I want to kick PCOS in the you know what.

grrl77

Hey guys,

Wonder if any of you are in my situation. Mine's a little unique.

Was diagnosed with PCOS back in my earlyish 20's, was on Yasmin for years. Wound up getting a blood clot, so I was taken off Yasmin, thus stopping any hormone replacement that I was doing. Fast forward six years. Wound up going to a new gyno, who suggested I see the guy across the hall who is apparently an expert on PCOS. Made the appointment, did an internal ultrasound, he wound up wanting to do a D&C after seeing my lining was thick. Not surprising, given it'd been six years since I'd had any regular period at all (when I did get one, it'd last maybe a day, and be really light. This happened maybe twice a year.)

Did the D&C, and after my crazy round of blood clot issues, opted to try to lose weight naturally and hope to get my period back. Depression hit me, and I don't know. I think we can all recognize it's not a matter of just putting the fork down. There's emotional ties to food, etc. So, basically last year in Feb, had this D&C, and I haven't had a period since. I called my doc to see if I could be put on Provera or something to induce a period, and he wants me to come in for another internal ultrasound just to check the lining. Said because I haven't bled in a year, I might be at risk for it being thickened again. I really hope I don't have to have another D&C (I can't imagine uterine lining growing to that point of needing one after one year, but I'm no doctor) or some painful procedure. Kind of hoping he just gives me provera and sends me on my way, a little thick or not.

For now, trying the lower carb route and seeing what happens. Was just hoping to hear from anyone that might be in the same situation as me. Feels a little alienating sometimes. Thoughts/experiences/etc would be appreciated.

Dragonwolf

Ouch, sounds rough. I can't really help with the D&C type stuff, but had some other thoughts.

1. If you haven't already, get bloodwork done. Find out what your fasting insulin (not just glucose, insulin too) is, at the very least. Ideally, get a lipid panel, and get your DHEAS, free testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone levels checked. If your doctor won't do it, get a new doctor. Knowledge is power, and the more you know, the better off you'll be.

2. Increase your fat intake. Carbs and fat are fuel (and fat is necessary for proper hormone and brain function), protein is for building/repairing, so when you decrease your carbs, you should increase your fat, not protein. You should have about 1g/lb of lean body mass for protein (which generally works out to about 100g), and no less than .35g/lb of total body weight for fat. The remainder of the calories for your total can come from carbs and fat however you see fit. Since you're trying to keep your carbs down, don't be surprised if your fat grams ends up over 100g (a quick calculation with your carbs at their current level and protein at about 100g puts your fats at 86g, but that's without knowing your age, height, and weight to determine how aggressive your 1580 calorie allotment is). Fat is not a bad thing, and for a large majority of us with PCOS, it's the best thing to happen to us. Also, both carbs and protein raise insulin levels in the human body -- this has its place, but if your insulin already runs high, it will prevent you from losing weight.

3. Eat real food. In your diary, your breakfast looked great (though be careful of breads, they'll put you over in carbs really quickly), but that "detox smoothie"? Eh... If it's the recipe I found (kale, carrot juice, spinach, aloe juice) then it's...okay. There's zero fat and only a tiny bit of protein to offset the carbs that aren't fiber in it (which is going to largely come from the carrot juice, most likely). I'd say either ditch it altogether in favor of real food, or alter it so that it has at least more fat, if not also some more protein. For example, substitute the carrot juice out for coconut milk, which will cut down on quite a few carbs (including sugar, because carrots are sugary as far as veggies are concerned) and give you some high-quality fats. (Side note - if you're getting stomach aches or headaches and that's why you're drinking said smoothie (which is the purpose in the description I saw), I recommend cutting out grains for a month and see if it makes a difference. A lot of women with PCOS seem to also be gluten intolerant or intolerant to a protein found in many grains. Cut them all out for a month, then introduce them back in one kind at a time and see if you're sensitive to any of them.)

4. Exercise. Do something daily, even if it's just go for a walk. I recommend strength training a couple of times a week -- I personally have found that when I strength train, I get my period more regularly and more like a normal cycle (I specifically do powerlifting, but other forms may work, too, I'm not sure; try different things and see what works for you). And don't think strength training is something you'll do when you've lost the weight, not only can you do it now, but doing it now will retain lean body mass (not just muscle, but bone as well -- your body will increase bone density to handle the load, which is huge for women), which will keep your metabolism up. It will also help increase your insulin sensitivity, which will help you lose weight more easily as well. New Rules of Lifting and Starting Strength are great for absolute beginners, especially if you're unsure about lifting in general. If you don't have access to equipment, then You Are Your Own Gym or Convict Conditioning are great for bodyweight strength training.

5. Talk to your doctor about Progesterone supplements. Most women with PCOS who don't have regular periods don't because we don't produce enough Progesterone with respect to our Estrogen levels. It's the change in Progesterone and Estrogen levels that triggers our period. I won't go into the details, but supplementing Progesterone may help you have a period at least sometimes, and help prevent your uterine lining from getting too thick, at least until your body fixes itself.

miranda_mom

As always, I'm going to jump in here and second Dragonwolf on the strength training. Women with PCOS are often afraid to do it but I got pregnant a few months into my strength training program so it only helped my hormones. It obviously did not hurt them.

As for your lining, I went seven months without a period and when I got the period, oh my god, it was HEAVY! And it sucked because I was on vacation at the time, not expecting a period, and yeah, it was miserable. So I think it can get pretty thick.

CharRicho

Are you on metformin?

After you get the bloodwork done, if your insulin and/or glucose levels are abnormal, ask your doctor about going on metformin. I was completely unable to lose any weight after coming off the pill, until I started taking met. It also might help you cycle regularly, after you've been taking it for awhile.

And second what Dragonwolf said about upping your fats.. don't try to go low carb AND low fat. It's not healthy or beneficial to you. Low carb is a great idea for PCOS but make sure you are adding lots of healthy fats into your diet.

Good luck! Lots of good info and support in this forum

grrl77

Wow, thanks so much for the information! I haven't had blood work done in awhile, but I think I'd like to after I've been on the Metformin for a little while. He gave it to me, but when I hit my depression, I got tired of dealing with the stomach stuff that usually comes along with it, and just quit altogether. I started taking it (850mg x 3 daily) today again, so maybe he'd let me take it religiously for awhile and then do some blood work. I know when I got all that done before, he ordered an entire huge panel of tests.

I never understood how to actually calculate how much fats/proteins I need. I'm 5"4", and around 320. I'm 36 years old.

I'll definitely talk to my doctor about progesterone supplements/pills. I know that's something he'd mentioned before - wanted to give me an IUD, which I have no desire to get. Just feel like I need to do so *something* while I work on losing the weight.

miranda_mom

Was that the metformin dose you started on? I'm asking because you are supposed to start low and then increase as you go. If you just went straight to that dose, I can imagine your stomach would really be bothering you. Starting slower might help moderate the side effects.

grrl77

Was that the metformin dose you started on? I'm asking because you are supposed to start low and then increase as you go. If you just went straight to that dose, I can imagine your stomach would really be bothering you. Starting slower might help moderate the side effects.

I'm starting slow again. He cautioned me back in the beginning to work my way up. I'm basically starting fresh today, having not been on it in awhile. Eventually, it's 850mg 3x a day, but for now, I'm taking one per day in the morning, and as that starts to feel better, 2 then 3.

CharRicho

That's a good plan.

Also try to avoid processed (read: white) carbs and sugar like the plague while you are taking met. They will make the side effects worse. Alcohol will also make the side effects worse, so if you drink, try not to at least while you get used to the metformin.

If you get the stomach issues, try drinking ginger tea. Another person also told me that taking a probiotic with the tablet helped them (although I personally didn't notice a difference but I only had REALLY mild symptoms so if yours are bad, it's worth trying)

Dragonwolf

Wow, thanks so much for the information! I haven't had blood work done in awhile, but I think I'd like to after I've been on the Metformin for a little while. He gave it to me, but when I hit my depression, I got tired of dealing with the stomach stuff that usually comes along with it, and just quit altogether. I started taking it (850mg x 3 daily) today again, so maybe he'd let me take it religiously for awhile and then do some blood work. I know when I got all that done before, he ordered an entire huge panel of tests.

It might be a good idea to at least get your fasting insulin checked again. That why you have a baseline for what it is before this time going on the Metformin. Doing that will allow you to reassess in about three months to make sure you're on the right amount of Metformin for you.