PCOS Journey
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aclarkson
Posts: 4
Hello All,
I was only recently diagnosed with PCOS although I have suspected for years that it could be attributed to the irregular periods, moodiness, hair in unwanted places and the weight. In high school I was always extremely active, playing sports year round. I could run for miles and was still in the 200's. I went to college and became less active due to more time in the library and working. In my junior year I began working overnight and bought a house. I was traveling 30 mins to work then another 45 minutes to school. I had class from 8am-3pm and then worked 5pm-5am. Needless to say due to the crazy schedule I slept in my car, showered at work and began eating more to stay awake. I graduated from college with my bachelors degree and 60lbs heavier. I finally decided to seek help and get a diagnosis this past spring because my then fiance and I were getting married in June 2014 and knew we wanted to have kids. I have always had an overwhelming fear of not being able to have kids so I wanted to be as proactive as possible. I went to see an OB/GYN who gave me the diagnosis but did nothing else and offered no support or advice on how to lessen the symptom and become healthier. I have recently seen a RE who did an ultrasound and determined that my ovaries are VERY polycystic. So I am starting my journey to a healthier life style so that my husband and I can have the family we always dreamed of. I have never been one to take medication but I have started taking metformin. If anyone else can offer some advice or would like to join me on this journey I would love to have some friends along the way!
I was only recently diagnosed with PCOS although I have suspected for years that it could be attributed to the irregular periods, moodiness, hair in unwanted places and the weight. In high school I was always extremely active, playing sports year round. I could run for miles and was still in the 200's. I went to college and became less active due to more time in the library and working. In my junior year I began working overnight and bought a house. I was traveling 30 mins to work then another 45 minutes to school. I had class from 8am-3pm and then worked 5pm-5am. Needless to say due to the crazy schedule I slept in my car, showered at work and began eating more to stay awake. I graduated from college with my bachelors degree and 60lbs heavier. I finally decided to seek help and get a diagnosis this past spring because my then fiance and I were getting married in June 2014 and knew we wanted to have kids. I have always had an overwhelming fear of not being able to have kids so I wanted to be as proactive as possible. I went to see an OB/GYN who gave me the diagnosis but did nothing else and offered no support or advice on how to lessen the symptom and become healthier. I have recently seen a RE who did an ultrasound and determined that my ovaries are VERY polycystic. So I am starting my journey to a healthier life style so that my husband and I can have the family we always dreamed of. I have never been one to take medication but I have started taking metformin. If anyone else can offer some advice or would like to join me on this journey I would love to have some friends along the way!
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Replies
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Hi,
Good for you for being proactive and doing whatever you can. I don't have PCOS but I would love to be of any support I can
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Hi,
I have a very similar story to yours, I too have just recently been diagnosed with PCOS and whilst my weight was reasonably well controlled when I was younger, the past few years have seen a fairly rapid increase just due to a less active job and having to do a lot more driving, whereas a few years back I used to walk everywhere I went. I've been married for two years now and came off the pill at the end of last year, to find that my periods were super irregular and have now stopped completely. I've been referred for a scan but haven't had it yet. I want to start getting healthier and lose weight, and the past couple of months I've started doing the Couch to 5K running programme which I'm amazed that I'm actually managing, although it's really hard. But I do wonder about the right things to eat...I've read that just eating at a calorie deficiency isn't the best way to lose weight with PCOS, although that's really all I've been doing with MFP. Recently I've started eating a lot more fruit and veg and tried to avoid bread and carbs; that's been helping. But I've seen some places that ideally we should be gluten free, dairy free and sugar free? That's pretty tough to do! Gluten free I suppose, no bread and a minimum of bread-based products, and obviously no refined/processed foods, but fruit really is full of sugar and whilst I'm getting along quite well with chicken salad for dinner I don't think I could survive on veg alone! Plus I do put a small amount of cheese on my salad just so that it tastes a bit more appetising. Sigh...I'm a bit lost. What sort of things are you eating?0 -
I also have PCOS! Not too many symptoms aside from somewhat irregular periods off the pill, I gain weight SUPER easily (we're talking like, 10 pounds in a week here if I ate whatever I wanted!), and if I stop exercising and gain weight, I show up as slightly insulin resistant (but my glucose has always been normal).
I would say the one thing I've noticed with my body is that it LOVES exercise. Muscles change the way bodies use blood sugar/insulin, so building muscle helps me a lot with losing weight and feeling better. I got my blood drawn about a year ago, my insulin resistance was slightly high, and I started working out. I lost only 3 pounds by my next visit, but my IR was completely normal and then some!
Now that I'm focusing on weight loss, for me, calorie counting seems to be working- I'm just very careful to be eating the max calories I can and still lose weight, so that I have somewhere to go once I lose more weight and it gets harder to lose. And again, exercise (I'm also doing Couch to 5k) and resistance training are very helpful for me.
Good luck- you got this!0 -
I have PCOS. I will send you an FR0
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I have PCOS (diagnosed in 2002) and I have 3 beautiful children. I've struggled with my weight my whole life and lost 60lbs 2 years ago only to gain it back (and then some). I am now trying to refocus my energy on health versus weight loss and am taking things a day at a time. Please add me if you want support!0
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A calorie deficiency didn't work for me either! I have been eating basically only fruit, veggies and meat partially because that's the only thing I can keep in my system since starting metformin (sorry TMI) but its like a forced diet so I am looking at it as a positive thing! For breakfast I do actually have an english muffin with peanut butter or butter with a coffee with cream, for lunch either a salad or summer squash with yogurt or fruit depending on the day and then for dinner meat (I don't limit red meats.. I couldn't just eat fish, chicken and turkey and I think my husband would kill me! haha) and grilled vegetables or even frozen veggies. I try not to eat after dinner but I do have fudgicles and popsicles in the house. I like those better because they are pre-portioned unlike ice cream. Even the smallest bowl I think I can get half the container in!! I am very active. I cut wood almost every weekend, go to the gym as much as possible, and like to walk my puppy to get some of his energy out! I hope this was helpful!0
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It seems like a lot of people are doing couch to 5k! Maybe I will try it. I used to love to run (when I was in really good shape).. I just get frustrated trying to get back there. When I played sports and was forced to sprint it came easy. I do love to lift weights and stuff like that. I feel like it comes easier because we build muscle easier! Thanks for your support and success!0
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Hi,
I was diagnosed with PCOS. My family doctor referred me to a fertility clinic when my husband and I started trying to have a baby. There was a few things that the doctor did. Firstly I was put on a thyroid medication. PCOS can often cause an imbalance in your thyroid which can cause weight gain. It also affects your ability to get pregnant. I was also put on a medication to induce a period and then to help me ovulate. It seems like a lot, but funny story, I went to Paris, stopped taking all the meds because I was on holiday, and I didn't want to induce or ovulate, plus my husband wasn't with me, so really no sex equals no baby, so why bother medicating for that month? I came home after 2 weeks of eating nothing but bread and cheese and drinking wonderful wine, had sex and voila, pregnant. Point is my body did it without the meds. All those prescriptions were almost like a reset, giving my body the hormones it needed to do it by itself.
Out of all the infertility issues, PCOS is easy to manage. You will have babies, you just might need a kick of hormone to make it happen. The frustrating part is figuring out how big of a kick. In the meantime help your body out by being as healthy as you can while enjoying life. There is always a happy medium, if you cut out everything that you love, then what's the point?
There's a website about fitness that I read religiously, that talks a lot about fad diets, super foods, gluten free and dairy free diets, exercise and life in general. It's written by a Canadian named James Fell. He's down to earth, realistic and pushes the line in the sand all the time. it's refreshing, it makes me laugh, even if I don't always agree. He writes a lot for women as well. You should take a look. A ton of good articles about sitting to much (office job, driving) and how to change your idea about losing weight. It's www.bodyforwife.com0 -
Hello all, I am also a PCOS sufferer. I am fortunate enough not to experience too many physical symptoms and until recently I was on a Yasmin prescription and it didn't bother me at all. My GP will no longer prescribe me Yasmin and when I changed pills I put on a stone (14lbs) in the space of around 4 weeks...Not ideal... I also read a lot of things about having to cut out gluten, dairy etc to help with symptoms but the internet if full of really conflicting information on the subject. I bought this book > http://www.amazon.co.uk/PCOS-Diet-Book-nutritional-polycystic/dp/0007131844 > from Amazon which gives a lot of information on the science behind nutrition and PCOS. It has some meal plans in it which are good if you feel a bit lost about what to eat and some really good advice on supplements as well
I'm finding that trying to lose weight is painfully slow with PCOS but you just have to stick in there. I've been seriously trying to shift the weight I put on for about 2 months and I've only lost 2lbs so far, but I've lost around 6.5 inches total from my arms, ribs, waist, hips and thighs and my body fat has come down about 3%. So I would definitely recommend measuring more than just pounds lost to keep your motivation up! Feel free to drop me a friend request 0 -
I have PCOS and was diagnosed in 1998 when I had a cyst rupture putting me in the hospital. At the time I was also suffering from high blood pressure, pseudo tumor cerebri, and fibromyalgia (though the fibro wasn't diagnosed until 2003). Then I had lost a lot of weight because of the treatment for PTC and no one could find anything "wrong" with me. In 2006, I got pregnant for the third time. Every pregnancy was always after a stint on birth control for the irregular periods. My blood pressure would always shoot up so I would have to stop them and BAM I would get pregnant. Anyway in 2006 I went into premature labor and inadvertently they realized I was spilling sugar in my urine. So then I was gestational diabetic taking insulin. After the baby was born my health was horrible. I had a severe lung infection that resulted in steroids for treatment for over 6 weeks. I asked the DR should I be checking my sugar since I was gestational diabetic. So now I am full blown diabetic. After all this I was close to disability and went back to school so I could get a desk job.During school I had to stop exercising and went from a size 12 to size 18. I haven't been able to get in the gym until this past Jan. After graduation I was healed 4 months later of the fibromyalgia.However my asthma and diabetes still were a problem. The drugs they gave me caused more problems..metformin, amaryl, byetta. My liver enzymes, cholesterol labs went wanky. The asthma meds caused my blood sugar to spike. Needless to say unable to lose weight. Up and down on the scale. So i joined the gym in Jan to get the drug pushing dr off my back and only lost 5 lbs by march, BUT my blood sugar decreased and my blood pressure decreased and cholesterol decreased. In May my mom had a heart attack and in June and July I was on vacation for 3 weeks. I didn't really "watch" what I ate and rarely got to the gym. I gained 10 lbs each week I was on vacation and when my labs were drawn in March everything was elevated and here come those drug pushing drs again. Since July I have been in the gym 4 to 6 days a week and I loose a few and then the dr put me on cholesterol med and gained 5. Stop that med lost the weight and they mess with my meds and i gained 9lbs in 24 hours. Took a week to get that off. I finally told the Dr off and do not plan on seeing another dr until I am sick. I am much healthier without them and their drugs. They tell me because I am diabetic the AHA recommends taking a statin even if your cholesterol is fine and they recommend a blood pressure med even if your blood pressure is good. I am VERY sensitive to medications and have a long list of allergies. Since I started going 6 days a week to the gym and went low carb my blood sugar is down 67-113 fasting and I have decreased my insulin 10 units twice a day!!!!!!!!! Exercise and eating low carb is key I think with insulin resistance and PCOS. And when I say low carb I don't mean Atkins low carb where you can only have 20g a day. Its more like 20 to 30 g a meal. And 15-20 for snack. A nutritionist had me eating 45g a meal and 15g for 2 snacks and I gained! And stay away from the processed stuff like mac and cheese and frozen dinners and pasta. I have been experimenting with a lot of recipes and making them low carb. Last night we had zucchini lasagna and it is the bomb!! My family loves the cauliflower rice I make and roasted broccoli ,roasted beets, roasted brussel sprouts and roasted cauliflower. We used to eat brown rice per the nutritionist recommendation and my blood sugar goes through the roof. It is a game we play and I have learned I am better off figuring it out on my own rather than taking some "qualified" person's recommendation. I hope this helps you!0
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I'll do my best to keep my very long story short.
My first son was conceived as a bit of an oops. So it was a surprise when number 2 was taking so long. 3 years into trying to conceive I finally found a doctor who could try to help. An ultrasound showed PCOS. I started metformin to reduce the size of the cysts and did follow up ultrasounds to watch them shrink. There was significant progress in six months, so I do owe quite a bit to metformin. But another year, and several rounds of IUI and clomid and other meds did not help.
Then I signed up for a zumba class. In six weeks, I had lost 10 pounds and conceived my now two year old.
Maybe its anecdotal, but during those five years I spent a significant amount of time in infertility chat rooms. The theme was consistent. Exercise and weight loss were often the most important triggers for success in those struggling to conceive, even in those who weren't overweight.
Good luck. And feel free to message me with any questions.0 -
I was diagnosed with PCOS about 10 yrs ago when I lived in england when my first husband and I couldn’t get preggo. We broke up (not because of that), I lost about 40-50 lbs and moved back home to america. When I was first diagnosed they put me on metformin…I stopped after a couple weeks because it made me soooo sick. Then I took angus cactus (vitex/chasteberry) and it made my periods regular within a month of taking it as directed on the bottle!
First time I had unprotected sex with my now husband, I got preggo! And have since had 2 more with him, no problems. The weight has crept back up and then some with each pregnancy.
Now the weight and ALL other symptoms are back with a vengeance.
I always say PCOS girls have to work twice as hard and for twice as long to lose the same amount of weight as a ‘normal’ person. Cals in/cals out isn’t AS easy a concept for us PCOS people. I think strength/weight training is the key for us….in addition to LOW sugar (I aim for 15g a day) and low carb (I aim for about 100g a day or 15%). And definitely take measurements. I’ve only lost 9 lbs in 9 weeks, but I’m already down a clothes size. Inches off is where you’re going to SEE the results more than on the scale. It’ll come, just slower!
Once you start losing, it will be much easier to conceive!
Good luck and feel free to add me, anyone! ☺0 -
I have found the Couch to 5K a really good programme, I downloaded an app onto my phone so it does all the counting for me and that keeps my motivation up to keep going out because every time I can see the improvement; even if it still feels super difficult, the app has counted my distance and speed throughout as well as the calories burned so the smallest improvement feels huge. And it does build up at a pretty good pace, but you're supposed to do three runs a week and cause I play netball I found that a bit much for shin splints and joint pain...I run twice a week and do each Week's running plan twice, so I'm in the middle of Week 4 but it took me ten weeks to get to this point! It really helps though.
I also read about weight lifting and muscle workouts being really good for women with PCOS, since it makes the insulin uptake more effective or something like that? I'm finding that interesting cause I do a lot of strength and endurance training for netball but I'd sort of backed off it a bit as when I was building up in that area I wasn't losing any weight...initially I'd thought maybe I was toning and building muscle, but I didn't feel any more toned I just still felt flabby. Maybe I gave up on that too soon, if it's going to be a good way of getting the blood sugar levels stable.
I've been referred to the fertility clinic too, but I'm a bit worried about taking medication. I heard that Clomid in particular can lead to mood swings, which I had huge problems with when I first started taking the contraceptive pill, so I'm not sure about that. But I suppose if that's what's for the best...I just wish I could be really sure I was doing the right things with lifestyle changes to see an improvement without meds!
One thing I have a huge problem with is what to drink. I'm conscious of not getting dehydrated because when I was younger I used to drink practically nothing. I'm just really fussy with fluids for some reason, which is weird cause I'm not a fussy eater! I would drink pure fruit juice or fizzy drinks; I can't stand the taste of water or diluting juice. I started drinking Coke Zero for a while until I found that it actually made weight loss impossible, and now looking into it I realise it's because the sweeteners actually screw up the insulin levels in your body. So I'm assuming that's also the same for anything with sweeteners, like flavoured water or using Splenda in cups of tea. Should I just be forcing myself to have a glass of water with dinner then?
It's actually really great to speak to other people in the same position, and hear other stories. I think the biggest thing is finding out what has worked for others and what works for us as individuals, cause there just seems to be so many "rules" out there as to what you should or shouldn't eat, it gets a bit overwhelming and doesn't always make much sense!0 -
KBig14 - I'm fussy with fluids too. Absolutely addicted to diluting juice! If that isn't your thing I find sparkling water much better than still. You could try that with a splash of fruit juice in it or just on its own?
I think the biggest thing in terms of medication and cutting out/including certain food groups is that everyone is different! You just have to 'listen' to your own body when it comes to these things because what works for one sufferer might be the completely wrong thing for someone else! It's a lot of trial and error
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I keep a pitcher in my fridge of water and lemon slices- and just refill once I drink it. I also put the lemon water in a water bottle to take to work (or have lemon slices in my fridge and through them in my water bottle). You can do the same thing with all different types of fruits (strawberries, lemons, melon, etc.), herbs (basil, mint), and veggies (cucumber). Really helps the water intake if you don't like plain water!0
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I don't have time to properly reply right now, but I'm marking this so I can come back. I live with PCOS, and diagnosed in 2003. Will be glad to give more information, support and tips later on this afternoon! Welcome aboard!0
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Hello All!
I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago. I honestly didn't even know what it was up until about 2 months ago. I always thought because I'm short (5'2) that was the reason that I struggled with weight. But I have a twin sister and her and I eat very similar she's only around 140lbs and I was tipping the scales at 185.
When i got the diagnosis 2 weeks ago I was simply relieved - at least my issues weren't all in my head. They also told me that I'm IR at the moment and put me on Metformin. I've been on the medicine for 2 weeks now and it's definitely helped with cravings. I'm barely hungry any more - usually just twice a day and I've been eating very balanced meals and cut out ANYTHING with added sugar (don't get me wrong I have a sip or two of my boyfriends sweet tea, but other than that NO sugar & I mean any sugar - high fructose corn syrup, stevia, anything) and low low carbs. Other than that I'm eating what I want.
Since I've started this "nutrition plan" and medicine I've lost 10lbs in two weeks. (I'd say the first 5 were water weight). But I looked at my prior history at it took me 5 weeks to lose 6lbs without the MET on a similar diet. So I think it's definitely helping and I can't wait to see where I am a month from now.
Feel free to add me and keep each other supported0 -
Thanks for the drinks ideas mhairiannet and tennisgirl, that's really helpful! I was in the shop today for ages looking for just a bottle of something to go with my lunch and I ended up just picking up plain water cause absolutely everything was either loaded with sugar or sweeteners! On one hand, at least my willpower held and I did drink water rather than sugary drinks but it wasn't very tasty. I'll definitely be giving those suggestions a try! 0
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I found out I had PCOS and Insulin Resistance in April of 2012. After losing 101 lbs in 16 months, I cured my PCOS and Insulin Resistance.
PCOS is NOT a death sentence. You just got to understand how it works and effects your body.
Anyone can add me!0 -
I was diagnosed with PCOS about 3 years ago when trying to have my daughter. Hormone pills helped me get pregnant with her. I won't go into a lot of details, but in the past year they have come to the conclusion that's not my only problem (after multiple miscarriages ...)
My journey weight-wise has been like a yoyo - a combination of strength and cardio works really well for me to loose, but any pause of exercise and I gain quickly.
I say this just to encourage you to keep trying to find what works for you. Everyone is different, even with the same diagnosis. Don't give up, even through a rough journey.0
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