PCOS Support

Hi there! I have PCOS too! The main reason I'm tracking on MFP is to stay on a good diet/exercise regime in order to manage my PCOS and mental health. And to see how changes in diet and exercise affect my symptoms.

I know PCOS has different manifestations for everyone. The main symptom I deal with is heavy and painful periods. It also sucks because I can't take ibuprofen anymore because I'm on Lexapro, and Tylenol (which is the only NSAID I'm allowed to take) doesn't really work for me. So now when I get horrible cramps there isn't much I can do to deal with it. I have been using IcyHot patches which kind of work but they also give me a rash.

I sometimes also have irregular spotting, especially if I'm under a lot of stress. I also have problems with acne, especially a few years ago I had really bad painful cystic acne, but I've improved that by a lot. And I also have hirsutism which is really hard on self-esteem to deal with (luckily my partner isn't bothered by it). I think hormonal changes also affect my mental health symptoms to some extent although it's only one influence of many on that. I don't have problems with my weight or my cycle being particularly irregular though, and thankfully I don't have insulin resistance. I don't know if I'm infertile or not, but if I am, I actually see that as a positive since I don't want to have kids.

Here are some things I'm trying and their efficacy:
1) Vitamin D. I started taking this in 2020 during COVID. At that point I had been dealing with horrible cystic acne for almost a year and tried all kinds of different skincare and so on to fix it. But after I started taking vitamin D it cleared up a lot. I still deal with some acne and closed comedones but it's way better than it was in 2019/2020 and has never gotten that bad again. I also take fish oil every day. I'm not sure if that does anything for my PCOS but, it can't hurt, right?

2) Reducing white flour and processed sugar. This summer I actually got into a pretty good routine for several weeks of eating a lower-glycemic diet and cutting out a lot of white flour and processed sugar. My periods got noticeably lighter and less painful, and my skin also improved. However, I then had an unrelated health crisis that I'm still recovering from (panic attacks/dissociative episode), so that all went out the window. I also learned that I had unintentionally lost weight from the low-glycemic diet, probably because I was eating a lot of nuts, which I can't really digest well, and also vegetables. So then I had to gain some weight back. Now I'm trying this diet again with some modifications, like limiting nuts and eating a little extra to compensate for foods I can't digest well. (Also note: dairy doesn't seem to affect my PCOS symptoms so I have no problem eating dairy. It seems to be only white flour and processed sugar that has an effect.)

3) Inositol. I started taking this not for PCOS, but to manage my panic attacks and dissociation, which it actually does help with a little. However I also noticed this month that my period was lighter and less painful, and that was before I started implementing the dietary changes again. So it's possible that it might actually be helping with that too. I will update this thread on how that goes. I take 1300mg in the morning and 1300mg at night.

4) Exercise. My exercise has usually been walking but now I've started running and doing weights. I will keep this thread updated on whether that affects anything. In the past some of my PCOS symptoms actually started due to exercise. In high school when I was on the track team I stopped getting my period for six months due to overstressing my body and after it came back, it was a lot more heavy and painful and has always been like that ever since. However, I'm not planning on stressing my body to anywhere near the extent it was during high school. I'm curious to know if anyone else had a similar experience.

5) Skincare. I use an AHA about every other day and BHA when I have a breakout (although honestly I'm not sure the BHA really does much for my skin). I also have had a lot of trial and error finding a moisturizer that won't break me out. For a while I literally could not find anything. I've found that the Vanicream face moisturizer and the L'Oreal fragrance-free collagen moisturizer work well for me. The Neutrogena oil-free combination skin moisturizer also used to work but now I think it does break me out a little, although that could be because my bottle is old. For sunscreen I use the Eucerin Daily Protection SPF 30 or the Australian Gold SPF 50 and neither of those break me out. For cleanser I usually use the CeraVe hydrating cleanser.

Anyway I hope these suggestions help someone with ideas on what to try and I also would love to know about other peoples' treatment regimens for PCOS.