Just Diagnosed with PCOS

I was diagnosed with PCOS and my Dr. put me on a low carb diet and metformin. I lost 80 lbs in a year without exercise.

First, it concerns me that your doctor didn't catch the thyroid connection to your condition; second it concerns me that your doctor told you to continue birth control as it could be part of the complex of causes for PCOS; not to mention that PCOS causes infertility. There is a fabulous doctor in Austin that is quite thorough in hormone balancing, her name is Dr. Tenesha White. If you're not close to her, she can probably recommend someone.

PCOS is caused by an imbalance of female hormones. The first step to correct this is to find out the exact imbalance. This is easily done through at-home saliva collection over the course of your cycle. Blood tests just don't show what this will because hormonal fluctuations occur over the course of a day, much less over the course of a month.

After analyzing your saliva samples, the doctor will then have a complete picture of the hormone landscape inside your body.

I hope your are on the bio-identical thyroid replacement Armour. And you should be taking an adrenal support, such as Seriphos. Finally, the hormones taken for your PCOS should also be bio-identical.

Hormones produced by the body are like little, very specific, keys. Synthetic hormones are like a master key: they work, but not well, and with side effects. Bio-identical hormones are duplicates of the hormones your body produces; meaning less or no side effect.

You are so young to be having so many hormonal problems! It might be time to look for the cause. Our modern world is full of synthetic chemicals that often emulate estrogen in the body. To add to that, many of the additives in premade food and cosmetics and personal care products exacerbate hormonal imbalances.

Might I suggest you consider going "chemical-free." You can never be completely chem-free, but reducing the chemical load on your body will go a long way in alleviating your hormone symptoms. Where to start: read labels of every product (including food) you put on or in your body.

No need to go all organic, which would be expensive. Just the foods that contain plant oils. Plants store chemicals in their oil, so when we harvest the oil, we're taking the concentrated chemicals that were put on the plant during its life. Yuck!

Personal care and cosmetic products are the worst for chemical additives known to cause everything from cancer to Alzheimer's. Burts Bees website has some excellent information on many of these chemicals.

I have had PCOS for probly close to 10 years but only maybe 5 of them were diagnosed and treated. At first I never took my meds. Always forgetting. I had lost weight drastically thru an addiction I had, which allowed me to get prego. But now I want another baby and am struggling myself with my thyroid, weight, and fertility issues. So this January I really started trying to keep on my meds. I don't take any meds yet for my hypothyroid but will see a doc soon. Metformin caused my thyroid to mess up,so thats why I need the thyroid meds. So my best suggestion is to get some thyroid meds, lose wieght as healthily as possible, and take your metformin. My PCOS is an uphill battle lately, but I am hoping to get it under control soon. I have also heard about a cooking book for people with PCOS. The difficult thing with this condition is tht it's not just your ovaries and such. It becomes your thyroid and your heart as well. It helps to get as informed about PCOS as possible. My doc is a specialist in this. Thank God. Check out stuff on about.com I have found it to be really informative for all things thyroid. Good Luck. I hope all this makes sense. My thyroid has been affecting my mind lately.

Dear L.,

My name is M.. I am also a mom of a 4 year old, and own a small acupuncture clinic on Bee Caves Road.

Just wanted to let you know that I have treated some people like yourself in the past. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we see what is causing any health problems and work on the root cause, unlike modern medicine that tries to suppress the symptoms.

I will give you a free consultation and if you would like to get a treatment, I will give you $20 off the first time.

If you don’t want to take needles (which is painless), we can discuss alternative treatment plans. Please check www.bamboofieldacupuncture.com out and give me a call at ###-###-####. There is a testimonial by a patient with PCOS on my website.

If you felt solicited in any way, I apologize. I just sincerely want to help moms like you.

Thanks.
M. Uppena, L.Ac.

IF you don't mind PMing me, I'd love to know how you were diagnosed. Someone suggested that I have PCOS and I thought since I don't have trouble getting pregnant (7 times in 7 years) that I don't have PCOS. I do ovulate twice (resulting in several sets of twins, although I lost one twin out of two of the sets in early pregnancy.) She said that ovulating twice, and once I ovulated a week early, are signs of PCOS.

I hope to have a surviving set of twins, so I don't want to "fix" that but the weight issue would be nice to get rid of. I don't want to take BC pills either so I'll come back and read the other replies!
OH, I just read the other response, great information!

I have found a lot of information at this website
http://www.soulcysters.com/

Hi L.,

I don't know the specifics of PCOS, but I do know that there are so many lifesyle changes that you can do to help your over all health and wellness.
I am a health counselor trained at The Institute of Integrative Nutrition in NYC. My business is listed in the business section of mamasource. I would love to do a FREEE health history with you. Please email me at kathleentisdale.com
Good luck!
K.

This is something that responds very well to changes in diet.
The body has an accumulation of excess in that area.
It would be beneficial to omit dairy foods, refined sugar, and highly processed foods.

Do some research on what a healthy "plant-based diet" consists of. Your weight and the health of family will improve as well.

This is not a quick fix, it is difficult to change life-long eating habits.
You can take cooking classes for more ideas and support.

When I was a teen, I was diagnosed with this. It created irregular periods for me. It did go away. I enjoyed learning to work with herbs to help regulate my system. I've been practicing 'healing with whole foods', Macrobiotics, for 10 years now.

I am in Midland, TX and was wrongfully diagnosed with PCOS. I would urge you to get a second opinion. If you do have PCOS, research the disease and try the least invasive protocol first. I understand it is very easy to treat. While I was in the care of the Physician who diagnosed PCOS, I did take Metformin and had no side effects, not even the weight loss that I was counseled about.
There are some BC pills you can take with thyroid disease. Do you see an Endocrinologist for your thyroid issues? If so, have you informed her of your PCOS diagnosis? My Endocrinologist is the one that questioned my diagnosis, which prompted me to get a second opinion. If not, you should get an appointment with a good one. It is very important to have the right care when dealing with thyroid disease. All your Dr's, should be informed of the diagnosis as well as the protocol so that your medications can be adjusted accordingly.
HTH

Hi L.,

I've had PCOS diagnosis since after the birth of my first child. I have to say, at times, it has been hell. I would suggest that if you're going to take Metformin to go on the XR which is the extended release. It didn't have the same severe blood sugar reactions as the regular. Also, I wouldn't rule out hormone therapy completely. Perhaps you can do a compounded blend if you're working with the right doctor. The biggest trick for me was NO to LOW CARBS. No refined grains, sugars. Lean protein and a lot of vegetables. Exercise and keep your weight down. It's really hard with PCOS to get your weight down. But you can do it if you work your butt off.(pardon the pun!) Then, it is easier to keep it off if you stay off of the refined carbs. It is a complete lifestyle choice but you are dealing with something that never goes away. You are learning to MANAGE the symptoms. Best of luck. A positive attitude helps tremendously too.

L.,
First let me say that I know your frustration. I wasn't diagnosed with PCOS until just before I lost my second ovary. For me it produced large cysts the size of cantilopes, that is why I lost my ovaries. I agree with the person who said to find someone who knows alot about hormones. I go to Dr Miskell in New Braunfels, TX & I love her. I went on hormone replacements at 29yrs old & am now 39yrs, she is the first one who didn't try to treat me like I was 50 & going through menipos (sp). By the time I got to Dr Miskell & she had me do the saliva test my progestrone was 20 it suposed to be 400. Get a good Dr!! I'm now the proud mom of 2 beautiful adopted kids, but I went through 18 years of HELL to get here. Once again get a GOOD Dr & get ALL your hormones checked! BC pills don't normally help with this condition, so that tells me that your Dr doesn't know much about this condition, alot of Dr don't but they think they do. You are more than welcome to e-mail me ____@____.com & we can talk if you have questions.
L.