Hi there, I am new here as well. I was told I had pcos back in 2007. Took me from 2007 till now to stop feeling sorry for myself and do something about it. I have been seeing a naturopath for the past 3 months. Lost a few pounds so far but have noticed a huge difference in my skin and have so much more energy since she put me on inositol. It cost roughly 50.00 canadian for a container and has lasted 3 months.
I have become obsessed with pcos research for the last few months. I am so determined to get kick pcos out of my life. My bff is getting married in Aug 2013 and I WILL look amazing in the strapless dress.
Feel free to drop me a line if you need support.

Also looking for some new friends, who are motivation, supportive, and like to receive both back!

hello everyone im new here to the site and group looking for new friends for motivation been struggling with pcos for 7 years now i use to weigh 227lbs i got down to 163lbs but i hurt my back and gained a couple back so now im at 178lbs but im stuck at this weight hope to fined new friends here so we can motivate each other:bigsmile:

Hello, fellow cysters!

I am new to the site. I had been searching for a local support group, and the closest I found was 4 hours away. So, while searching for an online support group, I saw many people were having great results with this site. I thought if it worked for them, I should give it a shot. I am currently looking for people to talk to about all of this, and I hope this group helps with that. Background on me: I am 24 years old, college graduate, and I just celebrated my first wedding anniversary in October. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 17. I did not do much about it at the time, nor really understood it at the time. When I was 20, I really started looking into it, working out, eating right, and got on Metformin. I lost 85 pounds in about 8 months, and went from a 28 to a 20 in jeans. I kept the 85 off for 2 years, but then I started having stomach issues. I was told that I did not have PCOS and that the Metformin was causing it. I went off Metformin and gained 75 pounds back in 6 months. To make things worse, being off Metformin did not help my stomach problems. It has been a year and a half since then, and I am still in a 24. Turns out, I had been misdiagnosed because I had reversed all my symptoms through weight loss. I was put back on Metformin, but I have been bouncing on and off of it due to a lot of medical issues relating to my stomach. I have seen various doctors, had a few surgeries, and have had many procedures in the past 10 months. I am tired and in pain a lot of the time. Since I have fully recovered from my last surgery, I think it is time to get back to working out and staying on my meds. I think losing weight will help my overall health, and if not- I would rather be healthy and thinner with tummy problems than obese with tummy problems! If anyone has had a similar situation, I would love to hear from you.

Real Name: nell
Height : 6'0
HW: 375
CW: 300
GW:240(comfortable weight)
UGW: 200 (feelin hot weight lol)
Age: 28
Sex: Female
Married, 4 yrs august
3 kids, 1 girls (4) and 2 boys (2yr old and7 months old)

Diet Plan: since its still chilly im in doors doing 30 min of workout ( on top of chasing kids) 6 days a week, i want to be under 40 g of carbs a day annnd once the winter thaws then i will begin running... even though im no good at it lol

My Weakness is: pizza, chocolate, and pasta

Metformin can be very affordable if you look for pharmacies with free or reduced fees. Giant Eagle used to run free metformin every month, Kroger offered a 90 day supply for $10.

To those who have had major stomach upset I understand. It took me trying three different manufacturers of metformin. I finally found Zydus brand does not cause major stomach upset...just minor irritation if I don't take it with food. So don't give up, ask your doctor to prescribe manufacturer specific metformin.

Good luck to all!

Hello! I am new here and hoping to make friends to help me stay on track. I was diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance back in 2001. I was on Metformin ER and medroxyprogesterone. I lost alot of weight. I went from a size 26 to a size 14 in less than six months. I was eating healthy and lliving with an ob/gyn (hubby's mom) at the time. However back in 2005 I lost my job and my medical insurance and couldn't afford my medications anymore. Now in 2012 my blood sugar is high(up to 261 that I am aware of)and my weight..well its extreme. I am up to a size 30. I'm miserable and feel awful all of the time. I eat according to the low glycemic index diet but still can't get my sugar regulated or my weight down. I just have no energy and it seems the more I try to exercise the weaker and worse I feel. My periods are coming every 7-8 weeks and not on any regular schedule and the cramping and pain is awful. Excess hair on face. Discoloration on neck and underarm(armpit). Oily skin mostly with some extreme dry spots. Its just that I can't seem to get a handle on any of this and feel better. I know I need to probably go back on the meds but don't know how to at this time due to financial problems. I am trying every thing I can to do this myself. Any suggestions?

Hi! Welcome to the community. I'm sorry that you lost your insurance. There are a few things that might help you that have helped me tremendously.

I started out eating low gi but after a while it stopped working for me so I had to become I guess what you would call more extreme. Low GI can still cause a decent amount of insulin spikes especially if you are someone, like me, who is very sensitive to any spikes what so ever. The discoloration of your skin could be a signifier of insulin resistance getting worse, this is common with PCOS and I have it as well. The most effective controller of insulin levels is diet. Currently I am eating very low carb and this is the only way I can control my insulin levels naturally. I am taking metoformin but since I started eating low carb I am having to reduce the dosage I am on and when I get closer to my goal for weight loss I shouldn't need it any more at all.

Reducing the insulin levels in your system will help in several ways.

1) Fat loss: Insulin promotes fat storage. By reducing the insulin in the system you are promoting fat LOSS!

2)Lowered Testosterone levels: High insulin levels trigger testosterone to produce. Excess testosterone in the system makes one more insulin resistant. It is a vicious cycle for PCOS women that once broken helps a lot! Lowering the testosterone also helps to keep other excess hormones from triggering, reducing the hormones that cause the horrible symptoms from PCOS.

3)Regulate your cycle: Keeping testosterone levels low, keeps other hormone levels low. This allows for a serge of Luteinizing Hormone rather than just having this too high all the time. The surge of this hormone is what causes ovulation and ultimately a regular cycle. When hormone levels are too high it is not possible to have a surge. This is explained further in this post. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1067728-pcos-vs-normal

Every woman is different in the carb load they are able to handle. Through my own experimentation I found that if I stay between 50 and 75 carbs/day I will maintain weight. Over 75 carbs/day I gain weight. Under 50 carbs I will lose weight. Under 20 carbs/day = optimal weight loss. It took many months of tracking everything to find this information out but it was worth it. Trying to find that load might help you a lot. I started out at 100 carbs/day eating low gi. I still gained a bit here. I slowly dropped my carbs down by 10 for 2 weeks at a time and took my average weight as the signifier. Once I got to 50ish per day I started losing. I got around 10lbs lost and then stalled for several months. Through my wedding in January I just wanted to maintain and not worry anyway and found if I went over 75carbs/day I started gaining. I kept that up for around 2months and then started trying to lose again using low gi but still stalled out. At this point I learned about very low carb (ketogenic) eating and started that around the beginning of July. I still lose if I stay under 50 carbs/day but I feel the best under 20 and that is where I try to stay!

Low carb resources if you are interested:

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

http://josepharcita.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/guide-to-ketosis.html

http://eatingacademy.com/