PCOS, Insulin Resistance and Hypothyroidism

Does anyone else have these problems? Especially the Insulin Resistance. I have so much trouble losing weight. Just would like to hear if anybody has a suggestion or have overcome this. Thanks.

I have PCOS and hypothyroidism and I've gained over 100lbs in 3 years.  What a nightmare!!!  I was given thyroid medication(synthroid) and I find that does take the edge off of my hunger.  According to my doc.  PCOS is like a sideeffect of being severely overweight and often weightloss clears up most if not all symptoms of PCOS.  It's just a catch 22 though because having PCOS does make it harder to lose weight.

Yeah, I'm on synthroid too as well as glucophage or metformin for my pcos/insulin resistance.  You're right, it's like a catch 22 and it totally sucks.   I too gained over 100 lbs in just a couple of years.  My highest weight was 322 but now I'm 317.  Only a few pounds gone but it's better than nothing.  I always said I would never get over 250 let alone be in the 300's.

It has helped me to be very careful with carbs--not Atkins or any of those diets, but:

• I don't eat carbs "all by themselves" even as a snack--I just get too hungry
• I eat protein and/or a little fat with carbs. So good combinations are:
  • Oatmeal and plain yogurt
  • Lean meat with salad-type veggies and/or fresh fruit
• For fast snacks where I can only grab one thing, I might have
  • Plain yogurt
  • Cottage cheese
  • String cheese
  • Nuts
• When I have carbs as part of a meal,
  • I have small portions of things like bread, potatoes, rice, or pasta (e.g., 1/2 cup of rice or pasta)
  • I have non-fruit desserts rarely, and then only with a meal that has had a serving of protein
• I eat small meals about every 3-4 hours.
• I drink water, tea, and Diet Coke.
• I work out almost every day (30 min of resistance training (different muscle groups each day for 3 days so I don't work the same group more than once in 3 days) and 45 minutes of cardio). I eat a small meal about 1/2 hour before and another small meal about 1/2 hour after.
• If I binge (or just eat straight carbs and get that "starving" feeling), I know I will feel better if I eat something with protein, and I generally do that.
• It's still slow--I have lost 45 lbs in 15 months (227 down to 181 or so) and seem to be on a plateau right now.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

these are a couple of sites that have useful information and might be helpful on different stratergies. (Also why lose one problem just to gain another?)  http://www.gicare.com/index.htm 

http://www.mendosa.com/index.html

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/Da vid_Spero

somethimes someonelses coping  give insight to ones own problems.

I found a book on Amazon with a lot of good reviews - The Insulin-Resistance Diet : How to Turn Off Your Body's Fat-Making Machine. Has anyone here read it? It looks like smart strategies rather than a diet, per se.

I'm thinking about getting it for my parents, because my stepdad is insulin resistant and until I started researching the condition, I just couldn't understand why he was having such a hard time losing weight. Now I realize that he actually is very hungry and exhausted a lot of the time, not just mindlessly eating or being lazy. I'm hoping that this book might help. I'm also going to check out the links posted above. Now that I know more about IR, I feel bad that I just kept telling him all he has to do is eat less. I guess it isn't always that simple.

When I first started with this I ate like crazy.  I just couldn't get full.  The doctor even decided to make me have a light ran down my throat and one up, if you catch my drift.  I stay tired alot too. 

i think the chronic exhaustion is the worst part.  no matter how much sleep i get, i feel like i have been running the whole day, my brain and my body feel like mush.  its depressing.

Yeah, I'm the same way.  I'm so tired all of the time and my husband thinks I'm crazy.  Currently I'm not working (I hope to find something just for a little while so I can afford Christmas) and my husband thinks that I shouldn't be tired because I don't do anything.  I also have fibromyalgia so I stay in a lot of pain too. 

I've had PCOS, Insulin Resistance and Hypothyroidism for years now and I've gotten used to it some but the weight gain is to me the worst of it.  Although insulin resistance can cause other health problems in the future.  I've heard that you are at risk for a heart attack, stroke, and diabetes to name the worst.  But losing as much weight as you can, can prevent them as well as keep the insulin resistance under control.  As far as the PCOS is concerned, I don't have the cysts but I have everything else so they still classify me as having PCOS.

Thanks to everyone who is posting here.  It's giving me some motivation and insight on my problems.

inherited Hypothyriod here, and im recommened to be on 1600 to 1700 calories to lose weight.

BUT

im Losing on 1300 (av a month 1400) after a huge long plateou of over 8 months!! lol exercise has even come down in intensty, but im still losing! I also have S.A.D so depression makes it hard to stay on low calories, but stick with it and it will work!

I went to a weightloss clinic here and the doctor was the one who found a growth on my Thyroid.  That's when my journey began.  I had extreme fatigue and couldn't lose weight, plus was having these weird chest flutters. 

Long story short, after visiting a Cardio doc and testing with him, have both scopes run (down the basement and up the attic LOL), having my Thyroid cyst aspirated and biopsied... I came out cancer-free!

Funny thing in all of this is that the B12 + Lipotropics that the weight loss/holistic doc started me on to help me lose weight, actually helps with my energy issues and helps support my liver during all the weight loss.  It's kinda funny, really... but I feel a whole lot better.

I keep my calories down to less than 1500 and find I do much better weightloss wise.

I've had pcos for over 14 years now.  Slowly weight has piled on.  I don't believe the dr. that was mentioned above that weight was the cause of PCOS.  I was skinny when my symptoms started, so I know that isn't right. 

I've recently started back on glucophage since that is the ONLY way I lose weight.  I did manage to lose 40lbs about 10 yrs ago in about 6 months.  I did that without meds, 1200-1500 calories a day and exercised 20+ hours a week (yes I kept a log!).  Raquetball, 5 mile bike rides in 10 min flat, swimming, etc.  I exercised for hours a day to get rid of that.  With glucophage, when I finally get up to the correct dosage for me (have to build up to it), I can lose weight without much modification other than diet.  I just have a problem getting past the side effects :) 

 

So here I go again since I am now the biggest I've ever been in my life.  Oh and I came down with alot of food allergies last year, so my diet is already restricted.  Great thing about PCOS, didn't lose ANY weight from cutting out beef, etc from my diet.  NOT!

Angela

for a lot of us, losing weight will help with the symptoms of pcos-- when i saw the endocrinologist he asked if i had seen a remittance in symptoms with the thirty lb weightloss.  i said i hadnt but... i just regained the 30 lbs and OH MY GOD!  the acne, the exhaustion, the hairgrowth... its all very very much worse.  i guess the weigh gain increases insulin resitance which increases free insulin and that triggers higher testosterone production which triggers-- hair growth and darkening, acne, oh and WEIGHT GAIn around the middle!!

 

ugh.  no one believes my exhaustion either i dont think.  they just think im lazy.  i can easily sleep 16, 20 hours a day.  i feel like i sleep in jello-- so hard to just wake up.

oh well.  i guess thats the way that other people feel?  or the way life is? 

I have PCOS as well and am always exhausted, which everyone also tells me that I have sleep apnea which is probably true. I can't afford to go to a doctor but I'm hoping to try and find a way to see someone eventually in a 'limited financial' type deal. I only make 120 bucks a week so doctor visits are kinda troublesome.

 I lost 60 lbs and some of the symptoms got much better. I am one of the "lucky" ones who have a heavy menstrual cycle ALL the time (I mean all the time) and it actually went away and got regular somewhat with the weight loss. It felt like not having to wear diapers anymore lol. But over the past year I've gained it back and am having a hard time getting it off again. The symptoms came back much worse this time and now I'm not even able to sleep in my bed, which sucks b/c I have brand new mattresses! GAH! And sleeping in the recliner is alright but I still feel tired all the time because I'm not getting any good deep sleep.

Here's to hoping we all can get better in the new year.

So, I have hypothyroidism. At one point I was diagnosed with PCOS and put on something for it...it may have been Glucophage. And also birth control pills, which were supposed to help. Right now, all I have left is thyroid medication. I don't have insurance anymore. Haven't for 5 years. I couldn't afford to keep up with the other medication and doctor's visits. I had the birth control until this summer when the doctor at the clinic decided my blood pressure was too high and wouldn't give me a new prescription. Without health insurance, I really don't have much of a choice of, say a second opinion or blood pressure medication. So, I don't even have that anymore. I have no idea of the status of my PCOS. I do know that since the original diagnosis, I've gained about 130 pounds. The real kicker is that 30 of those I've put on in the past 6 months. No matter what I do I keep gaining weight. It's to the point I don't eat all day sometimes, but I keep gaining weight. There's a shirt I bought in October that I can't even button now. I just don't know what to do. And any "good" done by not eating, I think I've undone in the past week because I feel like nothing I do matters, so why not pig out. I know I don't get much exercise, but I don't have much free time and can't afford a gym membership. Even if I could, I would be too embarrassed to go. I could go to the campus gym. I tried that once. It was so horrible with all those skinny little college girls. I felt like a horrible blob. I just don't know what to do. I can't do much of anything where doctors are concerned, since I can't pay and don't have insurance.

glucophage is extremely inexpensive--- its generic is one of the 4 dollar scripts from walmart so insurance coverage for that shouldnt be an issue.

next time you are at the dr for the thyroid meds ask for a script for the glucophage (metformin).  or take a trip to a clinic.  or call the dr you normally would see or a friend sees and find out if they have special rates for cash.  when my daughter was younger, her dr had a cash/pay now rate that was 60% less than normal.  they billed my insurance (when we had it) over $100 for a sick child visit.  I payed $42 for the visit if i paid cash/credit.

 

**good luck**  there is lots of support on here for helping getting the eating habits under control.

"i think the chronic exhaustion is the worst part.  no matter how much sleep i get, i feel like i have been running the whole day, my brain and my body feel like mush.  its depressing. "

 I feel the exact same way.  All I want to do is sleep or lay on the couch.  Having PCOS sucks.  I did find an herbal pill that helped me with my periods & hormones though, it's call Estrosense - you can order it online or get it from your local health food store.  I even think I'm ovulating again (although I am in no way ready for motherhood yet).

I have PCOS and I actually have a few questions, i know its hard for me doctor to answer these questions because she only knows what is in the book and not personal experience....

does anyone lack a sex drive at times and have pain with sex?

i am very small framed but as my problems got worse and worse it seems like gaining weight has become a small problem... in order to maintain i can only eat very small meals, along with exercising vigorously for two hours six times a week... is my problems with weight due to PCOS?

PCOS, Hypothyroidism AND Fibromyalgia. It's so hard to even get out of bed sometimes. Basically, I'm really restrictive with my calories right now and doing everything I can to get a good cardio workout 3 times a week. I take a single dose birth control pill straight through 4 months at a time so I don't get my period on a monthly basis which helps a lot. Also taking synthroid helps.

*cathy* "does anyone lack a sex drive at times and have pain with sex? "

Yes!  Absolutely.  The last time I had sex it hurt extremely bad.  I think it's important that your partner understand that you are sensitive down there.  If he can't be romantic & try to "get your juices flowing" so to speak then he's not worth it.  Kick him to the curb.  (I recently broke it off with a guy b/c he was too rough w/ me; it shows a lack of respect).   Otherwise, just take it slow so it doesn't hurt so bad.  If you start slow you will be lubricated enough to enjoy the sex & go at whatever speed you want.  Just don't over do it; pace yourself and you'll enjoy it more.

 

*cathy* "i am very small framed but as my problems got worse and worse it seems like gaining weight has become a small problem... in order to maintain i can only eat very small meals, along with exercising vigorously for two hours six times a week... is my problems with weight due to PCOS?"

Yes, I am almost certain of it.  Eating 4-5 healthy small meals a day (veggies low in sugar, very low carbs, higher protein) along with regular excercise will help you loose the weight.  Talk to your doctor about insulin medicine such as Metformin.  For the hormone issue (lack of or heavy periods, facial hair, etc) I take Estrosense.  It's all natural & it balances your hormones & periods.  I can also enjoy sex again as long as the jerk isn't too rough.  I am small framed too.  Only 4'10" so I understand what your going through.  Feel free to send me a message any time if you have any questions that might be too embarrassing to ask the board.

Don't worry, you can get through this PCOS thing... the symptoms are reversable with the right diet & excercise.  Just remember to stay away from sugary foods & beverages.

Also drink TONS of water!!  It flushes out all of the impurities & toxins in your body.  Lots of times when we think we are hungry we are really thirsty so water is the key.

Good Luck!

Mia