PCOS related question

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cneb
cneb Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've gotten a lot of good answers related to PCOS on here before.

In December I was using birth control and it was helping me lose a few pounds but I stopped because my insurance wasn't covering it and I didn't really want to pay to have a period. Last month I started taking a multivitamin for women for unrelated reasons. I actually got my period two times in a row and lost 5 pounds this month.

From the way my doctor described it, it doesn't seem that a vitamin would help, only birth control would help. Is it actually the vitamin that's helping or something else maybe?

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  • pedidiva
    pedidiva Posts: 199 Member
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    The vitamin will not help you have periods. Sometimes the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis is more activated than others. Are you trying to conceive? If not, you may want to find some sort of contraceptive. Have you lost any weight? Weight loss will activate the HPOIaxis. What meds are you on?
  • pedidiva
    pedidiva Posts: 199 Member
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    What were your menses like prior to the birth control?
  • pedidiva
    pedidiva Posts: 199 Member
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    It's the weight loss that helped, not the vitamins. I see that you lost 5 pounds. Good job.
  • psychlife401
    psychlife401 Posts: 1 Member
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    I also have PCOS and have gotten my period regularly, every single month, for 4 years - and the only changes I made were that I started walking about 10-20 minutes per day and tried to cut back on my sugars. I have gained and lost the same 20 lbs over and over again, and even with that rollercoaster, still have a regular period. The 5 lb weight loss of yours is only the start of it -- great job! The more you lose, the less you'll notice that you even have PCOS! =)
  • Shauna2626
    Shauna2626 Posts: 196 Member
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    I know this isn't an answer to your question, but assuming you're in the US, most types of birth control should be covered under all insurance plans now thanks to the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.
  • lastspen
    lastspen Posts: 106 Member
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    Shauna2626 wrote: »
    I know this isn't an answer to your question, but assuming you're in the US, most types of birth control should be covered under all insurance plans now thanks to the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.

    I was going to say the same thing.

    What type of BC were you taking that causes weight loss? Never experienced that. I did hear that Metformin helps women with PCOS lose weight.
  • zchhowell
    zchhowell Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi! I have PCOS, too. I got on metformin and lost 10 pounds. Metformin is covered by insurance, unlike birth control. Then I got on a low glycemic index diet where I always mixed protein and carbs together. Never eating carbs alone. I ate about 3 meals (300 calories) with two snacks (150 calories). I lost 19 pounds. I also started taking a vitamin D supplement because my reproductive endocrinologist said it helped with PCOS. You may or may not be looking into getting pregnant but a combination of all of the above helped me to conceive naturally after 4 years of infertility. The best part was that the pain went away. So I firmly believe that diet and vitamins can assist with PCOS. Good Luck!
  • leesa_08
    leesa_08 Posts: 6 Member
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    Following :blush:
  • Ashley3nb
    Ashley3nb Posts: 1 Member
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    It's more than likely the weight loss! If you still want to be on the birth control though you could check to see if there's a planned parenthood near you or a local free health clinic. Many of them have some great plans for women including free birth control.
  • leesa_08
    leesa_08 Posts: 6 Member
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    I was told by my doctor that if I just continue to lose weight the symptoms will get better. I was also on birth control for it but not any longer because of no insurance. I am just trying to control the symptoms by losing weight and getting healthier until I can afford to get insurance.
  • aSearch4Me
    aSearch4Me Posts: 397 Member
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    On a related note, there's a pretty active PCOS community group on MFP that you might be interested in, it's a wealth of great information & experience in managing PCOS. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3070-p-c-o-sis
  • 3AAnn3
    3AAnn3 Posts: 3,055 Member
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    zchhowell wrote: »
    Hi! I have PCOS, too. I got on metformin and lost 10 pounds. Metformin is covered by insurance, unlike birth control. Then I got on a low glycemic index diet where I always mixed protein and carbs together. Never eating carbs alone. I ate about 3 meals (300 calories) with two snacks (150 calories). I lost 19 pounds. I also started taking a vitamin D supplement because my reproductive endocrinologist said it helped with PCOS. You may or may not be looking into getting pregnant but a combination of all of the above helped me to conceive naturally after 4 years of infertility. The best part was that the pain went away. So I firmly believe that diet and vitamins can assist with PCOS. Good Luck!

    I agree that diet helps tremendously! I eat about 90% clean, organic foods and everything I eat is non-gmo. I have PCOS, but had 3 children in 3.5 years when I was told I wouldn't ever conceive. When I was in my late teens/early 20's, I did the birth control thing and at another time the metformin thing and I always felt like crap. Metformin will make you lose weight because you won't want to eat ever. It can also make you really dizzy and nauseated. The thing that helps most women with PCOS is a major overhaul of their diet and also adding in a good amount of exercise to their routine. Luckily, these things also help with weight loss.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,952 Member
    edited June 2015
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    cneb wrote: »
    I've gotten a lot of good answers related to PCOS on here before.

    In December I was using birth control and it was helping me lose a few pounds but I stopped because my insurance wasn't covering it and I didn't really want to pay to have a period. Last month I started taking a multivitamin for women for unrelated reasons. I actually got my period two times in a row and lost 5 pounds this month.

    From the way my doctor described it, it doesn't seem that a vitamin would help, only birth control would help. Is it actually the vitamin that's helping or something else maybe?

    Are you in the US? With a few exceptions, your insurance is supposed to cover BC.

    However, "insurance companies across the country are violating the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement that plans cover all FDA-approved methods of birth control without out-of-pocket costs."

    http://www.nwlc.org/sites/default/files/state_of_womens_birth_control_coverage_key_findings_4.29.152.pdf

    ...Women who are still paying out-of-pocket for their birth control can contact the NWLC CoverHer Hotline
    (1-866-745-5487, coverher@nwlc.org or www.coverher.org) for more information about the ACA’s birth control
    benefit and resources to appeal any inappropriate charges their plan imposed.
  • cneb
    cneb Posts: 12 Member
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    aSearch4Me wrote: »
    On a related note, there's a pretty active PCOS community group on MFP that you might be interested in, it's a wealth of great information & experience in managing PCOS. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3070-p-c-o-sis

    Thanks!
  • cneb
    cneb Posts: 12 Member
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    Thank you everyone for the help! I'll keep up with eating low GI foods and daily walking.

    For insurance, it only covers name brands. I live in a small town and in order to get a name brand you need to plan two weeks ahead and I always forget so I have to buy the generic brand.
  • lastspen
    lastspen Posts: 106 Member
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    cneb wrote: »
    Thank you everyone for the help! I'll keep up with eating low GI foods and daily walking.

    For insurance, it only covers name brands. I live in a small town and in order to get a name brand you need to plan two weeks ahead and I always forget so I have to buy the generic brand.

    Does your insurance have a 3-month mail-in program? That might help you to remember. Companies like CVS and Walgreens also have online prescription refills.

    Honestly, remember to call ahead is a small task. You can set reminders in your cell and/or email to do that.

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