Hi everyone!

I haven't been on this site in ages and due to recent happenings... I'm back again! I need a bit of advice/support and I'm hoping I've come to the right place...

For a number of years I have had a weight problem, I've been constantly tired (had tests for thyroid and diabetes), suffered bouts of depression (prescribed Prozac), more recently I've noticed more hair on my legs, face and abdomen (ignored by the doctor when mentioned), my face has become really greasy, I perspire far more than I used to (not sure if this is a symptom) and my periods, although fairly regular, have got much heavier and more painful (from 1 day of discomfort to 3 days!).

When I was younger I went on the pill and I was told that I could put on a bit of weight but thought it was strange that the majority of my weight gain occured after I stopped taking it.

I did the WW plan. Lost nearly 5 stone and looked pretty good. Then piled the weight back on, plus a bit extra for good measure.

Last week I visited my doctor after reading an article on PCOS and alarm bells rang. The doctor asked me 'What will you do with the information if the blood test confirms it is PCOS?' which was hardly reassuring! Anyway, I'm going to the hospital tomorrow for the blood test to check my 'female hormone levels'. The problem is the doctor made me feel as if I'm over-reacting and I'm reluctant to discuss it with friends as a) they won't understand and b) they'll tell me 'not to worry'!

Am I being stupid? Am I barking up the wrong tree?

Sorry - but I've got no-one to talk to! Argh!!

Hils x

Have you gotten your blood work back yet? I suggest that you go to a good endocronolgist. I was diagnosed with PCOS about 4 years ago and I thank God I had a great doctor that specialized in PCOS. If you are diagnosed with PCOS the only way to eat is by low carbing. That was really hard for me to deal with at first but now I wished I had started when I was diagnosed. I am taking a natutal product made by Mannatech and doing Dr. Atkins, the combination of both has drastically changed my Chronic Fatigue, my acne problem, my hair loss, (hair growth is still there) and my periods are pretty regular. Once in a while I will have a heavier than usual period with painful cramping. Educate yourself as much as you can, beacuse friends and family don't understand why you have to eat low carb and they look at you crazy when you explain all of the other symptoms you have. FOr me weight loss is still difficul but I have slowly losst 45 pounds and still have another 45-55 to go. I will make it but it will take just a bit longer because of the disease. Good Luck

My doctor's nurse practitioner saw me the first visit that I went in begging to have something done about my "hormones". I knew something was wrong with me, but at the time I did not know what. She refused that at that time to check my hormone levels. I returned not much later, with wt gain, skipping my period for 7 mos., edema, chronic fatigue, red face and neck, hot flashes, irritability, etc, etc. The doctor was there that day and I insisted that she ask her for a hormone profile, the doctor, also ordered some more blood work, to check for PCOS (which I had never heard of at the time) since I was too young (27 y/o) for menopause. The tests confirmed PCOS, and she sent me to my OB/GYN, he then, after 2 visits to him, refered me to an Endocrinologist, finally! I have had symptoms of PCOS for years, now that I know what it is, and I wish more people knew about it. I emailed a lot of educational materials about it to my friends and family when I found out what was wrong with me, and what happpened to their attitude about my weight and health problems? Nothing, they do not understand it and do not try to, it is easier for them to think that the complex problems, which they are not accustomed to, are immagined and that lo-carb is crazy. I have learned to deal with it. My husband and my mom are the only ones who seem to understand, thank God. So... where I am leading with this is... demand that your doctor send you to and endocrine MD after your lab work and take a copy of the results with you. Do not let the doctor tell you that you need ultrasounds, etc. to confirm the diagnosis, the lab work is the main identifier. Some people with PCOS do not even get cysts on the ovaries, maybe why PCOS is also known as Stein-Leventhal Syndrome. Good luck to you. It is still hard and I am not having a lot of luck with my medication the doctor put me on for PCOS yet, but at least I know what is wrong with me and I am fighting to do something about it, tell your doctor to put that in his pipe and smoke it, lol.

i too have had symptoms of pcos for over 11 years and it was not untill last feb when i read an article in womans day magazine on pcos that i cried with the realisation that i am not crazy!!

i had ballooned from 140 to 202 lbs in just 6 weeks back in 1992 and ever since then had very painful irregular periods which eventually became 3-6 months apart and lasted for 4-6 weeks at a time. doctor after doctor told me it was all b/c i was fat. by 1999 i had sleep apnea and had ballooned to 348 (and a 1/2 ) pounds and was in and out of the hospital with allergic reactions/ anaphylaxia, redness, edema, rashes, fatigue,and i had whiskers on my chin that were so bad i had to shave..it was AWFUL!! everyone in my family would look at me in disgust and totally thought i had lost it when i tried to eat lc for the first time back in 1992. i let my family and friends and co-workers shame me out of sticking with it for many many years...
"oh..are you still on that WIERD bacon and cheese diet? " "ketosis destroys your kindeys!".. then they would roll their eyes and sigh and moan how fat is what makes peole fat and i should just start juicing.



AAAAARGH!!!! finally i had had enough! and last spring when i met a new doctor after having yet another anaphylactic reaction after eating some carbs..i sheepishly mentioned to him that i do feel better when i eat low cab but would it be safe for my kidneys to get back in ketosis and do atkins and he answered me matter of factly...

: "if you are not in ketosis you are not losing weight! in fact- my full time nutritionist only recomends low carb eating..besides, it is the only way to treat pcos anyway."



hallelujah!! hallelujah!!!!

i had found my doctor!!

i only wish i had found him ten years earlier but as someone once said.."it is never too late to be who you might have been."!!

low carbing is THE ONLY treatment for PCOS. i have seen the worlds leading endocrinologists in nyc and i can save you a trip and thousands of dollars in tests..after all my blood tests, mris, ultra sounds,and cat scans of every cell in in my body including my brain ..the worlds top endocrinologist looked me square in the eyes and said.."CUT OUT CARBS" ..THAT IS IT. all metformin does is help control sugar cravings to help you stick with low carbing...ketosis does the same thing and it is free..just get through the first three days of withdrawl and save yourself a hundred and fifty bucks a month and the risk of all metformins side effects. LOW CARBING IS THE GOLD STANDARD OF TREATMENT FOR PCOS...it is THE ONLY hope. praise God we have it though... our misery need not be permanent . we can choose a better life every day by living LC!!

blessings

-amarise