Hi Everyone,
I am new here my name is Allena.
I am a 16 yr old female from Nashville. Until a couple of days ago I probably could have translated 100 Egyptian Hieroglyphs before I could have told anyone what PCOS meant.
My Doctor put me on Medication back in November 2005 for my weight problem and the Low carb Diet. He put me on a Diet pill and a medicine that brings my insulin down due to Darkening brown skin on my neck and inner arms. He told me this was due to my Insulin being abnormal and that my Medicine plus the diet plan would help. So I have been following this plan for roughly 3 months (give or take a few days) and so far I have lost 25-30 pounds. The last month I have not been following it so strictly because I have been eating out and on the go. I eat bread sometimes at home, etc. But I went to my Dr. Feb. 9th and I still had lost 6 more pounds.
I am trying to be more faithful to my diet because my health is very bad. I don't want to get like I was before even though I am not good not I am 40% better than I was in the past. My Doctor told me to exercise so I have been exercising much more than I ever did in the past, however still not enough. Maybe 1-2 a week Aerobics.
Okay so now to the PCOS, My Mom and I were talking about my hairloss the other night. I have had significant hair loss for the past 9 months but I think even longer than that. I have talked with my doctor about this and asked him what the problem was if it was my Thyroid or something else. My tests for thyroid came back negative. My Mom brang up the fact to him that I have wore my hair up every day for the last 1-2 years in a pony tail. I hardly ever wore my hair down and many times I would tie it extremely tight to where it would not fall out. He said it could be that my hair follicles have been smothered. I think it's something else so I began posting on message boards and reading and I haven't really found anything out. My Mom G-d bless her, the other night got online and done a search for disorders or what causes teenage females to have Irregular periods and Hair loss (I think) and she found a PCOS Web site packed with information and symptoms of PCOS.
I read a little and she read some things off to me from the web site, low and behold I have every one of the symptoms of PCOS that I have read about.
Since this is a Medical problem I will be open; I have had my Period since I was 10 years old in 2000. I have never had my periods on schedule. There have been years where I have only had 2 periods the whole entire year.
When my period would finally come it would be horrific and I would want to cry it was so miserable. I am a big girl and I have a high tolerance for pain but my Periods were miserable. I would get sick to my stomach, my cramps were just horrible, my blood flow was continuous and thick, etc.
So that marks #1: I had Irregular Periods for 5 years. Then when I started my Insulin medicine and my diet and stopped eating sugar and flour (most of the time) My periods have been regular since November. I have had a Period every month, Never have I had my period more than twice in even a 6 month period.

Furthermore,
I have always complained about my facial hair growth. I have not spoken to my Doctor about it because....It embarrasses me . I started shaving my neck, under my chin, my chin, sideburn areas, etc. about 2 years ago with an electric razor or the little trimmers like the Finishing Touch.
This always made me uncomfortable and made me feel manly.
I still have to shave my face even now.

I have always had excessive hair growth on my back, chest and stomach and I have to shave my body every day .
this has always made me feel uneasy and uncomfortable even more so than I always have been in my skin..
That is #2 of the symptoms.

Acne-
I have had Acne since I was about 11. It started just with a little break out every now and then on my face now it has become horrible on my body .
I have Acne on my shoulders, back, lower back, chest and arms from my elbows up to my shoulders. Plus on my face.
I have asked my Doctor about medicine like Accutane and he said No because Accutane has caused Ovary problems and has caused many of young girls to be Steryl.
So I have to go to a Dermatologist. But now that I read PCOS can cause ACNE I don't know if we should still go to a Derma or be tested for PCOS first.
So that is #3.

My hair loss is really bad. I was always the girl with the thickest hair out of most people anywhere. So Thick that a hair tie sometimes would not even hold it up it took 2. I couldn't even brush my hair sometimes with certain brushes due to the thickness. Now my hair while in a pony tail I can grab the tail of it and it is about as round as a silver dollar in size.
I can feel my scalp on the top/back on my head without really digging through any hair ....
My hair was always what people would say "Oh it's so beautiful, Your hair is just gorgeous" not anymore...
Thats #4.


Skin Tags
I have skin tags on my neck on both sides
#5

The brown skin I have all around my neck, on my inner thighs, at the tops of my thighs, on my elbows, on my chest, underneath my breats, and even a little on my lower back.
#6

Although I have been heavy all my life I gained a lot of weigh in 2002-2003.
#7 and I carry most of my weight around my waist and abdomen


I have oily skin on my face
#8

I don't have high blood pressure really but I have slightly high cholestoral
#9

The only symptom that I don't really have is Infertility (that I know of)
I am not sexually active. I am a Virgin actually. but as far as I know and I am not Infertile.



I look at myself and I think of myself as a Monster because I in my opinion am so ugly. My skin is so disgusting. If it's not the Acne and Hair it's the stretchmarks from getting so fat. I have such big dreams of success in a field such as acting. And I think when it comes to that type of Career you have to be beautiful, flawless, etc. and I am not and personally I don't think I ever will be beautiful. I will always be scarred and have the lowest self esteem because of the ugliness I have faced with my appearance all of my life even if one day I did develop into something beautiful.

ok number one sweetie.. you are NOT a monster!! And true beauty starts inside. Get tested ! Do everything in your power to become the person you visualize yourself to be. You have control over how you feel about yourself and your future. We all have scars and trama in our lives.. every single one of us. The difference will be how you handle your pain.. turn it into energy, make it work for you. Start a journal , I would love to hear how your doing.

Actually you're off to a really good start. Your hair loss is probably due to your successful weight loss - a bummer, but a common symptom among females. Don't panic, it will come back!

Sticking to a reasonable low-carb diet will help a lot with the acne. You might want to read some low-carb books - try your local library, or a used bookstore, if cost is an issue, and see which one would suit you the best. There is lots of discussion on this forum for practically any one of them. Atkins, South Beach, Carbohydrate Addict's Diet, etc.

Skin tags are annoying. Dermatologists can burn/freeze them off and it's no big deal - it doesn't hurt much, but they are crusty for a day or two before they totally go away.

I never had that much facial hair, just a few weird places where I get hair, but I'm sure some people here can give some advice about that. Bleaching it might be easier than shaving it in some cases, for example. And the gals over at the SoulCysters.com forums probably have loads of tips.

I'm going to sound like an old biddy here, at the tender age of 34, but I am delighted that you found such a helpful doctor so early. When I was your age it PCOS was much less known and treatment less enlightened..seriously! I hadn't a clue about low carb. I had two periods a year and they would last a month, so I know what it's like. I hope every doctor is as helpful to teenage girls with PCOS as yours.

Hi Allena,

I could have written your posting because all of the symptoms you describe I've had. I'll echo the sentiments of Ysabella and say it's great you've got such an understanding Dr. already. I've had many of these symptoms since I was 14 (I'm now 33) and was just diagnosed with PCOS about 6 months ago.

I also had hair loss, in great big round patches. I was sent to a dermatologist to have injections to stimulate regrowth and it worked wonderfully. I also have hair growth in all the places you don't want it! I've been through 7 laser treatments on my face / chin / neck area ... It would go away for about 6 months and then come right back. (But at least it was 6 months I didn't need to shave!)

Now that I know what I'm dealing with, I'm now following the GI Diet, and have already noticed changes. For instance, the dark skin patches around my neck and under my arms are lightening.

So hang in there, there is hope! The number one thing to remember is that YOU ARE NOT A MONSTER ... You may be going through a rough time right now, but it can be managed! And take comfort in the fact that you're able to do something about this early rather than waiting another 15 years.

Good luck and keep coming back. I'd love to hear your progress.

Andrea

Alena;

It sounds like your doctor is treating the symptoms without giving you the diagnosis? Am I reading that right? You think you have PCOS, but the doc hasn't really confirmed that?

It certainly sounds likePCOS to me, but you will need some bloodwork to confirm it.

Since you are young, I would highly highly reccommend you get a referral to an endocrinologist. There are medications they can give for the hair and acne which you will find helpful. With PCOS the hair/skin issues are caused by too much testosterone so you may not find accutane helpful,b/c the underlying hormonal issues are not addressed by accutane. This is why you need an endocrinologist.

You also may find birth control pills to be a big help, but don't go on them without an endocrinologist's advice.

Also, you want to be vigilant about your health and get the absolute best care possible so you have a long healthy life. You do not want the PCOS to progress to diabetes or other problems. It is fantastic that you have taken the initiative to reasearch your symptoms, keep that up, it will serve you well.

Good luck and do let us know how you're doing.

F

It does sound like PCOS.

It is a good thing that you are starting to treat it fairly early.I wish I knew about PCOS and low carb helping with the symptoms when I was 16.

Do you have sleep problems also? Loud snoring, and really tired even if you sleep 6-8 hours? I've recently found out that sleep Apnea is another symptom of PCOS.

If so, I would get a sleep study done to see if you need to use a CPAP machine.The other problems are usually just a major pain, but apnea can kill.

I agree, I was surprised to find sleep apnea was a sign of PCOS as well.

I have found that even a modest weight loss has helped with the snoring. I can only hope it continues to improve as I make more progress!

Hey everyone,
Thanks for posting. I am going back to my Doctor on the 15th to ask about this.
Yes I have many problems with my sleep. I am homeschooled so Sometimes I will do my schoolwork various times throughout the day so I do not have to be in bed by certain times. Some nights I will stay up until 2 and lay down and not get to sleep until 5 AM and then sleep until 2 PM in the day time. Yes then I feel really horrible through out the day sometimes and if I don't get the sleep I feel like I'm drugged out of my mind. I am going in just 2 weeks (I can't wait) and I'm going to write down ALL of my problems to where I will remember all of them to tell him. I haven't been strict on my diet the last month-2 just kind of eating more carbs not like sugars and pastas but sometimes breads and stuff i'm still not suppose to and I am anywhere from 2 days to a week late on my period :-(. So this will probably start again.
Thanks again everyone for posting

G-d bless you all

Allena

Hi Allena,

I'm glad you're finding out more information about PCOS and thanks for keeping us updated!

I'll share this with you, because it was a very tough time for me and hopefully my experience will help you a bit. At the end of last year I sufferred severely from depression and it was definitely a result of the PCOS. My motivation was non-existent ... it was all I could do to perform basic functions during the day ... and I'd burst into tears for no apparent reason. A great way to approach the holiday season wasn't it?

I felt much the same way as you do about medication to treat depression. I didn't want to be stuck for life on pills to help me get over this, and I figured there had to be a way to teach my body to behave! I ended up taking a leave of absence from work, and taking the prescription for about 2 weeks. I gave myself permission to focus on ME and get better, because I wouldn't be able to do all of the other things I like to do for family, friends, coworkers if I didn't.

I used the medication to get to a spot where I could motivate myself to take control of the situation. Once I started feeling a little better, I added some light exercise and really started paying attention to my diet. I found the exercise and diet helped with both my mood and general well being. And so far, it seems to be working. It's been 3 months and my moods have improved dramatically and I haven't taken any medication. (and it has the added benefit that I've lost 30 pounds!)

Talk with doctor about different approaches, and see if there is a happy medium you can agree to that will relieve your symptoms as well as keep you medication free long term.

And don't forget to be thankful that you're dealing with this now instead of 10 years from now. I know it's a tough place to be in your teenage years, but think of how much stronger, healthier and more confident you'll be in years to come. You've still got so much road ahead of you!

Hope this helps! All the best,

You are doing great at looking up all the things you can about this disorder. You might want to talk to your doctor about putting you on aldactone, it can help with the hair growth problem. At least help lighten it so it isn't so dark, I know it helped for me. You are still adjusting to this. LC with help in so many ways. Write down what you have noticed improvements in, such as more energy, less moodiness, etc. Remember as your body heals, things can be very up and down, it doesn't mean it isn't working, just that ALL your hormones are adjusting. PCOS is much more than just a female hormone thing, so take it one step at a time. You are doing wonderful, and by no means are you a monster.