My heart goes out to all of you with 'too much hair.' I grew up with dark hair (it's now dyed red brown!) and fair skin. I didn't have too much, but what I did have was more than I wanted! Except on the top of my head, of course, that was ok. The hair on my arms, for instance, just stood out more because of my fair skin. It doesn't seem fair to have 'too much,' especially when you have other issues.
I have been told my several doctors, one or two real experts, that I have PCOS. The same is true for those who told me I did NOT have pcos. I finally got what I thought was a good answer from a doc on the internet, who is an expert. PCOS is very complex (my words) and you can have this or that, but not all the things that define it for others. I have had lots of songrams, and not all cysts are what they're looking for re: PCOS. I get mature follicles, I think many people with PCOS have immature, but that is not a requirement to be considered to have it. I get functional cysts, which actually just means you're ovulating. I think what they look for is a cluster of cysts around the ovaries.
I have had high testosterone, but not with the excess hirsutism. I have low progesterone, and take natural bio-identical compounded progesterone, and that seems to help with many issues, incl migraines. I now have 'normal' testosterone. For now!
I have syndrome x, but my blood sugar is not totally out of control. I think the progesterone helps with that. I have read on soulcysters.com that getting your blood sugar under control, your weight under control, can help your hormones balance themselves. This includes your testosterone. I don't have that dark ring they talk about, but I do have a lot of skin tags, another 'sign.' I get terrible cramps every month, and that has contribued to weight gain. it's not easy to lose the weight, and problems can make you crave 'emotional food.'
I was also told my one doctor that not a lot of people from southern european ancestry get PCOS, but I think our 'American diet' contributes to this. I was just told to eat a gluten-free diet, and am working on this.
I actually did go very low carb 6 years ago, and got down to a pretty good weight. BUT, months later, under stress, I went back to carbs and gained the weight back, got very tired, and added a few more pounds because of less exercise. I have not been able to lose that weight because of different health issues - two surgeries in the last 3 years (one major, the other, day surgery) etc. I now need to work on somehow combining the lower carb, with the gluten-free (which often has very high carb products!)
I have never read anywhere that this particular aspect or that is required for a diagnosis of PCOS, but rather, it's usually several that make up a picture.
Oh! one more thing - is uterine hyperplasia the same as a thickened endometrium? I had that problem for many months, it showed up on the sonograms. My doc was worried, she did a D & C. She really thought that she would find pre-cancerous cells. She did not, and she said that was because of the progesterone I take. I asked her what the treatment for precancerous cells are, and she said progesterone! The last sonogram I had was the first time I've had a 'normal' endometrial 'size' for the lining.
Last edited by NoMoreSug : Thu, May-25-06 at 17:06.
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