Hello All,
I was just told about a month ago that I had PCOS. I hadn't had a period for almost a year and went in to see why. I was put on metformin and it made me horribly sick. So I have been for the last two weeks trying to low carb and lose weight. I am very overweight and am hoping that with weight loss most of the problems will go away as well. I am having a really hard time staying on the diet though. I really want to do my best. I have been trying to walk everyday in an attempt to help the process but I have not really seen much of a difference in my body. I am not sure what to expect. I don't know anyone who has this and it scares me a little. I have to go see the doctors again soon and I want to show that I am serious about getting healthy. Does anyone have an suggestions?

Have a look in this forum for a lady called "Scarlet"; she has PCOS and I'm sure she'd be willing to point you in the right direction.

amanda

Excercise is great for flexibility, increasing stamina, getting you out of the house and in to the sunshine so you can make vitamin d...it just doesn't help much on the weight loss front...
http://nymag.com/news/sports/38001/

Keep walking, but what you eat is going to make a much bigger difference.

The exercise is helping your cells metabolize the blood sugars better and will definitely help your PCOS. Chromium Pic will help as well. And the best thing you started was the low carbing! I see you've lost 10 lbs already! Way to go!

One thing you learn about PCOS, it is just a symptom of a bigger (unfortunately permanent for now...) problem. But with the right attitude, and doing the things you're doing now, it's manageable and you can get better! You can do this!

Also, hit the kitchen threads for some tasty grub and start a journal to help you work through your frustrations and record your successes.

We look forward to hearing more from you!

Thank you for all the helpful tips. I am not sold on starting on plan because my life changes constantly and its hard to stick with one thing very long but I have been reading a lot on LC and I know that I am going to give it my all. I wanted to thank you for all the help though its just really nice to know that people have been here and done it.

Hi JC

I have PCOS too. As Kuukuu said, the weight is just one symptom of the metabolic disorder. That disorder is insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. Your body is basically not able to handle carbs and sugars well and releases high levels of insulin to handle them. These high levels of insulin then cause all the symptoms such as acne, weight problems, infertility, menstrual problems etc. Keeping carbs down, but eating fat and protein will help to heal your body. There are many low carb plans around though so it might be worth having a peek at this list http://www.lowcarb.ca/atkins-diet-and-low-carb-plans/ and see what one you think you could do for the rest of your life. Low carb is a lifestyle change so you'll need to pick one that you think could suit you. I can recommend the Schwarzbein Principle personally.

Have you done much reading about PCOS yet? The forums over at www.soulcysters.net are great.

I agree with the other posters.
This is an entire disorder. The lack of periods is just a symptom of the bigger issue. I am 43 years old. Up until I started my lc WOL I rarely if ever had a menstrual period. Within a month of starting I've had TOM regularly minus twice in almost 5 years. I had a lot of belly fat. I had great difficulty getting pregnant. The acanthosis negricans was terrible - neck, between breasts, knuckles, and elbows on me always looked dirty. I had tons of facial hair.

You mentioned that you are having difficutly sticking with this WOE. I would recommend you work the plan. Do a complete 2 week induction and get those cravings under control. Then follow what Dr A says to the letter in the '72 book and start adding in the carbs in 5 gram increments. If you try to be too restrictive that could be why you are rebelling and not able to stick with it.

If you aren't exercising you should think about starting. I tend to go overboard with things, but just start by walking 15 minutes daily and work your way up from there. Exercise is excellent at helping with blood sugar control.

What kind of Metformin are you taking? Some people here report that the ER causes less stomach upset. Are you taking your Met with food? Did you slowly increase the dose?

Lastly read, read and read some more. Scarlet gave you some excellent links. Check those out.

Good luck!

Thank you for all the tips on how to deal with PCOS. I have been doing a ton of research, which is scary at times because I really haven't even had something wrong with me before. So having something that I can't control seems to be a big problem for me. I know that lately I haven't lost any weight and I seem to be addicted to the scale because I want so badly to have some control but it doesn't work that way. So I gave my scale to my husband and he hid it so I can't do that anymore. I was also getting really depressed because I feel like I will be this size forever and I don't want to be. I am normally a level headed person but not lately. I feel better since I started LC but I also am angry that I have too. I know that my family has a lot of problems with type 2 diabetes and I knew I would always inherent that but I guess this made me angry that I have something else I have to worry about as well. I am making progress with letting go of what I can't change but it has been a real struggle for me to grasp that its not my fault completely for the way I look. I am one of those strong "blame yourself for everything" people. I am way harder on myself that anyone ever could be and I still to an extent blame myself for my weight. I figured I should have know better even though I had never heard of PCOS till a month ago. Thank you though for the ideas research and to get on one of the plans. I am still researching some of those plans and definitely reading up on PCOS but I at least don't feel so alone. Thank you so much.

Try to be your own best friend would be my advice. Don't be so hard on yourself and be patient. This is the beginning of a new journey and you need to be good to yourself.

I was one of those people who used to be really hard on myself and, eventually, it drove me into depression when I got hit with a few very unlucky breaks all in the space of six months in my late twenties: I broke my leg, which in itself is not a tragedy, but I was freelance, which my doctor didn't know and he gave me a sick note for six weeks. I didn't earn any money for six weeks, used up all my savings and was stoney broke; then I got a notice to quit the flat I had lived in happily on my own for four years; then I lost my job!!! It was a really tough time, but most of these things weren't my fault. But, I kept on blaming myself for everything - and ended up virtually suicidal and finally started seeing a therapist. I managed to sort out a few things with him, one being that these negative voices were basically my mother talking, not me.

I then had a very lucky break and met my husband and we fell in love! Now, when I do something silly, I try to be own best friend, or imagine what my husband would say to me (he is usually very supportive ).

Hang on in there and keep looking into low-carb. It is one of the easiest ways of eating to stick with; it just takes a little while to adjust.

Take care,

amanda

Hi JCS

Well the good news is if Type 2 Diabetes is in your family, low carb will probably prevent you from ever getting it. My advice to you is to pick something you think you can live with long term. Don't just pick something that you think will get weight off at the fastest rate.

Are you still on the metformin? What dosage?

Thanks for the great posts on being my own best friend. I am lucky to have an overly supportive husband which is great and I am working on telling myself good job as well. I guess I just need more time.

I am not on metformin right now. I was taking it and about a week into taking it at 1 tablet I got horribly sick. I stayed that way for almost a week before the doctor told me to stop taking it and in about two days all the pain was gone. The day I stopped taking it I felt so much better. I have heard on here that some people take cinnamon. I was thinking about trying that. Do you know what the best time of day to take that would be is any meal better than another? I get to go see the doctor tomorrow and talk to him about the metformin. So I am not sure if he will try to put me back on or try something else.

I just hope that I am happy and healthy that is all I am going for right now.

I used to take metformin at the time for fertility reasons but also to control the pcos symptoms,(I actually got pregnant) I find that just doing a low carb diet (for me atkins works) helps with my symptoms. Just doing induction brings my period which I would always have to use a med to get.

What kind of sick did the metformin cause. It has a tendency to create all kinds of bowel trouble at first, but should settle down over a few days. When I first started it I broke my doses in a 1/4 and gradually worked up to the full dose over several days. That helped minimize the side effects of the problems it causes.

I have PCOS as well and I would really suggest reconsidering the metformin. The tummy issues aren't as bad if you're not eating a lot of carbs. I take 2000 mg of Metformin a day (2 pills in the am, 2 pills at night) and I was sick for about a month, but it tapered off and it really, really helps with the weight loss and it helps with fertility as well (supposedly). My doctor said to eat 1/2 my meal, take the meds, then finish the meal...and it really helped. Metformin is the closest thing to a miracle drug that there is for PCOS....good luck to you!

Hello, ladies. I, too, have PCOS (diagnosed in Dec. 2008) and have found a lot of help in the combo of LC'ing and Metformin. Yes, it did cause me (A LOT of ) stomach trouble at first, but it really tapered off after a couple of months. Hang in there! Oh, cinnamon did help the side effects some...so did ginger. It really did well for me.