PCOS?

Do any of the ladies here have PCOS? It would be great to start a thread for support. I was recently diagnosed, and am finding weight loss to be difficult. I guess that's to be expected when your body is working against you!

Has anyone found that high protein or high carbohydrate or just balanced both works best for them?

My manager's daughter was recently diagnosed with PCOS and the doctor put her on a South Beach kind of diet (low carb) she has lost 8 pounds in about 3 weeks and she was never able to lose weight before.

I was diagnosed with PCOS back in April.  It's very hard to lose the weight, especially with all of the pills that they put me on...including a steroid of all things.  I've been through some serious health scares in that time, but the one thing that my doctor keeps saying is that diet and exercise will solve almost everything.  And so far, it's working.

Balance is the best for me, especially since my body wants to do some strange things with the foods that I eat.  Stay away from sugar and salt.  That's your worst enemy anyway.

My doc hasn't put me on any pills. I guess I don't have the symptoms that need pills. Well, I am on the BC Pill, but that's nothing new. I have a lot to lose! Don't really feel like doing this alone!

I have PCOS, but it's tied to my type 2 diabetes.  I don't know if there's any difference.  I will probably be on glucophage shortly.  So far, I haven't had any trouble losing weight, but I don't know what the glucophage will do to my diet.

I've been on glucophage since April for extreme insulin resistance.  Not diabetes, but pretty damn close.  It hasn't really effected my dieting at all, but it will give you a wicked case of heartburn if you take it.  Be prepared for that and keep lots of antacids handy!

I was finally diagnosed back in November with PCOS after never having a normal period since I was 13 years old. I'm now 21, and finally have an answer. I knew something was wrong when I gained 20 lbs in 3 months without doing anything differently at all.
I'm only on 500mg daily of GlucophageXR / Metformin. I've lost 16 lbs in 2 months with limiting my carbs (try to stay right around 120g per day or less) and going to the gym 4 times a week.
This month finally is the first month in my life that I have had a period within 35 days of eachother - and i'm elated!

I've had PCOS for years and infertility as a result.  There used to be no treatment for it and as a result I used IVF to conceive.  You can look on my profile for the whole story. 

However, 6.5 years ago I started treatment which included Glucophage and a low carb diet.  I lost 45 lbs in 3 months, the weight just fell off.  The kicker though is that the low carb diet is extremely difficult to stick to in the long run.  I gained all the weight back plus more because I didn't stay with the diet.  So now I'm back losing it all again, I'm down to 18 lbs above my low weight after that last diet, 60 lbs lost so far.  This time I am limiting carbs, but mostly by emphasizing vegetables, the low carb kind.  I eat 5 to 9 servings of veggies per day and smaller servings of protein and carbs.  I count calories too and consume 1800 per day.

I have PCOS and also had to do IVF/ICSI to conceive.  I used to take glucophage but recently moved and never got a new doctor yet.  So need to because i really need to be back on the glucophage, it was sooo helpful

I was recently diagnosed with non-hyperandrogenic PCOS, and I am on glucophage (metformin) and a bc pill to help me lose weight.

I just saw someone else's comment and had to note: DO NOT take antacids if your glucophage causes you stomach discomfort. If you do, you may as well not take it at all. I find that taking it in the middle of a meal no closer than 2 hours to bedtime prevents all that ickyness for me. On the rare occasion it causes me trouble, a swig of skim milk usually does the trick.

Most of the side effects of glucophage can be mitigated simply by eating balanced meals and taking it at the right time. Hope this is helpful to someone!

I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH PCOS A FEW YEARS AGOBUT I DIDN'T REALY KNOW ALL THE SIDE AFFECTS.ALL THEY DID WAS PUT ME ON BIRTH CONTROL.I'VE BEEN MARRIED FOR 9 YEARS AND REALLY WANT A BABY SO I STARTED SEEING A DOCTOR THAT I WORK WITH,I WORK IN A HOSPITOL WHERE I LIVE.HE HAS JUST RECENTLY PUT ME ON METFORMIN TWICE A DAY FOR 6 MONTHS AND THEN HE WILL INCREASE IT WITH SOME CLOMID IF I NEED IT.I HAVE A VERY HARD TIME LOOSING WEIGHT,MY FACE IS HAIRY,IT FEELS LIKE A MANS FACE,I WON'T LET MY HUSBAND TOUCH MY FACE AT ALL,I AM 100 LBS OVER WEIGHT,MY HAIR IS THINNING IN MY HEAD,AND I HAVEN'T HAD A PERIOD IN 14 MONTHS.I JUST STARTED TAKING THE METFORMIN SO MAYBE IT WILL HELP.I HAVE ALOT OF INDIGESTION AND I TAKE A LOT OF ANTACIDS.I'LL FIND OUT FROM  MY DOC AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT IT.

I was diagnosed a month or so ago- I've been put on birth control as a "cure" of some kind, but I've been having some adverse reactions to the type that they gave me, so I'll only be on it a month more or so to see if it gets any better. Hopefully it will, as both the symptoms of the disease and medicine are miserable.

For me, I was rather lucky they diagnosed me, as I'm not overweight and have always been very thin. Originally they thought I had that one disease whose name completely escapes me where you don't have enough body fat to have a menstrual cycle.

err...I know this is a very stupid question, but does this mean I can't have children? -______-;;;

I've got PCOS too, and am very hairy, sigh. It's probably tied to my thyroid problems ( thyroid cancer in 2001 ) .

I'm not on any meds for that currently.

I have PCOS.  I had to do fertility treatments to get my first son.  But by doing a combinations of diets (Protein Power, then Weight Watchers Core Plan) and exercise,  I was able to loose weight.   When I keep my weight down it decreases my excess hair problems and increases the hair on my head (Doctor says that different hormones regulate the two types of hair), makes my periods regular, and got rid of heartburn!  After losing 100 pounds I was able to conceive my second son without any fertility treatments.  Although when weight increases... I start getting all the symptoms back but then I get back on it and keep the weight down and the symptoms decrease again.

may i ask what made you all finally seek medical treatment? What were your most prominent symptoms of PCOS? Thank you for the information.

For me, not having a menstrual cycle was a huge clue. They did some blood tests and an ultrasound, as they weren't sure if I had some kind of tumor, but luckily I didn't. I also had excessive body hair, but I wasn't sure if that was genetic, as my 80 year old grandfather had a full head of hair before he died.

I was rather lucky, though- no acne, wasn't overweight, and most of the normal symptoms. My dad is a doctor, so that helped a bit.

I figured there's something wrong, and it was annoying to have all that excess hair. On top of that, I wasn't really developing fully physically- my mind far surpassed the maturity of my body.

Hi I am Blanca. I just been diagnosed with PCOS. Well it kinda makes me feel better that it was not 'all' my fault that I got this heavy. Whew! But of course I know it also has a lot to do with discipline. The doc advised me to eat very minimal carbohydrates and eliminate sugar. I can use splenda and only splenda. I am not sure how much I will lose with minimal carbohydrates. Also, I am on Yasmin (BC Pill) and the doc put me on Metformin. The problem I have with Metformin is that it makes me go to the bathroom. Is there a way to stop it? Or since I am just new to Metformin my body needs to get used to it before the side effect stops? Any info would be helpful. 

My symptoms for PCOS:

• irregular menstrual cycle - I would get my period like 3 times a year
• a bit hairy
• they checked my blood sugar (FBS test) - a bit on the high range
• they did an transV ultrasound - and saw i have some follicles on my ovaries
• and i am overweight - I was thin when I was a kid/teen but once I got my period I was getting fatter by the year. It was horrible.

I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 16. I've been on BC since then to regulate my periods, and about 2 years ago my doctor also put me on Metformin (I'm 25 now). I had no idea why he was putting me on Metformin. I asked if I was diabetic and he said "No, it's supposed to help with your PCOS, just take it". I have to say, I haven't really been taking them at all because I had no idea why I was taking them or that PCOS even had anything to do with weight gain/loss. I've also known I have hypothyroidism since I was 12, so I figured that's why I was so heavy (I'm on the same dose for that as my friend who has no thyroid at all!)

I'm supposed to take metformin 3 times a day. When my doctor first put me on metformin I was taking them properly, but they made me go to the bathroom a lot as well, so I stopped taking them. Since I've started again, I started taking 1 a day for a month, and now I'm up to 2 a day. I'm going to give my body some time getting used to it again, and then I'll get back up to 3 a day.

I'm not sure I can give up carbs though. They are my weakness. I eat a bagel every morning. I just can't give them up or I crave them so I'm letting myself have that one thing.

I'm really glad I stumbled upon this forum (I came to look for a hypothyroidism forum). I really had no idea PCOS was connected to all of this!

I was, at one time, diagnosed with PCOS, but upon further inspection and blood tests the doctors found that I had a pituitary tumor.

Please if you are having any unusual symptoms along with the usual pcos symptoms (such as non-pregnancy lactation, odd headaches, vision changes, dizzy spells, etc) run those by your doctor, too.

 

I might have PCOS.  I don't know for sure and need to schedule another appt with the gyno.  I do have ovarian cysts for sure but the pain that I was association with PCOS I think was my gallbladder (I don't have it anymore).  I haven't had any pain and my period has been regular every month since I had my gb removed.

I think I might have been misdiagnosed and now it has screwed chances of changing insurance without a prexisting condition.  I have lost about 17 lbs since Christmas (losing quickly because I'm heavier) and am getting stable at 1.5-2 lbs a week now.

 Diet and exercise.  I think PCOS sometimes is tossed out too quickly (as with me) because there is no actual test for it.  It is just the elimation of other problems.  IDK.  I was also on Metformin.  I was to darn paranoid to take it because I enjoy the occasional beer or tweo and you can't drink AT ALL on it. 

I was recently diagnosed with PCOS, I'm 37 and yes, I have had the hardest time losing weight, I thought it was due to me being older. I think it's a combination or PCOS, age and of course not eating the way I should be. I just started Curves and the last two weeks, faithfully going 5-6 days a week. I have lost 5 pounds. Thank God. What I have done is intake 1400-1600 calories daily and workout 4 days @ 30 minutes and 2 days 45-1 hr.