Advice?

belisabethbrown

Hi! My name is Betsy, and I discovered I have PCOS last March. Honestly, I sort of forgot about it/ignored it for a while, hoping it wouldn't a big issue. I realized, however, that it IS an issue I need to deal with, so that's why I'm here. I'm [almost] 20, 5'4", and 171 lbs. The doctor said that losing weight may help, so I'm hoping to do that without taking any medication. Does anyone have any advice/success stories? Also, feel free to friend me.

nornas42

Hi Betsy,
I have a friend with PCOS who lost 60 lbs in about a year and half through diet and exercise. It's do-able! However, I would note she wasn't insulin resistant so she didn't need metformin. I, on the other hand, am insulin resistant and with metformin and diet I was able to lose 20 lbs last year. Then I stopped watching my diet and gained it all back. On the plus side, it appears I'm no longer insulin resistant as my bloodwork consistently shows my insulin levels are within a normal range. So, i'm off metformin and just pursuing diet and exercise now.

You can do it!

pland54

Welcome! I just found out I have PCOS in July, so unfortunately I'm not much of a success story (yet!), but I'm on the journey, just like you. As a bit of advice, I would point out that PCOS is still poorly understood, and it also affects many women differently, for those reasons, it's important for you to have basic tests run by a doctor to gain an understanding of your personal issues, so you can treat them (if needed). Diet and exercise might be all you need for now if your symptoms are not severe, but here are a few things you definitely want to check up on:
1. Have your doctor help you find out if you are insulin resistant. This will impact your diet, whether medication is needed, and how vigilant you may need to be about problems like diabetes.
2. Do you have a period at least once every three months? If not, you may need some medicine for that, because going too long without shedding the uterine lining puts you at risk for endometrial cancer.

It sounds like maybe PCOS is not impacting your life that much at this time, which is great! If you do have any of the myriad of distressing symptoms, there are lots of ladies on here dealing with the same things. Best of luck!