Newly diagnosed, confused and frustrated!

AltaUna33

I have just been diagnosed with PCOS on April 2, 2012. The Dr. told me that my insulin levels are twice to three times the normal levels for someone my age (I also have hirsutism and an irregular cycle). He put me on 2000mg/day of Metformin, recommended a low carb, low sweet, lean meat diet, and to lose 10-20lbs. And that's ALL he told me. (I am also on BCP to help regulate my cycle)

He did tell me to work up to the 2000mg because it's hard on your stomach, and wow, is it ever! I'm just now starting 1500mg/day because I just now can handle 1000mg/day without feeling too terribly sick. And have lost 4lbs in my first 2 weeks on Metformin.

I've been trying to research PCOS to learn as much as I can. I'm really struggling with the low carb diet. I LOVE bread, pasta, fruit, sweets...all the things that I now should not have. I wish the Dr. would have given me a target number of carbs/day. I have a friend who is currently in med school tell me a typical diabetic diet allows 55 carbs/meal. This seems like a lot to me, but I don't really know what a good number is because I'm still at the point that everything I eat seems to make me feel sick.

Any support, advice, tips you can give me would be GREATLY appreciated!

TXBelle1174

I posted a thread called Metformin and B12 in this forum. There is a link in my post.. They have a lot of great info on their website. I also found helpful info on 3fatchicks.com. They have a board for Pcos support. Pcos and IR are hard to deal with, especially when trying to lose weight. My endo also put me on a strict low carb diet but since going low carb, I have lost 20lbs and I feel MUCH better. The first few weeks of Met are rough but it helps me control my carb cravings. This website has been truly helpful and I have "met" a lot of people in the same boat. Feel free to ask me questions although I am still learning and I am by no means an expert.

celebrity328

Because the symptoms of PCOS are so vasty different from person to person I can only tell you whats worked for me.

I cut back from 40g of carbs perday to >20g a day. Yes it sucks but i feel so much better. My insulin isnt spiking out of control and i feel normal now. I would take it very slow log all food and see how you feel at different levels of surgars/carbs. Like if I eat a yogurt with 19g of sugar in it I feel like CRAP for the rest of the day. I just went on how I felt, if i wasnt feeling well i knew to drop my intake a little.

I have friends who have PCOS and they can handle more carbs/sugars then I can i so jelly! but the truth is PCOS efffects everyone differently and learning to listen to what the body is trying to tell us is so important!

atrjohnson

I try not to eat a meal with anywhere near 55 g of carbs. I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks per day. My goal is supposed to be 80 g per day but I have only met that twice since I was diagnosed a little over a month ago, maybe two months. I still eat at least 1 piece of fruit per day. My breakfast is normally protein heavy. My lunch and dinner definitely have carbs. My lunch normally has the most and if I don't get a good solid lunch I will binge at dinner. I would say over the course of a day I consume around 150g of carbs. I hope to be able to lower it over time but it's a learning process for me. Sweets have always been my favorite. There will be days when you eat everything you should not and there will be days you eat like the Dr.'s perfect patient. Take it one day at a time.

row_rivers

doctors usually forget...

they say low carb, but a glycemic index or G.I. diet can actually be more effective. especially for people who are not willing to give up their favourite foods. admittedly, the pre-set ratios for carbohydrate consumption may not be perfect for women with PCOS, so you might want to adjust that maybe 10% lower and replace it with some good quality proteins or good fats.

when it comes to carbs, you want to eat foods that don't release glucose too quickly into your system. check out some low GI food charts online. the good news is that there is a low GI replacement for a lot of your favourites.

whole wheat pasta, brown rice, brown bread...all that good stuff.

also, if you MUST MUST MUST eat something white (white rice, white bread, white pasta, white potatoes, white sugar) it is good to accompany those foods with some protein, fibre or good fats. these help slow down the breaking down of glucose in your blood.

also...try some buckwheat. it actually regulates your hormones and can combat insulin resistance!

AltaUna33

Thanks everyone! I found a few books through Amazon about PCOS and am working through them now. I think I'm finally starting to adjust to the metformin, only have one step left until I'm up to my full prescription. I am feeling better and don't get the side effects as often. Down 9lbs in the first month!

This whole thing is going to be a complete learning curve and lifestyle change, just trying to take one thing at a time and work up to it.