PCOS or Testosterone ?

simply_healthy

Hey all,

I am on the verge of giving up and I DONT WANT TO ! I am doing all the right things, eating 1200 calories per day with around 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat... Exercising .. Cardio as well as strength training... but I am not losing any weight since past couple of months !

I was suspected of PCOS couple of years back... (although no cysts were found then), my sugar levels were healthy but my testosterone was high. I was put on metmorfin and contraceptive pills for almost 2 yrs.. I lost around 10 kgs on those medicines but I wasnt regular with my diet or workouts.... Last year, I decided to set my health and my life right.. and started working out and following a high protein diet from Aug 2010... and lost 22 kgs by December 2010.... I was off all sorts of medicines from Sept 2010... My menstrual cycles are kinda regular...

Recently, I have got a bad breakout around my chin and cheeks and shoulders, hair fall which led me to suspect that it may be PCOD or testosterone again.... I went for sonography but no cysts were found this time as well ! I have read millions articles on internet but nothing could help me !

The symptoms like acne and scalp thinning, hair fall and facial hair indicate testosterone mess up ! Can I have elevated testosterone but no PCOD ? Is high protein diet good for me ?????? Few articles state that high protein diet is good to balance the testosterone and few state that low protein diet elevates SHBG levels which binds to other hormones and makes them unavailable for use , elevated SHBG decreases available testosterone.

I am CONFUSED ! I really need some help here.. I have another 25 kgs to lose.. I am only half way to my goal weight. Please help me find a solution to this. ! I have visited GP but they hardly seem to be helping.

Many Thanks,

S.K.B

Becky1971

Im curious as to what might be said about this. I have some similar issues. But I have been losing weight, though I stayed the same this week, after I increased my calories from 1200 to 1380.

AmeChops

Hi S.K.B.

I was diagnosed with PCOS a couple of years back...I had gone for a blood test (can't even remember why now) and it came back showing high levels of testosterone...had a scan and sure enough my ovaries were covered with cysts. It kinda went a long way to explaining a few things with me!!

Ovarian cysts are only one symptom of PCOS and not all people with PCOS have cysts. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure how they go about making a diagnosis when this happens.

I steadily put on at least a stone every year for about 5-6 years and my weight near enough doubled (I was quite tiny though). I have tried every 'diet' under the sun and even when I was religiously attending the gym 4-5 times a week for at least an hour I didn't lose any weight. Eventually, so fed up and no sign of the weight increase stopping I went back to my doctors who, after several consultations, prescribed me Xenical. Even taking that I have to limit my calories to 1000 - 1200 per day, fat about 15 - 20gms per day AND taking my dogs out for 2-3 hours of walking/jogging per day!! It's a struggle sometimes lol!!

They say that with PCOS sometimes your ability to deal with sugars is a little messed up and so to kinda help that along following a low carbohydrate diet can help - as carbs can turn in to sugars. In my past experience though a well balanced diet is the way to go rather than trying to eliminate a particular thing.

I would go back to your Doctor and have another chat with them...if they still don't seem very helpful then maybe see if you can see another one or make an appointment with a gynaecologist.

Good luck x

astovey

I have PCOS, but have been able to lose weight by using birth control, watching my sugar, and exercise. I had ALL of the symptoms when I was diagnosed at 16. Good luck to you, I know you can do it, just remember you have to stick with it for a long time to see results.

adhillman01

There are several other conditions besides PCOS that should be ruled out when you have irregular periods and hair growth/acne. You should have your prolactin, thyroid, and 17-hydroxyprogesterone checked as well to rule out other conditions. I hate to use this, but wikipedia says there is a diagnostic criteria that doesn't require the presence of cysts to diagnose PCOS. If you have menstrual irregularities and testosterone symptoms you can be diagnosed. I would go back to the doctor. This is an interesting question to me. I'm in pharmacy school and we just finished a unit on PCOS. Looks like Metformin is commonly used in combination with oral contraceptives. You want one with Drospirinone in it to help with the acne. Spironolactone is also used for the hair growth and acne, but can take several months to start helping. You should be having periods at least every three months, if you're not you need to see a doctor about that. Clomiphene Citrate (Clomid) is also used to induce ovulation, but if you're having somewhat normal periods you may not need it. Good luck with all this!

jonikeffer

Vitamin deficiencies can also stall weight loss. If you don't live in S. CA. where you get sun all year (and I even lived there and was severely deficient since I was careful about my sun), you are likely to be Vit D deficient. Have a blood test of your Vit D levels. You want to be squarely in the middle of the range, don't accept being barely in the "normal" range. It can take a year of very high levels (like 10,000units/day) of supplements to increase your levels. But it will help with a lot of things...inability to lose weight, depression, hormone imbalances.

AngieAllTheWay

I also have PCOS. I was diagnosed after not having a menstrual cycle for 8 straight months, had elevated testosterone and then an internal ultrasound confirmed cysts. I struggle with adult acne as well. I'm not on anything for it. We were fortunate to get pregnancy unexpectedly and our son is now 9 mths old and I just had my first cycle. Who knows if there will be any semblance of regularity, we shall see. Even with PCOS I have had pretty good success with weight loss. I'm now on the path to lose my pregnancy weight, but before becoming pregnant I had successfully lost 130 lbs.

I would most definitely have some further medical testing and maybe ask to be seen by an endocrinologist. If you are diligently doing all of those things and you already know there there is some hormonal stuff going on, there are things that can be investigated and things that can be done to help. There are even natural things and certain types of foods that can be recommended to help (ie some types of foods are estrogenic), so I would most definitely do some more consulting with your doc and maybe get a further referral because it does sound like you should be seeing results with your efforts.

Lleldiranne

You said you've been to GP ... I assume you're meaning general practicioner. I would suggest seeing a specialist (it would probably be a GYN, but might be an edocrinologist, not sure which is more appropriate for PCOS). General doc's ("family doc's") have to know about a lot of different things since they deal with all different issues, but often don't have the depth of knowledge that a specialist will. Have you seen any specialists at all?

I agree with the other posts, too, that high testosterone is quite indicative of PCOS, but there could be other issues as well (esp thyroid imbalance). You really want to find out exactly what is going on/rule out certain possibilities.

bookyeti

I know I'm VERY late with this post, but please see an Endocrinologist (in other words, a hormone specialist). They are the only ones who can truly diagnose PCOS. It's really not in a Gyn's field of practice - this is because PCOS is an endocrine disorder, and not a reproductive-related disorder, thought that can be one of the many symptoms.

Also, cysts on your ovaries are not pre-requisites to having PCOS. You can have ovarian cysts and not have PCOS, and you can have PCOS and not have cysts. Yeah... odd, I know, but true. The cysts are only ONE of the many common *symptoms* of this endocrine disorder, they are not the cause of it.

Also there are 5 different types of PCOS: www.soulcysters.net/showthread.php/129677-5-Types-of-PCOS
(I have endocrine syndrome X)

I hope you can get some answers!

celebrity328

So a year ago my doctor whos a OB told me I dont have PCOS but high testosterone levels, cant explain why I cant get prego and unhelpful on why I wasnt losing any weight. I have many of the symptoms of PCOS/IR but she still refused to go there. She told me my periods are "normal" and since I have them still I cant possibly have PCOS.

I have read many doctors miss the signs of PCOS because there is really only a general guideline in the medical community like: Cysts must be present or periods are being missed, or patient cant get prego. With that being said just because a doctor says you dont have it doesnt mean thats true! I agree with bookyeti that a Engrocrinologist is the best doctor to see about this. Until I can figure out how I can get a referal to an Engro doctor I just keep plugging away

I have lost 70 lbs in the last year without medication following a diet low in carbs/high in fat/protein diet. Yesterday someone posted a awesome article on PCOS (warning its really long!) but it explained so many of the issues Ive had in the last year and why I have been struggling to lose weight !

Heres the link:
http://www.examiner.com/article/20-simple-steps-you-can-take-to-control-polycystic-ovarian-syndrome-pcos-1

Hopefully that answers some of your questions, good luck !

Blakelynn3

I'd suggest visiting an endocrinologist. I have PCOS but don't have ovarian cysts. The name of the disorder is misleading. I suggest reading up on it. This is a good book: http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-PCOS-Handbook-Fertility-Self-Esteem/dp/157324371X