Hypothyroid and PCOS

kekkalynne
kekkalynne Posts: 10
in Introduce Yourself
Hey guys. (:
My name is Vanessa. I'm 21 and married. I have hypothyroidism and PCOS.
No matter what I do my weight steadily increases. My husband and I haven't been able to conceive because of my problems.

Anyway, looking for some friends to help with motivation and such. (:
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Replies

  • DeedeeSloop
    DeedeeSloop Posts: 5 Member
    Hi Vanessa!

    I too have PCOS, diagnosed last year? I'm 26 and the Dr.s think I had PCOS for a good while before I was officially diagnosed. I went from a happy 150 in high school to steadily gaining 90 lbs while in college. The only reason I was even diagnosed was me getting sick with "girly" issues. I had been to the dr. in my early 20's and teens over and over saying 'somethings wrong, somethings not right, I shouldn't be gaining this fast, somethings wrong!" and never getting help.

    It wasn't until I switched Dr.s that she was like "yea, you have PCOS." on the 1st day! Once I was diagnosed they put me on a BC and Metformin (though not diabetic *yet*) and I lost about 11 lbs just by being on the meds and balancing my hormones. I have like, no metabolism though. I was one of those people who never had to watch what I ate or exercise to stay the same weight so when I went up, I stayed there, even if I ate a lot or a little. I'm trying to get back on the horse but my Dr. telling me "don't be frustrated if you have issues losing weight. Your friends might lose 4 lbs to your 1 lb!" which just makes me feel defeated already!

    I've been with my boyfriend for 8 years and while we aren't ready for kids yet, I'd hate to think the PCOS would keep me from that one day. I've been tested numerous times for hypothyroidism, the Dr is sure I've got issues. My grams has Hyper, and my mom is Hypo so she says it makes since that I would have issues but they always come back negative.

    I'm ready to get this weight off! Its just hard not to feel like "oh I have a sickness, its too hard!" LOL but I'm trying now I guess! I'm not really familiar with MFP but i'd also enjoy having friends with a similar situation for motivation. I don't know anyone around my age that's dealing with heath issues on top of the difficulty of just losing weight.
  • Marcia315
    Marcia315 Posts: 460 Member
    Me too. Low carb diet is your friend.
  • mandikaye
    mandikaye Posts: 72 Member
    I don't have thyroid issues, but I do have PCOS. I have gotten so discouraged in years past because no matter how much effort I put in, no weight came off. Something's different this time though. Metformin helps, for sure. I'm not sure what else is helping but I'm working really hard, and it does seem to be paying off finally.
  • DeedeeSloop
    DeedeeSloop Posts: 5 Member
    So hard though! I exist off potato and milk & cereal and I'm on the go a lot so fast food has been my go to for getting just anything in my belly! Have any EASY "low-carb" foods do you recommend for a gal on the go?

    I have an issue about not eating. I'm rarely hungry and when I am I feel like its inconvenient to eat :indifferent: so I just "go without" and end up eating one meal at dinner when it feels like I have time.:embarassed:
  • DeedeeSloop
    DeedeeSloop Posts: 5 Member
    MandiKaye, what are you doing now that you think is working? I bought a treadmill and I'm going to start walking more often... My boyfriend likes to weight train and hes bought me weights so I'm going to add that...

    I have a few middle age women friends who have PCOS and none of them have had success with losing weight.. I don't know anyone who's "thin" and has it, so I'm so worried!
  • HSokol
    HSokol Posts: 67 Member
    I do not have issues with PCOS but i do have an under active thyroid. I assume you are on medication which is being monitored by your doctor... What do they have to say? I wonder if your thyroid medicine is at the right level to work properly with any meds you are on for the PCOS.
  • Jelise24
    Jelise24 Posts: 74 Member
    Hi all. I also have PCOS and hypothroidism. I just started using this site, but ever since I was diagnosed (5 years ago), I've only ever had success losing weight when following a low carb diet. Currently, I'm taking in no more than 90g of carbs, 50g (usually less) of sugar...and only getting these from real foods (red potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruits). It seems to work well for me. I've logged my weight today and have lost 4lbs in my first week back on this plan. Please feel free to add me...would love some fellow cysters to talk to. =)
  • Tyebolt
    Tyebolt Posts: 5
    Hi, I'm new to MFP too. :) I also have PCOS and borderline anemia. I'm sorry for anyone else who has it, but it's nice to know I'm not alone.
  • twinsmom03
    twinsmom03 Posts: 90 Member
    Hi.

    I have Hypothyroidism and PCOS....My doctor recommended low carb and high protein and I have been losing weight. I eat eggs and some meat everyday for breakfast, lots of chicken, pork, cottage cheese...red meat sometimes 2 times a week. I also drink protein shakes.

    good luck.

    Donna
  • Jelise24
    Jelise24 Posts: 74 Member
    @JodiLReagan - Some ideas for easy low carb snacks might be:

    celery with cream cheese or natural peanut butter (I like Adam's)
    nuts - almonds, pecans, peanuts, etc. (I like to make cinnamon splenda pecans)
    cheese
    lunch meats
    hard-boiled or deviled eggs
    tuna salad
    edamame

    I am a bread lover too...I make carb free cloud bread and make my sandwiches on them everyday for lunch. They are pretty easy to make. You can probably google the recipe...but let me know if you'd like it.

    Hope this helps some.
  • Vegan_85
    Vegan_85 Posts: 40 Member
    I'm 28 and was diagnosed with PCOS at 18, following a positive blood test. I've almost always been in the underweight / healthy range, thanks to a vegetarian and then vegan diet. However, I gained 35lb while taking Seroxat / Paxil, three years ago. I lost all the weight by using MFP between August 2012 and May 2013. I stuck to a net intake of 1,200 calories, although I occasionally went up to 1,600ish. I try to eat low GI as often as possible.

    Despite being told that losing weight would improve my other PCOS symptoms, it really didn't. (Sorry...)

    Anyway, feel free to add me. Good luck.
  • nikki6_2002
    nikki6_2002 Posts: 31 Member
    HI and welcome,

    I also have PCOS, I had gestational Diabetes with my now 3 year old and gained a stack of weight while on insulin. Ive used that as an excuse to put in a little bit of effort and complain it doesn't work for those 3 years.

    In July last year I just got sick of myself and while I knew it would be hard I decided that weight loss would be a science. You cant gain weight if you consume less calories than you burn! I have stuck at it since July and I now have a BMI of 22 and I have lost 11 kg or 24lbs. It has been slower going than it might have been with others but it still happens if you stick with it. I joined the gym 2 months ago and can actually see shape and tone coming back to my body and I am so proud.

    What I am trying to say is that it may be harder for us but it is still a science, it can still be achieved...

    Another thing I do is take cinnamon and chromium supplements, helps balance the blood sugar and since starting those my weightloss went from stalled to dropping again.

    You can do it!!!
  • mandikaye
    mandikaye Posts: 72 Member
    MandiKaye, what are you doing now that you think is working?

    Adding green vegetables is key for me. Even if it's just a salad with a meal. Lots of water. And moving. Even when I'm below my calorie goal, if all I eat are carbs and I don't move - because I'm insulin resistant, my body doesn't do anything with it. It just sticks around and I don't lose weight. I've been in that rut for years. It's taken me a long time to understand that for ME, it's not as simple as "calories in, calories out". It really does matter what those calories are.

    Now I don't deprive myself. I eat the same amount of carbs either way - I just ADD the veggies in. And it makes a difference. Or at least, it has. I haven't hit the wall yet, so I don't know what I'm going to have to change when I do.
  • zaan83
    zaan83 Posts: 35
    Hi All!

    I too have been diagnosed with PCOS and my husband and I have been unable to conceive so far.

    Seems like we are more or less in the same boat.

    Just added you - we all need a little push & applause now and then!
  • therealblackdahlia
    therealblackdahlia Posts: 3,110 Member
    Hi ladies, what is PCOS?

    Hypothyroidism runs in my family, so I often think I may have it. I've incorporated kelp into my diet (original form or pills depending) to increase iodine as iodine isn't present in many foods.

    Best,
    BD
  • Marcia315
    Marcia315 Posts: 460 Member
    Hi ladies, what is PCOS?

    Hypothyroidism runs in my family, so I often think I may have it. I've incorporated kelp into my diet (original form or pills depending) to increase iodine as iodine isn't present in many foods.

    Best,
    BD

    Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

    Often characterized by lack of periods, obesity, excess facial hair, infertility. OFten coupled with metabolic syndrome where you body does not use carbs efficiently.

    It's not pretty.
  • DeedeeSloop
    DeedeeSloop Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks for the tips everyone! While I hate we all have to deal with the PCOS, I'm glad to know I'm not alone! I guess I need to get a food plan and stick to it. I'm a fast food queen, so thats going to have to stop. (its just so convente and im on the road a lot!) I thought I could fix some grilled chicken breasts up on a Sunday so that I have them thru-out the week... anyone else have success with that?

    Is everyone else on the metformin as well? and I know its TMI, but I HATE being on BC, but when I'm not on it, my "girly time" vanishes, and Im not regular at all... WIll losing weight with the PCOS get me to a point where I dont have to be on the BC to have a normal cycle?

    Thanks for input ya'll!!
  • ellieanne729
    ellieanne729 Posts: 2
    Hi!!

    I'm 24 and I also have PCOS. It runs in my family, and so I've been dealing with it for years. It truly sucks, but it is also comforting to know we're not alone!

    Please feel free to add me. :)
  • kat_para_
    kat_para_ Posts: 34 Member
    You should join the group P.C.O.Sis.
  • joanith88
    joanith88 Posts: 5 Member
    HI all I'm 25 and was diagnosed with PCOS just after my 13th birthday so I've been dealing with it for many years now. the year before being diagnosed I gained 40lbs in 1yr :( and after dieting my whole life (I was always a heavy set girl genetics aren't on my side either in that aspect) the dr's told me well no you won't be able to loose weight unless i'm on this medicine;metformin....well the medicine didn't help either just kept me even and not gaining weight(maybe i didn't try as hard as i should have back then and boy do i regret it now) it wasn't til i got to college and became super active and ate a heck of a lot less then i normally would did i start to loose weight. Basically I ate 1/2 portions and cut snaking down to a bare min. cut out all soda and high calorie high sugar drinks. But I was also friends with all skinny tiny beautiful people who were very supportive and wanted to help. When we'd go to lunch me and my best friend would split it rather than each have our own, or eat half and take the rest home things like that, plus i had 4 dance classes a week and an intense theatre program to keep up with. I also took myself off all meds(not advised without dr supervision) I did really good for about 1 1/2yrs i even at my smallest I fit into a 10!!! a 10!!! which was the best feeling ever since i wore an 18/20 before, and i don't think i fit into a size 10 since elementary school, unfortunately i'm back up to 16,maybe a 14 on a really good day, but again I went back to my old habits of eating and cut out some of my activeness and here I am again at 200lbs. Currently the only meds i'm on is BC (Birth Control) and hopefully if i can get the weight off on my own I won;t need any others. tracking what I eat has helped tremendously because you can actually see just how much you are eating and that maybe some of the things you're eating are really terrible in terms of wanting to loose weight. another thing i realized even when i was thinner, was to stop eating when i'm full and what full really means. feeling full doesn't have to mean that youre stuffed to the gills and can barely move so maybe a better word is satisfied. I try to eat till i no longer feel hungry and then stop, even if there's still food left or i tell myself to take a break and if in 10 mins i'm still hungry i'll eat a little more. Personally for me it is and always has been about my relationship with food! feel free to add me in the words of HSM "We're all in this together"
  • littlelexical
    littlelexical Posts: 146 Member
    I have both PCOS and thyroid (also waiting on a heart op - so - has been very little exercise thus far) and it is hard, but you can do it :)

    The main thing i have found was that - very few drs know a lot about EITHER of these conditions, much less how they interact with each other.

    You need to research a lot yourself & try and incorporate as many foods which help with BOTH conditions as possible... the problem is - a lot of things good for one, are bad for the other - so - you need to weigh up the options and decid what is right for you.

    Question everything - if someone tells you 'to eat something' or 'not to eat something' ask why/why not and ask 'what is it doing inside me for my conditions?"

    You can do it :)

    Edited to add - Dealing with PCOS/Thyroid combination, in my research - is NOT the same as dealing with PCOS OR Thyroid issues - it is unique - so please - do question the information given by people giving advice who just have one or the other & look into their advice from both a PCOS & Thyroid aspect before following it :)
  • purplemurfy
    purplemurfy Posts: 95 Member
    Wow, here I am 45 and have suffered from hypothyroid and PCOS for many many years and didn't even think others on this site with the same. Thanks so much for posting. While it will be harder for us to accomplish our goals, it is NOT impossible.

    Let's do this!!

    Jodi - sent you a friend request with a very long message responding to one of your questions. :)
  • pechepanda
    pechepanda Posts: 7,939 Member
    Ive got PCOS too, Low carb diets with lots of vegetables and protein help though,
  • aprilh47
    aprilh47 Posts: 250 Member
    i was diagnosised with under active thyroid when my son was 3 weeks old, hes gone 13 now and i am at least 6 stone heavier than i was then. not sure when i was diagnosed PCOS, but somewhere along the way. I also have a 7 year old daughter, the third never happened and not my age is against me too.
    I have battled with my weight for the past 13 years, and know that this journey is going to be difficult but sticking at it is paramount.
  • PamelaLavender
    PamelaLavender Posts: 63 Member
    Hi ladies - fellow PCOS here. 1st let me refer you to a PCOS site that can help with some the the issues, symptoms that you deal with on a daily basis with PCOS. http://www.pcoschallenge.com/

    Feel free to add me if you like I would love more friends on here.

    Rylnn
  • sjp_511
    sjp_511 Posts: 476 Member
    While I don't have PCOS, I have a fairly severe case of hypothyroid. My medication dose is at the same levels as people without a thyroid. For years I had doctors reluctant to increase my Synthroid dose keeping me in a hypothyroid state. My efforts of dieting and exercise were only met with weight gain. It was frustrating and devastated my will power to eat well and remain fit for a long time.

    I finally got a doctor (GP) that was willing to increase my dose and get my labs to normal, non-hypo levels. However, she sent me to an Endocrinologist when my dose got really high. By the time I go to the Endo, my husband and I had been TTC for 2-3 months. First thing he did was tell me not to get pregnant. Ughh! He wanted to understand what was wrong with my thyroid - my high medication levels and young age of diagnosis had him concerned that I have something more rare than the more common hypothyroidism. Fortunately, the test for Hashimoto's came back positive, so the Endo is pretty confidant that I just have a more severe case of hypothyroidism. And now my levels have been stabilized for almost 6 months, so he gave me the go ahead to TTC earlier this week! Yay!

    Even though I am medicated, I do have worries on if my fertility is affected. Also, once I get pregnant, the Endo will be monitoring my thyroid levels monthly. Thyroid levels can shift drastically over a short period of time while pregnant. If they are too low or too high, it can lead to developmental problems for the baby or even miscarriage (this includes 2nd trimester as well, when most women feel they are safe from that risk). The doctor told me to call his office the day I get a positive pregnacy test to get my lab orders. He said that I will probably have 2 sets of thyroid labs done before I even see the gyno.

    Feel free to send a friend request and we can follow each other on our paths of getting knocked up!
  • PamelaLavender
    PamelaLavender Posts: 63 Member
    I have both PCOS and thyroid (also waiting on a heart op - so - has been very little exercise thus far) and it is hard, but you can do it :)

    The main thing i have found was that - very few drs know a lot about EITHER of these conditions, much less how they interact with each other.

    You need to research a lot yourself & try and incorporate as many foods which help with BOTH conditions as possible... the problem is - a lot of things good for one, are bad for the other - so - you need to weigh up the options and decid what is right for you.

    Question everything - if someone tells you 'to eat something' or 'not to eat something' ask why/why not and ask 'what is it doing inside me for my conditions?"

    You can do it :)

    Edited to add - Dealing with PCOS/Thyroid combination, in my research - is NOT the same as dealing with PCOS OR Thyroid issues - it is unique - so please - do question the information given by people giving advice who just have one or the other & look into their advice from both a PCOS & Thyroid aspect before following it :)


    I agree - most Dr's really only want to focus on the the fertility side of PCOS and not the other issues - so you do need to research and educate yourself. Here a good website to start with http://www.pcoschallenge.com/

    Please feel free to add me to your friend list. :)
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    Hi.

    I have Hypothyroidism and PCOS....My doctor recommended low carb and high protein and I have been losing weight. I eat eggs and some meat everyday for breakfast, lots of chicken, pork, cottage cheese...red meat sometimes 2 times a week. I also drink protein shakes.

    good luck.

    Donna
    I have Hashimoto's (am hypothyroid and on meds) and I am on a diet that is similar, also low fat, have lost 11 lbs. (10 of them fat) in the last 2 weeks. My weight Doctor also said he thinks I have insulin resistance, does that count as a diagnosis? I guess. My little Sister has Hashimoto's (also on meds) and PCOS but has never been fat in her life, she does eat pretty low carb/low fat.
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    While I don't have PCOS, I have a fairly severe case of hypothyroid. My medication dose is at the same levels as people without a thyroid. For years I had doctors reluctant to increase my Synthroid dose keeping me in a hypothyroid state. My efforts of dieting and exercise were only met with weight gain. It was frustrating and devastated my will power to eat well and remain fit for a long time.

    I finally got a doctor (GP) that was willing to increase my dose and get my labs to normal, non-hypo levels. However, she sent me to an Endocrinologist when my dose got really high. By the time I go to the Endo, my husband and I had been TTC for 2-3 months. First thing he did was tell me not to get pregnant. Ughh! He wanted to understand what was wrong with my thyroid - my high medication levels and young age of diagnosis had him concerned that I have something more rare than the more common hypothyroidism. Fortunately, the test for Hashimoto's came back positive, so the Endo is pretty confidant that I just have a more severe case of hypothyroidism. And now my levels have been stabilized for almost 6 months, so he gave me the go ahead to TTC earlier this week! Yay!

    Even though I am medicated, I do have worries on if my fertility is affected. Also, once I get pregnant, the Endo will be monitoring my thyroid levels monthly. Thyroid levels can shift drastically over a short period of time while pregnant. If they are too low or too high, it can lead to developmental problems for the baby or even miscarriage (this includes 2nd trimester as well, when most women feel they are safe from that risk). The doctor told me to call his office the day I get a positive pregnacy test to get my lab orders. He said that I will probably have 2 sets of thyroid labs done before I even see the gyno.

    Feel free to send a friend request and we can follow each other on our paths of getting knocked up!
    Do you have Hashimoto's (most hypothyroid, about 85%, is). I have that and when I was younger I had no problem getting pregnant, make sure you are medicated well.
  • indignantgnome
    indignantgnome Posts: 60 Member
    Yup. I have both PCOS and hypothyroidism, and take levothyroxine for the thyroid (which has some crappy side effects for me), spironolactone, and metformin. The combination of levo & spiro brought on long-lost periods that metformin didn't for me. I also had TERRIBLE digestive problems from the metformin, until I started watching the carbs I was eating.

    My very favorite low-carb foods are cottage cheese and english muffins. Sourdough bread is fairly low in carbs, compared to white bread, as well. :) Feel free to friend me, but please leave a message with your request so I know you're not a crazy. ;) Even though crazy might be fun!

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