Any success pics from girls that have PCOS ?

Thetera

PCOS runs in my family, and i was diagnosed after a CT of my ovaries at 13, ive been on the pill since my diagnosis and i cant even tell you how good it feels not to have that pain every time you ovulate, for me that was the worst part and now at 20 i can say that with diet and excercise ive lost all of my pudge, i feel like birth controll helped with the weght loss. i have more of an hourglass figure after weightloss on the pill too, i never tended to gain weight anywhere other than my stomach because of the extra androgens, the pill helps with the hormone balance to some degree too definitley try the pill it will only make things better!

jrlenig

I have PCOS, I also have never taken birth control as a treatment was diagnosed at age 21, and I was married and wanted children, the doctor cautioned me about my weight I was already 191, at age 25 I had my 1st son and at age 28 I had my daughter, in 2004 I weighed in at 234 pounds, this was also the time I found out I was pregnant I changed my eating habits and starting walking, when I gave birth I was 206, then shortly after dropped down to 171, well after nursing a child and not changing my eating habits back and slacking on the working out I gained back 20 pound, then after my daughter I was back up to 204, I keep pushing it is a slow and steady pace I weighed in last week before my TOM ( that is right I have a somewhat not so consistent cycle) at 147! Just remember the pill doesn't control what you put in your mouth and what your body does you do! And having a great MFP support system is a plus!

GreenLifeGirl

I was diagnosed with PCOS at age 12. Since then I've been on meds (metformin, birth control, spironolactone, etc) and under the treatment of a couple great specialist and I have also taken the all natural, supplements approach with nutrition and exercise. Yes, it can make it more difficult, but it is you can DEFINITELY lose weight!

Read, read, read. Don't be passive and just depend on what the docs tell you! Learn as much as you can and know that meds alone will not "cure" you. Insulin resistance is probably a big part of the problem. For me personally (and a couple other friends who have had it for 5 years or more)...our greatest road to success is eating clean/low GI....that means all unprocessed foods, high nutrition, and foods low on the glycemic index, combined with exercise. Feel free to message me if you would like to know more...can send you some great links and books that are super helpful if you are interested.

You can do it! PCOS doesn't have to define you!

tiajones950

I lost weight while on BC. Starting off I was 200, and by the time I stopped it I was 185. Since going off in March I've gained nearly all of it back-but now that I'm super conscious of my diet it's slowly starting to come off.

I definitely suggest chartting your cycle as MUCH as you can, even when it is controlled by the pill. I've been on and off 3 times already in hopes of it straightening out my cycle-and it hasn't worked. I'm 4-5 months off the pill, and my cycle is already really screwed up again.

As for weight loss WITHOUT the pill, well, I haven't lost enough to see any results yet. I've been staying as close to my calories and workout goals as I can and it's taken a few weeks-but now I am seeing a couple of pounds drop. I plan on posting some as soon as I see a difference.

smbland

I was diagnosed with PCOS back in March, but I'm able to track it back to being at least 13 years old, that's when I really started having pain, irregular periods, etc.. so really I've had it for 11 years! I was given birth control as a treatment as well. He put me on this higher dose pill and it whacked me out, let me tell ya LOL. so I changed it to a normal dose... but when I go back to by OBGYN next February, we're going to see where I'm at in the weight loss, and go from there.
So far I've lost 18 pounds since May. I'm not going to lie, it's been especially difficult. The last time I lost a substantial amount of weight was when I was 17 and my doctor gave me adderal for an appetite suppressant. It worked, let me tell you what, I lost 90 pounds. but when I started to have heart palpitations and what not he took me off of it, and I gained it all back, and then some. That's where I am today. At my heaviest, and unhealthiest, so it's time to change. More often than not I am in a lot of pain. I was told from my ultrasound that I have more cysts on my ovaries than others that he has seen, and I feel them, and I feel them pop, and there are days that I'd rather just sit there, and do nothing at all. At this point in my life I'm working on just working through it, getting over it, and realize that if I lose this weight, the damn PCOS can be greatly diminished! I know I can do it, especially after seeing the many successful women on this site. If it wasn't for My Fitness Pal, I probably wouldn't even have lost the 18 pounds so far. It holds me accountable, and I get to see first hand the success of my peers.
We'll lose it. We'll lose it slower than the average girl, but let me tell you what.. when we do lose it.. We'll feel great, look great, and be so much healthier than we were coming in.

Good luck! I'm on your side

sofiabrycock

I have PCOS. I have taken metformin to assist with my weight loss (I recently posted my pics on here) in order to get to a healthy weight in the first place. I am off it now! I have a non hormonal coil fitted.

It takes ALOT to lose - you have to be dedicated. For every one I shed, a 'normal' woman will shed 2!

Good luck - you can do it!!

nhaddad

Hi there..I am an obgyn doc and I deal with PCOS a lot...the treatment of PCOS isnt birth control pills ..the only treatment is weight loss through diet and exercise.... we use birth control pills to treat SYMPTOMS of PCOS like irregular periods/absent periods, acne and excess hair... the studies have shown that if you lose 10-15% of your body weight you will reverse a lot of PCOS pathophysiology... so be optimistic... you can always consider a progesterone pill for the last 10 days of each month so you would get regular period yet avoiding estrogen component of birth control pills.... You have to check with your OBGYN.... also consider being tested for 17hydroxyprogesterone for late onset CAH which is a genetic cause of PCOS...

Good luck

FloatingNee

My mother says that you don't have to display all of the symptoms for it to be true; currently I display only one symptom: hirsutism (aka: I look like Bigfoot when I don't shave/wax.). Some would argue the fact that I'm overweight is also a symptom; for myself, I KNOW why I am overweight; part of it is the heretitary low metabolism I got from my mother's side of the family, and part of it is that I have led an irresponsible, complacent lifestyle up until a couple of months ago.

Is there anyone else out there like me?? Am I in denial?

Your mom is right an you don't have to show all of the signs and still have it. I was diagnosed when I was 15 and now I'm 28. I have always had excessive hair growth and was told that it was just because it ran in the family and I'm Italian. I have also been overweight my whole life and always chalked it up to my family and slow metabolism as well just Luke you stated above. It wasnt until I did more reading and learned that PCOS it very closely linked to heredity and different ethnicities are more proned to have PCOS (Italian, African American, and Hispanic).

I'm not sure if any of this hits home with you but if I can give you one piece of advise that would be to give the medicine a good try, it's worth it!

Shan80

You definitely do NOT have to be overweight to have PCOS. As a matter of fact, you don't have to show every symptom - or any symptom - to have a disease or syndrome. PCOS is one of those that can affect a 105lb woman just as easily as it can affect at 205lb woman.

One side effect is that is causes excessive weight gain - but NOT everyone has that side effect.
NOT everyone will have the excessive hair growth (many experience hair THINNING) or the terrible skin - and NOT everyone will have issues with fertility.

Also, NOT everyone has insulin resistant PCOS. There are different kinds of PCOS to have.

I highly recommend buying the book PCOS; The Hidden Epidemic by Samuel S Thatcher - it's full of wonderful information.

Another book that I highly recommend is : The PCOS Diet Plan: A Natural Approach to Health for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome by Hillary Wright

and lastly - this book : The Ultimate PCOS Handbook: Lose Weight, Boost Fertility, Clear Skin and Restore Self-Esteem byColette Harris & Theresa Cheung


So just remember that not all women will have the same symptoms or issues that the next one has when having PCOS. Do your research - consult with your doctor and find that absolute best program/regime that is going to work for YOU.

Good Luck!

guamchar

I have PCOS and have been prescibed metformin - 500 mg three times a day. I haven't been great about taking it because it has made me nauseous and given me "stomach problems". Has anyone else on Metformin expierienced this and if so what did you do to rectify the situation??

Yes, yes, and sadly, yes. I have those horrible side effects when I have taken metformin in the past. I took metformin for about 6 months, and I finally had to stop taking it. I couldn't deal with those side effects anymore. I just went back to the doctor, and she prescribed metformin 2 -750 mg pills twice a day. I took the prescription to the pharmacist, and she refused to fill it. She said that high of a dose would make me sick (which it does). She has called the doctor and left messages trying to get my dosage adjusted. We'll see.

I took tri cyclen and ortho tri cyclen, and I didn't gain any weight due to the pills. I tried the depo provera shot, and I gained 50 pounds in 3 months! (I also stopped working an extremely physical job, so I know some of the weight gain is attributable to that, but not all). Beware taking the shot because if it doesn't work for you, you can't just stop taking pills. The hormones are in your system for 3 months. Be careful! Good luck.

Has anyone with PCOS had luck getting pregnant while taking metformin? How long did it take?

emmaldownie

I have PCOS, I'm struggling like hell to lose weight and my docs just wont give me Met, they refuse to take out my coil and are generally, "if you don't lose weight you'll die"

jnettiedotson

I think everyone's body is different, so there is no way anyone can positively say that you don't gain weight from bc. I don't have PCOS, but my sister was diagnosed with it over as year ago and put on BC, and she works out and eats healthy 7 days a week and still gained weight. She also got a second opinion a couple weeks ago, and this one doesn't even think she has it so she is considering going off the bc to see if it makes a difference. Personally, when I had the depo shot I gained SO MUCH weight, years ago. This shot is also used for cancer patients on chemo to increase their appetite. I have also gained quite a bit of weight since I got my Mirena last year, and although I am at my pre-mirena weight now, I do think it had something to do with the weight gain. My diet never changed and neither did my level of activity so I can't figure out what else it would have been, plus research shows it can cause weight gain.

jnettiedotson

I have PCOS, I'm struggling like hell to lose weight and my docs just wont give me Met, they refuse to take out my coil and are generally, "if you don't lose weight you'll die"

What's Met? I'm just curious...

emmaldownie

I have PCOS, I'm struggling like hell to lose weight and my docs just wont give me Met, they refuse to take out my coil and are generally, "if you don't lose weight you'll die"

What's Met? I'm just curious...

Metformin