Today I was literally crying as I weighed myself this morning! I'm so happy that finally something is working! I started a very high dose of Metformin and finally I've lost weight! I've been gaining non-stop for about 8 years and was morbidly obese when I first joined my fitness pal. Now I have a BMI in the 'obese' category instead of 'morbidly obese' and have lost nearly 5% of my original body weight! Don't get me wrong, I realise I still have an awfully long way to go but I've nearly reached my first initial target of losing 5% (12 pounds). It's just such a relief that there's the slightest bit of hope I might get better!

My success is linked to weight loss. Before my weight loss I was diagnosed with PCOS and was put on a pill to control it. That pill really disagreed with me, made me put on a stone and have horrendous periods. I came back off of it and my periods stopped for nearly a year as my weight continued to climb. Now I have managed to lose 70lb through controlled calorie counting and doing a lot of exercise (I've become incredibly obsessed with zumba and cycling). Gradually my periods restarted, but to my horror they were ridiculously heavy and making me want to be sick or faint for a few of the days. As my weight continued to come off my periods became both more regular, every 5 weeks or so, and they have become a lot more manageable, I can actually go out and exercise when I'm on without fear of blood everywhere. I am excited to see how my body reacts in 20lb time when I hit my goal weight!

Ive never posted but I wanted to share in case anyone is trying to conceive. In Feb of 2014 I was weighing 200 lbs and was finally diagnosed with PCOS though Ive been dealing with symptoms since I was 16. I finally decided to start losong weight because my father died of diabetes complications and they dound my blood sugar slightly elevated. I started walking more, eating better, wighibg/logging food and my August of 2014 not only had I lost about 50 lbs, but I got pregnant. Since having my daughter Ive struggled to lose the weight I gained due to intense pregnancy carb cravings. Im nursing and when I cut carbs I lose my milk supply so thats made it difficult, but now that Im in the 190s again Im recommiting!

I just posted some pics in the Success Stories thread on the main board and someone suggested I come here.

Something started going wacky in my body during my first pregnancy at age 24 (1990). It seems very few doctors, and none that I came in contact with, knew about PCOS. I lost the baby at 4 months and the OBGYN was kind of scratching his head, saying my hormones were really a mess. That's when I started gaining weight after being stable through high school and college. And my periods, which had been normal up to the pregnancy, didn't resume. I had to take fertility drugs to get pregnant, and hormone therapy to stay pregnant. Two (live!) babies and 80lbs later, I didn't recognize myself.

At age 30, I noticed some serious hair loss in my scalp, plus I was growing hair on my chin, chest, and 'treasure trail.' My OBGYN tested my blood again and said, Yeah, your hormones are really out of whack. But since I didn't want to have any more babies, I shouldn't worry about it. And, oh, they make good wigs these days. I was devastated.

At age 35, I went for a hair transplant in desperation. I was classified as stage 4 male-pattern baldness. And I was 100 lbs overweight. The hair dr. did the tests and said, Ya know, your reproductive hormones are really a mess. I can do the transplant, but you're just going to keep losing hair till this gets fixed. I got the transplant and he sent me to an endocrinologist. Thankfully this guy knew about PCOS and I was finally diagnosed (at age 35) with a "classic" case of it.

He put me on Metformin, Spironolactone, and BC pills (I hadn't had a period in many years). The hair loss stopped immediately and the weight gain rate slowed considerably (from an average of 10 lbs/year to 2 lbs/year) and I had periods again. It took some fiddling with the dosages because I couldn't tolerate the drugs very well--Metformin gave me gut-wrenching diarrhea and spiro affected my heart beat. I am currently at Metformin 500mg twice a day and Spiro 50 mg twice a day with no side effects. My scalp is fine now, and the 'male' hair elsewhere is all gone.

Over the next 14 years I gained another 25 lbs. The rate had slowed but I was just blowing up like a balloon. It took seeing me in my daughters wedding pics (below) where I didn't even recognize myself to finally get my mind in a place where I could make a permanent lifestyle change. I'd had already proved numerous times that 'diets' had no lasting effect.

So at age 49, Feb 1 2015, I weighed 300 lbs. I removed all traces of potatoes, rice, pasta, and simple sugars from my diet. I cut way back on bread and fruit, but still ate some of that. That was all I did--didn't count calories and I have never, ever exercised in my life, and didn't start then either. I felt I was actually eating a little more than usual with the carbs gone. I lost 56 lbs in 8 months.

Then I hit a brick wall. Same diet and no change. For once I wasn't gaining, so I knew the secret to maintaining really was just removing most of the carbs from my diet. But I still had a lot more to lose. I figured my metabolism was probably just bottomed out. I had to face the horrible fact that I would need to start exercising if I ever wanted to lose more weight.

So 8 weeks ago, on my 50th birthday, I joined Planet Fitness. I had never even been in a gym before. My daughters patiently explained to me how to use all the equipment. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed it!

Since then, 2 months, I have lost 24 lbs by exercising (5 days/week at PF, and swimming laps 2 days/week) and same low carb diet. It's actually coming off much faster now then it did before and is very motivating. I feel great because of the weight loss, but also because I'm probably in better shape now than ever before including my normal-weight teen years.

I had a doctor recently tell me that women with PCOS have virtually no hope of losing weight. The best they can expect is to maintain. She's wrong. So don't be discouraged if you are fighting this condition. It takes the right mindset but it is beatable, and it's really not hard or uncomfortable--just requires dedication and the rewards are oh so worth it. I wish I had started all this decades earlier, but I'm still happy about my success so far to this point.

My blood pressure was last measured at 116/62 and my cholesterol is normal. The dr. says he would no longer classify me as pre-diabetic and that I beat the odds on that!

So here are the stats and pics:
Age 50
5'8"
SW 300
CW 220
GW 175