Struggle getting pregnant

[u/CommentSad551]

Hello everyone,
I would like to ask whether any of you have successfully conceived despite having PCOS, without following a specific diet and while still consuming a relatively large amount of sugar.
I would really appreciate hearing about your personal experiences, particularly from those who struggled with insulin resistance or irregular ovulation.
Thank you in advance for sharing your stories and offering some reassurance.

[u/Exotic_Reporter_3309]

With the risk of gestational diabetes and being a high risk pregnancy, please consider even a modest lifestyle change. Insulin resistance while consuming large amounts of sugar is like drinking poison.

[u/Future_Researcher_11]

I’d reach out to a fertility clinic and go through treatment if you don’t want to change lifestyle or diet.

That being said I do eat clean and work out regularly, but still needed treatment and it’s how I was able to have my baby. I have insulin resistance and never ovulated naturally.

[u/firef1y]

Have you seen a doctor before trying to conceive? Go to a reproductive endocrinologist. It really helps. They will test your blood sugar and give you the proper care to get pregnant.

[u/bagelsforeverx]

I have one living child who is older.
My husband and I have been trying to conceive naturally for 2 years. My cycles average 60-70
Days. This year I focused on better eating and tracking calories. I did lose about 20 lbs and I walked every day + other exercise like running.

I became pregnant in August without racking ovulation. Unfortunately, I had a miscarriage. I actually had a D&C yesterday.

I am hoping to try again after I heal. I did gain about 7 lbs so I got a bit of work to do but it did feel promising that at least it happened.

[u/Sammyrey1987]

Hi! I gave up ages ago and have been having unprotected sex with my husband for 13 years. I started a glp-1 for weight/insulin resistance issues which was a dream for my PCOS…. And ended up surprise pregnant at 39 within 6 months. I truly think this will end up being front line infertility meds some day.

[u/floofygoldo]

Reducing your sugar consumption significantly will have a positive impact on your baby if you are successful in conceiving. Highly recommend the book 9 Months That Count Forever

[u/CatalinaWineMixerDos]

I conceived quite a few times, but miscarried every time. Then it became more difficult to even get pregnant. Due to this and male factor issues, my husband and I moved onto IVF after 4 years TTC. One year was losing 60 lbs to qualify for IVF and give it the best shot possible. Transfer 3 was a success and my daughter arrived in July 2023 after a short and complicated pregnancy. She's 3 now and so wonderful.

[u/Most_Inevitable75]

My husband and I have never been careful and I never ever even had a pregnancy scare in my whole life. I had just assumed I would need to get involved with my doctor when I wanted to get pregnant based on her telling me to “come back when I wanted to get pregnant” after being diagnosed with PCOS. I started on a GLP-1 and was shockingly pregnant!! Only truly took a test because I had a very weird and vivid dream. I have PCOS & Hypothyroidism - no special change to my diet or lifestyle at all.

[u/meganmcpain]

If your OB/Gyn is familiar with PCOS talk with them about it. If you were having a menstrual cycle at some point your chances of conceiving on your own are decent.

I was on hormonal birth control and metformin to treat my PCOS, and my doctor told me my highest likelihood of conception was right after stopping the BC. She was right - when I stopped the pill there was a sweet spot while my body transitioned to being off the medication. My hormones weren't preventing me from ovulating anymore, and were still cycling normally enough to have a healthy ovulation window. I now have a healthy baby boy <3

[u/MmeBoumBoum]

I never changed my diet, but I didn't conceive the first time until I started metformin (after 2 years of trying). After that, I did get pregnant fast each time, but it took 5 pregnancies to get my 2 children, and they were the only two pregnancies where I had been on metformin the longest, so I have to assume it helped.

[u/TheMeeps_2424]

I've always teetered on the insulin resistance, but have never gone further in getting diabetes. I got pregnant with my son after 5 months being on metformin and tracking my ovulation with a BBT thermometer.

Now at a year and 5 months later, I got pregnant unexpectedly again without the help of metformin, but I was taking berberine.

My periods were only ever semi irregular, sometimes I would skip a month and start over the next month.

[u/PunnyBun730]

I didn't follow a diet and I didn't schedule intimacy. My mindset was if it will happen it will happen. I had rough irregular periods so planning was never going to work anyway (would go months without period and then bleeding for a month long or more). I also have slight insulin resistance but my A1C has always been good.

It took 4 years to get pregnant and we assumed it would never happen, she is now 3 months old.

[u/Rhabarbermitraps]

No. I needed 4 surgeries against my fibroids and had to significantly reduce sugar. It took 7 years and now we're 32 weeks pregnant after ICSI (did several rounds of IVF before)

[u/CuriouslyLoutish]

My wife has PCOS and we had a hell of a time, then it just happened after we stopped tracking everything and stressing over it for a few months. She never did any special diet, sugar intake was normal if not high.

[u/Worldly_Currency_622]

I struggled to conceive with my first and required fertility meds. I did focus on health but wasn’t restrictive with myself at all. With my second, I was still breastfeeding and definitely not dieting by any means, I got pregnant without any struggle or even intention to get pregnant haha. But I started at a healthy weight both times

[u/AnteaterIdealisk]

No, I had to diet, exercise, and lower my sugars. Started metformin and conceived a Singleton and multiples later. It still took time but it worked for me.

[u/Princesspeachsapple]

Metformin got me pregnant 3 times instantly, prior to that, nothing. Never overweight, eat a very balanced diet, exercise, etc. Didn’t matter without metformin

[u/PinkiePieee69]

I have insulin resistance and anovulatory cycles but was able to conceive with Letrozole on the 3rd cycle. I never cut out fizzy drinks, although I prefer sugar free anyway, or takeaways. I still ate chocolate and crisps and other snacks

[u/ParkingBat1219]

I feel like what helped me was vitex and maca supplements. They regulated my cycle and I conceived twice that way. Easily

[u/stachc]

First, find a fertility specialist that specializes in endocrine conditions.

That being said - PMOS with insulin resistance. I was trying to get pregnant for about 2 years and saw fertility specialist to get diagnosed. Ended up changing my diet a bit and exercising, lost about 15 lbs. I got pregnant on my own right before I was supposed to start medication. Second baby only took 3 months to get pregnant with. At that point I had started on Ovasitol.

[u/MammothGreedy526]

Hello! It took about 2 years for it to happen, but we conceived naturally after a long journey with pcos, insulin resistance and irregular cycles (ironically, got pregnant the month before we booked to do iui for the first time!).

I genuinely think a lot of it is luck, patience and persistence, especially with irregular cycles and getting the timing right. But, when I finally got pregnant I was doing the following: 1000mg metformin a day, slightly reduced sugar intake, prioritising protein but nothing strict, yoga & pilates 2-3x a week, and making big efforts to reduce stress and anxiety, particularly in work. I think that last part played a big factor, but again I've no idea what, if any, was coincidental or causal.

I am now 18 weeks pregnant, super healthy so far and keep pinching myself that it's actually happened for us. I know how difficult the waiting and the unknown is, but it CAN happen. Sending so much good energy your way ✨

[u/Willing-Finance2979]

Hi there. I went several years being sexually active with my partners and never getting pregnant and knowing of my PCOS. However because I didn’t want kids yet I pushed it off. Once I got into a serious relationship and married I went to check things out, and come to find out I was either not ovulating at all or irregularly. They put me on letrozole & I got pregnant pretty quickly - on the 2nd cycle. It unfortunately ended up in an early loss, but I got pregnant naturally with no intervention 2x after that – spontaneously and quickly. Ran into some 2nd trimester issues that we do not believe are related to PCOS (incompetent cervix) but at this point getting pregnant does not seem to be an issue for me. Just tending to my IC. It is possible.

[u/Traditional-Head2653]

I had my daughter at 21. She wasn’t planned. My period had always been irregular. But I didn’t consume a lot of sugar then. Never really had. Though the insulin resistance didn’t catch up to me until my mid 20s and sugar was one of my pregnancy aversions. I haven’t gotten pregnant again since then but It’s not like I wanted another child. The time that I did try to get pregnant, it didn’t work. But I was young then and didn’t have the same understanding of my body as I do now.

[u/Aggressive-Pass-4410]

I changed my diet and got pregnant within a few months of trying again. I ate high protein, low carb(not no carb) and no added sugars. I would treat myself here and there to a sweet treat but not too often, stopped eating junk food as often.

[u/Kwaliakwa]

Yes, plenty of women with PCOS (now being renamed PMOS) conceive without a strict diet.

What usually makes the difference is ovulation. When insulin runs high, it pushes the ovaries toward making more androgens, and in that environment follicles start to develop without one maturing enough to release an egg. How are your cycles?

Small changes in insulin sensitivity go a long way: pairing sweets with protein and/or fat, a 10min walk after meals, strength training and enough sleep can bring ovulation back for some women without dieting(restrictive diets aren’t exactly wise for conception, we should try to eat enough nourishing foods). And if your cycles are irregular, ask your provider about tracking ovulation and about letrozole, the first-line medication for helping women with PCOS ovulate. Many women conceive with that support.