Hi ,

I was diagnosed with pcos last friday, of the family and friends I let know , no one had ever heard of it! I've been looking things up on line all week since I found out and I'm on info overload. My gyn put me on metformin, so far so good, although I have followed a low carb diet by the book before, I'm doing my own thing following the basic guidelines of low carbing. Infertility is not an issue, I have 3 kids but I'm unsettled by the things that can happen to me in the future if I don't get things under control , but that's not an option! One of my rules so far is No Stinkin' Thinkin'!! . Well thanks for reading and any support will be appreciated.

LittleStar

Hi LittleStar,

I haven't been diagnosed w/PCOS but I'm pretty sure I have it. Hopefully I will get checked soon. Some of the symptoms seem pretty awful but the good news is that apparently a low carb diet helps a lot. Basically I just wanted to say Welcome and Good Luck!

Welcome to the forum... your information overload is not unusual.... take it one day at a time... this woe will help with the possible side effects that can come with the diagnosis... remember baby steps with help deal with that stinking thinking...


from one flybaby to another

I too was diagnosed with PCOS. I also have an adrenal tumor (unless it went away on it's own) which I will be discussing with my doctor soon, and I am being tested for diabetes.

I find that the Metformin I am on (750 mg) helps me stick to a lower carb diet. I think it is dangerous to carry low-carb too far. My menu for today was 1/2 pop-tart, bean with bacon soup for breakfast (38 grams carbohydrate total), plus a salmon sandwich with whole wheat bread and Miracle Whip for lunch (23 grams total), snack of cereal with milk (49 grams) and my evening meal which I will take later on tonight, will be an egg and cheese sandwich (23 grams total). The total carbs for the day will be 133. The total calorie intake is 1083 calories. My basal metabolic rate is 1604 (due to a lot of exercise).

Actually, I have lost on this diet about 10 pounds in a month, but I am not sure if the weight loss will continue and I have plateaued now for about a week. Here's hoping.

LittleStar if you are still there, how many mg of Metformin are you on?

Just a comment to flax that 133 carbs in one day isn't really "low carb" although it's mostly lower GI values (except the pop tart). However everyone has to decide for themselves what will help with losing weight (if that's what they want) or helping their health.

Murrie: if you follow one of the low carb plans, with any luck, you'll be out of the PCOS and pregnant by the time they get around to diagnosing it.

Tanikova is right - baby steps. And every journey begins with one step. Then another.......

Little Star: most of us are on the LC path because the high carb path leads to Type 2 diabetes and all the heart complications that go along. We may not have PCOS but they all seem to be related to insulin resistance. Low carbing or even going to better "low GI" choices is bound to have a good effect on all of us. I love the "stable blood sugar" feeling and everything that goes along with it.

Thanks Tofi, but for now, not getting pregnant is the only symptom I DON'T mind having. I love doing Atkins though, I feel better than I have in a long time!

Murrie- thanks for the welcome , great weightloss, keep up the good work!!
Tanikova-- I'm trying to take it one day at a time, and I'm trying to make the best choices for that day, so far the eating hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be, It's the exercise....
Flax--my ob gave me a script for 850mg which I'm working my way upto 2 a day, right now i'm at half a pill w/breakfast and half a pill w/dinner, that's great that your plan is working so well for you , but i'm afraid that if i had half a pop tart the second half would be calling before long
Tofi- I agree with you on the feeling, it's only been a short 2 weeks but , I'm already feeling better, i don't feel bloaty, I'm not achy in the mornings, i'm noticing that the 3o'clock slump is improving and hopefully the scale will keep moving in the right direction, I can't wait to see how much better this will get!

I have a question , does anyone take a multivitamin ? I'm thinking one would'nt be a bad idea.


LittleStar

I have found that eating a pop-tart for breakfast isn't the right fuel for exercising in the forenoon. I did 65 minutes of walking and felt weak and trembly afterward; I think it was the poor choice of food.

I think I will switch to tomato soup or cereal with milk for breakfast. Still some sugar there but not the same kind (with the tomato soup) or as much....

littlestar....i was diagnosed with PCOS in march of 2003. being diagnosed finally after all these years was great. lucky for you, you won't have to go through all of the infertility associated with PCOS. once diagnosed and reading about the low carb lifestyle, i started to low carb. i lost 30lbs and even got pregnant. eventually i lost the pregnancy and gained all of the weight back and stopped low carbing. but my husband are here again for infertility to start trying and basically the doctor told me to go back to low carb. i am extremely excited to start this up again, and hopefully i can stick to it.

back to the PCOS- there is so much out there that you can read up on. understanding is the first thing to accepting. i was happy to be diagnosed, but i also went through a "poor me" phase. saying i had an incurable disease...that wasn't gonna help me at all. i really just tried to understand what PCOS really is.

good luck to you and your knew journey. i understand how you feel. all i can say is read up on everything you can get your hands on and if you have any questions, just ask.

LittleStar,

I take a lot of vitamins; here is a list:

RDA of calcium twice a day.
RDA of magnesium twice a day.
1,000 mg niacin twice a day.

For hair health:

1 multivitamin twice a day
3 Body, Hair, Skin, and Nails once per day (although I will be switching to 2 Puritan's Pride All Natural Vitamins for the Hair Tablets once per day plus 600 mcg biotin--as soon as it arrives in the mail).

I also use progesterone cream, 1/4 teaspoon applied to my skin from days 12 through the end of my cycle.

So yes, I would definitely recommend vitamins-- as many as you can afford, within reasonable limits...