Ok....I will do my best to keep this as short and simple as possible... LOL yeah like I am good at that!

So here goes...
First let me say, I believe I am a product of my own undoing...LOL And I also believe a product of what can happen when you have mindless doctors who don't know jack diddly about anything! LOL

I am 29 about to turn 30....have been dx with PCOS since around 16. Unfortunetly no one ever told me this was a bad thing. On my own, after ttc #1 for the first 3 yrs of marriage, I began to do some research...but not a lot was avalible to me... ANYWAY~

Here I am.....at 267lbs. finally realising that this is BAD!!!!!!!!!!!
My cholesteral is bad, my tirgycerides are 307!!!
Fasting glucose was 117!!!
My periods are CRAZY and unpredictible
I am still ttc #1...ten years later. Wow thats a long time...
the only good thing is my bp is normal!

The kicker...my doctor doesn't feel comfortable putting me on Metformin, she thinks it would be of no use! IS SHE CRAZY!!!!?????!!!!!! This even after reading my transfered chart stating my former doc was going to put me on it. Anyway She wants to monitor me and check my b/w for the next several months then make changes. She feels losing weight will benifit, I agree....but then wouldn't help me select a plan or refer me to the nutritionist. Didn't see it as necessary Thought I could just do it on my own.
UGH!!! Doctors!

FYI....I will be looking for a new doctor! ASAP!

Here is what I need help with.

I AM TAKING CONTROL OF MY LIFE!!!

1) Diet......I have tried several with minimal results. Currently looking at starting South Beach again, or Insulin Resistance Diet....(I am severly IR)

2) For those with PCOS who have been ttc....what did you find helped?
Natural means....herbs, supplements, vitamins???
(side note, yes I have been in active tx with an RE before...lets say we have been on a very long break, 3 years or so from tx, not ttc)

3) Any little tidbits you think may be helpful in my journey.


This has been a long time coming, I wish at 16 they would have told me even a little of what I was in for and what I could be doing to help myself. But here I am almost 30, still childless and desperate to make a life change that will benifit ME!!!

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for giving me any help...sorry this seemed to ramble a bit....I'm tired!

Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!
Jamie

Jamie ----I feel for you . . .my story is similar ex I was Dx ~ 12 yo. The best thing for you to do is go to the forums on www.soulcysters.com so far its the best I have found. I am doing the IR diet as I too am IR in the worst way and in 1.5 wks I have gone from 258 to 249. WOOhooo for me. Anyways the diet has been pretty easy for me to follow and I havent been hungry at all.

Congratulations!!! That is awesome LinnyL. 9 Lbs in a week and half!!! Great job!
I have checked out that sight a couple times...had good stuff. I also frequent www.fertilethoughts.com Tons of great stuff there too. Just really trying to cover my bases. Thanks for the tip!

wooo hoo you must be a night owl . . . check out the wt loss buddies message board and look for the Noc Shift Loosers thread there are a few more of us nighties on there and Its always nice to have some one else on the same schedule to talk to things about

opps on soulcysters . . .duh sould've told the dang website at least , its been a heck of a long nite here and still have 3 hrs and 46 min to go

Wow Jamie! If your fasting insulin is that high, you'd think your doctor would like to address it with medication. I mean, this is a pre-diabetic condition! The kicker is also, that if you can get your insulin to stop spiking, it helps you lose weight and get the rest of your levels normalized. My cholesterol was very high and I was amazed. I ate a total non-fat and low calorie type diet. The kicker was, I was eating high carbohydrates and spiking my insulin all over the place like crazy, that led to low blood sugar and I felt like total crap! Not to mention, gaining 20 pounds in 8 months. Anyway, the doctor said not to focus on my cholesterol, it was because my whole body was out of wack that it was so high. So basically, your doctor seems to be attacking the symptoms of IR, instead of IR. Of course, this is solely my opinion, I'm not a doctor.

My doctor also wants me to lose 10% of my body weight to start with, then we check my levels again... if needed another 10%. She said just a minimal amount of loss can have a very positive affect on your insulin.

Of course losing weight will benefit, but I feel she should of given you some weapons... attacking IR being one of them!

Good luck, Jamie. Do you think you can see another doctor?

SoulCysters is awesome.

OMG!!! I can't believe with levels like that your doctor is simply telling you to lose weight. I would definetely be looking for another doc! My fasting insulin levels where at 117, when according to the labs scale, it should have been a 17. And my A1C was really high, almost diabetic levels. My doc didn't even let me leave his office without a months worth of Met and a prescription. And he preached about weight, but also told me that it would be very difficult to lose weight until the insulin resistence was under control. Iwent through a very similar situations though, I actually had a doctor refuse to help me because I wasn't married, and by fixing the insulin resistence it would restore my cycle, which might let me conceive, and that was wrong because I wasn't married (and this is the same man that delivered both of my children, when I was married). Then another doc saw my results and wanted to wait because because the lab didn't specify on the results that it was a fasting blood test. So, I kept going to a different doc, until I found one that was amazed that I couldn't find help previously. Like I said above, he gave me Metformin in sample packs before I even left his office. It just takes finding the right doc who will listen to you, and understand that you have done your research, and you know what you have,and you know what will help you overcome this.
Low carbing is definately something that will help you if you are insulin resistence. I would recommend that you do some sort of low carb lifestyle, be it South beach or Atkins, or the Insulin Resistent diet, whatever. But that will make you will like a whole new person, until you do find the right doc!!!

Oh yeah, meant to add this to the other post. My endocrinologist actually suggested this. Fish Oil supplements. He told me it would help lower my choloesterol, and it is also supposed to help with cravings. Everyone I know says it takes about ten days or so to feel the results of the less cravings, but I have not noticed that. But it does help with the cholesterol. I am proof of that!
I take a multi-vitamin everyday, and my fish oil supplement.

I am a lil ashamed to say all of what I have to say but its the truth! I am a nurse, I work in a University Hospital and I work with med students, residents, and attendings. Drs. now spend so little time with pts that it is almost imposible for them to have a clear understanding of what is going on with their pts. This is true both in the hospital and the clinic. What does this mean for the pt. ? It means unless they have a really great nurse advocating for their concerns or they themselves are going to be very agressive about their care . . . .it just wont get done. You have to take control of Your body! It took me several years (was dx at 12yo am 26 now) to realise all of the things that I thought were normal for me were all part of PCOS. When I was 12 all they said was you have cysts on your ovaries, it may cause some heavy periods but there is nothing we can do about it. Silly me even after becoming a nurse and working in a hosp for several years I didnt do any more research on it and just accepted it until I spoke with anouther nurse at work! LOL I owe her some wonderful low carb treat or I would still be trying those low fat and calorie diets and not getting anywhere. SO pls if you are not happy or satisfied with what your Dr is telling you FIND A NEW ONE!!!! IT's YOUR HEALTH AND BODY!!!!

Thank you all for replying...Yes I have every intention of finding a new doctor. I am just about to lose ins. for about 6 months so hoping I can get in to see someone in the next week or so. Otherwise I amy be up the creek. I am just as dumbfounded by all of this. I am dangerously close to diabeties...family history of it too, but she wants to "wait and see" UGH!!! Whatever. I am in high speed mode to find someone quick! But I guess if I don't I will just have to save up some cahs and pay out of pocket. Thanks again!

to speed things up go into your drs office and ask for copies of all your lab work . . .your new dr may not want to use them but they will at least give him/her a jumping off point

Good thought, thanks

Don't give up hope of ttc!!

I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was around 16-17 years old. The doctor at the time didn't have much more information, just that's why I had really heavy flows. Ok, thought it was "normal" as my mom was very irregular too before she had me.

Fast forward to a few years later when I became "active." I visited the ob/gyn who put me on bc to regulate my tom and prevent any preg. He said if I ever wanted to get pregnant, we would have to look into other medications. As I was in my early twenties and not in a serious relationship, the last thing I wanted at that time was a child, so I was ok on the bc. I actually had it in my head that I could not conceive.

Then, I met DH. He didn't want kids, I thought I couldn't have any...perfect! After being married 3 years, I started lc'ing (January 2004). during the third month of lc'ing, my tom started on it's own. So, with the bc, I was getting it twice a month! I know I could have changed my pills around to prevent this, but I figured I'd just stop taking my pills. I was getting my tom on my own and just figured my PCOS was getting better. Still didn't occur to me that I could conceive because it had been 5-6 years in my head that I couldn't.

I started to think about trying...and 2 months later I was pg! DH and I were shocked, but very happy. DH joked that he was gonig to sue my original doctor and Doctor Atkins!

I truly believe the lc'ing helped me to conceive. I didn't have all my bloodwork done like you have, so I can't offer any concrete proof of that. I just know that I felt a billion times better, lost 40+ lbs, and got pregnant! My angel was born 5/16/05 and I re-started lc'ing 8/22/05. (I craved carbs and fruit thru my whole pregnancy...and didn't stop after I gave birth!)

Sorry this post is so long...I just wanted to wish you luck and a "don't give up" from someone who thinks it's possible!!