How To Find A PCOS Specialist When Tackling Infertility

Written By Dr. Angela Potter

Do You Want To Find A PCOS Specialist To Help With Your Infertility? 

And do you want to find that PCOS specialist because so far you’ve been working with a fertility clinic where you see a different doctor at every visit?

And while you are there you don’t feel like anyone is managing your care and all you get are 15 minute appointments where you walk out with yet another prescription?

You’ve had to ask for them to order labs and when the results come in? They tell you that “everything looks fine”. 

But you’re not feeling fine.

You still have irregular periods, you don’t ovulate and your hormones are taking you on a hormone roller-coaster. 

And all you want is to get regular cycles, ovulate and have your baby.

Am I right? 

So you need a PCOS specialist who knows the ins and outs of PCOS to help you with that.

And as you start you search, you need to know what to look for!

That’s what I’m here to help with today, so grab some notes and let’s dive into talking about how to find a PCOS specialist to help with your infertility. 

3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start Your PCOS Specialist Search

Here are three important questions to ask yourself before you begin your search.

Once you get clear on these answers? Then you will know how to confidently move forward looking for a PCOS specialist that will fit your fertility needs.

Question #1: Do I Want To See My PCOS Infertility Specialist Face-to-Face or Virtually?

You may be used to seeing doctors face-to-face, and it's a great way to feel connected with the provider during your visits.

But honestly? Depending on where you are located, you may very likely not have anyone in your area that specializes in PCOS.

Truly.

PCOS is still a topic that a lot of fertility doctors are not fully trained in.

So you may very well be working with a fertility doctor locally who only has fertility medications in their toolbox. And if those medications don’t work for you? Then you’re out of luck.

You’re looking for someone to effectively help you with your fertility journey, am I right?

And you have already tried at least a couple of medicated cycles which did not work so you already want to be working with someone who has more options in their toolkit.

And that’s where virtual medicine opens things up for you.

Virtual medicine (where you meet with a doctor online), can open up a lot of very cool (and transformative!) practitioners and options for you. Practitioners who live in other parts of the country but still can help you.

Question #2: What Type of Practitioner Am I Looking For?

The type of PCOS specialists that you may be able to find are doctors (like myself), nurse practitioners, acupuncturists, and nutritionists.

My honest thoughts? Choosing a PCOS specialist who is a doctor or nurse practitioner will be able to provide the most comprehensive treatment for you.

They will be able to order labs for you, walk you through the various treatment options and have a good understanding of the bigger picture for you and your PCOS needs.

And they may very well have a robust referral network with other providers like acupuncturists or nutritionists that you may want apart of your care team.

To choose a practitioner that has a more limited scope like an acupuncturist or a nutritionist can still be a really great option.

These types of providers will be a great option if you already have a robust fertility plan that is addressing each issue of what is keeping you stuck and you still aren’t seeing results like you expect.

Question #3: Is An Individualized PCOS Care Plan Important To Me?

An individualized plan is one where your PCOS specialist will take your fertility needs and pair that with their expertise. And voila! They will put together a plan that is specific to both PCOS and what your body specifically needs for fertility.

Sounds pretty nice, and effective, doesn’t it?

Not all PCOS specialists use individualized plans. Some come up with a path forward that they give to every single person who comes through their practice.

You know you’re stuck in that kind of a plan when you feel like you’re on a conveyer belt.

So ask yourself if it’s important to you to work with a PCOS specialist who takes the time to get to know you and creates an individualized plan specific to your fertility needs.

If it is important?

Then you’ll want to look for the word “individualized” on their website. Or, when you meet with them, you can ask them directly if that’s what they do or not!

So now that you've gotten clear on those answers, it's time to begin your search for that PCOS specialist!

Here are the questions to ask potential specialists.

The answers will give you the information you need to know if they will be an effective specialist for your fertility needs.

3 Questions to Ask When You Are Meeting A Potential PCOS Specialist

Question #1: Are You Able to Order and Help Me Understand My Labs Related to Both PCOS and Fertility?

When it comes to getting pregnant with PCOS, labs play an important role. You want your PCOS specialist to be someone who can help you understand the necessary labs that need to be looked at in order to understand the root cause of your fertility struggles.

And not only that?

You also need that PCOS specialist to be someone who can interpret your labs from a fertility perspective.

Did you know that there are both standard reference ranges for lab results and optimal fertility reference ranges?

Unfortunately those optimal fertility reference ranges are not listed. Which means that your PCOS specialist needs to know those optimal fertility numbers and how to help you reverse those numbers so you fall into the optimal range.

Question #2: How Can You Help Me Figure Out Why I Haven't Gotten Pregnant Yet?

You're tired of being dismissed and you want answers. You still have irregular periods after all these years and you want to start seeing some results and your periods turning around.

So you can ask the potential PCOS specialist outright, how exactly can you help me figure out why I haven't gotten pregnant yet and how can you help me turn that around?

Question #3: Do You Rely Only On Medications Or Do You Also Use Other Modalities?

Medications play a key role in improving fertility for many families. But in my expert experience?

They are rarely the only answer.

The one big misconception with fertility medications is that they don't treat every single PCOS issue that is keeping your fertility stuck.

Plus, you’ve already been down that road, haven’t you?

You’ve tried a few medicated cycles and they didn’t work.

You’re out looking for a PCOS specialist because the last provider you worked with didn’t explain anything to you, am I right? Did they leave you feeling like you were in a baby-making factory (and not in a good way)?

So you want to know if the PCOS specialist you choose to work with will have a well-rounded approach.

That being said, you want to know this potential PCOS specialists opinion on medications and their role in your fertility journey. You can take their answer and see if it resonates with the type of care you are looking for.

Some answers that you may get from a potential PCOS specialist:

  • I only use medications because diet and lifestyle don't change anything for PCOS. (Pro-tip: this is a red flag! Particularly if you not only want to get pregnant but you also want to feel healthy and like your body is set up for a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby)

  • Medications, natural supplements, diet and lifestyle are all in my toolbox. I find that it's important to use each of these at appropriate times.

  • I don't prescribe any medications, I only use natural lifestyle changes

So here you are and you have tried multiple rounds of medicated cycles and each of those has failed. Then you want to look for a practitioner who uses more than just medication in their fertility plans.

You don’t want to keep trying the same method time after time and expect different results! It’s time for a new approach.

Key Takeaways When Searching for a PCOS Specialist

  • Having a PCOS specialist on your health care team is important when you want to turn around your PCOS symptoms and boost fertility.

  • You will want to ask yourself a few questions before you even begin your search. These questions will help you get focused in on what you are looking for.

  • Once you are talking with potential PCOS specialists? You now have three questions you can ask them to learn about their approach, how it can help your fertility and if it resonates with what you are looking for.

Are you looking for a PCOS Specialist that can help you with these things…?

  • Uncover the root cause of your fertility struggles

  • Help you get regular cycles and consistent ovulation, naturally (without birth control)

  • Help you feel healthy and that your body is prepped for baby?

I can help.

Hi, I’m Dr. Angela Potter! And my PCOS fertility superpower?

It's to I help you turn around irregular cycles and nonexistent ovulation so you feel healthy and that you are prepped for baby.

Your next step is to book a (free!) PCOS Fertility Breakthrough Session.

This session is a fertility gold-mine! You will walk away knowing:

  • How to turn around your PCOS frustrations to be closer to reaching your fertility goals.

  • Why what you’ve been doing is leading you away from optimal fertility and what actually works.

  • What’s been missing from your care that’s keeping you from seeing results.

  • Clear step-by-step guidance to have your best chance at becoming pregnant.

  • Which of my powerful PCOS fertility programs is best to help boost your fertility

Dr. Angela Potter

Hi! I’m Dr. Angela Potter and I am the creator of the PCOS Fertility Protocol. I offer individualized PCOS fertility plans in Portland, Oregon and virtually to women across the country.

Over the last decade of seeing patients, I was seeing too many women who felt hopeless and like their body was broken because they had PCOS and couldn’t get pregnant. That’s what inspired me to create my PCOS Fertility Protocol to help women (just like you!) have a clear path forward for their fertility.

https://www.drangelapotter.com
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