pcos+thyroid issues =hard time losing weight!!!!

I used to have PCOS. This may not work for all, but here's what I did that helped me:

1. Lovage seed (ajwain) tea. You can find it in Indian stores. I was taking 4 cups a day for a year. Now that I'm fine, reduced to 1 cup a day.
2. Masturin herbal syrup. Again from Indian stores. 2 teaspoons every night before going to bed. Fixes irregular periods and other issues.
3. Exercise, exercise, exercise.
4. Reducing stress (yoga is awesome). Also I read getting married and having children helps. (Intercourse and giving birth helps fix the irregularity of hormones and prevent more issues such as endometriosis etc, plus the happiness of having husband and kids helps a lot with depression that is caused with PCOS.
5. Absolutely STOP taking these metformins, birth control pills etc. I took them for years and all they did was destroying my body even more.
6. Eat right, increase lean meat, avoid bad fatty meat, such as pork and processed meat (you know sausages, salamis etc), aim for fruits, veggies, legumes, add some spices (they help a lot with hormones and menstrual cycle), and you may eat your sweet craving in a small amount, and avoid stuff like potato chips as much as possible, (although once a month kind of thing (not binging) probably wouldn't hurt).
7. EDIT: Oh and no sodas, alcohol etc. Just water, tea is awesome and milk.

I learned the real hard way that doctors just want to make money, they don't care about the serious side-effects of the pills they give you, and it's only a temporary thing, they don't work at all.

Listening to your body and taking the natural route is best.

I TOTALLY feel you...I don't have PCOS (well, not that I'm aware of but I know I was diagnosed with endometriosis) but have subclinical hypothyroid issues--I have all the symptoms but my test of T3/T4 (including the free t's) are borderline low. I also have really high blood sugar (A1C of 5.9) and hormonal issues; my estrogen is really high and my progesterone is really low so I was having hellish periods with PMS lasting about 2-3 weeks each month where I can't basically do anything, not even work.

I must be really sensitive because I was having heavy nausea, headaches, hot flashes, digestive upsets, insomnia, anxiety/depression and stomach flu-like symptoms, before one of my doctor put me on Metformin in 2012 (500 mg). I still remember how it felt when the metformin started to work--The first week I kept feeling a sort of "pop" in my head about half an hour after taking it--I was finally able to sleep!

It took me years to find my current endocrinologist who is an MD of course, but is also integrative! I guess part of the wait time was that I didn't know to look for an integrative MD. Meaning she is open to any treatments both traditional and holistic, as long as they're backed with research. She also sits with me for about 45 minutes every time I see her...it's not the 10 minutes I used to get with my old endocrinologist who was strictly traditional medicine. I ditched that doctor because as soon as he refused filling my script for Metformin, I started gaining weight rapidly and feeling nauseous with migraines (hello, stomach flu symptoms). He also told me that it was my fault that I was not able to lose weight and that I really need to get my shizz together and take matters into my own hands. He told me this when I was asking a bunch of questions about my health, lol. This happened last fall and that's the last time I will fully trust any doctor with my health!

I started to do my own research early this year...there's so much on the web that is confusing and contradictory. I started eating partially organic last year and my menstrual issues were A LOT LESS PAINFUL although still painful though less nauseous. I decided to try and go all the way in January (well as much as I can) and am eating mostly organic now. I added a GLUTEN FREE spin to my diet. WOW. Eating organic and gluten free--you should try it. The antibiotics given to animals--well would you take antibiotics if you didn't need them? No, right? You shouldn't eat them either, these animals are raised in crowded, unsanitary conditions, that's why they need the antibiotics so they don't die. I've also read numerous articles on sewage sludge, and ladies, it looks like most non-organic produce is grown mostly in this chemically laden human excrement. Why? Because the government can no longer dump our sewage in the ocean so has nowhere to put it; they give it away for free as "organic fertilizer"/biosolids. I don't believe human waste is the issue, but what people throw down their drains! i.e. medications, chemicals used to clean the bathroom, biological wastes and chemicals from hospitals, etc. It's all in there. According to the website of the EPA, they say 1% of biosolids are used on farms. Personally, I think our government is lying. There are many articles I've seen (mostly naturopaths and holistic medicine) that are pointing towards gluten products as a negative for those with thyroid issues.

So yeah, what I'm doing now:
1. eating gluten free (I eat Udi's Gluten Free breads because they taste and feel like real bread, now carried at Trader Joe's!) and avoiding white breads, and whole grain wheats. If I eat out I completely avoid the breads and double check if gluten is in the food because it's used as a cheap filler for any processed foods! My depression/anxiety I've suffered since I was little has disappeared! And no, I don't have Celiacs disease.
2. eating mostly organic meats and produce (except when I eat out). I go to Sprouts Market for organic produce because it's relatively cheap! Yes, cheap!! (I live in southern California.) They also sell antibiotic free (non-organic) chicken breast meat at $2,49/pound. There is a true difference in eating chicken meat where 20+ chickens weren't crammed into just one crate and expected to live like that. Also, I'm able to down a lot more veggies because organic just tastes better. I feel great and much better on days where I eat organic or at least antibiotic-free meats and produce because the nutritional density is higher and don't have all those franken-food chemicals!
3. I cook my own foods from scratch when I do eat at home. I stay away from packaged foods in boxes, for example. I read every label of everything I look at in the grocery store. Say no to Franken-foods (frakenstein foods).
4. I stay away from added sugars in foods except for natural sugars that come from fruits and eat them in moderation (mostly in the mornings or early in the day). I also stay away from artifical sweeteners (except stevia, which is from a plant); all my endocrinologists say the chemically made artificial sweeteners contribute to diabetes. I know the American Diabetes says they're okay, but it seems like all these government related health agencies are working with outdated info. Without trying my daily sugar intake is usually below 40 grams at about 30 grams (sometimes half of that if I don't eat make a smoothie for example).
5. I work out 5x/week, except for those crappy days where I feel horrible (usually due to hypoglycemia). I quit doing moderately hard cardio a couple months ago. Instead I walk about an hour (doing hills so I sweat and get my heartbeat going) and lengthened my weight training. On days I don't weight train (every other day) I do yoga and/or pilates. Sometimes I don't do anything at all and am able to work out normally the next time. I've read that overstressing your body, well it taxes your hormonal systems, including the thyroid.
6. My integrative endocrinologist doubled my dosage of Metformin to 1000mg at the beginning of this month (I'm taking the extended release version). She knows how I eat and was horrified that my old endo took me off it! She's also a hormones/anti-aging specialist (doctors are not usually trained in this in med school), and says Metformin is the best anti-aging drug out there. Among other things, it prevents fatty liver, is anti-cancerous and decreases rates of vascular disease which rises hard with diabetics. I've already lose 2 pounds this month (in two weeks). (Pretty good compared to Last year where I only lost a total of 5 pounds with working out and eating well!)

I can't think of anything else right now, but I've already written a novel. Hope this helps anyone who reads this. I would say work with an integrative MD, they work to help solve problems before they become a never ending disease. From my experience I have noticed that each and every doctor has their own "medical opinion" when it comes to the thyroid and diabetes (i.e. what is truly a healthy blood sugar level and where the thyroid threshold lies). If you feel that a doctor isn't helping you enough or tells you things are in your head, move on and keep going until you find one that will help you, get that second or third or fourth opinion. Suffering from health issues sucks! If there's any questions, just holler!

P.S. Read this! http://nourishedkitchen.com/my-story-recovery-from-celiac-disease-pcos-and-autoimmune-thyroid-disease/

@bunnydumpling, thank you so much for your insights.

The reason I mentioned pork, is because pigs eat their own (and others') feces. So yeah, we don't really know what we are eating unless we research it. But I can't stop meat completely, as I feel worse if I take the vegetarian route, so I stick to chicken meat (skin excluded) as I found it a bit cleaner than the rest and makes me feel better if I include it at least once a week.

I used to like sausages too, but after I saw how they were made, I never touched them again, and 2-3 weeks later I was already feeling a bit better.

We don't need to go to the extremes of clean eating, but some things are better to be avoided completely.