My Dr tells me i am too heavy to examine properly to diagnose me with anything,,, yet i have typical symptoms of PCOS but he wont give me any prescription for it.. Anyone, all comments welcome

Welcome, ch3rry!

I was lucky in the fact that my mom was my biggest advocate, she did a LOT of research. Keep in mind this was about 10 years ago and relatively little information about PCOS was out there. When I started having periods at 12, they were regular for about a year. After that, I would only get 1 or 2 periods a year. My sister also has PCOS and suffered from the missed periods also. What really set my mom off was that my sister was growing a mustache. Unfortunately I suffer from hair loss which was not evident for a few more years so I was not treated as aggressively as my sister. My OBGYN was quite knowledgeable about PCOS.

A diagnosis of PCOS is hard to make. There are not set markers of disease in every single woman with PCOS. Sometimes you might not even have cysts on your ovaries! It is possible to do an ultrasound on your ovaries to detect cysts, but as I said do not worry if you don't have cysts present as you may still have PCOS. It is important to get your hormone levels checked. Check out endocrinologists in your area, if you can find a reproductive endocrinologist that would be great.

Can I ask what prescriptions are you wanting? Metformin? It seems like on this board a lot of women think metformin will cause weight loss. That is not how it works. The best thing for weight loss is low carb!


Check out soulcysters.net! It is another board just for PCOS. Good luck!

yes i was hoping for metformin, my best friend lost over 100 pounds after starting metformin without even trying.. it made her want to eat much less and the weight just dropped off

My Dr ordered an ultra sound and they said cuz of my weight they could not get good pictures to see if i had cysts or not..

I was diagnosed in my early 20's (10 years ago) because my periods were heavy (though my cycle was regular at 30ish days). They did blood work and found that my FSH and LH ratios were off. This is what they based their diagnosis on.

I had some facial hair, but not a lot (though I have to shave everyday now). I haven't had a big problem with weight, so that was not part of my symptoms. Though I do have endometriosis and hashimoto's thyroiditis. The thyroid wasn't diagnosed until a few years later and the endometriosis in my late 20s. With the endometriosis they found the typical cyst formation of PCOS.

PCOS can be diagnosed through blood work. I have never had an ultrasound to find PCOS. My symptoms were considered and blood work was taken. I have been taking 2000mg Glucophage XR for about 8 years. Did not cause weight loss for me. But it does help correct some of the hormonal issues.

I am lucky because I have a Nurse Practitioner who also has PCOS. Maybe look for a doc that is more knowledgable regarding PCOS. Good Luck.

Here's to the journey,
Debi

My journey to gettting diagnosed with PCOS was a NIGHTMARE!! My hubby had cancer so all my weight gain and missed periods were blamed on stress. I went to one DR after not having a period in almost a year and he gave me anti depressants. I was upset because I wanted a baby , hubby was in remission. I finally did an internet search about 7 yrs ago and BAM I found out about PCOS. I went to a female dr that I was going to see about fertility and she did the test and I was positive. I was sorta relieved to realize it was not me . I had a name to put on my condition!! I was able to educate myself. I was hell getting there but persistance wtih your health is important!

Ten years ago I went to the dr for bronchitis.

For the previous year I'd been to the drs a bunch of times because I'd stopped having my TOM. No other symptoms.

In October of '99 I gained 30 pounds in a month. With three SlimFast shakes and walking two miles a day I managed to stop it there, but couldn't loose anything. In November I started growing a beard and chest hair and broke out in acne.

In January of 2000, I went to the dr for bronchitis. After he diagnosed me and wrote the prescription he asked, "is there anything else?" I blew up all over the poor man.

He told me that I had PCOS, put me on a LC diet and wrote me a prescription for Met.

I was 29 at diagnosis. By 30, I'd lost 30 pounds, lost TOM and felt great.

But here's some hope for you: I hated the Metforamin. It made me horribly nauseated. I only took it for two months and never got up to the 1000mg. (Stayeed at 500mg for 60 days.) All that wellness I did with LC alone.

First off if you want a proper diagnosis go to a dr that specializes in hormones like a endocrinologist, gynecologist, or internist. I had this really nice family dr for a few years. She kept telling my all my symptoms were from being overweight and to just take some pounds off and they would go away. So last fall I decided to try a new dr. and on my first visit he diagnosed me with PCOS with Endometrial hyperplasia (I had never heard of it before he diagnosed me with it). He diagnosed this based on my list of symptoms and my blood work. But he felt because I already have children and do not plan on having more that there was no need to treat me. I guess he was just looking at the infertility part of pcos and not the whol picture. That was 7 months ago. Then I decided to go to yet another dr. this time a Internist I had half a year to prepare for the appointment and get all my info together and already had a diagnosis and did research on what treatments I wanted to try and I explained to the dr what I expected of him, and what meds I wanted to try, and how quickly I expected treatment to start, and made sure he knew I expected RESULTS that it was not about fertility it was about how lousy and sick I felt. LOL I had been waiting for 7 months and sick for 8 years and was past ready to get things moving along quickly, and he agreed, So this last Monday I started Metformin, and Loestrin (that has progesterone in it) and on Wednesday he ordered a vaginal ultrasound. I weigh 338 and they had no problem doing the ultrasound.

Metformin has been hard to get used to. It makes me super sick. My dr told me that part of it is just the pill it can cause GI issues and that is why I started on half dose for two weeks then will move to full dosage. He also said if I eat too much sugar, fat, or carbs then it can effect it too and make my tummy worse. and by tummy issues I am talking about feeling like I am going to throw up and horrible diarrhea and stomach cramps so bad that I could barley leave the house for fear I would too far away from a bathroom! I have heard many people have this problem on it.

It took me about 8 years total to get a diagnosis. And it came down to something as simple as changing dr's to find one who knows and understands pcos. Search up a forum called soul cycters. soulcysters.net They are all about pcos and have a whole board dedicated to the symptoms, how to get diagnosed, treatment, and which dr's in your area that are great and which ones are not good at dealing with pcos and they also have a forum that lists natural over the counter remedies that might work for you.

Mine was diagnosed years ago, when I was 35. I had very heavy periods and at an annual physical the doctor discovered a grapefruit cyst on my ovary. I had a complete hysterectomy and it turned out to be a 'chocolate' cyst from endometriosis.

That took care of the heavy periods and the endometriosis, but I still have some symptoms of PCOS with facial hair and multiple cysts on my feet, hands and head. Maybe they're not related to PCOS since I don't have ovaries anymore, but I just think that whatever caused the PCOS in the first place is still causing problems 25 years later. Low carb eating really helps, but I didn't discover that until very recently. Better late then never, I guess.

My symptoms started in 1991 with facial hair and terrible acne after going off bcp. Then I gained about 40 pounds in 3 months - for no apparent reason. I spoke to my dr. about the possibility of PCOS as my sister had been diagnosed but she dismissed it.

Fast forward to 2001 and I have horrible periods - can't leave the house for days, skip a month, then have 2 in one month, you get the picture.

My doctor attends a seminar one Saturday and calls me on Sunday - you need to come in so I can see you. She tells me she has no doubt I have PCOS and puts me on bcp's again.

I did try metformin a few years later when I continued to steadily gain weight and grow more hair on my face and lose it on my scalp but I didn't find it helped at all. Although to be fair I was only on it for 3 months. I hated being on it.

I saw an endocrinologist and because I already had 2 children and wasn't trying to get pregnant he said - "Yes, you have PCOS. No, you don't have a problem with your thyroid. You will have these symptoms until menopause and will never weigh less than 200 lbs. Have a nice day." Then he sent a letter to my doctor telling her I was depressed because I was crying in his office. Duh! I went to you for help - not for you to tell me there was no hope!

I have lost bits of weight here and there before but my greatest success has always been with LC and this time I plan to stick with it and see it through until I reach my goal.

Best of luck to you and I hope you find a doctor that can be of help!