Diagnosed/Living With PCOS? READ ME!

Miss_1999 wrote: »

HereLieWe wrote: »

I think I might have PCOS. When I had an ultrasound a few years ago, the person doing it commented on how my ovaries appeared to have cysts in them. However, we didn't really follow up on it and now I'm afraid to go to an OB/GYN. If I just eat healthy and exercise, do you think I'll be fine?

Ok, you're going to get Christy's lecture. I saw on your profile you're 19. You need to be making yearly visits to your OB/GYN for well-woman exams- to have your cervical cancer screening as well as breast cancer screening (women under the age of 40 unless at risk usually have a manual exam given by their doctor checking for lumps.) This is SO very important. I cannot stress enough how important it is to go to have your yearly exam. These save lives!

Now, with this said, as far as simply eating healthy and exercising, unfortunately, I honestly cannot say? Both are VERY good things to do to help keep your body in general in good health, but as far as you having and/or treating PCOS, you would most definitely need to speak with an OB/GYN or endocrinologist for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. What I have listed on the initial post are some of the most common treatments that are available for those of us who are suffering with PCOS, and proper diet and exercise is certainly one of the treatments- however, it would be up to your doctor to determine if this is the right treatment for you.

Don't be afraid to go back! I know getting a diagnosis of PCOS can be confusing and scary, but there are a lot of us, and so much more information now about the disorder as well as the various treatments. You definitely aren't alone! Please keep us posted!

Okay, thanks. I guess I have no choice. It's pretty intimidating, but I'd rather be uncomfortable for 30 minutes than end up with cancer and all that entails because I didn't catch it in time.

(: I'll fill you in on how it goes.

Is there anyone who is trying to manage pcos without medicine?

Bump!

Have any other ladies with PCOS found it difficult to continue losing weight after a certain point? I can't get past 20 pounds. I've tried a few things such as low-carb and HIIT to change things up but nothing seems to work.

Looks like this sticky hasn't been bumped in a while. Don't mind me.

This is the most helpful thing I have found since my diagnosis. I want to add it to this thread for others, I bought it on a whim at a used book store and have highlighted and underlined and flagged pages to the point where it is absolutely tattered but I always end up going back to it.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/885114.A_Patient_s_Guide_to_PCOS

I did a search for pcos and this thread came up. I figured I'd add my story in case anyone wants to add me.

I have always been heavier. I didn't get my first period until I was well past 15 and it was and has been extremely irregular my entire life. At 15, I believe I weighted around 190 lbs at 5'6". It was only through pretty extreme calorie cutting that I got down to 173, which is not east anyway, in Wisconsin, the land of cheese. I was anxious, becoming interested in people romantically and I began using caffeine pills and eating less than 700 calories per day. I was active. I walked a lot, rode bike, did things with my friends. But I couldn't ever get below 173 and I really really disliked (I would say hate but I try not think like that anymore) my body.

Fast forward to a few years ago. My weight continued going up and down a bit. I hovered at 205 for awhile. Then 215 and I was having bleeding problems. I bled for nearly two months straight at one time. I think this was around November 2013 or so. I went to my PCP and she figured I should go on bc to help the bleeding. I went to her APNP because the bc was not doing anything and I was unable to get back in with my PCP right away. I continued to bleed. Which was odd, because sometimes I would go months without it. Finally they suggested I go see an OB/GYN. I picked the first one that could see me that was female. She did an ultrasound which cost a ton of money and she told me I had a "fibroid or polyp". She recommended surgery to remove it if the bleeding was bothering me. But then, it stopped. She said that if it came back then we could do surgery and have it removed via hysteroscopy.

I then moved away to Louisiana. My new job, while working in a hospital, left little time for much of anything. I never established a doctor while living in Louisiana. But I didn't seem to have any bleeding issues. I probably had my period even less, actually. Finally, my S.O. and I decided it was time to move back home in 2016. I got a job with the old hospital system I had worked for previously, finished up my Master's degree and noticed two things. First, me weight had crept up to 240...secondly, I really began to wonder, why, after being with the same partner for the last 8 years, and being on no bc most of the time (other than those few months with the bleeding in 2013) we had never had a pregnancy scare. So I made an appt with my ob/gyn, figuring the polyp/fibroid was in the way. My ob/gyn agreed. I had the surgery. And about a week later I went in for my post surgical follow up. My ob/gyn told me that what she removed was "pre-cancerous" and that I need to go on a bc to ensure my endometrial lining doesn't grow back and become cancerous. She said I had two choices. Go on bc for at least 6 months AND that this could be indefinite, or have a hysterectomy. She also informed me that she normally diagnoses this in clinic settings through biopsy, and doesn't usually diagnose it during a surgical procedure.

Needless to say, I was pretty angry. So I got a second opinion. My new doctor told me that my previous OB/GYN should have diagnosed me with PCOS three years ago when she did the ultrasound. He also said that the meds she wanted to put me on certainly did not need to be at such a high dosage. He put me on metformin. It was rough getting used to it, and sometimes I don't eat enough with my pills and that has some pretty nasty consequences, but nothing unliveable. I'm down 10 lbs since starting it a few months ago. No exercise beyond my busy job in an ER and I eat less, because I just am not as hungry anymore. I am not being very careful about what I eat. Sometimes I just eat what I think is going to be easiest on my stomach. So plain carby things are a go to. I still have a cheese problem, after all, I am back home in Wisconsin. But I feel much more in control now. And I finally feel like I have a reason for why I've had such a hard time, even when giving it my all for weightloss.

I do plan to do better with my food in the next few months by doing the Superfood Swap Diet by Dawn Blattner Jackson. I kind of already do it, but I'm going to do meal planning and start walking my mutts again and going to the gym to swim. I really think things will move this time if I put my mind to it.

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2001. I was never able to get pregnant and have had difficulty losing and keeping weight off ALL my life.
I did weight watchers so many times. I started meetings as early as 10 years old. Yep. 10. I've also done slim fast, Atkins, South Beach, hCG, hydroxy cut, various other diet supplements, the cabbage soup diet, and hired a personal trainer.
I bought the PCOS info book from the Mayo Clinic. It is a crappy diagnosis and no cure. All I got from that book is they tell me what my body isn't doing and how to watch my diet. The thing that makes this hard is that I feel like doctors aren't researching a cure. They just tell me "lose weight". Do you think I want to be fat? Do you think I haven't tried to diet or eat better? It's discouraging.

I finally understood why I had plateaus with weight loss even though I was doing ALL the work.

Yes facial hair is a constant battle, and I've even done 18 months of laser hair removal. It's still there.

Periods when I was an adolescent were the WORST. And it bothered me that all the other girls knew when theirs was coming. Mine was just spring up on me and stay for two weeks.

I was always tired. I think Fatigue is a given for any medical condition. Your body is not running at it's optimal speed. Of course you get tired easier.

This is what I've learned. Your diagnosis is a label. It isn't who YOU are. It isn't the gifts you possess or the personality you have. Embrace that PCOS is a part of your life, but it should never control what you want to do or who you want to become.

It's good to know why I struggle and have challenges, but I do not allow it to control what I want to accomplish in my life. Just because I wasn't able to get pregnant did not stop me from becoming a mother. I adopted 3 kids.
The key is to be patient and love yourself. No matter what.

Hi Ladies! Came across this thread im new to trying to figure out how to add people. I have Pcos and doing Low Carb to try help it. Ive done low Carb before and lost a lot of weight and periods regulated felt better. Long story short i hurt my back fell out of plan so back at it again now! Would love to add some people that are along the same lines as myself so if you would be interested in being support buddies or whatever please add

I also have PCOS. Glad I came across this post at the start of my journey as it has some helpful information