diagnosed PCOS- little encouragement

AmyBethBoothroyd
AmyBethBoothroyd Posts: 32 Member
edited November 19 in Motivation and Support
I've just started on Metformin. I was diagnosed last week. I'm a little scared and freaked out. I'll be turning 30 in October. Ive been working out since April. We're hoping for a 3rd baby. Add me as a friend if you like. Anyone gone through this or have PCOS???

Replies

  • treetownmama
    treetownmama Posts: 12 Member
    I went through this. We tried to get pregnant for 18 months before we were successful. I have PCOS and was put on Metformin - I hated it. Made me feel horrible (bad diarrhea and nausea) and didn't make my cycles any more regular. I felt ok once they lowered the dose, but I honestly feel like it did nothing. I lost a little weight, but only because I was so sick I was barely eating. I did 5 or 6 round of Clomid, too, with no success. Acupuncture did the trick after 2 months. :)
  • airwicca
    airwicca Posts: 18 Member
    I went through this as well.I wasnt trying for a baby,but 15 years ago I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was in university and my weight just balooned in a few short months.I had been on birth control and had come off and things went haywire.I was 230 pounds when I was diagnosed,exhausted all the time,feeling depressed and so unmotivated. I was taking various physiology courses at school and based on some stuff I was learning, I decided to adopt a keto genic diet in order to lose weight.Boy did it ever change my life!! I lost weight FAST and a year later I was a healthy 140 pounds.When I met the father of my 3 youngest children, I had NO trouble getting pregnant.I never used Metformin.I had heard from people how aweful it made them feel.Low carb Keto eating had me ovulating in 2 months and my energy bounced up as well.I wish you the best of luck....there is a lot of research out there about PCOS and low carb.Works just as well as Metformin.
  • minkky
    minkky Posts: 73 Member
    I've got pcos too!! There is a group for it here.
    I struggled trying to lose weight for two years with poor results. I would get to a point where just nothing would change. I've been on metformin for 9 weeks and it's made a huge difference. Although I have been working my a** off. Eating at a deficit,exercising. The weight is coming off more quickly. My mood is more stable. I don't fee depressed all the time. I don't feel as hungry. I used to always be hungry even if I had just stuffed myself. I seriously feel like the metformin/calorie deficit/exercise is like trifecta for me. The trick is starting it slowly and taking it after you eat- not before.
    Friend me if you want:)
  • BambiMcPhillamy
    BambiMcPhillamy Posts: 3 Member
    I was just diagnosed with pcos. I haven't even been to the ob/gyn yet just the primary md for the blood tests, high bp, and a very uncomfortable ultrasound that confirmed cysts. I haven't started on hormones or birth controls yet so any input would be great since I'm a newbie? And what is Keto Genic Diet my lack of weight loss is part of what lead me to the md for this diagnosis along with 10 years of other s/s that have been adding up and worsening.
  • h_flash44
    h_flash44 Posts: 1 Member
    Hi, I lost 50 lbs after taking metformin and going low carb! I got lazy last year and 15 lbs creeped back on. I'd maintained for 2.5 years before that. So I'm trying to get back on track. Metformin worked wonders for me. I still have a long way to go. My goal weight is 125, I'm at 169 now.

    I sympathize with the haywire feeling...my whole life I'd been a college athlete and coach, under 5'0, <100 lbs. I got a corp job and lifestyle change was just horrible for me! My doctor thinks my PCOS went undiagnosed for 10 years because I suffered from depression. Major life stress for about a decade...start /collapse of a business, miscarriage, substance abuse by my spouse, deaths, long term unemployment, you name it. I was so down and ashamed because no matter what I did, nothing worked. My body just went haywire and I ballooned to 190 lbs when my daughter was born. Metformin was a miracle. Suddenly, I did things people said to do for weight loss...and they worked.

    Happy to support any and all PCOS cysters! I really struggle with day to day consistency, any help from this group would be a blessing to me. Truly.
  • BambiMcPhillamy
    BambiMcPhillamy Posts: 3 Member
    So the meds do help with weight loss h_flash44? Part my biggest battle for the last 4 years has been weight. I cross trained for 2 years to no avail, did get up to 100 lbs in muscle weight ha. Than to find out I have pcos. I was starting to feel very discouraged so that gives me hope
  • discretekim
    discretekim Posts: 314 Member
    Well I have had cysts but pros hasn't been suggested. I'm hoping I don't find out when I try to get pregnant. Good luck
  • shortti33
    shortti33 Posts: 4 Member
    i was diagnosed with PCOS last month. I am going to follow this thread for advice :)
  • mucciad
    mucciad Posts: 4 Member
    I don't have but am in the medical field and work with patients with pcos. I know it can feel discouraging but the good part is that it seems like your doctors are taking good care of you. Your meteor in side effects will be minimized if you're compliant (ie don't miss doses) and always take it with meals.. If you do have GI side effects talk to your doctor about adjusting the dose, or trying a different formulation... It's true that meteor in can help with weight loss but this isn't the primary reason why it's used.. More importantly it helps attack insulin resistance which is part of the cause of pcos... Other treatment options that others might be on are the birth control pill.. Since we are on FP I should mention that lifestyle change is considered first line management in PCOS.. And not all 'diets' are created equal... Although there is not enough evidence to promote one type of diet over another some of the literature supports either low glycemic index or low carb diets.. Hope that helps :)
  • mucciad
    mucciad Posts: 4 Member
    Meteor in= metformin (shakes fist at iPhone autocorrect)
  • WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr
    WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr Posts: 2,150 Member
    mucciad wrote: »
    I don't have but am in the medical field and work with patients with pcos. I know it can feel discouraging but the good part is that it seems like your doctors are taking good care of you. Your meteor in side effects will be minimized if you're compliant (ie don't miss doses) and always take it with meals.. If you do have GI side effects talk to your doctor about adjusting the dose, or trying a different formulation... It's true that meteor in can help with weight loss but this isn't the primary reason why it's used.. More importantly it helps attack insulin resistance which is part of the cause of pcos... Other treatment options that others might be on are the birth control pill.. Since we are on FP I should mention that lifestyle change is considered first line management in PCOS.. And not all 'diets' are created equal... Although there is not enough evidence to promote one type of diet over another some of the literature supports either low glycemic index or low carb diets.. Hope that helps :)

    I have to second this, I'm in the medical field and I do have PCOS. Another suggestion that I was given with the metformin for the side effects was to wait for about 10-15 minutes after I ate to take it, also if you're on regular metformin and have quite a bit of trouble, you can talk to your doc about the extended release formula that may work better for you (I actually started with this, but ended up on the regular because I had more trouble with the extended release... so you see, it can go either way, just depends on you and what makes you... well, you.) What you eat and how well it works for you can vary too, you may need to try a couple different things to find what's right for you. I have a meal plan from a registered dietician, because that's what works for me. You may find a low carb works, or the glycemic index, maybe TDEE, or LCHF, possibly high protein. I hate to say you're just going to have to feel it out on that one, but you're going to have to see what works for you on that one (I tried several of them, and they didn't work well for me, BUT I have more going on with me than my PCOS and some of them would do more damage to me than good) and it's going to have to be something that works in your lifestyle too (some didn't work for me, I have days that I'm in a laboratory for 6-8 hours with just enough time to run to the bathroom, I can't eat every 4 hours/6 times a day/every time the clock strikes the 1/2 hour/ect, so the plans that needed that type of dedication, not so good for me, but maybe there is something that works for you). So look at what people who are in the same boat have tried, who knows, maybe what worked for them will work for you, maybe not, but that just means you need to keep trying until you find the right key to fit your lock. Enlist your doctor's office, join the group(s) on MFP, research, talk to a trainer with nutrition experience at your gym, go to a dietician, use every resource available to you to find your answer, you can do this, it just going to take a little time and elbow grease....
  • AmyBethBoothroyd
    AmyBethBoothroyd Posts: 32 Member
    Thank all for encouragement and advice. Friend me if you want. I will try to Get more control on my diet.
  • LydsVille77
    LydsVille77 Posts: 126 Member
    Diagnosed 10 years ago. Lost roughly 80 lbs initially... gained 10 back this month... and need to lose 30 more :( Just getting back on track now but i only take Spironolactone and Sprintec (BC). For some reason my doc is resistant to giving me metformin for weight loss so she is really pushing me here to get it together. I need support too :)
  • AmyBethBoothroyd
    AmyBethBoothroyd Posts: 32 Member
    You can friend me if you like. :)
  • airwicca
    airwicca Posts: 18 Member
    edited June 2015
    Hey girs sorry I didnt respond sooner to the questions about the keto diet.Its actually "ketogenic" I did a typo and made it into 2 words accidentally.
    What is it? Well, our body usually burns glucose for fuel.We consume carbohydrates and they are broken down in our body and enter our bloodstream.Our body responds by releasing insulin.The insulin allows us to make use of the glucose for energy , otherwise it gets stored in fat cells.
    The problem with PCOS is that it is very very closely tied to insulin problems...especially insulin resistance.Insulin resistance is what happens when you eat your carbohydrate and your body produces TOO MUCH insulin.
    The result of too much insulin is that the little receptor sites on your cells dont allow insulin to bind with them, so your body isnt making use of the glucose in your blood for energy, and your body is tricked into thinking that may be its not sending out enough insulin,so it in turn makes even more.
    The physical symptoms of insulin resistance are tons: fatigue, muscle weakness, the feeling that you are hungry but you never feel that energy boost from food that is normal, other hormones get messed up,sometimes thyroid as well as the girl hormones.When insulin resistant you gain weight VERY fast.Its like you eat like a bird and still gain, because the body is storing EVERYTHING and using very little for energy.thats why you get sooo dragged out and tired physically.
    will post a second post explain the keto diet and why it helps
    ...
  • airwicca
    airwicca Posts: 18 Member
    edited June 2015
    ketogenic diet is a very low carbohydrate diet. Basically, to start, you eat under 40 grams of carbohydrate(net carb) a day.your fat intake is high and protein moderate.
    the reason this helps PCOS is it helps correct insulin resistance.
    How?
    Ok our bodies are designed to either burn glucose as fuel, or burn fats as fuel.As long as carbohydrates are availible, the body's default is sugar burning.When you reduce the carb intake to 40 grams and under, your body switches to fat burning for fuel.Your insulin production drops to next to nothing.This allows your body's glucose burning "system" if you will,to have a rest and gradually become more sensitive to insulin again.
    When you have PCOS and are insulin resistant you may have found that you try very hard to lose weight and have very little success.All those people who preach calories in=calories out start making you insane because, well,that just doesnt work with insulin resistance....or if it does it is excruciatingly slow.
    At first low carb keto diets can be a bit uncomfortable.It takes a week or two to fully adjust...but if you stick with it you may experience some pretty profound effects on mood and energy levels.
    In my experience, losing weight is paramount to healing pcos and insulin resistance.When I lost weight after diagnosis, all my symptoms went away.At the time of diagnosis I hadnt ovulated for 8 months.
    With PCOS if you arent ovulating it makes the whole thing worse.
    For me the weight came off with a keto diet.I cycled.I stayed on the diet for 3 months and then allowed myself to spend a week eating approx 100 grams of no sugar carbs a day, and then returned to keto.I sort of switched back and forth.
    sorry for the extensive posts.just thought if you girls are feeling as hopeless as i was when i was diagnosed,that hearing some real info might give you hope.
    All PCOS symptoms in my case went away.I was left with a bit of extra hair though :P because, once the elevated testosterone levels in pcos trigger hair, it is permanent.unfortunately.
    Anyone feel free to pm me for support or info.
    you can do it.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    There is nothing to be scared about. Metformin can be tough to adapt to at first, but give it a chance.

    You might want to do a search, especially on the general board--there are probably 100 existing threads on this topic.
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