How many people here have it? What do you take for it, if anything? How have you been treated for it? So far I have been just fobbed off and told that every woman has it to some degree and I shouldn't be too worried until I start trying for a baby and I might have some problems then.

I've looked around on some websites though and it seems like there are medications to at least deal with the symptoms. It was suggested I go on the pill but because my mothers family has a history of thrombosis, blood clots and stroke they won't put me on it.

It really gets me down and I think maybe I should ask to be refferred to an endocronoligist/gyno but I'm living in Scotland now and you have NHS and I'm not sure how it all works if I can just ask them to do that or what will happen? I've already had to try to convince them that this is what I have from years of symptoms and researching and finally a bloodtest was taken over here and they told me this is what I have but it's not a big deal.....To me it is though, I feel like it's wrecking my life and I'll maybe never have children or I might have multiple miscarriages and while I'm not planning children right now -that is scary to think of in the future.

i have it.
i'm worried about the having kids thing too.
i'm not on anything for it, i tried the pill but i can't take it because it makes everything worse for me for some reason.

I have a few friends who have it, two are on the pill for it and one just grins and bears it without. On the NHS you could definitely ask the GP for a referral, especially since you can't use the pill. Just make a GP appointment, say the symptoms are affecting your life and that you'd like to see either an endocronologist or a gynaecologist and they will refer you!

You should definitely be referred to a endocronologist and/or a gyno. I was finally offcially diagnosed yesterday after having symptoms for nearly two years, my sister has it so I knew what to look out for. After my blood test results the GP referred me an endocronologist straight away and they have been very helpful. I'll be on progesterone to kick start my periods again for a few weeks then starting two other medications to help with the symptoms. Demand to be referred.

As for the having kids issue; my sister was told it was unlikely she'd be able to conceive because her ovaries were in such bad shape from the pcos. She got pregnant within a few weeks of the diagnosis and had a perfectly healthy baby girl.

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The city lights are cold and violent.

That gives me hope because I really desperately want to have children one day when I'm settled and I'm just worried my ovaries are going to get worse and worse and eventually it will be impossible.
I'm going to ask to be referred but I just don't find the doctors here very helpful or approachable for some reason. Desiderata is it a UK GP that referred you or US? It seems like in the US people are more readily referred to gynos and other specialists whereas in the UK the GP deals with everything. It doesn't seem like many doctors have much understanding or empathy when it comes to this condition though.

I'm Irish. I don't think Irish GP's are equipped to diagnose/treat pcos. Obviously they can get the initial bloodtest done but they then have to refer patients to hospital to be examined by a endo/gyno doctor as far as I know. Maybe its different in the UK but I think your GP should definitely refer you to a specialist doctor. I pissed off on your behalf.

My sister was actually treated pretty badly too, the gyno basically told her that she had pcos because she was overweight and to come back in a few months when she lost some. She didn't get a lot of info, just enough to have her in tears because she believed she'd never have kids. She wasn't even sent to a dietician to help lose the weight.

I was pleasantly suprised that the hospital doctors I dealt with were so approachable and informative. They took the time to take a detailed account of my symptoms and answered any questions I had. I think the main thing they focus on is your diet and exercise regime. If you are overweight losing weight will definitely help reduce your symptoms and the amount of damage done to your ovaries. If, like me, your periods became irregular or if they stopped completely you could also need a course of medication to help regulate them.

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The city lights are cold and violent.

Her expression made me lol.

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The city lights are cold and violent.

No way , so am I I'm just living in Glasgow for Uni. At home, I got ultrasounds because I had funny tummy pains and when I had my periods I would faint and vomit sometimes they were so painful, and when I told my doctor I thought I might have PCOS I explained I had heavy periods and he said that's not a symptom of it! I got a bloodtest there before I moved over here and I was to get further tests but I had another bloodtest when I moved here and they confirmed PCOS.
Another thing that bothered me was I starting getting shaky all of the time and pins and needles in my arms and tingling and when I asked the doctor over here could I have Diabetes type II which I read on a website is something which alot of women with PCOS get, because PCOS some people think has to do with insulin and something else I can't remember - he told me that was just something he saw in 'fatties' who 'ate too many sweeties' and not to worry about it ! Maybe I just have really horrible luck with doctors ! Maybe I'm not demanding enough and they just fob me off because they can't be bothered I really don't know.
I'm 9 stone which is not really overweight but plumper than I want to be so I'm trying to lose some because I know it will help. My periods are completely irregular sometimes stopping for 2 months at a time which is scary.

That picture is funny

Same here I went for five months without a period and was freaked out. That doctor sounds like a . Pcos is more common amongst overweight women but it can still occur in woman of a normal weight. Go get yourself a referral to a specialist doc and I'm sure they'll be more helpful that that gobshite.

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The city lights are cold and violent.

Unless you are about 4 foot 6, 9 stone really isn't a weight you need to lose something from! As for only fatties getting PCOS, the three people I know who have it, two of them are a size 8 and the other one is a size 12/14, which isn't exactly obese, so it sounds just like you have a terrible doctor! You can get really good service off the NHS, you just have to demand it! If you don't like your current doctor, book an appointment with another one of them at the surgery and demand a referral. Just say something like, I spoke to a helpline about PCOS and they said I should definitely be referred. I used to work for the NHS and it really is a question of being pro-active and putting the idea in the doctors head that doing what you want is really what they want otherwise you will make their lives difficult.

I know I actually started to believe I was pregnant when it stopped for so long. I'm definitely going to go back and ask to be referred I'll just have to put my foot down and make them do it for me. I'm going to have to stop chickening out because otherwise I'll end up being just one big cyst.
I hope your treatment works for you

Thanks I'll try this approach. I don't think the doctor was saying only fatties get PCOS, just only fatties get Diabetes Type II I don't believe that's true either though. I'm 5'3and not huge but a bit...wobbly!
Should I be asking for an endocronoligist(sp?) or a gyno or does it really matter?

The "you must be fat to get type 2 diabetes" thing definitely isn't true either! I don't really know which would be best, but probably an endocronologist. You could always be demanding and get referrals for both!