I am about to start my LC life here tomorrow. I havent been taking my met for about 2weeks Bad me i know. But i am thinking now that i am going to start LCing i am going to wait till the first week is over and then reintroduce my ER met to the program.. Sounds like it just all depends on the person and the amount of me to me... I am hoping thats the case and i do fine. I cant stand met s/e's

Hi Guys,
I've found the PCOS board by accident! And am glad I found you all!!.

I have PCOS and Insulin Resistance. I'm on 1700mg of metformin a day and am just about to satrt Atkins. My consultant told me to do it but sensibly!! Her words not mine! She said to find the lower carb fruits and vegs and make sure I eat them. Also to eat chicken. seafood, duck, turkey etc not just a ton of bacon and steak! I'm sensible anyway with my fat intake.
She also told me to be prepared to stick to 1000 cals a day or less and if I'm still struggling to lose weight I may have to drop down to 500-600 cals a day (with low carb) to lose. She says she has some PCOS patients at the moment and they can not lose any weight unless they drop down that low! I know it sounds madness and is horrible scary but I do trust her as she is one of the leading specialists here in the UK on fertility problems and PCOS.
has anyone else been told something similar?

Does anyone else notice how crap they feel after eating carbs? If I have a bad day and end up picking at little amounts of crap (biscuits, choc, carb based foods) I feel dodgy. I'm exhausted, feel sick, dizzy and usually end up with a bad stomach too!

My other question is what plans are you all following? Why do you think it works so well for you. What's good about it.?
I'd really appreciate any help as I'm still trying to find my way

Many Thanks

Lisa

I have PCOS, diagnosed in the 1980s. It's nonsense to say 500 cals. Your body will do serious damage to itself. Even 1000 is too little. I successfully lost 3 stone (Over 30lbs) in 5 or so months on 1500, sometimes more, calories a day.

A starvation diet will send your body into panic mode and you'll just gain wait. LCing, I found, was a neat way to eat awful food AND put on weight. No fad diets work. Drink more water, eat less rubbish and exercise more and you will lose the weight without counting any calories.

If you can, read *PCOS THE DIET* by Colette Harriss (Pub. by Thorssons, UK), you'd see why the Low Carb diet is not recommended for women with PCOS.

I suspected as much having lost 3 stone (36lb) once on a low fat diet (Weight I kept off for years til having 2 babies in 2 years!) and yet when I tried to Low Carb, lost 10lb then plateued. Then GAINED.

The PCOS diet book explains why low carb diets can never work, long term, for women with PCOS and give much greater health risks long and short term, for us. Despite their hype, they don't actually address the real problems. To go into ketosis unsupervised by a doctor is positively dangerous.

And when the LC becomes unsustainable - the weight will return.

Do check this book out. It compares all the diets, and whilst it doesn't advocate LC ing it does suggest watching the GI of foods, and only eating complex carbs. But not the levels of protein and fat and not in the way LC diets do.

Annwn

i take 1500mg of glucophage er a day and i'm not having any weird side effects, other than the normal ones i always have.. tmi.. lol... i did notice that my weight loss seems to be slower, but i figured that after some reading.. i also found this great article that some of you might find interesting... take care fellow PCOS'ers...
http://www.texasfertility.com/pos.html

Wendy

In the U.S., there are several extended release metformin products that sharply reduce GI side effects - Glucophage XR, brand and generic, in 500mg & 750mg, and Fortamet, 1000mg. The incidence of nausea/diarrhea drop from somewhere around 50% with immediate release to around 10-12% on extended release. Hope this helps with the side effects.