PCOS And Infertility – Treatment To Help You Become Pregnant
As a woman frustrated by months of trying in vain to become pregnant, you rely on your gynecologist for guidance, information and a solution for your infertility. During months of trying to be patient and calming your fears, you naturally wonder what could be wrong and more importantly, “Will I ever have a baby?” Happily, the answer in most cases is yes – with more patience and a more proactive approach to managing your medical conditions.
For about 8% to 10% of women between 15 and 45 years of age, the problem is polycystic ovary syndrome – PCOS – multiple cysts in the ovaries caused by hormone imbalances. The majority of PCOS affected women have the condition for many years but do not know they have it. The diagnostic tests for infertility discover PCOS, but only after many years of suffering with the symptoms.
Diagnosis
When you were first examined for infertility, the gynecologist reviewed your medical history form and asked follow-up questions about various signs of infertility and specific PCOS related symptoms such as acne, weight gain, thinning hair or extra body hair and irregular periods. Hormone imbalances suggested by those signs may be caused by PCOs or by some other consitions. If PCOS is suspected, your doctor will probably check specific hormone levels in your blood and then order an ultrasound examination.
Multiple failed ovulations can cause ovaries to enlarge, so the ultrasound test will first focus on ovary size. With PCOS the ovarian follicles, which would normally mature into eggs and be released for ovulation, instead become small cysts. Numerous cysts will be visible in the ultrasound images, sometimes encircling the ovaries like a “string of pearls,” confirming the diagnosis of PCOS.
Treatment
If you are overweight when diagnosed with PCOS and infertility, weight loss is the first recommendation of most doctors. The next step in treatment is usually clomiphene citrate medication. Clomiphene (brand name Clomid or Serophene) is a hormone that acts like estrogen to increase FSH and LH, both hormones that stimulate and support ovulation. For women who complete one, two, or three cycles of clomiphene, the pregnancy rate is between 30% and 40%.
If treatment has not been successful after six cycles of clomiphene, it should be stopped because it is unlikely to be effective for you. The doctor may recommended ovulation induction with injectable gonadotropins or assisted reproductive technology procedures such as ovarian hyperstimulation with FSH injections or in vitro fertilization – IVF.
A newer and promising technique, in vitro maturation – IVM, is being used as an interim step before IVF as a more complete solution for some women with PCOS. In IVM, multiple follicles are extracted from the ovaries and allowed to mature into eggs in the lab. When mature, they are used in the IVF procedure, i.e. fertilized in the lab with sperm from the woman’s partner and then the fertilized egg is implanted a few days later into the womb.
PCOS is a very serious condition, but thousands of babies are born to PCOS afflicted women every year. You can be one of those success stories — just commit to the treatment plans, have patience and don’t give up.
