Newly diagnosed

[poigle]

Hello everyone -

I was diagnosed with PCOS about a week ago, but have been feeling its effects strongly for the past ten years. I am turning 30 next month, and unlike many of my "cysters", I did not discover my PCOS when I tried to concieve - I had large fibroids that resulted in a hysterectomy 2 years ago, but since then I have been unable to lose the 80 extra pounds in spite of heavy exercise and "healthy" eating. I have started doing a modified low-carb diet, basically no sugar and as little bread as possible (not a huge fan). I am also on a low dose of metformin, which has been like a miracle for me - after a few days of tummy trouble and a bit of a lingering headache, I am feeling so good. Energy is great, and I've lost SEVEN pounds - this after not seeing the scale budge for ANYTHING. Very encouraging. My mom has been doing Atkins for awhile now and has lost about 15 pounds or so, so we are both interested in learning more about this WOE and how it can help PCOS.

Looking forward to getting to know many of you, and to offer any encouragement when I can!

[clodagh]

HI Rebecca

welcome!

I have PCOS too and have been doing the Schwarzbein Principle for about 3 months and have lost 10 lbs so far. I feel much better, lots more energy. I am so glad I have chaged my diet as this works for many PCOS women.

I am part of a PCOS support group here in Ireland and lots of the group are trying low carb/low glycaemic index diets with much success.

talk to you soon
Clodagh

ps I went to BC on my holidays last year and was blown away by it! It's so beautiful!!!

[Kara]

Hi there, I am also form BC (Victoria).
Thought I'd tell you a bit about myself.
My Hubby Peter (very trim) & I have two cats that also need a lo-carb regimin (LOL). I have always wanted children but just kept putting it off, waiting for the right time, even tho P & I have been a couple for 11 yrs. Bad planning, cosmically. There still may be a chance, but I don't get hopeful. On the other side of the coin, I had heart surgery when I was 3, and have hypertension, lactose intolerance, irritable bowel (maybe, we're testing that theory) syndrome, and a recently confirmed PCOS with insulin probs, and some mild extremely hirsutism. I weighed myself to day at 207.5 (lost 2.5 lbs [of water?] in 2 weeks), and have a target of 170 for my 5'11" frame. No lower than 160, tho, to stay in fertile-fat range. I am just now educating myself on what is waht, so I am a total newbie at this, hence all the forums, etc. Feel free to email me anytime, and in emergencies, I can call you on my BCTel no limits plan, if you're majorly needing a human ear. My hubby doesnt quite understand how emotionally impactive this is. I get quite paranoid that he'll leave me, like I'm damaged goods, but I talk a lot with him, and we are best friends & have gone thru SOOO much together, ya know? ANyhoo, there's my life in a nutshell.
Check out my profile, and my email should be there(?). Keep smilin!
:sunny: Kara in Victoria

[paige17257]

you sound just like me!! i was wondering about the meds. i couldnt remember how to spell it, to look it up on the Net. i go on tuesday, and the doc, wants to put me on this. she also wants to put me on the pill, but i just cant take it. it cause me awful migraines, and stomach trouble, so i am going to tell her , one new pill at a time. she already told me that the Meta....(spell?), might be enough to help me ovulate and lose weight!! so, thats all i needed to know. i would love to live chat with you, if you belong to any of the instant messengers? my name on AOL is Paigangel. hope to see ya soon.
paige17257

[DebPenny]

Hi, All. I have also been recently diagnosed with PCOS, although I knew I had it for a long time. I'm going with the all-natural approach. I follow TSP (The Schwarzbein Principle) for my eating program and my GYN who diagnosed me put me on Yasmin BC Pills. This is a high-progesterone pill instead of the opposite high-estrogen pill most women are put on. It has done wonders. And I have read that many women with PCOS who are put on this pill do much better. It has helped with cramps, flow, and facial hair. Many other women have tried progesterone cream and found it to help tremendously. I haven't tried that yet. One thing at a time. ;)

However, the main reason I started low-carbing was that I had read that eating more protein would help with PCOS. Before I started TSP, I was getting very sick because I had gone from 1 period every 2 or 3 years to one that wouldn't stop for a year. I was scared.

I started TSP and the pill at about the same time, so I don't know which one has helped me the most. Although, the first pill I was put on (by my internist) was an estrogen-based pill and it caused heavier bleeding and cramps. Within 3 days of being switched to Yasmin all that stopped. I still have break-through bleeding the first week of the hormone portion of the pill, but it is all much milder and the cramps are almost non-existent by comparison.

When I told my GYN about my low-carbing and the weight I had lost in a follow-up appointment, she suggested that I could go off the pill if I wanted to because "most women's periods will self-regulate when they lose weight." That hasn't been true in the past for me. But based on what I read about low-carbing and PCOS, I am inclined to think that it will work for me this time (my past experiences were all with low-fat dieting).

So, when this current course of pills are completed, I'm going off the pill for a few months, at least, to see how I do. The main reason is that I think the pill is slowing down my weight loss. I would like to get below 200 one of these days, but 1 to 2 pounds a month is just a bit too slow ;).

So, Poigle, welcome to the forum and I would like to make one suggeston: Read The Schwarzbein Principle. This book puts forth more of a holistic approach to low-carbing. Many of us have found it very beneficial. It's a healing program with much less focus on weight loss, but that's why I like it.

Good luck on your endeavours.
;-Deb

[Kara]

:p you lost more weight than me! I should try that TSP diet! Seriously tho, I give us ALL credit for trying so hard with such an uphill battle (one hill at a time for me). I have had a good day when I can take both metformins, eat 3 reasonable-to-regimine meals, and sleep about 7-9 hrs no more, no less. today i'm 2-3, gotta get to that bed, I have a 9:30 appt! :eek:

PS watched I AM SAM tonight & my eyes are swollen like frogs, i cried sooo hard: makes me pine for a baby. didnt help I visited a newborn tonight either. anyhoo, if it's in the cards, eh? also, this way my cats a re happy in the interim b/c i spoil them instead! :roll:

ps metformin aka glucophage (same med as type II diabetes: insulin effective)

[poigle]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the warm welcome - I've been horribly busy at work and haven't had much chance to catch up on my reading, but the long weekend is here and things are still going well. I'm down another six pounds, and my body is starting to look a little different to me. I haven't been able to get back to the gym (crazy work hours) but am planning to this coming month. I've been keeping up with walking the dogs, etc. My met dosage is up to 1000 mg a day now, and I've been having some nasty stomach cramps and diarrhea too :( I haven't been as strict with the carbs (stress!) so I'm back on the wagon this weekend. It's been interesting trying to have nice dinners without the starch - my husband and I are both German, and life without potatoes and rice is a little weird!

Take care and good luck to everyone!

[paige17257]

hi,
boy, do i understand the potatoe thing!! i am part Irish, and i kept telling them that i HAVE to have potatoes!! LOL....
i never realized how many we ate! sugarbusters, will tell you that a sweet potatoe is a better alternative, but i am trying to stay clear of them altogether, for now!
i have considered getting a puppy, to help me with my walking.
i like to walk alone, but worry about "strange" people driving by.
where i walk is kinda in the "boonies".
keep plugging away. WE can do this!!
take care.
paige17257 :)

[moniquej8]

Hi All !
I was diagnosed with PCOS 3 months ago. My husband and I have been trying to concieve for the past yr now and no luck, plus I could not understand this weight gain and trouble taking it off. I went to 3 Drs till I finally was diagnosed properly. The first 2 Drs associated the weight gain and fertility problem with stress and depression. The one put me on Zoloft. Told me that this will also help with my weight gain.... WRONG!!!!!! I balloned up 25lbs within a month! I took myself off this wonder pill he prescribed and sought another consult. The Dr I last seen diagnosed me with PCOS after several testing. I have been on Glucophage xr since then and I am feeling so much better! I have lost 3 lbs so far on the medicine, and menstrual cycles are beging to be norm again! I have started the Atkins diet as well last week, and surprizingly just after these few days of LCing, I feel like I have more energy. I used to beat myself up before I was diagnosed, not knowing what was wrong with me, not being able to concieve anymore. I have children, so I knew it was not impossible, just did not know why it was not happening this time. I would sit in the house all the time, if I went outside or left the house twice in a month it was a miracle, and crying.. well, surprized my house was not flooded! I am doing so much better these days, now that I am being treated. Still no luck with the conception, but I look at it this way now. I know now why, and if it is Gods will for me to have another child it will happen.
Monique

[Kara]

i went to see "Minority Report" last night (Tom Cruise was awesome), and I ate popcorn and diet coke (2 baddies for me, (a) b/c popcorn is bad for carbs & IBS, and b'c I ate half of a large bag...), and (b) because the diet coke still had the caffeine, and I was up unti 2:30am...slept until 11:30. I need so much more sleep when I am bad on the carbs or caff. I should learn!

In reading about your flooded house, I felt like there was someone else out there like me. I cry usually at convenient times (at a movie, where it's acceptable b/c of plot) or when I'm home alone, or when my hub's asleep. It is just too much for him to take, i think. He's not a big "talker".

We ran into my college ex-beau (the one b4 my hubby), and he was with his little boy (one of 2).
We chit-chatted, and they asked about kids, and I felt like such a total freak of nature, looked at hubby to answer, then cut him off when he said "none just yet", and said, "I've just found out they may or may not be possible" and went on to say that as a primary teacher-wannabe (the ex is an unemplyd teacher too) at least one day i would have 21 everyday from 9-3! ...I thot that was soooo witty but hubby said it came off as kind of sad & weird, and he meant that in a nice way.

:( feeling blue, going to the gym to walk & swm it off....Kara :roll:

[moniquej8]

Kara,
Cheer up. I know that is easily said and done. I know all too well how you are feeling. My hubby is very loving and caring and supportive, but.... there are times that he just does not understand why I am so blue, crying the tears I do and miserable. Every month is a roller coaster for me. Waiting and calculating for the big dissappointment. What makes it worse for me is other stress factors I have to deal with. Him and I do not have children together. I do have children from my first marriage. We have been trying and no go. He also has a child from a prior relationship and what makes it hard is that his ex is stressing us from wanting money every other day and not allowing us to have contact with the little girl if we do not comply, and when I talk about extra money this money in addition to the child support that is waged attatched every month. She also has this thing about rubbing it in my face that she has a child from him and I don't and can't. You have to understand there is a 12 yr difference in age between my husband and I and well this girl is young, so hmmmm that bugs me too. Somedays I feel like crawling in a hole and never comming out. I can sit here and cry for no reason at all, or after I get off the scale and see no change in weight.
Since I have been LCing I am feeling better about myself. I have found more will power and strength within myself. You are not in the boat alone. When I get to feeling that way I come online and read the post, keep myself busy, or exercise.
Hope you feel better. If you ever need a should to lean on I am here.
Monique :wave:

[Kara]

I DID goto the Y and swim, and even went when my hubby didnt want to go (went alone= extra points for me) and the karmic bonus was going on the scale down to 204! YAY! that's 2lbs a week for 3 weeks straight! Ok, now, I realize that you said that you weren't losing, so I wanna recommend that you DON't think about that as a primary objective: instead think about conception as the PO, and the weight as a happy bonus (when it does lower, it's like a bonus!). That's the way i see things, and it fells pretty good to have 2 lbs less a week as a SIDE EFFECT of trying to have a baby! I do goto the Y when I can, and the minimum is 2x, max every other day. Sept I will go to 5 days a week, and a yoga class on top of that. I am still trying to find a local gym buddy with similar schedules for sept that has a low carb or pcos situation. I just bought some books and supplements too. OK, so now that I am feeling better I again wanna thank you for your supportive letter & let u kno that I added you to my buddy list :spin:
*HUGZ & GOOD SPIRITS*
Kara

[Danyele]

hi,

I TOO am from Coquitlam!!! Small world. I was just sent to a ob/gyn for PCOS and was prescribed the Diane 35 pill. I have been low carbing for a month and this was the first month that my cycle was regular so I'm holding off on the pill til next month to see if it happens on time again. I don't want to take it unless i have to. I've learnt that low carbing can help PCOS symptoms dramatically. There is a great website for PCOS ~ www.soulcysters.com. Lots of great info there. Anyways, hi and good luck with the diet

Danyele

[paige17257]

hi!!
that news is so encouraging!! i have PCOS. the doc wants me to go on the pill too, but i dont want to. Honestly, i think thats where alot of my problems started. i dont think that you can put your ovaries "to rest", for an extended period of time, and then expect them to work right. anyways, dont get me started on that!! hehehe. i was semi regular until i got on them ,and then when i got off of them, nothing happened! i am hoping like you, that the LCing, will regulate me. the doc is going to give me a small dose of Glucophage since my insulin is alittle high (sugar is normal, so far). so, i have read that this will help the cycles by lowering my insulin. but i hope some day, to be so good at this LCing, that i can go off all meds. we will see!!
good luck!! hope it all keeps working for ya!!!! :)
paige17257

[Danyele]

hi,

I know how you feel to be reluctant to take medication for PCOS. I am reluctant to take a lot of prescription medication. I think some are absolutely necessary but some do more harm than good.
I haven't had my insulin levels checked but my fasting glucose was great. My ob/gyn didn't seem to think my insulin needed to be tested.
Anyways, just wanted to say good luck and let me know if LCing helps. I will let you know if it does the same next month.

Danyele

[moniquej8]

Kara,
I added you to buddy list too ! :) How has your day been for you so far? Mine is ok, TOM and well having a hard time eating, that should past by tomorrow. Well better get back to work, will check back in later!
Monique

[paige17257]

hi danyele,
you might want to reconsider testing your insulin. my sugars are always great. i stick my finger everyday, just to make sure ,and they are wonderful, but my obgyn, told me that is possible, to have good sugars, and a high insulin. maybe you arent having all the side effects that i have had, to warrent insulin testing. i am just glad that i know now. now, i can start to fix it. i had the wt gain, the acne, and extra hairs, with my PCOS. years ago, the doctors, just treated me like i was a fat pig,that ate too much, and i was a vain person.. now, i know something wasnt right, but they didnt listen. my doctor now is great. i will let you know, how i make out. i am for any meds (not really) that will assist my weight loss!! ttyl.
paige17257 :):)

[moniquej8]

Paige,
Where in Pa are you from? I am originally from Pa, only in Nc because military brings me here.
Monique :wave:

[paige17257]

hi,
i live in southcentral, kinda near the maryland border. where were you from?
paige17257

[moniquej8]

Paige,
I am from Hershey Pa. I probably travel through your area everytime I get home, hitting I 95. :)

[paige17257]

hi monique!

hey thats cool!! i lovvvvvvvve hershey park. yummm.
did you ever hear of chambersburg? thats where i grew up!
ttyl,
paige17257

[Kara]

...but I forgot sunscreen again (my face is pinky red) :o !

Monique, thx for the reply, and I wondered if you (or others) knew why some people stay at 100mg, and dont go up to 1500mg? My doc only has mee at 1000.... Is it b/c of the gradual-loss theory maybe? :q:

Also, I discovered that I have started to need breakfast now, my stomach is relentless about 10 mins after I wake up. B4-Metformin I could skip BFST np, now I am starving for at least something. :confused:

Q: What are some of the the best low carb breaky's you guys eat that are quik? :q:

[paige17257]

kara,
you should eat breakfast anyways!! :) they say, that it messes up your insulin, by skipping meals. so, you might do more harm than good. sometimes, i am just too busy for breakfast. i would like to know some good quickies or bars to eat too.

they just started me on my metformin today. i hope it agrees with me. i hate taking new stuff.
ttyl,
paige :roll:

[Kara]

ie: where's the immodium...if i eat 3suare, i'm better.
read all the advice on line about metformin, espc that it helps to eat a bit, take the pill, finish the meal, ok?
:)
Kara :D

[moniquej8]

I am a sucker on breakfast, it takes all I have to eat but I am on Atkins and well I can't skip it, not good to do so. I usually eat eggs.... I am so sick of them but I eat them to get them out of the way. I love the Atkins, I feel so much better since started it. I try to consume about 120-150oz of water a day. I am on the glucophage xr 500mg a day. Works fine for me. My weight has been yo yoing the past week. I started out at 212lbs.... a few days later I was down to 210lbs.... days later up to 214lbs...now I am back down to 210lbs! I am not letting this get my down because I can feel in my clothing a change. Just contributing this to TOM.
Monique

P.S... Paige,
Yes I know Chambersburg well! I miss Pa, but having a hubby as a Marine being sent here and there you have to go with the flow. I am just hopeing we can stay here in NC for awhile. It is alot closer to home then Okinawa! LOL........ :daze:

[Kara]

is 500mg all youre meant to take total, or are you working up to a higher dose gradually, i forget.

I am at 1000 now, and know of people on 2500mg!
I wonder why some of us are on 500 and some on 5x that?:q:

I think eventually I would like to have it 1500, but have a doc appt in a week, so will ask the q.

:) gotta run!
PS "fought" (calmy cried & talked) with hubby last night. he cheated on me a while ago, I took him back, and he sez we need to see (i agree) a counsellor. Since my diagnosis, I havent had time to deal with the cheating, and pretend it didnt happen (ha ha), and he still wonders if we shouldve seperated, but he stayed b/c he cant bear the thought of losing me. The cheating was a bj from an aquaintance, not a lover, and one who he saw only the 1x, and that I have nvr met.
Our 4 yr anniv is in august, we've been co-hab since '92. I love him to bits.
What do you think? :( :q:

[Kara]

i also told him i feel like I have "lost" a child, b/c of my pcos diagnosis, and learning & realizing for the 1st time that I may not be able to have kids. I took this for granted b4, and now I am a TAD freaked about it. I have always wanted kids, and the "plan" was to look into ttc from 31-33yr old for me (now 31), and tcc no later than 33. Now he sez he's not ready & wants to try when he's 35. He just turned 30. This is all news to me. I told him my chances were better the earlier I try, and that I understand this will freak him out. We promised to talk more about it w/ a counsellor.

What do you think?

[moniquej8]

Kara,
I am so sorry to hear what you are going through.
First of all let me get into the Glucophage thing. I am only takinging 500mg cuz it is the Extended release. Norm you only take 500mg a day some work up to 1000 a day but for now I am at 500 which seems to be working well for me.

I am not sure what to say about the cheating thing. You might be asking the wrong person. The last relationship I was in prior to hubby was a bad one. An abusive one and cheating.
I was with him for 8 yrs and he cheated on me. The first time he said he was sorry and and appologized to my family etc... swearing he would never again... I forgave him and he did it again. As a matter of fact within those 8 yrs he cheated on me and I forgave him 10xs more after then. But circumstances are different. He mentally and physically abused me. Leaving me to believe that I could not make a go of it without him.
I took enough of it the last time he was abusive to me. Long story short we had friends over. I was at the store with my friend and when I came home he looked at me and he did not like what I was wearing and thought I had to much makeup on. he called me upstairs very nicely in front of everyone. Took me into the bathroom and stood behind me with his arms wrapped around me kissing my neck asking me what I see wrong in the mirror? I said nothing. He then took his hand and smeared my lipstick all over my face and grabbed me by my hair and slammed my face into the mirror, accusing me of looking like a hoar! Knocked me down to the ground and pulled a gun out and held it to my head. By that time everyone ran upstairs, seen him standing over me with this gun at my head telling him to leave me go and put it away. At that time I don't know what came over me but I stopped crying and told him if he was going to do it pull the trigger but I was not going to leave this world :angel: crying and begging for his mercy at his feet, looking him straight in the eyes. He got up kicked me and left. I grabbed my things and never seen him since.

It is hard to know what to do. You have to know in your heart what is best for you and your situation. He suggested going to counseling so my first step I would do is to go through with that if you love him.

Please know I am here if you need a shoulder to cry on or advice. I am just a keyboard and telephone away sweetie, Hang in there.
If there is anything I can do just let me know.
Monique

[paige17257]

the doctor put me on 500mg, twice a day, yesterday of metformin, she told me this was the lowest dose.. i guess it isnt. i am thinking that she is starting me at this dose to get my insulin where she wants it, and then she will possibly lower it, when it stabalizes. does anyone get puffy eyes from this stuff? or is this a side effect of low carbing (like in the early weeks, during body adjustment?)

kara,
the only advice i would give on your relationship, is... your partner needs to understand your biological clock. when you have PCOS, you cant wait forever, because sometimes it takes time to get preggers. i get the feeling he may never be "ready",and then you will be the one that looses out in the end. maybe in counseling, they can explain to him, about this condition, and how you may need to start trying now, but maybe it wont happen right away, so it will give him time to adjust. some men are good partners but arent good dads. a child deserves both, so maybe counseling is a good idea to work it all out. PRAY about this, you will get answers and support.

good luck!!
paige17257

[moniquej8]

Paige,
Are you on Glucophage xr???? There is a difference in meds. I do not have puffy eyes so it's hard to answer your question as to whether or not the Lcing is causing that or the meds. Good question though, if you find out the answer let me know.
Monique

[paige17257]

no, just glucophage 500mg, 2 times a day. it isnt slow release. i wonder what the benefits are, over that, than the one i am on?
anyone know?
paige17257

[moniquej8]

Paige,
Glucophage xr is slowly released into your body over a 24 hour period and helps in morning sugars being more stable.

Glucophage XR is Met in extended release form (met is the generic glucophage).

Don't take xr on an empty stomach will cause it to be upset, at least for me it does.
Monique

[Kara]

I know this sounds pathetic, but he is really loving and attentive, and this was (he claims) an incident (singular) that occured when I was (I concur) rejecting a physical relationship w/ him, and not attentive back, nor initiating anything physical btwn us. Soooo, he had no outlet but "Mrs. Palm & her 5 daughters" :blush: so to speak, and he was lonely, and the friend obliged with anonymous company & relief no strings, no tell. I found out by doing a lot of snooping. I know we have alot to work on, and that no, his cheating was NOT my "fault", but I recognize that I played a part in his choice, albeit unbeknownst to me. Anyhoo, we are going to counselling, and he and I have decided the marriage is work the work. Wish us luck.

As for that unhuman ex of yours,
---GOOD GOD!!:there:
I am in shock!!! I am traumatized to just read it!
I will cry a little inside tonight for all the women who live with that type of person still, or with the memories of that in their past.:tears:

Poor monique! I bet you've never felt better now, lookng back, on what a life that was, and how happy hubby makes you now! :spin:

[moniquej8]

Kara,
Yes my husband is wonderful, it was a rocky road when we first met because I had a hard time letting down those walls I put up, but he was very patient and understood and helped me out tremendously!
I am glad to hear you and your husband are going to work through this and go for counseling. Good luck!
Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th!
Monique :)