PCOS treatment

Hope this is the right place to ask, I think a few people here have PCOS?

I've been on the pill for.. 8? months now to help with PCOS side effects, was on it on and off before but had trouble with side effects. I originally started it as I'd had no periods for almost a year.

It obviously controls periods, though mine are quite heavy and painful on it (like pre-pill), I'm currently taking it on a 3 month cycle (running 3 packs together) to help this though. It doesn't help with the excess hair, and I still get stomach pains associated with it I think. I may also have some mood swings due to it.

I also have depression and anxiety problems, am currently on prozac which is helping with that, though only been on it about.. 5 weeks, so still not at full effect doc doesn't think. I get stomach pains etc through anxiety, so not certain which is which.

Anyway, to stop babbling on, I've been offered to go on metformin, but only INSTEAD of the pill - now my worries are that I won't know when my periods are coming and they may be more heavy or painful. Of course though it may get my body and hormones working better again, therefore help with the excess hair and such, rather thna just covering the symptoms up so much.

I know it also may help with weight loss, although I'm currently losing at around 1lb a week anyway, but I gather that as the insulin resistance goes down, I may also get less sweet cravings?

Anyway sorry for such a long post, was just hoping other people had maybe been in the same position, and may have some insight to help me!

Thanks :)

Hi, I'm going through the frustration of dealing with PCOS also.  Not fun, huh?  My doctor wanted to put me on BC when I was first diagnosed but I resisted.  BC always made my stomach upset even in the lowest doses.  I heard about Metformin helping but the side effects freaked me out and the thought that I would be on this expensive drug for the rest of my life wasn't making me any more of a fan. 

My PCOS symptoms finally got to a point that I realized I wasn't doing my body and my long term health any benefits by resisting the common treatments.  So before my last physical (May 09) I tried to do as much research as possible.  What I found was that insulin resistance seems to be the root problem of PCOS. (it sounds like you already figured this out - good one!)

That's why low carb diets work so well for women with PCOS.  Less carbs go in, less carbs to process and less side effects from excess insulin.  I have tried low carb in the past with very little success.  I could probably "diet" short term successfully but I couldn't stay on it long term, I could probably live just on fruits and veg.  Anything that says those are bad for you are not the diet for me.  So I kept researching.

Turns out that there have been a number of credible medical studies about PCOS.  Pinitol is found in many many foods and once ingested it gets converted into d-chiro insolitol (DCI).  I found that there are quite a few people who have difficulty making this conversion and that the problem is genetic.  DCI helps the cells in our body absorb the insulin and if you don't have enough DCI you have problems with insulin resistance. 

Many women with PCOS have found that taking pinitol or inositol capsules have helped.  My thought is that if my body is having a problem with the conversion it won't help as much so I'm taking DCI capsules.  They are definitely harder to find and more expensive than pinitol/inositol.  But they are helping me so much!

I had one period in the year before I started taking them and have now had three normal periods in four months.  I can feel my depression lighten and the greatest part is that through normal calorie counting I have lost 28 lbs in three months.  In the beginning I could feel my unholy craving for all carbs completely disappear within a half an hour of taking them.  I still eat between 45 - 55% of my calories from carbs but I can keep it to mainly fruits, veg, whole grains and the occasional sweet or bread and not feel deprived!  That was completely unheard of five months ago!

I know that life can not be solved with a pill.  But due to my genetic make up, most of this cannot be taken care of on my own.  DCI is natural and is part of the niacin/B vitamin family.  It is supposed to already be in your body so by taking it, there are no side effects.  Metformin basically does what DCI does but is a foreign chemical so therefore the side effects. 

If you do your own research you will find out a lot of information.  I was actually quite pissed off for a while that none of the doctors I went to even mentioned a more natural way to deal with my PCOS.  All I heard was lose weight and go on BC.  Oh, it's as simple as that?  Ok, then! 

So you thought you had a long post!     Sorry to hijack your thread but I hoped that maybe I could help you with what I found.  Good luck in your search and know that you're not alone!  Nearly 1 in 10 women have PCOS and many don't even realize it!

I have PCOS.  I got the IUD because I have had my babies.  It is doing great still have some of the great side effects of the PCOS. but they are getting better.  My insurance wouldn't cover any meds regardless of the reasons. I had to do every thing myself.   here's what I did.

To get preg. I had to lose weight fast.  It shocked my body into being "normal"

To lose weight -  I too had to do low carb.  My low carb was refined carbs not natural carbs.  I get extra vitamins and the like. I get the amounts I took while preg.  I eat them from real food but take a Flintstones as well. 

For mood swings - hobbies, sun light, walking, and a monthly good yelling match.  Not real words just loud yelling the kids and I do it till we can't keep a straight face.

hair - hummmm  I shave and hate it.  if you figure out something better let me know.

cycle - IUD fixed it. at first it made me have it every month but now I'm down to every other and ONLY 4 days long. 

Thanks :)

I'm in the UK so any meds for me are free, due to very low income I don't even have any prescription charges, so I'm all set in that sense :)

However something like the DCI capsules I'd have to buy myself, and can't afford to do that right now.

I can't stick to a low carb diet even temporarily, though most of my carbs come from potatoes, brown bread (like once a week) and any fruit/veg I eat that are high in them. Not keen on things like pasta so probably don't have that many refined carbs, probably 50 - 60% of my diet is carbs.

Can't have a UID in the UK unless you've had kids, or it's 100% necessary, as I'm only 17 and no kids, no way they'll consider it.

Regarding hair, I recommend an epilator - I have a braun face and body thing, I think £70($115) full price, but I got it for I think £45($75), came with an ice pack, I use it on my legs and face currently (sideburns, chin and also between my eyebrows), it does hurt to do your face but I only need to do it perhaps every fortnight, and the icepack helps. Shaving I think makes hair grow faster, so at 1st you'd have to do it more, but so worth it, no stubble, when it grows back it's soft. Can be used on armpits too but I found that painful and it' the 1 place shaving doesn't make me sore or irritated at all.

On legs I use it perhaps.. once a week, most people only every 2 - 3 weeks but of course with hair growing faster due to PCOS I need to more often. Lower legs don't hurt at all now (unless I've been lazy and left it to get longer, even then don't need icepack or anything), it's fantastic to not need to do it every day instead of looking like a yeti!

Okay, working within your current boundaries (meds free - but only one, little extra income, young) I would probably suggest Metformin and bypass the BC.  Once you are on Metformin, continue the CC and try to lose as much weight as possible.  Your cycle should get better on it's own once the insulin resistance is addressed.

That is my non official, I am not a doctor, opinion! 

I say try the new meds you'll know with in a few months if they "work" for you.  If I didn't have to pay I would.

thanks for the hair advice. My step moter had one years ago and that thing hurt.  but your right every now and then is better then daily.  I don't think its thicker or faster but a pain.

Since losing 76.2 lbs it has been way less.

My carbs are salads, sweet potato, vaggies. no cookies, cakes, pasta

I noticed that you mentioned a low-carb diet.  Rather than going that route could I suggest that you go 'Low GI Carb' diet instead?   A very good book you could get hold of at your local library is 'The Low GI Guide to Managing PCOS' by Jennie Brand-Miller.   It explains the insulin resistance aspect and offers some very practical dietary advice.... not simply food choices but also in terms of regularity of meals and size of meals.

I have always wondered which one is better for PCOS? low carb diet or low GI diet?

Personally, I would think the low GI diet.  Even if you only eat a few carbs but  they are quickly processed carbs they'll still throw your body out of whack.  I've been using agave nectar as a sweetener because of the low GI aspect.

A quick look at a list of foods and their GI, the reason I'm losing some weight currently is probably because my diet is mostly low GI now, bar the very occasional day where I go mad. Even the baked beans in sauce I get are specific low GI ones!

A lot of processed carbs give my heartburn for some reason, so I only have them perhaps.. once a week now, otherwise I'm downing indigestion remedies like they're made of chocolate

1 thing I've noticed is my cravings for sweet things (chocolate, biscuits etc) coincide with what I imagine to be PCOS flare-ups quite often, I've read that can be due to the insulin stuff, so hopefully if I control that, cravigns will lessen and weightloss will be easier anyway.. I can hope!

Going to go for metformin I think then.

Quick question I forgot to add, has anybody noticed that once they start losing a bit of weight, they actually get flareups with the pain etc from the PCOS? I've noticed it a few times, though this time I'm going to push through it for the long haul.

Niccole, modern ones tend to be less painful anyway, and many have soothing heads which can be quite helpful. Main thing is to not buy a really cheap one, unfortunately to try 1 properly it needs to be a fairly good one, not the cheapest you can find.

I went and looked up low GI foods.  I guess thats what I have been doing without knowing it. 

I found 2 sites with good lists. One and two . the s.econd looks like a better list