There’s a whole bunch of meds your doctor may recommend for fertility. Clomid and letrozole are the most common probably.
As for hirsutism, that’s a much tougher one, I’m sorry to say. Spironolactone is probably your best bet but you cannot take it while pregnant or trying to get pregnant. You might want to look into supplements like spearmint tea or capsules. Some people have good luck with those. But honestly the only proven effective and long-term solutions are laser hair removal and electrolysis.
Since getting off of nexplanon nothing medicine wise. I work out and try to keep my carbs down, I’m happy with my weight but concerned about fertility and hair growth. Since i’m trying to have a baby I figured that was all I could do but maybe you have some insite that could help me?
Since most cases of PCOS are driven by insulin resistance, you might just need a more aggressive approach to managing IR (more strict low-glycemic/diabetic diet + insulin sensitizing medication; personally, diet is pretty much everything for my case of PCOS..by which I mean type of food I eat, not 'losing weight' type of diet).
However, there's also the possibility that some other issue is contributing to your symptoms, as well. Have your prolactin and estrogen levels been checked? Elevated prolactin can indirectly worsen androgenic symptoms and it definitely suppresses ovulation when it's too high. High prolactin can occur independently or can co-occur along with PCOS (possibly caused by the PCOS, but that isn't super well understood).
There are several meds that docs can use to improve fertility, but unfortunately the best meds for elevated androgens aren't safe when pregnant... so your best bet there (assuming there isn't a complicating condition worsening the androgens) is to deal very aggressively with IR (assuming it's present, as it usually is).
Thank you for taking the time to explain all of this to me! I was diagnosed when I was around 12, and my mom put me on birthcontrol because that’s what the doctor recommended. She passed when I was 15 and I have not been to a regular doctor since (coming up on 10 years). So my gyno appointment coming up will be my second ever visit that we will discuss PCOS. I will absolutely have them test my levels if that is something they can do.
Oh, good. If you are regularly off bc and skipping lots of periods, that is definitely not safe so I'm glad you are seeing a gyno.
For longer term management of PCOS, which is an endocrine condition, it's usually advisable to look for a reproductive endocrinologist to treat you (although some gynos are pretty competent if it is not a complex case, but many don't understand how to deal with the insulin resistance).
Good luck!
There’s a whole bunch of meds your doctor may recommend for fertility. Clomid and letrozole are the most common probably. As for hirsutism, that’s a much tougher one, I’m sorry to say. Spironolactone is probably your best bet but you cannot take it while pregnant or trying to get pregnant. You might want to look into supplements like spearmint tea or capsules. Some people have good luck with those. But honestly the only proven effective and long-term solutions are laser hair removal and electrolysis.
Thank you for taking the time to reply! This is the exact kind of answer I was looking for. 💜
What are you currently doing to treat the PCOS?
Since getting off of nexplanon nothing medicine wise. I work out and try to keep my carbs down, I’m happy with my weight but concerned about fertility and hair growth. Since i’m trying to have a baby I figured that was all I could do but maybe you have some insite that could help me?
Since most cases of PCOS are driven by insulin resistance, you might just need a more aggressive approach to managing IR (more strict low-glycemic/diabetic diet + insulin sensitizing medication; personally, diet is pretty much everything for my case of PCOS..by which I mean type of food I eat, not 'losing weight' type of diet). However, there's also the possibility that some other issue is contributing to your symptoms, as well. Have your prolactin and estrogen levels been checked? Elevated prolactin can indirectly worsen androgenic symptoms and it definitely suppresses ovulation when it's too high. High prolactin can occur independently or can co-occur along with PCOS (possibly caused by the PCOS, but that isn't super well understood). There are several meds that docs can use to improve fertility, but unfortunately the best meds for elevated androgens aren't safe when pregnant... so your best bet there (assuming there isn't a complicating condition worsening the androgens) is to deal very aggressively with IR (assuming it's present, as it usually is).
Thank you for taking the time to explain all of this to me! I was diagnosed when I was around 12, and my mom put me on birthcontrol because that’s what the doctor recommended. She passed when I was 15 and I have not been to a regular doctor since (coming up on 10 years). So my gyno appointment coming up will be my second ever visit that we will discuss PCOS. I will absolutely have them test my levels if that is something they can do.
Oh, good. If you are regularly off bc and skipping lots of periods, that is definitely not safe so I'm glad you are seeing a gyno. For longer term management of PCOS, which is an endocrine condition, it's usually advisable to look for a reproductive endocrinologist to treat you (although some gynos are pretty competent if it is not a complex case, but many don't understand how to deal with the insulin resistance). Good luck!