***UPDATE*** I hear you Meghan! Acne and TTC

[The Review Mommy]

*UPDATE*

I've just finished my first month of charting per TCOYF. So far I have been having these problems:

1) Spotting before and at the end of menstruation. (light but brown, and only for a couple days, very minimal)

2) Very light menses (easier months) and heavy periods (with painful cramps and usually headaches) these alternate. KWIM? One month "easy" the next "heavy and painful". This is the pattern.

3) No Luteal phase.

4) Monochromatic but slightly erratic temps-(If that makes any sense) I will pitch the digital and stop taking orally.

5) Lower then average walking temps, most in the 96's. The highest was 98 when or if I did have my thermal shift but went back down below 97 the very next day. Did I have a true thermal shift even if I had no luteal phase? I guess, please explain.

All of this point to anovulatory cycle. :(

I'm so upset because I just found out my Sister has had thyroid problems but never heard anything about it until now, until I asked. And get this-my Grandmother, the one who died the week I was born from Ovarian Cancer had fertility problems. I asked my mom what Grandmas fertility problems were and she said that they never discussed it because it was a "sensitive subject" for her. "What ever it was" my mom said "it was so difficult for her that they decided to only have one child, your Dad." I had always been wondering about this because I always heard that she wanted a daughter and to name her Colleen.

The only person who knows about Grandmas fertility issues is Grandpa, which I'm not at all "close" to. Oh....he is *NOT* the one to talk to about this kind of stuff either. Argh! :P

Ok, so how do you write a letter to someone about this?

"Look, I know it was never discussed before but because *WE* are having problems mind if I open up some old wounds?"

KWIM? I think writing a letter is better than visiting or calling him on the phone as to not "put him on the spot". He can also respond as much or as little as he would like. Any advice on how to go about writing somthing like this?

I will be going in to check my thyroid on the 25th (Kaiser) Any suggestions? What’s *really* a normal range, should I be seeing a specialist? I usually meet Dr's with resistance so I'll need to be armed with some direction here. I don't want to go in and have him look at my charting and roll his eyes or anything. ;) KWIM? Most just don’t “listen� to me. And this time I’m not going to wimp out. They have this way of making me forget what I initialy went in for....

Thank You so Much!
Rebekah



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Like Meghan, I'm kinda having a similar problem with acne too. When I got off BCP to TTC I started to breakout in places I have *NEVER* before:

Along my jaw
On my forearms
Thighs
Calves
Spine of my back
Chest

I’m starting to worry because it’s been almost a year and still no “bun in the oven� ;) and still no sign of this acne letting up. I’ve tried to research this as much as I could, even reading TCOYF, but keep hitting brick walls. There really isn’t that much info out there on TTC after BCP. The extent of the subject is this (roughly) “just wait a few months and your body will get back to normal�. Well it’s been more than a few months and what am I going to do until then, until a year. What can I do, if anything. I’m just so tired of people telling me to stand on my head and to see the next door neighbor and let him rub my belly for good luck! :) lol

I think I read somewhere that 20% of women take 13 months to "get back to normal". Where's the literature on this? I'd like to see the study, if there was ever one. So, there *ARE* affects from BCP that affect fertility....

So while I have a different problem I can certainly relate to the acne concern with anxiety and disgust. For me I’m thinking it has to do with a deeper problem, fertility. Hopefully I'm wrong.

I do have a history of breakouts but they were only located on my face and rarely saw one anywhere else (funny because DH only had them on his neck area). At first they were on my forehead then T-Zone and eventually the "sides" of my face. But now that I’m off BCP they are everywhere! Yuck! :(

Anyone here a Fatalist or Dermatologist? I'm looking for a way to send these new "friends" of mine packing! :) And what about MD's….I recall a few of them scattered around here.

Confused in So Cal
Rebekah

[brittone2]

Not a facialist or dermatologist, or MD.
I ran into similar issues with going off BCP. What I can tell you is that I had PCOS (and didn't know it), and while many people think their issues are related to coming off BCP, what is more often the case (by far) is that the bcps "covered up" problems with your cycle and therefore you weren't aware they were there (not saying this is the case, but IMO it is more likely the case than having the bcps create issues with getting pg). After a year of ttc, you might want to consider some bloodwork to check hormone levels etc if for no other reason than to rule it out as an issue.

Irregular cycles for more than a few months after stopping bcp and the acne would make me look closely at PCOS. I know I just posted about this but it is really really common in women of childbearing age (5 to 10 percent or more).

While we were ttc using fertility drugs, I periodically did bcps to control cysts that would pop up as a result of the meds. I had to do them on a cancelled cycle to clear up a bunch of cysts and that was only a few weeks before we conceived DS. Your cycles may be longish coming off of bcps for up to 3 months but if it is going much beyond that or you are charting and not ovulating, I'd consider getting some stuff checked. If it would happen to be pcos, insulin sensitizing meds can help with the acne and also improve your cycles in many cases.

It may very well not be pcos but the combo of the cycle issues and acne just made me think about it as a possibility you might want to check out eventually.

I wish you much luck with getting pg and hope to hear you reporting a "bun in the oven" very soon!!!

[TaChapm]

I will try to find some pictures of my face after fertility drugs, IVF and then pregnancy. I had HORRIBLE cystic acne! It was insaine. I was just about to go to the dermatologist and demand he put me on acutane (I had tried everything else he had suggested and given me). My sister bought me the Serious Skin Care Continuously Clear line and it has changed my life. I never went out without heavy makeup on and now 99% of the time I go without.

I happen to sell Mary Kay and while I like most all of the products I won't go without my Serious Skin Care. It is the only thing that consistantly keeps my skin clear thorough all my crazy hormones and having babies. I swear by the stuff.

You can only buy it on HSN. In fact they are on right now. I rotate between the Continuously Clear Daily Ritual Cleanser and the Glycolic Cleanser and have no problems with my skin. It might be worth you trying before you head to a dermatologist because my dermatologist did not help me at all.


Tara
Mommy to Jackson 11-10-02
Tyler William 6-9-05

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http://lilypie.com/baby1/060609/3/0/1/-6/.png

[lablover]

When you get your thyroid checked, make sure you get a copy of your lab results. Your TSH should be between 1 and 2 if you are trying to conceive. Your T4 should be in the upper part of the normal range. If you can see an endocrinologist that would be best; a lot of doctors don't really know how to treat thyroid disease properly. Having an underactive thyroid can cause annovulatory cycles. I didn't have annovulatory cycles, but my temps were a little lower when I wasn't treated. I'll tell you my story: I went in for infertility treatment after 1 1/2 years of trying, and the thyroid problem was discovered at that time (I didn't have any typical symptoms.) I went on medication and a few months later my levels were in the optimal range. 2 weeks later I conceived. So don't give up hope!

Check out thyroid.about.com - it's loaded with information and there is a forum also.

[brittone2]

I just want to second that if you get your thyroid checked, get more than the TSH level done. T3, T4 and TSH should all be done from everything I've read and had tested in the past. I also definitely recommend an endo.

The low basal temps are consistent with thyroid issues as you know I'm sure.

THe good thing is thyroid stuff is very treatable once they get your meds adjusted well. I have PCOS but had to have thyroid issues ruled out several times.

FWIW PCOS and thyroid conditions can go hand in hand as well, so if you end up getting blood work, you might want to have them check your androgen levels, etc. since you have the anovulation plus acne issues. If they are doing bloodwork I'd want PCOS ruled out while they are looking, kwim? Often if they test for one of those conditions they also check for the other...I'd ask them to do that just in case. (to rule out pcos I'd have them check free testosterone, androstenedione, fsh, LH, dhea-s, estradiol, and prolactin...all of those are most accurate on day 3 of your cycle). It might be a PITB to get all of that done but i'd want the whole picture just in case.