Do you have PCOS?

[CurvyKitschen]

I am a fellow PCOS suffer! Great to hear about the IPL. About 8 years ago I really got to grips with my weight and I cannot say how much it helped my symptoms. It took me 5 years to get pregnant with my son ( and incidentally I fell at my lowest weight). Two years after I had shed the baby weight and bingo - pregnant with my daughter. It's interesting as the weight is slowly creeping on ( not awful but 1.5 stone since lightest) and all my symptoms are creeping back - the hair, lack of periods, greasy hair. So, I made the decision today to get back on it. It is a lifelong battle and even tougher for those of us with PCOS but I know how amazing it feels to slip into a size 10. I wish I had of tackled it years ago but starting is the thing! Best of luck girls and am always here to support you xxx

Do you attribute your PCOS to your weight? Because I definitely feel as my weights increased my symptoms have too (hair, irregular periods, acne). My Dr told me that apparently they think around 1 in 4 women have PCOS but are undiagnosed because their symptoms barely affect them which gave me some hope as I'm very worried about not being able to get pregnant. Thank you for your post, it's given me hope x

 

[emmylou88]

I've been starting to think recently that I might be suffering from PCOS. I've always had excessive body and facial hair, and my skin isn't great. My periods were really irregular when I was younger, and I've recently come off the pill as I was worried it might have been masking an underlying problem - and lo and behold my periods are irregular again! I'm glad to hear that weight loss has helped some people's symptoms, I won't even bother thinking about going to a doctor until I've lost some weight as I know they'll just tell me to lose weight in the first place!

Do you attribute your PCOS to your weight? Because I definitely feel as my weights increased my symptoms have too (hair, irregular periods, acne). My Dr told me that apparently they think around 1 in 4 women have PCOS but are undiagnosed because their symptoms barely affect them which gave me some hope as I'm very worried about not being able to get pregnant. Thank you for your post, it's given me hope x

I definitely find find that the more my weight goes up the worse my symptoms get. I haven't had a period for the last 4 years however my PCOS went undetected until after having my 2nd child - I always had concerns about excessive hair and irregular periods but it didn't really come to light until I came off of the contraceptive pill and gained more weight. I have 2 children so I'm incredibly lucky, but I now just want to get the excess weight off and keep it off. In hope that it'll reduce my symptoms. I'm so glad I'm not the only one with this struggle. We can do it girls xx

 

[springburnlass]

Hi,
I was diagnosed with PCOS in the 90`s. I took part in the Metformin drug trial in 1998-99 and conceived a daughter from that trial. I have two other daughters, older and concieved with Clomid fertility drug and miscarried three pregnancies. I have difficulty losing weight, yoyo dieting in the past and recently tried Slimming World in a bid to eat healthier to help control my high blood pressure.

 

[PrincessSparklePants]

I don't have PCOS, however I do have problems with TOTM and menorrhagia. I had a scan which didn't find anything conclusive and apparently sometimes you can just have menorrhagia without anything else apparently. Wish it'd bloody stop though. Have been close to passing out before because they're that heavy and my body can't deal with it.

I also have other symptoms of it. Boo!

 

[Kimberlina80]

I have it (diagnosed in 2006, age 26). My symptoms are DEFINITELY made worse by my weight! My main symptoms are irregular periods, acne on my face and neck, excess hair on my stomach and face and very oily skin. I'm currently 17:10lbs and know from experience that my periods come back under 16st and my skin starts to improve under 15st. So that's where I'm headed! My health is the main motivator to start losing this time (I also have sleep apnoea).

Nice fe to know I'm not alone!

kimberlina

 

[Gwella]

Good luck, hope your weight loss goes well and you see improvement soon. I recently got to a healthy BMI for the first time since I was 19. I still have some symptoms (acne mainly) but I think the hair growth is slowing down and my cycle is shorter/more regular. My sleep pattern is more regular too, I think maybe my weight/PCOS had been contributing to problems with that (never got tested for apnoea though).

 

[lu_tpl]

I have it. I was diagnosed at 16, i'm now 24 and still struggling with my weight. Trying everything in my power now to get the weight off!
I kinda ballooned over the past 4 years at University and the PCOS symptoms have gotten worse.

 

[Zoelinaa]

I was diagnosed 8 years ago when I was 15 was in constant pain when they put me on the pill. It got to the point where I was having to go to hospital because the pain got to bad! I have been on the depo for 4 years now and no periods still get the occasional popped cyst but nothing like before.

I hate the excess hair though but find when I lose weight the rate that it grows back slows down. Only realised this recently with the Christmas gain as I was shaving more. Lucky enough not to have it on my face though!

At a recent scan my ovaries have reduce in size so I must be doing something right

 

[themiddle]

I have it and recently started getting black hairs along my jawline, the only dark hairs on my body really, finding losing weight a major struggle, it's not like it used to be, I could miss one meal and lose weight once upon a time. My cycle has gone down to 21 to 24 days from 28 to 30. Am starting the pill ad soon add I can to try and get some relief.

 

[pinkponytail]

I have PCOS. Finding weight is shifting well on the Exante TS, but I haven't had a period since I came off yasmin in March, and just induced a bleed this month with noresthisterone. RE Hirsutism, I have to epilate my chin and neck daily. Vaniqa helped, but I was refused my last prescription and told that my Dr isn't allowed to prescribe it anymore... anyone know if that's true or my GP is just being difficult?

 

[Babydragon]

I have PCOS, was diagnosed about 10 years ago, I am 37. My symptoms are: a tendency to gain weight pretty easy, carry quite a lot of weight around my middle. Suffer quite badly from low moods, PMT type symptoms. Also, very bad cystic acne - especially around my mouth and jaw line area. I am not on any medication.
I have cut out red meat, bread, added sugar (on a day to day basis) and dairy, all of which I find helpful. I am doing SW online currently, although I did lose 3 stone on the Cambridge diet last year.

 

[Lisa-Ann]

Hey baby dragon, another PCOSer here!! I'm 38 - very overweight - had a huge spike in weight gain a few years ago and haven't been able to shift it since. It coincided with me being diagnosed with diabetes type two. So I guess my body started having an aversion to carbs and I was overproducing on the insulin and storing all as fat. I'm tired all the time, have irregular cycles problems with excessive hair, low moods etc. I've been on metformin for a good few years now. It was prescribed for my PCOS and I now take six tablets per day. Metformin helped my weight to stabilise. My plan is to go back to Atkins or low carb meals. Also to eventually cut out sweeteners (diet cokes). I did cut out diary at the beginning of this year but it has crept back in so I need to review that again. Well done on your 3 stone loss with CD.

 

[Loz1986]

I think I might have PCOS. I have some, not all, of the symptoms. The one that worries me the most is the issue of fertility - I have very, very infrequent periods but am hoping to have a baby sometime soon(ish). When I was in my late teens, my periods were suddenly wonderful - before then, they had been irregular, very heavy and very long. In my late teens, and I don't know why, they suddenly regulated themselves and were much, much lighter. I then had a miscarriage about a year later and after then, they never returned to normal (not as heavy now, though, as they were when I was younger). When I was younger, not having a period very often was great - back then it was just an inconvenience to deal with. Now, though, I don't feel right - I'm almost don't feel like a proper woman as I don't have periods much. And then, there is obviously the whole wanting a baby issue.

I've not been to see my GP as I know he/she will just tell me to lose weight - I know this will help, I think about 19 stone was the point my periods almost disappeared. I know the only treatment, if any, that they would offer would be metformin, which I absolutely do not want to take. I know it's meant to help you lose weight as well controlling the symptoms associated with PCOS but I do not like this drug at all. (If I'm entirely honest, I don't like drugs in general - kind of ironic when I am planning on having IVF - and avoid them as much as possible). I read about something online - inositol - has anyone got any experience of using it? It's meant to be good for fertility as well as for weight loss. (Apologies if this has been discussed before - I've not read the whole thread).

 

[Lisa-Ann]

Hey Loz, I started taking inositol in January. I learned about it through the free emails that Tarryn Poultin sends out to anyone that signs up. It really helped with my PCOS symptoms alongside cutting down on dairy, eating low-carb and taking supplements like Vitamins D etc. I've been trying for a baby for a long time but I wasn't sure if I was ovulating or not. The inositol helped me to ovulate as I did conceive earlier in the year, although it wasn't a viable pregnancy. I've now started taking it again, but they say it can take up to three months before you really see the benefit of it working x

 

[Loz1986]

Hi Lisa-Ann. That's good to hear about the inositol. Sorry about the non-viable pregnancy earlier this year - best wishes for a healthy pregnancy soon

 

[Lisa-Ann]

Hey Loz, I've heard inositol termed the PCOS wonderdrug on another forum. Just wish I'd discovered it sooner. Thank you, I've come to terms with it now and I'm looking forward again X

 

[Loz1986]

I started the inositol over the weekend. I'm going to stick with it, but it's vile. The pack says a dose is 750mg, everything I have read says 4g for PCOS, so I'm having to put a fair bit of powder in to make a dose. I'm putting it in as little water as possible (I'm impressed with how well it dissolves) so I can down it in one. Fortunately, the taste is bad when drinking it - there's not really a bad after-taste. I think I'll get some of that super-concentrated squash so I can hide the flavour a little.

 

[Enough]

• Hiya - that souinds interesting - let us know how it goes!
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• http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-suppl...ngredientid=299&activeingredientname=inositol
  
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• For treating symptoms associated with polycystic ovary syndrome: D-chiro-inositol 1200 mg per day.

 

[Lisa-Ann]

Which brand did you choose in the end @Loz1986? I take a tablespoon in the morning in juice & a tablespoon in the evening in juice. That was the recommended dosage from my reading.

 

[Loz1986]

It's called My Protein - I figured they were all the same and I think that was the first one that came up on Google that wasn't an ad. The dosing on the packet comes in scoops (3.5 scoops is 750mg) - from what I found online, it needs to be 4g which, after lots of maths in my head (I don't know why I didn't use a calculator!) - that equates to about 20ish scoops (the scoops are tiny). I keep meaning to get some squash, but keep forgetting, so I've been having it just in water for the last week, I think I might be getting used to the taste as it doesn't seem so bad now.

I'm not sure if it's doing something, if things were happening anyway or if I might be imaging things. Firstly, I've not had any spots appear on my face this week. That's not necessarily unusual for me, I tend to have a phase of having relatively clear skin and then a phase of having a couple of spots constantly there - as one clears, a new one appears somewhere else. Secondly, I'm not sure if a period is about to start or not. I doubt that it's the Inositol already - that seems really quick if it is. I know in the past when I have lost weight that my periods have been far more present, but again, I think it is much too early for the weight loss to have had an impact - from my highest point (higher than my ticker thing - I was 149.5kg), I've only lost about 3.5kg which is about 8lb. Maybe it's just the fact that my diet is a little better? I don't know though.