I am depressed as I am 21 and think I might have PCOS. Does anyone else suffer from PCOs too?

I am curious about whether

1. Having PCOs means I cant have children (I have fairly regular periods (altho they are short. about 3 days long) but I suffer from hirutism, excessive hair loss etc)

2. Will losing weight help! Thats part of the reason why I am here.

3. It is depressing to deal with constantly waxing, epilating etc and also to see my hair falling. How do other women who have PCOs cope with this?

Thanks :)

ooops I posted twice

How do I get rid of the second post?

I deleted it for you.

Don't panic, you're not alone.  It's a fairly common condition, it can be treated and this link to the NHS website has lots of good information and advice on the condition itself.  http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article. aspx?articleId=290

PCOS doesn't preclude you from having children at all.  It can interfere with ovulation and make becoming pregnant more difficult but certainly not impossible.  If you're overweight, losing weight can make a dramatic difference to the symptoms so well done for doing that.  And simple changes to diet are now believed to help a lot.  There's an excellent book that I highly recommend by Jennie Brand-Miller :The Low GI Guide to Managing PCOS. 

I'm not a sufferer, fortunately, so can't help you with the other problems.  But don't despair, find out as much as you can and get as much help as you can from the medical profession.  Best of luck

Original Post by rabiaak:

 

I am curious about whether

1. Having PCOs means I cant have children (I have fairly regular periods (altho they are short. about 3 days long) but I suffer from hirutism, excessive hair loss etc)

2. Will losing weight help! Thats part of the reason why I am here.

3. It is depressing to deal with constantly waxing, epilating etc and also to see my hair falling. How do other women who have PCOs cope with this?

Thanks :)

I have PCOS, ask your doctor about medication to help control your symptoms. Alot of women with PCOS can have children unless told otherwise by their doctor (they will run further tests). Also, if you keep waxing, the hair will eventually not grow back over time because it is weak. Losing weight and eating a low GI diet also helps control the symptoms. I had hair on the side of my face, like on my cheeks, which after waxing, never came back! But others are more stubborn. :P  Don't worry, you're not alone! PCOS is unforunately, common.

I have PCOS, as do 2 of my friends.  We each have at least 1 child.  My doctor prescribed Metaformin to me to help with PCOS. 

Keeping the symtoms under control does take a toll, but losing weight makes a big difference.  I just can't seem to keep the weight off though.

hi rabiaak,

the first thing you need to do is go to your doctor or to a specialist endocrinologist (they deal with hormone disorders). To diagnose whether you have pcos they will usually do 3 things. 1) physical exam 2) blood tests 3)ultrasound of your ovaries.

If it turns out you do have pcos there are loads of drugs available to help with the hirsutism and hair loss. I have found spironolactone absolutely GREAT in helping with excess hair. Before i had it on my face, chest, tummy, back upper legs and even my big toes! Now my facial hair is downy white. I still have a little sprinkling of hair around tummy button (but now its a normal amount), and the rest of the hair has disappeared.

I've also tried cyproterone acetate but i personally had quite bad side effects with it.

Your doctor might also want to put you on a special BC pill for women with pcos. It contains a small amount of anti-androgens (the things that counteract the excess testosterone in your blood). I'm on a combo of BC pill and spironolactone and i highly hightly recommend it! :)

*edit* There's also a prescription cream available to treat hirsutism called vaniqa.  I havent tried it but i've heard it is quite good.

Hi

I have PCOS since i have 15 and I been in treatment now I have a little girl she has 3 years, also the treatment is basically if you don't want to have childs the anticonceptive pills and if you want to have child any kind of fertility pill I just to take Clomid. I know it's hard to lose weight went you have this condition and all the side effects (hair in the face, acne,irregular periods, the overweight specially in the abdomen area) but ask your doctor for the best treatment for you!

don't be sad!!!! your not alone!!!

Im also 21 and currently under going tests for PCOS. Im pretty sure that I do have it. My symptons have certainly weakened after losing my first 3 stones. (The acne on my legs is gone but still pops up now and then on my face,) However I am still getting horrid hair growth which is making me more depressed than ever.

Is that true that waxing eventually stops it from growing back? The reason I ask is that the cream I have been using seems to be making it grow thicker and faster.

Also does anyone else suffer the horrendous moodswings that I am getting ? Im going from optimistic and bubbly to depressed, suicidal and then angry within milliseconds for no apparent reason.

And before any1 mentions it, I am definately not pregnant.

Original Post by teribaby:

Also does anyone else suffer the horrendous moodswings that I am getting ? Im going from optimistic and bubbly to depressed, suicidal and then angry within milliseconds for no apparent reason.

 PCOS is fundamentally a hormone imbalance and that affects moods.  PCOS sufferers often experience insulin-resistance and that can also affect mood.  (Without wishing to alarm you, violent moodswings are also a symptom of Type II Diabetes)  One of the reasons for recommending the 'Low GI Guide to Managing PCOS' book is that an effective way to iron out mood swings is to keep blood-sugars and therefore insulin levels more stable with food choices.

Original Post by gi-jane:

 (Without wishing to alarm you, violent moodswings are also a symptom of Type II Diabetes)  One of the reasons for recommending the 'Low GI Guide to Managing PCOS' book is that an effective way to iron out mood swings is to keep blood-sugars and therefore insulin levels more stable with food choices.

 Many Thanks for the advice, and dont worry I wasn't alarmed the doctor has already told me that and i'm clear on that one x

Hello,

I too have been diagnosed with PCOS and I use to be depressed a lot. I am glad I ran into this post because I was looking for some support with weight loss while having this condition.  I am thankful I am not a diabetic but I now eat like one. I have more cycles and I feel better!!

I want to at least to have one child of my own. I know it's not going to happen over night but I am optimistic. Try to surround yourself with a lot of support and you can endure. The weight is the hard thing and like a nother person said on the thread, the hair growth is crazy, lol. I think the embarrassing part is when my boyfriend says." I can see your beard"! It's awful but it has slowed down than 2 years ago. I am now 28 and want to atleast have a child before 30.

Are there is buddies on here that want to keep in touch while we take on this journey together??

My sister suffers from PCOS as well. It is very hard on her, but there is medicine that can help! She has been on medication (I forget the name but its also for diabetes) for the past couple weeks and I've noticed she's had much more energy. And it does not necessarily mean that you can't have children!

For the unwanted hair problem, she had the hair on her upper lip bleached and you can barely tell its there now. Currently she has gained a bit of weight as she has been too tired to participate in sports, but when she was on swim team she was not overweight at all (I know that PCOS makes it hard to lose weight).

Definately talk to a doctor. I wish you the best and hope you are feeling better soon.

I am scared of the bleaching. I wonder if your African American can you also do that? hmmm. I tweeze about 3 times a week!!

Hello. Just to ad my $0.02 =) I had PCOS and between losing some weight and getting some medicine (metformin)...I was officialy declared "PCOS free" last December.

I have heard that it could be difficult to have kids in the future with PCOS but not impossible...

Losing weight helps because it kind of fixes your sugar and insulin levels, which affect hormones, which affect all the rest. I guess getting help from a doctor could make you feel a little bit more optimistic about the whole thing =)

good luck!

M.

Original Post by funsunkiss:

I am scared of the bleaching. I wonder if your African American can you also do that? hmmm. I tweeze about 3 times a week!!

I tweeze, cream and wax almost every other day, hehe. I've got some hair that just WILL NOT go and some that never came back. I pluck not only my eyebrows, but when I'm done with them (usually have cream on my upper lip during the pluck-a-thon) I pluck my chin, lol. I wax my toes and some hair that come from where my 'sideburns' should end. I used to get hair on my CHEEKS, but when I waxed those a few times they never came back! *knocks on wood* It's been like 5 years, I don't think they'll be coming back, hehe. But some still keep coming, I only have to worry about them every 4-6 weeks though, usually every 4 weeks, they're persistant little buggers. But since I've started waxing all the places with extra hair (my upper lip can't handle the pain, lol) they come back with less hair. I used to get alot on my toes/side of face and now I get thin pathetic-looking stray hairs. So... I guess I'm winning the battle with them, they're just stubborn!

If I come off of medication, more hair will come. =/ I came off birth control before I got the depo-shot and I grew all these chin hairs that I didn't have before. I am afraid I will be stuck on medication forever.

I don't know anything about bleaching though, sorry. I just remove the hair regularly, no one can tell I'm a hairy mess, lol.

Cptbunny, that is funny is so many ways. I thought I walked around with tweezers and wax all the time.

What is bizarre, my Obgyn has not put me on any medication at this time. However, when I began to exercise and eat healthier I started my cycle on my own and without the help of medication. If my hormones weren't that of a man I wouldn't be a hair ball. haha. Does everyone on here that has PCOS taking meds? I am just on Birthcontrol for the moment. I am also not a diabetic. Is that what the metformin is for?

Hi my name is Johnna and we are around the same age im 27 and I would love to have children by the time im 30 also I suffer from PCOS and its devastating but my hair growth is worse then anyone I have seen posted I have to shave mine everyday and waxing doesnt do anything for me.

In sept of 2007 I started my period like normal and it kept going and going but sometimes It would stop or slow down like it was going to stop and so I pushed it off till about march of 2008 and I went to the Dr and she gave me Provera to make it stop completly well my body had a reverse reaction to it in which it landed me in the hospital in april I had 4 pints of blood given to me and then in may another 3 pints on memorial day I stopped all together and now its april of 2009 and I have not had a period but I do have an appointment for a OB in may

so what I guess im trying to say is that I will be your buddy throughout this journey of life

Johnna

Hi.I also have PCOS.I am thinking of staring metformin.I cant use BCP as i have history of migrain.My main concern is hair loss and hirsutism.Now online i hear that metformin causes hair loss.Is it true.Did anyone notices improvement in hirsutism after metformin?

Hi. I started on Metformin last month in an attempt to get pregnant. I haven't noticed any hair loss yet. I also haven't lost any weight  I eat healthy and I exercise an hour a day, but I still can't lose anything. As for the hair in strange places, I've noticed I have to either shave or use an epilator every day or every other day. With the epilator, it says it removes hair for 4-6 weeks, haha.

I was hoping the Metformin would help with the acne as well. It's like I'm going through puberty again (but it wasn't this bad!).

It took a few years before I was diagnosed by a CNM. Other doctors told me I was just fat and depressed, and I just needed to lose weight. One dr even called me a fat pig! Yeah, that really helped  Hopefully, I'll start to lose weight and can get off the meds!

Does anyone have a success story about getting pregnant on Metformin? My insurance won't pay for Clomid, so I'm relegated to just the Metformin. Thanks!