CLOSED. Q&A with Dr. Penzias: "Could I have PCOS?"

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Thank you to Dr. Penzias and to everyone who participated in today's Q&A on PCOS. And if you did not get your question answered, we apoligize but we will have another one soon! Meanwhile, given all the wonderful knowledge in this thread, I will leave this pinned up for a bit.

Thanks again!!

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More about Dr. Penzias

Dr. Penzias is the Surgical Director of the Surgery Center of Waltham, a division of Boston IVF.

Board Certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, he received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his medical degree from SUNY – Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and Harvard Medical School and his fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Yale University School of Medicine.

He is an active member of almost a dozen infertility and medical societies and is on the Board of Directors of the American Fertility Association and is a member of the Executive Counsel of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies. He is also on the Editorial Board of Reproductive Biomedicine online and serves as an ad hoc editor for Fertility and Sterility, reviewing papers submitted for publication.

Dr. Penzias has served on the Medical Advisory Boards for Organon, Serono Laboratories, and Ferring Pharmaceuticals. He has published more than 75 peer reviewed articles, reviews, chapters, abstracts and books in the field of infertility. His book, “The Boston IVF Handbook of Infertility,” co-authored with Dr. Alper and Dr. Bayer, has been labeled as “the premier resource” in the field.

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I always miss these. Good read though

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Hello! So I recently went a year without getting my period (roughly) and I was told that I didn't have any cycads on my ovaries and it was hormonal imbalance...they did an US and didn't see any cysts on either ovaries or my uterus. My concern is that in the next couple of years we want to start a family. I was told by my nurse at the obgyn that I should go straight to a reproductive endocrinologist and start treatment when we are ready. Does that seem like hormonal imbalance? I always worry it is in fact PCOS and that they just haven't seen any cysts on them. Thank you for your time!

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Hello! I was in birth control for 6 mo (the shot), and have been off of it for over a year now, and my periods are still weird. I'll have at least 2-3 periods a month, and I'm starting to think that I'm not ovulating. Before being on birth control I was regular, every 28-30 days. What causes this BIG shift? Thanks for being here to talk with us!

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Is there a high percentage of women that conceive with PCOS. I am currently taking metformin 1000mg a day which is helping me lose weight ( I'm not obese just slightly over weight ). Would like to know  what the conception rate is? They seem to be giving me a regular cycle and I have been on them for 4 months. Any advice is helpful 😊

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Afternoon Dr. Penzias! Thank you being here! We love having you as member of the Glow community. Can you please give us an estimate on what % of women you see for infertility have PCOS?

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Hello. I was on BC for almost 17 years. I went off last June to try to start a family. I was severely burnt on July 4th and developed a blood clot so my boy was out of whack. During that time I was having my normal cycle and tracking ovulation to prevent pregnancy. Most of those months I was having mid cycle bleeding. My mid cycle
Bleeding is always on time with ovulation or immediately after ovulation. I had one or two months that it was normal. My ob gyn ha referred me to a REI. I was thinking this was more a hormonal imbalance like progesterone but have been reading of PCOS. Does this sound like PCOS or something else?

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dr.penzia i am 29 years old and my second child took5years to concieve naturally and been trying for baby number 3 for 1year and 1month now my ovulation day is different every month and i have real heavy periods and i do digital opks i just started seeing a fertility specialist  my doc said with our insurance we could get iui and ivf   but i was wondering if ivf would be better since the chance of pregnancy is higher? we also time bd good in fertile period

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Hi I am 21 and I am facing infertility my follicle size does not grow properly and i had hi prolactin level which is 17.84 what should i do please tell me i am so worried i am trying to conceive about 3 years help😞

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I'm almost 24 years old. I was on birth control for a year then had my son. He's now five. After I had him, I was on th depo shot for a year and a half, switched back to bc pills for a year then the mirena for six months before discovering it was starting to embed into my uterus. It was taken out January 2015. Since then I've had longer cycles. Anywhere from 30-70 days. Is that my body just trying to regulate itself? I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism October 2015 and was put on levothyroxine. I started my first cycle of clomid in January 2016 50mg and my levels were borderline for ovulation. I'm getting ready to start my second round of clomid tonight 100mg with the help of provera. Could I possibly have pcos too and would this corse of treatment help? What should I do?

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My doctor suspects that I have PCOS but there are no RE's in my entire state so I'm having trouble getting the help I need. I had the Day 3, 10, 21 bloodwork done and he said that the bloodwork showed no ovulation and low progesterone levels. I use OPK's and get a very dark test line each month around CD17-20. The month I did my bloodwork I had a positive LH strip on CD20 and getting bloodwork done CD21 which I think that could have affected the results. My cycles are slightly irregular, ranging from 25-35 days and I get a 4-5 day period every month and sometimes spot a day or two prior. My doctor suspects PCOS due to my bloodwork, cycle irregularity, random chin hairs, and my infertility. I had a vaginal ultrasound the same month as bloodwork with normal results and no cysts so I don't understand how that's possible if he suspects PCOS. I also have one blocked tube with the other being clear per HSG results. I've  been TTC for 20 cycles now with 1 chemical pregnancy. Do you think I could have PCOS?

CLOSED. Q&A with Dr. Penzias: "Could I have PCOS?"

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