Confused and worried - PCOS, advice please?

running4thehigh

Hey guys! So, technically, I was diagnosed with PCOS in October last year. They asked me to go back and check another hormone though, and stubborn as I am, I just decided to ignore the whole thing altogether. Why? Because I wasn't showing any superficial symptoms except that I might have a little bit more body hair but definitely not out of the ordinary.

I do have PCO, and a slightly elevated level of testosterone. But my period is regular, I'm at a relatively normal weight, I've never had Acne.

What I have been noticing though is this: I exercise like crazy. For the most parts, I have a super healthy diet, too. And no matter what I do, I always seem to stay at the same weight, and gain weight super easily.

The reason why I'm worried right now, is because for the past 7-10 days I've been abnormally tired. I get plenty of sleep, but I wake up completely knackered. I don't know what's wrong. It's like my eyes are hurting when I wake up and that feeling persists throughout the entire day. Additionally, I've been spotting and have had random cramps and headaches too, although my period was supposed to stop a week ago. I am under A LOT of stress right now, abnormally so, so that might be the reason for all of the symptoms above.

My question is though - could this be related to PCOS? I want to get my hormones checked again, but I leave for an internship in a week, and won't be back in the country for three months. I don't want this tiredness to persist! (Especially since I got an internship at a running magazine - so duh, I need to be awake for that )

THANKS FOR POSSIBLE ADVICE!

JSN66614

Well it could be two things, obviously it's not the exercise.

1. CARBS AND SUGAR! Our bodies don't really handle carbs very well at all! carbs = sugar to our bodies and if you have elevated testosterone..it could be a sign of insulin resistance which ain't uncommon with PCOS.

2. Eating more or less than what you really need........watch the logging and if you're eating too little this can happen too.

Don't feel bad, if I eat any carbs at all either whole grain processed what not......I stall or even worse gain weight like crazy ugh so easy!

running4thehigh

But I need some carbs to fuel all my exercising! I usually run a lot too, until I sprained my ankle two months ago, and I absolutely did need some rice or pasta for my 10mile+ runs.

I haven't changed anything at all in the past couple of days. WHAT IS HAPPENING.

JSN66614

Could you possibly be on a plateau? This is always a possibility..........maybe the type of grain your eating? White processed ugh that ain't no good?

You might need to get to a nutritionist print out your logs.......ask them?

truddy6647

r u getting enough protien for one two have your iron and b12 checked both affect energy

Exotic_Rose

You know that you have PCOS but you don't understand that it causes hormonal imbalances. Your body is going to change and the best thing to do would be to talk to a doctor, get some blood tests done etc.

Exercising "like crazy" will not get you the results you want.

I highly recommend doing some research and seeing a doctor.

http://www.webmd.com/women/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos-and-weight-gain

running4thehigh

The main staple of my diet is protein, actually. My iron levels should be fine too.

I don't exercise like crazy - as I put it - in order to lose weight. I'm actually training for the entry exam to go to grad school with an AT and competitive sports major. I should have chosen my words differently. Exercising - sports - is a way of life for me. I'm a runner and training for half, soon full marathons.

What I mean is that given the amount of exercise I do, and the healthy lifestyle that comes with it, I am surprised that I'm so prone to gaining weight and how difficult it is to maintain/lose. Hence my question if that could be related to PCOS.
Or rather - in this case - why I've been so ridiculously tired, and if that hormonal imbalance could be the reason for it.

Thanks!

macchiatto

Yeah, PCOS can definitely make it harder to lose weight and also harder to just maintain, especially if you haven't figured out the right macro balance for your body. I have struggled a ton with both losing and maintaining. I recently trained for my first 10K and while that's certainly different from training for a half, it *was* tricky for me trying to figure out how to eat enough carbs to fuel my runs, while keeping my carbs low enough to still lose weight (as someone with PCOS and likely insulin resistance). It sounds like for you there may be a combination of hormonal imbalance with stress affecting you right now. If there's any way to fit in a dr visit and more blood work before you leave for internship, I'd really recommend it. And if not, then I'd experiment with going lower carb. Have more carbs pre-run/workout to fuel those and make sure you eat what you need to afterward but keep the rest of your meals lower carb, and see if that helps.

sweetsorrow18

There's a whole slew of things that attribute to tiredness that come from PCOS and a lot of people have mentioned that here. Something I'd like to mention is your adrenal glands...I was in your boat a couple years ago after being under constant stress in grad school, I visited a homeopath (who also specialized in PCOS) and all the testing revealed I had maxed out adrenal glands from years of constant stress (she told me the number one indicator is waking up feeling tired despite sleeping 8-10 hours which was totally me).... now I don't think there is a specific test for your adrenal glands that you can see your doctor for but I started taking an all natural supplement called ADHS by Biotics (I am no way associated with them, this is simply the one I took, there could be many more supplements out there)....anyway, I took one before sleeping and one in the morning and felt MUCH better....again, I'd recommend seeing your physician before starting any medications or supplements, but hopefully this helps a bit!

Dragonwolf

But I need some carbs to fuel all my exercising! I usually run a lot too, until I sprained my ankle two months ago, and I absolutely did need some rice or pasta for my 10mile+ runs.

I haven't changed anything at all in the past couple of days. WHAT IS HAPPENING.

[...]
The main staple of my diet is protein, actually. My iron levels should be fine too.

No, you don't need carbs to fuel your workouts. It takes a few months to fully adjust, but it is entirely possible to run on very few carbs. In fact, most people who switch to low-carb running notice leaps in their endurance and don't hit the wall (or don't hit it as hard if they do), though their speeds go down for a while.

Also, getting plenty of protein does not mean you don't have low iron levels (never mind the fact that protein does not equal iron). Trust me, I know from experience. Take a look at your gums and nails. Are they pale, or are they bright pink? If they're pale, then your iron is low and you need a supplement.

I can't read your diary, because it's a different language and Google translate is failing on most of it, but I did notice milk and tofu in there. Be careful of high-casein dairy, and of soy products. Casein (the primary protein in dairy) causes a higher insulin response than most protein, which is bad for us with PCOS. Soy contains phytoestrogens, which disrupt our already-not-really-balanced endocrine system. Also, calcium inhibits the absorption of iron, so if you are anemic, then you'll want to back off the dairy for that reason, too.

I agree with the others, though. Go see a doctor, get tests done to see where your numbers are at. "Worst" case scenario, they're all perfect and there's something else going on.