Hi everyone. I was diagnosed with pcos when i was 23. When i found out it was a big blow because the first thing that came to mind is that cant have babies. In my community/family a woman who cant have babies is not really a woman. So the only people that know is my twin sister and best friend. I used to feel like i must have done something for this to happen to me. But that was a few years back and now i know better. I stared reading up and educating myself about pcos. So now i am working to gain control of my live and health and not use pcos as an excuse. It does not define me, its not who I am and i wont be beaten. I started working out and eating right and have lost 7kg (15 pounds) this year. And i am so happy to know that i am not alone in this. Please feel free to add me, I need to be motivated and also to motive.

Heya! I was diagnosed 10 years ago...when I needed to buy my own wax machine I figured it was time to go to the doctor. Haha. I was always disgustingly skinny up until my mid 20s then all hell broke lose. I fell off my horse and busted up my back, got pretty sick and then everything started to change. I went from 115 (way too small for someone who is 5'11") to 190 in 6 months. No matter what I did if I looked at food I grew a chin. At the time I ran a spa and was realizing I kept have to not only move up my waxing appointments...more needed to be waxed...my face was freaking me out. Now I worked 50 hours a week and had 2 horses to ride 3-4 days a week...nothing made sense.

Overall, I'm "dealing." After I turned 30 I blew up even more. I have managed to lose over 40 of it and 30 more to go to reach my happy weight. My real goal is to lose enough to make my pcos tolerable and keep the Grizzley Adams look at bay.

I take metformin, there's meds for the extra hair growth , and all I keep hearing is that I need to lose weight. I also blew up in my 20s, like 30 lbs (I'm small so that's a lot for me) and it was hard for it to stop. My dr told me there's research saying pcos is autoimmune disorder. It runs in my family apparently , but I read with autoimmune we have to watch our diet and exercise. I just started the metformin last week, I'll let you know how it goes.

Hi everyone! I am glad I stumbled upon this group! I was diagnosed when I was 22. I got one period when I was 13, then never again, so at age 16 my ob/gyn just put me on the pill and being a naive teenager I thought nothing of it. Fast forward 6 years, I chose to go off of birth control and all hell broke loose. I gained 15lbs in 3 months after changing nothing about my routine, had hot flashes, and was severely anxious and depressed. This was not normal for me. I saw a slew of doctors and was diagnosed ONLY because I demanded the 5th or 6th doctor I saw run every blood test and do everything else he could think of to figure out what was wrong with me. All the doctors before simply looked at me, saw I was of normal weight and did not have any outward symptoms of anything being amiss so they told me just to stay on the pill to keep a regular cycle. I went on metformin and a couple of other supplements to balance out my hormones, and eventually did go back on the pill to maintain a "regular" cycle until I wanted to get pregnant, which is what brings us to now! My husband and I recently went through IVF and produced 22 embryos... we are just two weeks out from transferring two of them with the hopes of achieving out first pregnancy!

I guess the biggest piece of advice I can offer to other cysters out there is to be your own biggest advocate and demand doctors take care of you! You know your body better than anyone else and deserve to be treated for what you feel is 'off!'

Hello fellow cysters! I was diagnosed with PCOS in January 2016 & also have insulin resistance. I've read that the LCHF lifestyle has really helped women with PCOS & their symptoms. I've been on & off the diet but I'm really hoping to turn things around this year as I'm turning 35 this summer. I'm hoping to exchange tips and experiences with fellow cysters.

1991lexi wrote: »

JenniKosti wrote: »

Hello fellow cysters! I was diagnosed with PCOS in January 2016 & also have insulin resistance. I've read that the LCHF lifestyle has really helped women with PCOS & their symptoms. I've been on & off the diet but I'm really hoping to turn things around this year as I'm turning 35 this summer. I'm hoping to exchange tips and experiences with fellow cysters.

Not sure what LCHF is but I've found taking the GI and GL of food into account (similar to how diabetics need to eat) has really helped me...its still early days and I still have a long way to go but happy to chat about that.

LCHF stands for Low Carb High Fat (a.k.a. Keto) which is supposed to put your body in ketosis by switching your body from burning carbs for fuel to burning fat instead. Essentially you're eating like a diabetic, consuming only between 20-50 gr of carbs, moderate protein & lots of fat per day. Your carbs should come from leafy greens & berries. Your fat should come from foods like salmon, avocados & nuts. So I guess it's similar to what you've been following, consuming foods low on the glycemic index.

Hey ladies! I just found this group and I'm so happy to join!

To tell a bit about myself: I am 23 years old, and I found out that I had PCOS when I was 19 when I went to the doctor about some crazy weight gain and irregular periods. Over the course of 6 months I went from about 150 lbs to about 210 lbs, all while continuing my same active lifestyle (at the time I was playing soccer twice a week, rugby once, and refereeing soccer too)! So she offered me metformin...hate it and went off of it because it gives me stomach cramps...and put me on birth control. Since then I've been unable to make a single pound budge. I recently got back on the band wagon and have started to log my meals for the last 30 days straight. Most days being under my calorie goal, but still not a pound.

Is anyone else in the same boat? Any advice for me? I'm considering trying out the metformin again...has that been helpful for anyone?

Man, it's rough. I'm hoping maybe the healthy diet will balance out the hormones after a bit and I might see some results. It's difficult to stay motivated though!

1991lexi wrote: »

Hi Chrissy I had issues with metformin but have had great success with low GI.

Ya I've just started to try that. Good to know you've had success with it!!

Cellothere118 wrote: »

Hello ladies! I came back to using MFP earlier this week. I am also fighting the pcos war and I wanted to share a website I found while doing some research on natural products to help get this thing under control. I have ordered a few things and I am happy with how I am now feeling. I know results dont happen overnight, but I can say emotionally I have had a nice improvement. I know we have been told our diets play an important part of what we do and do not eat when it comes to pcos, and exercise is probably the most important factor. I got to the point where I was very depressed over the changes it is causing my body, and decided its time to take the bull by the horns. Here is the website, and I hope the information is helpful to the group. I know natural products are not always helpful to some people, but I figured its worth a share. http://www.womenlivingnaturally.com/

Thank you for sharing, truly! Because of your post, o did research on it and ordered a similar all natural product. Should come in the mail tomorrow! I know it says it can take anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months to take effect but I'm really hopeful this will do me some good. I will keep you all posted on my progress!

Hi Ladies,
Just introducing myself. I am back to MFP after falling off the wagon for quite some time. I have been struggling with PCOS for many years. I am currently doing fertility treatments but I also know that if I dont get myself healthy now there will be no chance for a baby..So here I go on my weightloss/New Healthy me journey. I am hoping to meet some of you lovely ladies and share stories, experiences and recipies!!