CharRicho Member

That's a good plan. Also try to avoid processed (read: white) carbs and sugar like the plague while you are taking met. They will make the side effects worse. Alcohol will also make the side effects worse, so if you drink, try not to at least while you get used to the metformin. If you get the stomach issues, try drinking…

Did my first one in June last year. SUPER fun and I highly recommend it! I thought it would be harder than it was, actually, although the hills were hard (so do some hill training). Other than that, just cardio and strength training. You can't really train for the specific challenges, but you can generally get yourself…

Are you on metformin? After you get the bloodwork done, if your insulin and/or glucose levels are abnormal, ask your doctor about going on metformin. I was completely unable to lose any weight after coming off the pill, until I started taking met. It also might help you cycle regularly, after you've been taking it for…

If you're not pregnant, and on the pill, I have no idea what you're worried about or why you stopped a medicine that is prescribed to help you. If you change your mind and decide to have kids later on, then you can stop taking it later. Even if a mistake happened (and like Dragonwolf said, the pill is EXTREMELY effective -…

How far along are you? Yes, spironolactone can cause issues in the fetus and is contraindicated in pregnancy, but doesn't stop you from being able to get pregnant. I'm very surprised that someone would prescribe that to you without ensuring that you were properly preventing pregnancy from occurring (many docs will insist…

Congratulations! If you feel like the calories calculated by MFP are not accurate, then I would suggest calculating your own TDEE (Google it, very simple to do) and going by that. You can ask your doctor when you see them about how many calories you should be eating above your TDEE (WebMD says you should eat ~300 calories…

I have the same issue and my doc tells me I'm just at one end of the normal scale. Apparently a resting heart rate of 100 bpm is the high end of the normal scale. Everything within that is still normal, just personal quirks. I try to stop worrying about it now because that tends to make my heart rate even faster! I think…

I did really well on Yasmin as far as PCOS symptoms went. I got down to almost no unwanted hair growth, I had no hair thinning at all, almost never got so much as a pimple, had regular cycles (I knew the hour I would get my period and the hour it would stop), and was able to lose weight pretty easily once I actually…

Ooh yah Buntzen lake is great... I love it there in the summer. Nothing like a quick swim mid-hike :)

You don't have to go on BC (I don't plan on it ever again) but you must treat your PCOS in some fashion, because not doing so can and probably will lead serious healthy issues, most notably diabetes, but also a couple of types of cancers. It is really no joke. Are you on metformin? It's certainly a better option that BC in…

Welcome to the group and good luck! :)

I'm also using Fertility Friend. I was told that the only SURE ways to know that you ovulated are to get the lab tests done post-O by your doctor, or if you see a sustained temperature raise on your BBT that lasts until your period (or keeps lasting in the case that you are pregnant!) For the other fertility signs, you…

I haven't done Joffre's yet but a friend of mine has a cabin near there and has done it many times, it's one of her faves in the area. It's definitely on my list. I've done lots of north shore stuff, and I like The Chief out in Squamish, but I'm in Langley, so I'd really like to try doing some in and around Manning Park…

Honestly you should really never ask a woman if she's pregnant unless she is actually giving birth in front of you! I don't know if these are random people, or people that you know, but if they are people that you know, for me, it became easier after I told people that I have a condition that makes it very difficult to get…

My naturopath told me it's REALLY important with breakfast to make sure you get enough protein. I always have two eggs, in some form, with my breakfast. Also like turkey sausages, and this oats/nuts/seeds mixture that I make up and eat with no-sugar yoghurt. Sometimes I have bacon as a treat. I usually manage to get around…

I haven't ever been able to lose any weight unless I was on the bc pill (and there was only one specific type that made that possible) or on metformin. Definitely ask your doc about metformin. It's pretty much first line treatment for PCOS. It's not a cure, and it won't make you "normal", but it should help you be able to…

Uh, she said her JOB is stressful, and said nothing about being depressed. She was looking for suggestions of ways to de-stress. Even if you don't acknowledge that stress is especially bad for women with PCOS, I think we can all agree that stress is bad in general. So someone (Anyone!) who is looking for a way to de-stress…

What is OMNI? The Google is revealing nothing for me.

Ask your doctor about changing BC pills. If you're gaining despite trying to lose, then you are probably not on the right one for you. I have never been able to lose weight at all unless I was on the BC pill, or on metformin even following a diabetic diet and exercising quite a bit. In the last year, I have managed to lose…

Spirinolactone helps some people. You can ask your doctor about prescribing that as long as you are not trying to conceive and you are actively preventing pregnancy. It takes a while to work so you have to give it some time. The only permanent hair removal for women with PCOS is electrolysis. It is not cheap, but it is…

Concentrate on eliminating ADDED sugar. That is much harder for the body to process. Two small apples a day should be ok, but don't eat them at the same time (still a lot of sugar at once, regardless of whether it's natural or added) and make sure you always have some protein/fat along with your sugar. I eat a spoonful of…

Definitely recommend yoga. Studies have also shown yoga and meditation to be beneficial for women with PCOS (probably because of the stress-reduction). I'm only going to yoga once a week at the moment, but that one night is the best sleep I get all week, so I really want to start going more. Also 2nd walking... especially…

Mine's 1.7. Been done multiple times. It's definitely perfectly fine. But yes, often doctors will go by the old specifications and miss an underactive thyroid.

2nd this. LOTS of women with PCOS have low Vitamin D, so if your doctor is willing to do it, get your levels tested. Mine was super low, and now I take 3000 iu per day. Also my iron was low, and that's one of the first things a doc will test if you are fatigued so get that done too. Personally my thyroid is in perfect…

My husband and I bought snowshoes for Christmas (our gifts to each other) but unfortunately there hasn't been enough snow to go yet! Hopefully this weekend since the mountains have gotten a lot of snow in the last 4/5 days.

I'm really sorry you're having a tough time of it. :( I definitely have really awful days too, where I just want to give up and I could spend hours crying. I gave myself a good long break over Christmas (didn't stop "trying" to have a baby in the fun way, but stopped logging food, check ovulation symptoms, tracking cycle…

My husband just went for his "testing" this morning. We were actually trying to get it done earlier but appointments are hard to come by, he can only do weekends because of work, and our holiday season was pretty crazy this year. We've only been TTC for 6 months, but our logic was that my treatments are NOT cheap, and…

Welcome to the group, and very sorry that you are struggling. You can try adding a chromium based supplement (I take something called Glucoplex) - this is supposed to work a bit like metformin so may allow you to get away with taking a lower dosage of met than you might otherwise need. That being said, 500 to 2000 is a big…

Welcome to the group and good luck! Lots of good info here, definitely recommend reading through some of the old threads that might be helpful!

So sorry for all you are having to deal with. It seems like you're being very admirably strong, taking it all on yourself. You have the support (for what it's worth) of all of this online community. Our thoughts are with you. One day at a time...