I was just wondering how many women were diagnosed with insulin resistance here.
I was diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia years ago, but then when i was diagnosed with PCOS I went to a specialist who said everyone with PCOS has insulin resistance.
I was never able to follow up with him since he dropped my insurance. So I was always left wondering do I have insulin resistance or not?
If you have been diagnosed with insulin resistance how was it diagnosed? Was it just assumed you had it because you had PCOS? Do you ever have Hypoglycemia?

I have PCOS which has been diagnosed, and insulin resistance which I figured out for myself. The new thinking regarding PCOS is that its a problem with insulin that causes it - so the insulin resistance comes first, and the increased insulin levels affect the ovaries in some women to over produce androgens.

I get hypoglycaemia, though only when I'm eating low carb now, though 17 years ago when I was diagnosed the hypoglycaemia was much worse. Now my blood glucose runs a little higher, and when I eat carbs barely changes - so if you plot it on a graph, instead of a line going up when I eat and then down again, I just get a flat line.

But 17 years ago I had reactive hypoglycaemia and after I ate my blood glucose would drop through the floor. When I told the doc he told me to eat more sugary food!

Hope that helps.

Lee

i have insulin resistance. i was diagnosed at 14 when after having my appendix out i stopped getting TOM and started getting a snail trail and a mustache which i was able to compete with dad in movember (were guys grow their mustache to raise awareness for prostate cancer and depression for men) an i was able to take 3rd prize an beat dad.

my doctor did a insulin blood test and the first reading i got was 80, then 3 months later i got another one and it was 58 and then another three months later it was 105 and it was never the same, never stable and i'm not even diabetic! i was simply insulin resistance, i did take the diabetic test which never indicated that i was, just that i was insulin resistance.

to this day and several years later, my results still vary the best reading i have ever gotten was 7 an the normal reading is 4 according to my doctor. but it was a one off i mainly sit with 20 or higher depending if i get TOM and if i do then its lower but if i dont then its high.

an also sorry for this late reply, lol.

I've never been diagnosed but I strongly suspect I am. I had gestational diabetes and have been overweight most of my adult life. I am very carb (sugar) sensitive and it is very difficult for me to lose weight with an abundance of them in my diet (even the "good" carbs), not to mention carbs drive my hunger out of control. I have the classic apple shape when overweight.

I was diagnosed with IR recently, but only because I stayed on my doctor and 'mushed the little husky' to the finish line. I knew being on induction phase, and working out 1.5 hrs X4 days/week should have produced weight loss - but it didn't. And my doctor just kept trying to pass it off as ‘you’re getting older’ and ‘you’re past menopause, learn to live with it’. Told my doctor he better stop sloughing this off and find an answer or I would be carrying his jewels in my purse! And he prescribed Metformin (while crossing his legs).

Why do women suffer with insulin issues (and I believe most apple shaped, overweight women are IR) when medical break throughs allow an 80 yr old man to have a 4 hour erection? Most women have untreated IR till they slip into diabetes. Had it been addressed earlier, and aggressively managed then, diabetes could be delayed for years – if not the remainder of her life.

Metformin does help the IR. Metformin isn’t THE ANSWER, but it’s ONE ANSWER. The side effects are awful. But I can't lose weight unless I do some crazy crash diet - so the only answer I have now is Metformin. And living with high blood sugar kills my organs, eyes, arteries, etc.

I'm now on metformin too. If you go on the slow release type, the side effects ease off pretty quickly - I had no side effects after a month on slow release.

I've read that metformin gives those with severe insulin resistance the same chance at weight loss as everyone else, whereas before, the chance of weight loss was close to zero.

Lee

It is true that Met will give you the same chance at weight loss. Just curtailing the insulin by making my cells more sensitive (and allowing them to open up and take the sugar in my blood) stops the never ending cycle of fat storage. It doesn't help my metabolism though, so it is still tough to lose the weight - but at least I can now.

I tolerate Met pretty well. I was surprised that I had little side effects until later, then they all started to pop up for visits. I thought about going on ER version, but heard that the ER version doesn't have the same effectiveness for weight loss as the original version. So as long as I can do the non-ER version, I will.

PCOS in 1989 - Docs were not well versed and only treated with birth control, Provera, or surgery
IR in 1998 - Had to bring studies in to have my doc even check my insulin (which was off the chart) started Gloucophage (Metformin) 500 mg - JUST increased to 1000mg daily as my insulin crept back up.
I am back on the low/no carb WOE to decrease those levels. Low carb and exercise are the best to get IR under control, lose weight, and get other related "syndrome" issues under control.

PCOS diagnosis over 10 years ago, and yes, I am resistant too. It definitely makes it harder to lose the weight even on LC, but the positive side effects of the WOE are too numerous to walk away from.

I stopped taking the Glucophage XR when I couldn't stomach the side effects anymore. All I had to do is eat one meal with carbs and I couldn't leave the house for 24 hours. Nobody believed me, so I don't take it at all anymore. Type II or not, I'm med free and HbA1c is an average of 5.4 with excellent chloresterol levels.

My goal is to lose the fat, which will cure/greatly diminish the IR. Just being fat keeps IR going round and round.

I have started exercising this year, and I do a minimum of 3 times a week. Couple this with the weight loss, and I hope to stop taking Metformin in the future. I will have staved off diabetes (hopefully for ever), and be able to manage my blood sugars through my diet and exercise.

I was diagnosed PCOS prob 25 years ago. I dont think my glucose was ever checked until I got pregnant (22 years ago). I had been to doctors because my periods were never normal or on any schedule. I only would have 3 or 4 a year whenever it took a notion. I would have a horrid cramp in my ovaries everytime. 13 years ago with my second pregnancy I was diagnosed gestational diabetic. My mom is insulan dependant so it didnt supprise me. When I went back for my 6 weeks check up is when my dr decided to do a fasting glucose and diagnosed me as IR. He said I wasnt borderline either, no question with the numbers. I do not remember what they were. Anywho I tried to keep a check on my glucose and follow a "diabetic diet". What a bunch of carby crap. About 6 years ago I discovered low carb and started reading and learning. After about 2 months eating lc I started having a period EVERY month and have since. They are not on a 28 day cycle but monthly give or take a week. I stopped having the excrutating, double over pain in my ovaries. When I eat lc I do not have the premenstral symptoms I experience when not eating lc: much less breast tenderness, chin hairs and mustach is much less, pms greatly greatly reduced and it was super bad!!!, cramps are much less and managable with tylenol.
I have not stayed on plan the last 6 years but all the changes I listed stayed. I honestly believe I healed myself. I will say that when I fall off the wagon for a while (or months/years) some symptoms increase but have never gone back to what they use to be.

Tammie

tommiec68, My fasting glucose was always on the high side of normal so they kept saying no problem. Once I pushed for them to check the insulin levels. It was 26. Later I was told it was hyperinsulinemia - major insulin production and my glucose was being managed (stayed under 100 usually). Lately it measured at 21 so the doc increased my Met to 500 2x a day. I am doing LC and lowered caloric intake to get it down. My goal is to maintain a healthy weight and go med free by this time next year.