PCOS and weight gain
Nicole_kayy
Posts: 88 Member
When I went to the doctor and was diagnosed, The doctor told me PCOS is why I can't lose weight. He didn't explain how that works, so could someone here?
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Generally, PCOS creates a hormonal mess that essentially has us fighting against our own body to lose weight. That often includes things like insulin resistance (which 75% of the population has, and of which 90% or so of those people are completely unaware of), vitamin deficiencies, co-morbidities (i.e., related health conditions), and many other factors. I think @stacicali has some good resources she might share than explain the situation a bit better.
Essentially, unlike the majority of folks, most of us PCOS sufferers can't simply eat less and exercise more and see successes readily. Many of us have to address underlying nutritional deficiencies, carefully tweak our macro and micronutrients, uncover and treat related health conditions, find unconventional workout programs, sleep-hack, reduce stress, restore/repair erratic/missing/heavy cycles, and all manner of things before we can fight the weight loss fight as so-called normal folks do...
It's frustrating, discouraging, heartbreaking, can create infertility/life-long hormonal struggles, and so many other things. But here, in forums like this, we can find "Sisters" who also suffer this condition, who will share what they've learned and tips they've picked up, and give us hope to regain some normalcy.
Other than weight loss struggles, if you tell us what sent you to the doctor in the first place, or anything else he told you, we might be able to give you better direction... Best of luck - and honestly, despite the fact that PCOS is a giant pain, learning about it early, at a younger age, you have some of the best chance at fighting back against it and stopping the issues before they get good and ramped up.4 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »Generally, PCOS creates a hormonal mess that essentially has us fighting against our own body to lose weight. That often includes things like insulin resistance (which 75% of the population has, and of which 90% or so of those people are completely unaware of), vitamin deficiencies, co-morbidities (i.e., related health conditions), and many other factors. I think @stacicali has some good resources she might share than explain the situation a bit better.
Essentially, unlike the majority of folks, most of us PCOS sufferers can't simply eat less and exercise more and see successes readily. Many of us have to address underlying nutritional deficiencies, carefully tweak our macro and micronutrients, uncover and treat related health conditions, find unconventional workout programs, sleep-hack, reduce stress, restore/repair erratic/missing/heavy cycles, and all manner of things before we can fight the weight loss fight as so-called normal folks do...
It's frustrating, discouraging, heartbreaking, can create infertility/life-long hormonal struggles, and so many other things. But here, in forums like this, we can find "Sisters" who also suffer this condition, who will share what they've learned and tips they've picked up, and give us hope to regain some normalcy.
Other than weight loss struggles, if you tell us what sent you to the doctor in the first place, or anything else he told you, we might be able to give you better direction... Best of luck - and honestly, despite the fact that PCOS is a giant pain, learning about it early, at a younger age, you have some of the best chance at fighting back against it and stopping the issues before they get good and ramped up.
I hadn't had a period in almost a year, acne, weight gain, and though I haven't been to a doctor about it, my blood sugar sometimes goes from really high to really low in just a couple hours. I was going to go tell my doctor about it today because it did it again last night.0 -
That's very serious, with dramatic changes like that. Definitely tell your doctor about it. That is generally considered hypoglycemia or pre-diabetes, so it definitely needs to be addressed before worsening. The best things to do to keep it more level are generally to increase the fats and proteins in your meals, lowering carbs - but not too far... Carbs/sugars tend to allow that increase/drop effect... I hope you get some good answers today, @Nicole_kayy...1
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Thank you!1
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »That's very serious, with dramatic changes like that. Definitely tell your doctor about it. That is generally considered hypoglycemia or pre-diabetes, so it definitely needs to be addressed before worsening. The best things to do to keep it more level are generally to increase the fats and proteins in your meals, lowering carbs - but not too far... Carbs/sugars tend to allow that increase/drop effect... I hope you get some good answers today, @Nicole_kayy...
@Nicole_kayy , thank you for "friending" me on here and I feel your frustration. Were in this together!
I disagree with the above commenter about blood glucose levels and her suggestion for pre-diabetes.
It is very normal for blood sugar to raise after eating a meal and drop a couple hours later. Most people need to eat every 2-3 hours. Please don't take medical advice on your specific numbers from forums like these.
We are here to encourage, share advice, and stories related to PCOS. As far as finding about your specific lab work, please consult your doctor DIRECTLY.
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »That's very serious, with dramatic changes like that. Definitely tell your doctor about it. That is generally considered hypoglycemia or pre-diabetes, so it definitely needs to be addressed before worsening. The best things to do to keep it more level are generally to increase the fats and proteins in your meals, lowering carbs - but not too far... Carbs/sugars tend to allow that increase/drop effect... I hope you get some good answers today, @Nicole_kayy...
@Nicole_kayy , thank you for "friending" me on here and I feel your frustration. Were in this together!
I disagree with the above commenter about blood glucose levels and her suggestion for pre-diabetes.
It is very normal for blood sugar to raise after eating a meal and drop a couple hours later. Most people need to eat every 2-3 hours. Please don't take medical advice on your specific numbers from forums like these.
We are here to encourage, share advice, and stories related to PCOS. As far as finding about your specific lab work, please consult your doctor DIRECTLY.
@Fayga - if you notice, I specifically said "Definitely tell your doctor about that." I wasn't intending to deliver medical advice, nor do I generally. I suppose I will have to preface every single comment I make from here on out that this is not medical advice, but my own opinion and suggestion for independent research to take to discuss directly with a medical professional.
Yes, mild to moderate shifts in blood glucose readings are absolutely normal. However, @Nicole_kayy specifically mentioned what I've highlighted below. REALLY HIGH and REALLY LOW. Dramatic shifts are not normal. I suppose that is a relative term, to the user, but if someone is going from 400 to 40 in a few hours, that is absolutely not normal, and she should consult her doctor, which if you re-read above, I wasn't suggesting anything other than information with which to discuss with her doctor, whom she was already set to see.Nicole_kayy wrote: »I hadn't had a period in almost a year, acne, weight gain, and though I haven't been to a doctor about it, my blood sugar sometimes goes from really high to really low in just a couple hours. I was going to go tell my doctor about it today because it did it again last night.
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PCOS is frustrating on many accounts. One of the big ones for me is the general lack of knowledge that many doctors have regarding it. I depend on forums like this one to spark conversations with my dr and investigate new ideas because with PCOS, you have to be your own advocate. 40% of women with PCOS become diabetic by the time they are 40. If you even suspect you have blood sugar issues, I recommend requesting a fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin test from your doctor and discussing your concerns. You can also monitor it yourself with a home glucose meter (pick one up at any pharmacy for as cheaply as $10.) Give me a sec and I will send you a link with good advice of when to do post meal testing and what the numbers should read. That way you know exactly what kinds of swings you are having.2
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I'm considering monitoring post meal glucose myself since I'm borderline pre-diabetic. Here's some interesting info:
http://diabetesupdate.blogspot.com/2010/05/understanding-fasting-blood-sugar.html?m=12 -
Also, personally, I don't have the mad swings in glucose myself, but I do have elevated insulin level. The current theory is that my body has protected me from blood sugar issues thus far by making me fat. It shuttled about all the extra glucose to fat storage as it entered the bloodstream, preventing major elevations and drops. This has it's own set of problems, as well.
Insulin resistance - and in fact cellular energy resistance - can be quite the headache!
@stacicali - thanks for the great link! It's always good to have confirmed reference numbers to which to refer.1
