PCOS frusterations...

TinGirl314
TinGirl314 Posts: 430 Member
in Motivation and Support
So...yes, I'm getting healthier... yay.
Unfortunately for the first time in my life I'm getting full fledged periods and it fricken HURTS.
This morning I just curled into the fetal position and threw up in my trash can.
Sitting here at work I'm dizzy, flushed, got a headache that will not let up (2 alieve and 4 ibprofin later)...

I don't want this.
I couldn't even go to the gym this morning because of the pain. Not that a day off here and there is horrible, but a week off will NOT happen.
My mood problems have intensified 10 fold...
I've been feeling down right suicidal (I have a support group, I've been this way for 13 years. Didn't want to alarm anyone...) pretty much the whole time I've had my period and I gained 8 pounds in water weight, which just made me feel sick to my stomach.

Does anyone else get it this bad?
Any survival tips?

Replies

  • gramacanada
    gramacanada Posts: 557 Member
    Have you been evaluated by a physician? I don't mean to insult you, but sometimes people miss the obvious. What you're going through is in no way normal.
  • TinGirl314
    TinGirl314 Posts: 430 Member
    I've gotten yearly work ups and nothing has come up abnormal, however I have had PCOS since I was 14 years old.
    I've never had a normal painless cycle to compare to. I guess it was just more tolerable when my periods were two days max? Now they like to stretch to 7...

    Screw you body!
    I try to help you and this is the thanks I get?
  • stephanielindsey
    stephanielindsey Posts: 67
    If you go a long time without a real period, it can be very bad. Finding the right birth control pill can help greatly. I know that for me, I had to try a few different ones. Now I have a predictable, average period monthly rather than a really painful/heavy flow one every 4-6 months.
  • quillsHP
    quillsHP Posts: 91 Member
    Stay away from the scale. The scale WILL show a gain and you don't want to have one more thing to be upset about. Also, drinks loads of water. It helps.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Usually its the PMS that is killer for me I get very depressed (suicidal thoughts) and horrible cramps. I usually feel 10 fold better when I start.

    There is defiently a hormonal balance going on! It's very worrisome. How long has it been since yoou last had one?

    Hopefully as you continue to lose weight and your insulin sensitivity increases your cycle and hormones will become balanced. It's OK for you to take the time and not feel well. Please let your doctor know of these symptoms.
  • faithchange
    faithchange Posts: 311 Member
    OK. Speaking from being PCOS insulin resistant here. I was diagnosed after NOT having a period for more than 7 mos. (not sexually active or anything special at the time). I had horrible periods before having kids and basically around the time I got diagnosed with PCOS. I've been on Metformin for about 7 years and it has helped some. No, a pill is not going to cure it all, but has helped a little. Are you on anything for PCOS?

    I've suffered from depression/anxiety or basically mood disorder for a very long time, longer than I can remember. I've been seeing someone for two years and was put on mood stabilizers which are much better than any antidepressant.

    Also, I suffered from thyroid autoimmune...so why am I telling you all of this....

    You just have to listen to your body...as I know you are. Get the help you need for the ups and downs. I know I hated the stuff I went through before getting on meds for the PCOS. It just made everything worse.

    Positive....keep going with what your doing with MFP. I don't take Metformin much now...I've been down 65lbs and feel great. My goal is another 20-30lbs.

    Good Luck. I 'm not sure my post helped...but just wanted to give my two cents.

    Michelle
  • EnchantedEvening
    EnchantedEvening Posts: 671 Member
    I get horrible, heavy periods like that because sometimes I go an entire year without one. I thought the last one was going to kill me.

    Are you on birth control pills? I've been meaning to go back on them because they gave me regular, super light periods with no cramps. My doctor wants me to wait until the metformin has had a few weeks to start working before he evaluates what type of pill to put me on, though.
  • TinGirl314
    TinGirl314 Posts: 430 Member
    Sorry guys I came home and had to lay right down.
    All of your responses are helpful, thanks for taking the time.

    I've recently worked myself up to 2,000 mg a day of metformin.
    I've been on the depo shot, which within a two week period had doubled the amount of suicidal thoughts I had. My periods were normally four times a year, now they are every 4-5 weeks exactly for 5-7 days at a time.

    The metformin didn't do it though, I've been on that for YEARS.
    The weightloss did...I know that's supposed to make me happy, but this is really putting a damper on things. :(
    My friend aid it could be a complication of a mix of high stress...mentally and physically.
    I'm going through a recent separation...and I don't know if you know anything about borderline, but it's our kryptonite. My job is stressful, I'm always broke. I've just started working out in the last month. It's the first time my body has felt a demand to burn all this fat off. I've never been able to do a mile until this year, now it's my warm up before strength training...

    Maybe it's just too much right now? I don't know...
  • tyraskanks_
    tyraskanks_ Posts: 229
    My goodness. I went on the shot and then decided to switch the birth control pill....


    I didn't have a period for over a year. My first period was atrocious. They're slowly getting better.

    I also take 2,000 mg a day of metformin.
  • jessgumkowski88
    jessgumkowski88 Posts: 189 Member
    You sound like me before I got diagnosed with PCOS. I couldn't go to school for about a week because my periods were so heavy and it made me soo sick (severe cramps, dizziness, extreme bloating, a need to eat obnoxious yet all the while feeling nauseaous, amounts without ever getting full, and of course extreme fatigue.) I also had severe depression and did attempt suicide because I didn't know what was wrong with me, just that I was so sad and sick all the time.
    However AFTER my diagnosis, and being put on metformin and continuous birth control, I've been feeling like a new person :) I'm happy and energetic and rarely sick anymore! :D However when I do have to get my period again, or when it breaks through, I'm miserable all over again :/

    I wish you the best of luck getting better. PCOS is awful, and it's hard for people who don't experience it to understand. <3 My love goes out to all you girls!
  • wifeofh
    wifeofh Posts: 6
    To lessen the cramps I just put a hot water bottle on the place of cramps. It helps a lot. I am not on any pill or metformin. I was regular for 7 months after my son but now 2 months lover and no period. I hope you get better.
  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
    Being brutally honest - three things may help your cramps:

    Exercise
    Bowel Movement (a lot of period pain is constipation)
    Erm... not sure how to put it on a family board - the thing that people claim will make you blind if you do it too often!

    Failing that, many women like a hot water bottle on their tummy or back.

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