Success with PCOS

it seems like everyone has PCOS, I don't know if I have it, as I don't go to the doctor, but what do you mean by quickly enough? if you're losing or averaging 1 pound a week or 4 in a month, that's healthy and most likely fat, and the slower you lose, you're likely to keep it off long term. drink plenty water, eat when you're hungry, eat fruits/veggies. it's not hard, it's a matter or doing it, we're all a lot smarter and capable than we think we are.

The varied opinions are interesting. I've struggled with weight for years sometimes it seems no matter what I do nothing works. And was wondering how others with PCOS deal with it. Also I would be interested how others deal with some of the other symptoms like excess hair growth? I've tried lazer hair removal but the Dr said the PCOS makes it hard for it to be perment, also the heavier you are the worse the PCOS symptoms are which makes it easier to retain weight have more excess hair a real vicious circle.

Because PCOS is a syndrome, it affects everyone differently. The side effects one person has are completely different than another's. For most women, PCOS is caused by insulin resistance, the IR is not caused by being obese. This is very true for me. Once I hit puberty, even though diet and exercise didn't change, I started gaining weight inexplicably and had to starve to lose any weight. I am VERY insulin resistant. My only other PCOS symptoms are anovulation (once a year only from age 14 to about 35 when my body suddenly started working again), and polycystic ovaries. I also have autoimmune issues that are frequently tied to PCOS. I don't have what most would call 'excessive' hair growth, but I come from a family of women who are basically hairless. My grandma has never had to shave her legs, and my mom can do it maybe once every 3 months. I have to do it daily. I also have a light mustache and a couple chin whiskers that I pluck. My suspicion is that people who can lose weight without Met are less IR than I am. There are even women with PCOS that are NOT insulin resistant at all, but have many other symptoms. That's what makes it so hard to compare what works for PCOS. And I find it pretty condescending when people say 'oh, you don't need medication. Just do xyz.' implying that I didn't try or didn't try hard enough. My body just doesn't FUNCTION that way. Just because we both have PCOS doesn't mean our bodies work the same way with it.

I was diagnosed with it in 2001. My weight has fluctuated most of my life. I'm not on any medications for it currently. Although I've recently reset my ticker, I have lost 55lbs. I keep my carb intake around 100 net, and limit sugar. When I do use sugar, I use raw sugar, 'cause that substitute stuff isn't good for you either. Also keep processed foods to a minimum if possible. Definitely talk to your doctor, and figure out what works for you.

On more thing. According to MFP I eat too much sugar every day. It's quite annoying actually. I get all my sugar from fruit and sometimes a little bit of honey (and an organic piece of chocolate every now and then). Should I be worried? I am losing weight and I'm feeling great .... It would be very hard for me to stop eating fruits...

Okay I'm going to hijack this thread just a little bit since we're (mostly) all PCOSers here -

For many with PCOS, we don't have periods on our own. That's how mine was diagnosed- I was 16 and hadn't started yet so my parents took me to the doc and told them I was broken, fix me. They did the necessary tests and put me on birth control. So for me, period = birth control. They do not exist separately.

So I haven't been on birth control for the last 5 or so months and just had my annual checkup. as has happened in the past, the doc gave me a 5 day cycle of provera (progesterone) to jump start things, and while I've noticed the symptoms and all that usually come along with our dear friend TOM, he has not shown up. Mind you, I'm not asking for a diagnosis, I just talked to my doctor about it less than an hour ago, I'm just wondering if anyone has had something similar happen after losing a significant amount of weight.

I've always been heavy, and provera has always worked, every time I've used it for the 11 or 12 years since the diagnosis. I'm wondering if anyone has experienced shifts in hormone levels as your weight came off. Some people say if you lose weight your body can try and correct itself and your PCOS can lessen or disappear, so it's not THAT weird of a concept. Additionally, I've been super active compared to the previous years, which I know can also affect it.

So for now we're just putting me back on birth control because it could be other hormones that are out of whack right now. If it still doesn't happen in a month, I guess we investigate further.

OH to be a boy sometimes!

(And before anyone suggests it, yes, I'm taking a pregnancy test tonight JUST to be sure, but I'm 95% positive that IT will be negative- but doctor's orders!)

Okay I'm going to hijack this thread just a little bit since we're (mostly) all PCOSers here -

For many with PCOS, we don't have periods on our own. That's how mine was diagnosed- I was 16 and hadn't started yet so my parents took me to the doc and told them I was broken, fix me. They did the necessary tests and put me on birth control. So for me, period = birth control. They do not exist separately.

So I haven't been on birth control for the last 5 or so months and just had my annual checkup. as has happened in the past, the doc gave me a 5 day cycle of provera (progesterone) to jump start things, and while I've noticed the symptoms and all that usually come along with our dear friend TOM, he has not shown up. Mind you, I'm not asking for a diagnosis, I just talked to my doctor about it less than an hour ago, I'm just wondering if anyone has had something similar happen after losing a significant amount of weight.

I've always been heavy, and provera has always worked, every time I've used it for the 11 or 12 years since the diagnosis. I'm wondering if anyone has experienced shifts in hormone levels as your weight came off. Some people say if you lose weight your body can try and correct itself and your PCOS can lessen or disappear, so it's not THAT weird of a concept. Additionally, I've been super active compared to the previous years, which I know can also affect it.

So for now we're just putting me back on birth control because it could be other hormones that are out of whack right now. If it still doesn't happen in a month, I guess we investigate further.

OH to be a boy sometimes!

(And before anyone suggests it, yes, I'm taking a pregnancy test tonight JUST to be sure, but I'm 95% positive that IT will be negative- but doctor's orders!)

I was also put on progesterone to induce a period nearly 5 years ago. I had regular periods when I was young until I got put on birth control when I got married (age 18). That year I started having irregular periods so I went off of birth control. Fast forward several years and we were ready to try and have a family. I didn't have a period for over a year, went to the doctor and was diagnosed with PCOS. The doc put me on progesterone and it didn't work at first so she put me on something else, I can't remember what it was. Somehow in the middle of all of this I ended up pregnant which was concerning because the medicine can cause birth defects. My son is almost 4 now and he does have a medical condition that we have no family history of. I've always wondered if the medicine contributed to this but we'll never know. I got pregnant with my second son the first time we tried...I remember my doctor told me that it would likely be easier to get pregnant with subsequent pregnancies.

My heaviest non-pregnant weight was 173, in my adult life I have mostly been between 150-160, size 12. I am 160 now and I really need to be more like 135-140 b/c I am short. This thread has inspired me to try a low carb diet. Right now I eat a ton of carbs and drink a ton of Diet DP. I've been following Weight Watchers but I haven't really lost much on it. I struggle with wanting instant gratification and giving up when I don't see results. I'm going to try low carb this week and cut soda to see if I feel any better/loose any weight.