PCOS

Wow, it's been forever since I've posted on these forums. So, here's a little back-story: I'm 19 years old, and I started getting my period the day after my thirteenth birthday. It was always irregular, but everyone told me that was normal at first and it would even out eventually. That hasn't happened; I still only get my period every two or three months. (My BMI is 25.2, so that's not the problem.) I went on birth control for a while, but that just made me not have my period for four months, and then have a really heavy period that lasted an ENTIRE MONTH. (I stopped after that.) I went to see a gynecologist for the first time about a half a year ago, and she told me that it could be Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, but it didn't matter because it's almost impossible to diagnose and there's basically nothing you can do to treat it.

I'm still concerned about the issue though. I mean, it can't be healthy to be having less than 6 periods a year. And PCOS must be possible to diagnose, since so many people are diagnosed with it, and there must be something I need to be doing IF I have it, right? Should I see another doctor? Or was my first doctor's advice correct? Anyone out there who HAS been diagnosed with PCOS? I would appreciate any and all help. 

Unfortunatley, your doctor is "kind of" right. I am diagnosed with PCOS, but the diagnosis is always up in the air I guess. Typically people present with 3 common signs: 1) oligomenorrhea (rare and weird periods--I used to get mine only 3x a year and sometimes for like 28 days) 2) hirsutism (hair growth in abnormal places, like thicker coarser hair on arms and legs, chin/lip/facial hair etc) and 3)overweightness/insulin resistance (a diabtes-2 like condition).  All of these 3 issues are due to hormonal abnormalities.  I had only the characteristic of oligomenorrhea, so they did an ultrasound and actually saw cysts.  However, many many people are not as "lucky" on ultrasound and many times, nothin is seen. 

That being said, the treatment is really symptomatic.  I was put on yasmin (a birth control pill) to regulate my hormones (LH level--the disease is actually supposed to be caused specifically by high LH levels in particular).  It helped SO much and I am still on it today (8 years later). You can also get medication like glucophage if they find that you have insulin abnormalities. 

I hope this helps!!! But don't worry, it is not life threatening, and definitley deal-able with!!!

My friend has PCOS and endometriosis, she hasn;t had a period for 2 years.

I'm sorry I can't be of any help but just wanted to say - keep pushing your drs etc, it took 6 years for them to diagnose my friend and another 4 years on from then they still haven't found anything that works for her.

I was diagnosed with PCOS so long ago that it I had to go into the city to find a dr that had any experience with it.  Back then truly they didn't know of any treatments.  Today there are a lot, go to an endocrinologist to get your hormones checked out.  There are many different bc pills and glucophage and other treatments depending on your hormone levels.  Another thing its sounds like you were on too strong of a bc pill.  The same thing happened to me and my dr switched me to a low hormones bc pill and I haven't had any problems since.

Another thing you might want to consider is cushings disease, now I don't know much about it but a friend of mine was told by her obgyn she might have PCOS and when she went to the endocrinologist she was diagnosed with cushings.  Apparently they have a few symptoms in common.

Just don't assume nothing can be done without getting a second opinion....your obgyn might have been wrong.

Hey Hannah,

Diagnosis is usually made by ultrasound, a good GYN would be able to dx mostly by symptoms: Hair, weight gain, irregular periods, cysts on ovaries, hair loss (male pattern baldness), etc. I myself have been dx'd with it I was told to lose 10% of my body weight and the symptoms would lessen. Carbohydrates play a huge role in the break down of insulin and insulin resistance is part of PCOS. Also infertility, I have a had healthy baby with no problems conceiving lol. I believe that diet and excerise lessen the effects of the symptoms, Also there are drugs out there for the symptoms. There is the anti adrogen drug Spirolactone, which helps with the hair growth and to regulate the hormones, MORE ESTROGEN, Less testosterone (We have that problems with PCOS), Also there is Metformin trade name Glucophage, to regulate the insulin which also stimulates the production of healthy eggs not the cysts we get. Lastly, there is birth control, no ovulation means no ovarian cysts. I have been enamored by PCOS so I have did a lot of research. It can be hereditary also, Look around.

Mommafab - I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 13, and now, 10 years later, I was told the same thing, to lose 10% of body weight. Have you had any luck with that so far? I have been really struggling! I work out pretty consistently, and have been calorie counting for months now. I'm just looking for a little motivation/advice? I'm 5'4", 140lbs. Losing weight is such a struggle for me, and its very frustrating!

Original Post by hrosent1:

Wow, it's been forever since I've posted on these forums. So, here's a little back-story: I'm 19 years old, and I started getting my period the day after my thirteenth birthday. It was always irregular, but everyone told me that was normal at first and it would even out eventually. That hasn't happened; I still only get my period every two or three months. (My BMI is 25.2, so that's not the problem.) I went on birth control for a while, but that just made me not have my period for four months, and then have a really heavy period that lasted an ENTIRE MONTH. (I stopped after that.) I went to see a gynecologist for the first time about a half a year ago, and she told me that it could be Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, but it didn't matter because it's almost impossible to diagnose and there's basically nothing you can do to treat it.

I'm still concerned about the issue though. I mean, it can't be healthy to be having less than 6 periods a year. And PCOS must be possible to diagnose, since so many people are diagnosed with it, and there must be something I need to be doing IF I have it, right? Should I see another doctor? Or was my first doctor's advice correct? Anyone out there who HAS been diagnosed with PCOS? I would appreciate any and all help.

I disagree with your doctor that it is almost impossible to diagnose.  There are about 2 or 3 symptoms which are giveaways, and even though its polycystic ovary syndrome you dont even NEED cysts on your ovaries to be diagnosed with the condition.  If you can go to an endocrinologist i would recommend it as they are specialists in this area.

If you are worried about not having your period regularly you could try the pill again but you need to find one that is right for your body.  There are specialist pills for PCOS but this usually in conjunction with hirsutism symptoms (the pill contains a small amount of an anti-testosterone drug). You might not need the pill, and it can be a long process to find one that your body will tolerate as you will react slightly differently to each and every type of BC pill. If you are happy not having your period regularly then you dont need to worry about the BC pill but make sure you use other types of pregnancy/std protection. 

The only downside if you are not having your period regularly is that it can mean you have a slightly raised risk of having certain types of uterus cancer (i think because the uterus lining is not shedding regularly), and you also need to bear in mind that if you are not having regular periods it is very likely you are not ovulating regularly and may need fertility help if you try to become pregnant.  These are both *maybes* though, not set in concrete.

If you have other symptoms such as excess hair there are other drugs you can try such as spironolactone or cyproterone acetate (pills) or vaniqa (a cream). 

There's no real *one solution fits all* for PCOS.  I wont go into all the symptoms (i'm sure you've done some research), but if you want to lose weight a low GI approach works well for those with PCOS because women with PCOS are more prone to having problems with insulin responses (hence why they are more likely to be overweight). 

If you want to read more there are SO many books out there on PCOS.  Check out your local library or Amazon. 

If you have any more questions feel free to ask, or message me :)

I'm 22 and was diagnosed four years ago. My irregular periods refused to settle down, so my doctor did a few blood tests to check my hormone levels. they actually came back with regular results, but my doctor still wasn't happy so she booked me in for an ultrasound. The cysts on my ovaries were blatantly obvious. Apparently my testoserone levels are oddly normal considering I have PCOS - that's why the blood tests were normal and why I don't have massive weight problems or excess hair.

In any case, if you're seriously concerned I would ask for blood tests and/or an ultrasound. If your doctor won't listen, find another doctor - your health isn't something you should have to worry about unnecessarily.

Mkasparian,

I have just recently began trying again. I usually cannot tolerate b/c because of the naseau, and the metformin is murder on my GI tract. I was like 190 5'8'' like my heaviest ever. Usually I range from 150-170. I like to be130-140 which is a stuggle since high school, anyways. The most and quickest success I have ever had was the Adkins and the theory behind it makes perfect since considering we are insulin resistant and when eating no carbs the body doesn't store it as fat as it normally would. Try that. Just watch the refined sugars and carbs. I am not skinny by any means and I have to rip my guts out to get there, but hope it helps you lol