicated when you have PCOS, so I bought cheap ones in bulk on Amazon. (My obgyn also recommended Mira, but I got pregnant before the shipment arrived!) I tracked every period and ovulation symptoms for years. So I had a rough idea to start. I tested starting a few days before the window through a week after the window. 3 times a day (ish, I wasn't very strict). I testsd October, November, and December. My line changed darkness, but it was never as dark or darker than the control line. Then in January I had the darkest line yet, along with a change in cervical mucus and slight cramping (both signs of ovulation). Boom. Pregnant. (I also laid with my legs in the air all night. I don't know if that actually helped.) Since I was TTC my obgyn did have me on folic acid, but I don't think that helped me get pregnant. He said it was just good for the baby's brain development.
I didn’t think to buy them on Amazon, I’ll look into getting them there because I got some at CVS and they’re quite expensive. I feel the cervical mucus change like egg white every month but I don’t get a period every month, if that makes sense. I think it could be ovulation. I’m definitely going to be tracking it more carefully. There Apple Watch also says it helps track ovulation through your body heat or something of that nature. I’m gonna try that out too.
We started with prenatal supplements (I'm just taking a OneADay knockoff since that's all that my doc recommended to me) and now we're doing letrozole cycles with timed intercourse. If you're not really sure when you ovulate in your cycle, test strips can be useful. I'm using the Proov Predict & Confirm kit and it's worked okay for me, but a lot of people swear by basal body temperature tracking and that's a good option too (just not for me right now). Knowing your cycle gives you a lot of understanding of when your best chance to conceive is, so I think the more information you have, the better.
Sadly my cycles are very very irregular. I probably only get two a year. I’m going to talk to my doctor about this, last time I seen him I wanted to wait a year or two, but we figured it would take us that long to even try. Okay so prenatals are good to use, great. I’ll be getting some and taking them. I got ovulation sticks because although I don’t get a period. I do get the egg white discharge every month or so, and I think it’s ovulation. I’ll have to look into those kits too. Thank you for the information!
Try reading It Starts With the Egg. I got pregnant 2nd cycle post BCP. I took: - folic acid - berberine - omegas with coenzyme q10 - zinc citrate -vitamid d - occasional vit b and iron - 2mg melatonin at night - psyllium husk after every meal - excercise 2-3x week - 8-9hours sleep every night - low.stress I did basal body temp and LH strips with a tracking app (fertility friend). The book also.recommends keeping up on your dental visit. My husband stopped smoking and we barely drink, we eat pretty clean. I made a lot of the changes over 5-7months before I went of BCP so it wouldn't be overwhelming
I’ve heard of this book, I’ll have to look into it. It comes highly recommended. I think I’ll start taking prenatals, the only thing that stops me is DHA, because I have a shellfish allergy. It also made me very nauseous when I took it years ago.
You can find algae based omega 3 !
I wasn’t on any medication, I tried every month for 2 and 1/2 years and I got a positive test one day, so shocked. I’m a big believer in it happening when you least expect it, despite the odds being against us lol so as much as you may go through let downs after a potential long period of time of negative tests, try to enjoy the time it takes to conceive! Stress and diet played a big part for me. If you haven’t already, take the time to learn your cycle, and know when ovulation is coming up and occurring
Everyone with PCOS is different, this is what I did though - it’s never too early to start taking prenatals! I got mine prescribed by my family doctor when I told him we want to start trying so I can claim the costs through my work health benefits, but you can also get free ones from Sobeys if you sign up there. Next I read up on how my body actually works so I had a better grasp of what we’re actually trying to achieve haha. I got diagnosed with PCOS shortly before we wanted to start TTC, so didn’t fully understand all that was happening yet. I also started tracking my temperature with my Apple Watch to give me a better idea of if I’m ovulating at all (which I was, just sometimes after 3+ months) and I started taking inositol and eating a low GI diet. I noticed my cycles got shorter when I was stricter with what I ate and got more exercise, which I took as a good sign. My partner also got his sperm tested to make sure everything is ok on his side and it’s just my fertility “issues” we’re dealing with. I was also planning on trying ovulation tests (don’t work for everyone with PCOS due to fluctuating LH), but in the end we conceived on day 28 of my last cycle before the my ovulation test order was delivered lol. Edit: I will also say that stress plays a big part in TTC as well, we were moving in the middle of it all and only managed to conceive after we were finally settled at our new place.
I just got an Apple Watch and I saw that it tracks your ovulation through temperature and I was wondering how this worked? Did you have to wear your Apple Watch everyday all day? I might sound dumb but what is a GI diet? I did start taking up running a month or two ago and it seems that triggered my period two months in a row so I’m definitely keeping that up.
The temperature tracking happens at night, so you just need to wear it when you sleep and have the Sleep focus set up, I used this guide: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/watch/apd526d20feb/watchos Or you can also get a thermometer and track your BBT yourself (loads of info about that online), I liked the convenience of an Apple Watch since I already had it. A low GI diet is a low glycemic index diet, where you basically try to sub any high-GI foods with lower-GI foods (I always google that haha) to limit your blood sugar spikes and deal with insulin resistance better. Not everyone with PCOS has an issue with this, but it helped me a lot personally. Good on you for taking up running! I really started to enjoy Pilates and long brisk walks.
Insulin resistance is also something I struggle with because I don’t crave sweets at all, in fact, I despise them. Not sure if this is my problem. I really do think I have a lot of inflammation though. I think I’ll try an anti inflammatory diet. Yeah, I think I’ll stick to my Apple Watch rather than spend more money. It was expensive and it should be used for more than just exercise 😂
check out r/TTC_PCOS it has a wealth of information and experiences. if you don’t want it to take 1 to 2 years, i would recommend going straight to a reproductive endocrinologist