Ladies with PCOS success stories!

whyhelloheart

I, too, have PCOS! I was diagnosed when I was 18 and back then I lost around 30 pounds. I gained it all back and then some. I've been working out since January and now I'm down 30. Only 70 more to go!

LolasEpicJourney

I have pcos also - feel free to add me
overe 100lbs down and countin

AliandTrev

I was diagnosed with PCOS about 3 years ago. While not insulin resistant yet, I am right on the edge of it. I take a cinnamon/chromium supplement everyday that does seem to help. I was previously on Metformin but the stomach pains were more than I could handle. Im not going to say it's not hard, cause it is but it can be done. It has taken me nearly a year now to lose the 23 lbs I have but I am headed in the right direction. I did slip and stop counting/exercising for a couple months in the fall.

siewekegirl

PCOS here probably my whole life really but not traditionally diagnosed until I was 22 - I am 35. Since December 1st I am down 40lbs (I have lost 64lbs since my child was born 18 months ago). I am on Fortamet (extended release Glucophage) daily - this all started when we started trying to have a baby. I am eating about 1500 calories a day - very few carbs (and if so then usually whole grains and low glycemic fruits and veggies) - and I exercise 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes. I do a little bit of everything. Make sure you don't only focus on your weight but also measure yourself and look at your inches and then overall just how you feel. You can do it and yes, it is harder but it can be done for sure. feel free to add me.

DisappearingTwinkie

I would love to get in touch with other women with PCOS who are trying to become healthier Add me if you would like!

Thurman87

I too have pcos.. It's hard to lose weight but I am doing it!!

JeicaRose

I Have PCOS. Am currently awaiting results to see if i have Insulin resistance, but is sounding like i do.
I'm probably my own worst enemy when it comes to food. I am rarely home on weekends (partner races cars so we are often traveling around the country side and i cook food while away but its normally easy food like hamburgers, not real nutritional food).

I have found that Acupuncture combined with eating smaller portion sizes at main meals has helped me to lose weight. Before i started acupuncture i had tried different things to lose weight, even tried a 6 month bootcamp regime and lost no weight at all. Was very discouraged.

I've only just started the acupuncture recently, without changing diet (only portion size) i have lost about 7kgs = about 15lbs in 5months. Its a slow course for me but me and dieting don't really agree. If you dieted as well the weightloss with acupuncture is mean to be more loss in shorter time.

It is possible, you just gotta find what works for you and your body.

kellyswitzer

Wow, you look great!

kellyswitzer

Wow, you look great!

Bah, that was a reply to someone earlier in the thread but it didn't post as such.

Mmmmona

I HAD pcos.

When I was first diagnosed I was put on Metformin. It made me violently ill. They messed with the dosage for a while but the vomiting turned into ulcers and more. So I stopped taking it and did some research. I found a drug called Spironolactin. I was on it for about a year and a half. My ab scans showed that my cysts had disappeared completely! I have been off it for two years now and still no cysts. I can't say they wont ever come back but that drug was a miracle for me.

abs0830

You can add me. I actually went to the doc yesterday and was diagnosed with PCOS. I've struggled losing weight, but recently have lost a few pounds. So it's possible! I'd love to have some friends with the same issue and see progress and encourage each other.

salcha76

I have it & have lost 144lbs......so it can be done....I was to the point of passing out & getting an ambulance ride to the hospital when a cyst would erupt.....since than I have the merina IUD.....and love it.....for those on here older and settled w/children it has been the only thing that has helped me 100%.....I do try to keep my carb & sugar intake lower ....and I have a bit fo a facial hair problem unfortunately because of the excessive testerone.....the few medications I have tried aren't cost effective or show any type of improvement...so there is nair....and tweezers:)

Jennifer10723

I have it too. I find that being on the pill has helped a lot with the cysts. I have heard about the insulin resitance as well. I take the Greens by It Works and they say that they help with insulin resitance because of some of the ingredients. I don't know if it is true or not. I have been taking them for 2 weeks. So I am not really that far in. I have lost 10 pounds from April 22nd to today. So like 3 weeks maybe.

xiamjackie

How can you tell if you have PCOS? I looked up symptoms online and they're very general- irregular periods, infertility (which you wouldn't know unless you were trying to conceive), some body/facial hair, and acne. I know many women with these symptoms. I was just curious to how you might have an inkling if you have it other than just going to the doctor and saying can you check me for PCOS?

Nicole77sweet

I've lost twenty lbs thus far with just exercise and low carb eating. It is possible!!

Jennifer10723

How can you tell if you have PCOS? I looked up symptoms online and they're very general- irregular periods, infertility (which you wouldn't know unless you were trying to conceive), some body/facial hair, and acne. I know many women with these symptoms. I was just curious to how you might have an inkling if you have it other than just going to the doctor and saying can you check me for PCOS?

I had a cycst rupture that was so painful that I couldn't stand up. I went to my gyn and he did and ultrasound and they could tell from that. I didn't even really have most of the normal symptoms .. except the irregular periods.

Sandyk9

What is PCOS?

Danieboo757

I dont have it personally but I know someone with it and she didnt find out until she was trying to get pregnant. Well she turned her life around completely not only did she lose more then 20 pounds she got pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby boy. obviously she needed to lose weight again after the baby which she didi successfull and she is now working on baby number 2. she eats a mostly vegan diet which you may not like but that was just her preference. you can do it!

Bethie_J

I was diagnosed about 20 years. I had a lot of success with low carb dieting in the past, but as soon as I started eating like a "normal" person again, I gained it all back.

Now, in a year, I've lost about 30 pounds, halfway to my goal. I still try to watch my carb intake, but I'm not a slave to it, because it's not sustainable for me.

Yes, it's harder, and the loss will be slower, but it's certainly possible.

I recommend setting up different goals for yourself, instead of numbers on a scale. Challenge yourself to be able to walk or run faster and farther, or lift heavier weights. The scale will try its very best to defeat you. Don't let it.

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

pamperedlinny

Hi! I have PCOS as well and have been on my journey to a healthier me for a while it is possible. Dn't expect the weight to fall off as easily as it does for some others. Your body isn't working the same as everyone elses hormone wise. I am about half way to my goal weight.... however a big reason for my journey was to be able to have a baby and I just found out I am expecting now.... so my journey is paused for the next few months. To my that is a huge success!

sbbhbm

You can see my before and after in my profile pics.140 pounds lost... I'd call that a success story I'm always happy to help anyone with questions, feel free to add me.

abs0830

Hi! I have PCOS as well and have been on my journey to a healthier me for a while it is possible. Dn't expect the weight to fall off as easily as it does for some others. Your body isn't working the same as everyone elses hormone wise. I am about half way to my goal weight.... however a big reason for my journey was to be able to have a baby and I just found out I am expecting now.... so my journey is paused for the next few months. To my that is a huge success!

Congrats! I've started prepping my body to be ready, which is how I found out I have PCOS.

sophie_wr

bumpy bump for later

Morningstar93

I am 19 and have PCOS. So far I have lost 40lbs (from before mfp and with mfp) and although losing weight is hard for anyone, I didn't find extremely hard, once you get going it is okay. The problem is putting weight back on. that scares me and we cant have a week off like a lot of people.
I don't have a picture of me at my heaviest on here but there are a couple of bigger ones. feel free to add me :flowerforyou:

I also have to eat little and often, my blood sugar lows quickly, and now i hope that this lifestyle change means i can have babies in the future.

Lupercalia

How can you tell if you have PCOS? I looked up symptoms online and they're very general- irregular periods, infertility (which you wouldn't know unless you were trying to conceive), some body/facial hair, and acne. I know many women with these symptoms. I was just curious to how you might have an inkling if you have it other than just going to the doctor and saying can you check me for PCOS?

Your ob/gyn or GP should be able to look over your medical history and check various stuff out--they take blood and do a bunch of tests, do a pelvic exam and look over your history in that respect. I had a sonogram as well. It took them a while to diagnose me. My ob/gyn was suggesting I could possibly have it, as I had a history of ovarian cysts, but it wasn't confirmed with an actual diagnosis until some years later, when all the symptoms were added up and it finally clicked in my doctor's head. Frustrating.

bookyeti

How can you tell if you have PCOS? I looked up symptoms online and they're very general- irregular periods, infertility (which you wouldn't know unless you were trying to conceive), some body/facial hair, and acne. I know many women with these symptoms. I was just curious to how you might have an inkling if you have it other than just going to the doctor and saying can you check me for PCOS?

It is not easy to get an official diagnosis, because it is a syndrome (meaning it can have a wide range of symptoms, which can masquerade as other illnesses). PCOS is an Endocrine disorder, thus only usually diagnosed officially by an Endocrinologist. Cysts on ovaries are only just one of the many symptoms of the syndrome. You can actually have PCOS without ovarian cysts, and the opposite is also true: you can have ovarian cysts and not have PCOS.

Unfortunately there's not *one* test that can diagnose PCOS. :-/ This can make it very frustrating to get a definitive diagnosis. Of course, pelvic ultrasounds (either external or internal) are just one diagnostic tool, but as already mentioned, having cysts on one's ovaries doesn't necessarily mean you have PCOS. Blood tests are another diagnostic tool. Most often - but not always - a woman with PCOS will exhibit high levels of free testosterone and therefore signs of androgen excess (superfluous hair growth, etc.), high triglycerides, and insulin resisistance or type 2 diabetes. Women with insulin resistance-related PCOS often do best keeping carbs to a minimum... and of course regular exercise is vital.

An Endocrinologist will look at the symptoms in their entirety to come to a definitive diagnosis of PCOS. Relying on just one test is not enough.

Jennifer10723

An Endocrinologist will look at the symptoms in their entirety to come to a definitive diagnosis of PCOS. Relying on just one test is not enough.

Yeh .. I went through and endo as well. She did blood tests and what not, but basically just confirmed what the gyn said. It is a process.

bookyeti

I'm so glad you had a Gyn in-the-know about PCOS! :-)
My Gyn didn't really know much about it.

(I guess I can't blame her, because PCOS is not a reproductive system syndrome; it's an endocrine syndrome with symptoms that can affect the reproductive system.)

Jennifer10723

I had really high prolactin levels as well. Like say normal is 10 mine were 200 (those really aren't the numbers .. just an idea of how high mine were)

My gyn had been through it with other patients previously and was the one that sent me to the endo. It really was a long process .. lol.

angelgayla

I recently found out I have PCOS and have been told it is 10x harder to lose weight, so I'm wanting to hear some success stories, tips, progress pics or anything!

I have PCOS and take daily medication for it. I also have insulin resistance type 2 diabetes. Since my weight loss, I no longer have to take medication for the diabetes. I just try to eat a balance of healthy food - 30% Protein, 30% Fat & 40% Carbs - and stay under my daily calorie goal. MFP has been awesome for tracking. I still have a ways to go, but 92.7 pounds of it is gone so I'm counting it as a success. Good luck and you can add me as a friend if you need some support!