PCOS! ALL WOMEN READ!!! AND GET CHECKED!

Glad you posted this as most people do not even know what PCOS is, much less how it can affect us. :flowerforyou:

Thank you for posting this! At about your age one of my close friends was diagnosed with PCOS. (And just so you know, she is expecting a baby boy in a few months - so far the pregnancy is going well, so don't worry!) This is definitely something that every woman should be aware of and on the lookout for. And good luck with your weight loss journey. :flowerforyou:

I don't have PCOS but something very similar and I've found that only since I've lost weight (which started a while before I joined MFP) that my heath has improved no end and I can finally predict my TOM for the first time EVER.

I was just diagnosed with PCOS two weeks ago. However, due to other medical conditions, the endocrinologist was straightforward in telling me that conceiving a child will not be likely due to the severity of the PCOS and my RA. Being diagnosed as really shed new light on my weight loss battles for the past few years. With how much I exercise and my diet, there is no reason I shouldn't be losing weight. However, while most people here on MFP can/will lost a pound a week, it takes me almost four weeks to lose just one pound.

I will be starting medication for PCOS here soon, so I hope it makes a difference in my weight.

Great to know we're not alone on here! I got diagnosed officially about 6 years ago, but had strong suspicions before that appointment as my best friend has been diagnosed since puberty and we often talked about it. We went through a year of fertility treatment to no avail, but we are back to trying again, hoping for IVF and it's been my biggest motivation to lose weight. My only fear is that I won't lose enough for the doctors to be happy by the time it comes to go to our first appointment....but then again, I'm impatient anyway *L*

Well done on losing 30lbs!!! That's absolutely fantastic!

It's great to know that there is support here for us all thansk for this topic!!

I was diagnosed with PCOS about 7 years ago. My weight ride has been like a roller coaster! It's awful.

I just wanted to add, that even if your tests: blood work, ultrasounds and what not, come up fine you can still have PCOS. My hormone levels were fine, and I had no "visible" cysts on my ovaries ( you don't even have to have cysts on your ovaries for this diagnosis BTW! ) and my OB/GYN said, 'nope you're fine, your ovaries just quit working'

Well I then went to my PCP ( well it was about 18 mos later ), who is an internist and explained my symptoms. I was now having body hair and all this weight that literally poured on me! And she checked ALL of my labs again. Plus she checked my insulin levels, when I was fasting. That is the only level that was abnormal. And it wasn't "really" abnormal. It was at the high end of normal or a point or two into high range. SO even though my LH and FSH and blood sugar were all completely normal, I was starting into insulin resistence. She started me on the meds, unfortunately, 6 months later my cholesterol levels were sky high, but other than that as long as I stay on my medicine and don't go off for any reason I maintain my weight and my symptoms don't get worse.

I

sadly since i have the worst of it....i have a very low risk of ever concieving....

the ultrasound they did on me and showing the cysts terrified me... it was like black pearls were covering my ovaries.. it was like a star wars movie in my body! the only thing i can do is lose weight and hope my blood sugar doesnt get worse and i can avoid uteristic cancer.....

My cysts were out of this world on the ultrasound. My periods would last 3 months at a time straight of bleeding. I was told by top OB's that specialized in PCOS in my area that I would most definitely need fertility treatment to even think of conceiving a child when I decided it was time.

I had my son last year with no fertility treatment prior, he was a surprise. Don't get your hopes too down in the dumps about conceiving. Mother nature can surprise you. I've met several PCOS mommies that were told the same and I'd say 50% of them had surprise babies without treatments.

However, while most people here on MFP can/will lost a pound a week, it takes me almost four weeks to lose just one pound.

I will be starting medication for PCOS here soon, so I hope it makes a difference in my weight.

i feel your pain. one pound a month for me too. but it's one pound that i am not gaining so i'm thrilled! keep doing what you're doing and in a year, that is 12 pounds. you can do it!
dawn

I have it and I've lost getting on for 96lbs. I have gone from a uk 20/22 to a 10. Check out my profile photos if you want to see.
I also have a pituatry gland that doesn't work properly. My symptoms have always been to do with no periods/periods that last months, infertility and weight gain, especially around my midlle. I was told it is highly unlikely I would conceive naturally.
Peole on here rightly talk about the difference of a diet and a healthy lifestyle. To manage PCOS you need a lifelong commitment to a healthy lifestyle, it seemed a life of torture for me at one point but now it is a source of joy!!! Other people have mentioned Collette Harris' book 'The PCOS Diet' it is extremely helpful and explains the way food can HELP manage PCOS symptoms.
My consultant told me that I may find it impossible to lose weight especially if I 'yo yo dieted' and that my body needed consistancy - lower carb, lean protien, low sugar, low fat, 'clean' food with lots of vegetables and some fruit. I began a very low calorie diet under medical supervision at a weight management clinic which kick started everything. Then I moved to a general low fat/sugar eating plan which was still strict and had some cognative behavioural therapy linked to my food issues too. I eat as many veggies as I wan't plus 1 big or 2 portions of brown rice/pasta/potatoes/cereal a day, lean protien mostly and no more than 3 pieces of fruit. I do allow myself treats now too as I am at goal and just trying to shed a bit of vanity weight. I work out 5 times per week - 2 strength training with some cardio and then 3 high cardio with a small amount of weight training. For cardio I do a mixture of interval training and endurance.

my 'symptoms' have improved and I don't notice them - (I have never had the hair/spot issues some have except for brown patches of skin) my blood pressure is good and it was very high, I have monthly normal periods, I am not trying to have a baby so not sure about the fertility. My hip to waist ratio has just become healthy (I thought that would be a never ending battle!) so I know that the higher risk of strokes, cancer and heart disease is being kicked in the butt!!

On a positive note - I noticed someone said they felt disgusted at being told they had higher levels of testosterone, the levels women with PCOS have are generally speaking a long long long way away from a mans so there is nothing masculine about us seriously, so don't feel like that.:flowerforyou: Also, every fat cell secretes a small amount of testosterone, so the more fat you shed the better. My consultant told me that there is a higher percentage of elite female athletes with PCOS so you can use it to your advantage with training etc. ha ha I don't know if it is true but my PT says that the song 'woman on a mission' was written about me.

I hope this is helpful, PCOS is a mixture of things and everyone is different but it is what worked for me.

Fell free to pm me or add me if it is helpful/ you would like to.
Love Gail

Another thing we PCOS'ers have to consider is the fact there is a correlation between PCOS and Hypothyroid disease. Most women that have PCOS end up with hypothyroidism.

I was told that by one of the Top Endocrinologists in this country at Washington University here in St Louis.

I have now started a regimen of Synthroid.

I am another woman that is disgusted with the fact that my testosterone levels are so high. I have the levels of testosterone that a man has. It has caused unsightly hair growth on my chin and neck (almost beard like), bulky muscles and it causes me to be a bit more aggressive in my actions.............

I suffer from both Adrenal Fatigue and ovaries producing too much testosterone, so my body is making Testosterone in 2 places, not just the ovaries.........

I have been battling doctors off and on for the past 12 years and I am just finding good docs that will listen to me.

I was diagnosed in 2002. My hubbie and I have been trying to start a family since 2000 with no luck. My second attempt at Metformin to regulate, but so far no luck. LOL I had to call the fertility clinic twice in July for the start of AF (just over a week apart) and today I had to call them because it's been over 28 days...LOL They know me without looking at my charts....that's pretty sad.

I have always struggled with the weight loss, but the metformin seems to be doing its thing and when I was on the pill briefly because I developed endometrial hyperplasia (precursor to cancer,I found out later), I dropped 35 pounds in 2 months (gained 15 back after I came off of it).

Isn't it fun. There is nothing quite like all the women at the ulttrasound place gathering around YOUR screen to see the "classic textbook" case.....LOL

I'm learning more about it every day. Eating a diabetic diet, taking my pills and exercising regular seems to be helping with the weight and the acne. BUT it's not helping with the cycles OR exhaustion.