Fertility "tools" and PCOS/ insulite

[AMCBell]

Hi Dr. Heather,
I am 30 years old, and was diagnosed with PCOS as a teenager. I have been on BC pills since then. Two months ago, I started Insulite and took myself off of my birth control pills as I am trying to start a family. The first month, I actually got my period, a first for me without being on bcpills, although I did not ovulate. I have seen some other good changes too in energy, blood sugar highs/lows etc.

My question is, how does PCOS impact the effectiveness (if at all) of fertility "tools" like BBT charting/thermal shift, Ovulation Predictor Kits, cervical mucus testing, pregnancy tests? And in that same vein, can the Insulite system impact the effectiveness of these as well?

I understand how PCOS affects fertility itself, I'm just curious if any or all of these methods of tracking fertility (and improving the chances of conception) can be impacted by the syndrome or by the supplements. I have read that OPKs are less useful for people with PCOS.


Thank you for your help!

[drheather]

Hi Dr. Heather,
I am 30 years old, and was diagnosed with PCOS as a teenager. I have been on BC pills since then. Two months ago, I started Insulite and took myself off of my birth control pills as I am trying to start a family. The first month, I actually got my period, a first for me without being on bcpills, although I did not ovulate. I have seen some other good changes too in energy, blood sugar highs/lows etc.

My question is, how does PCOS impact the effectiveness (if at all) of fertility "tools" like BBT charting/thermal shift, Ovulation Predictor Kits, cervical mucus testing, pregnancy tests? And in that same vein, can the Insulite system impact the effectiveness of these as well?

I understand how PCOS affects fertility itself, I'm just curious if any or all of these methods of tracking fertility (and improving the chances of conception) can be impacted by the syndrome or by the supplements. I have read that OPKs are less useful for people with PCOS.


Thank you for your help!

Hello,

Thank you for posting. I know you also sent me an email regarding
this question but I also wanted to post my response in case it helps another forum member.

There is nothing in the System that would negatively affect ovulation kits or
temperature, actually with the results we hope you get, we would want to see that if you
were not ovullting that you start and also see signs of ovulation such as changes in
cervical mucus, basal body temperature, etc.

Lastly, PCOS can cause false positives on ovulation predictor kits. The reason is that
many women have an elevated LH level and this is what the kits are measuring. So, they
may not be accurate. It will be important to not only use these but also basal body temp
and other signs of changes during ovulation.

If you use the ovulation kits, try to see if before you think you are ovulating what the
results show, if they are showing positive when you know that you are certainly not
ovulating, then this may not be the best indicator.

I hope that this helps. Please let me know if I can help further.