I'm terribly sorry if you think that is nasty or if you think I'm "telling other people off".
When I read all these posts about EVERYBODY that is doing exactly what I'm doing, taking the same medications I'm taking, and losing weight... even a little bit... despite saying that they "have trouble sticking to the diet" or don't exercise or whatever negative it is absolutely awful.
They don't have the motivation? Maybe they should go work with teenagers who DAILY point out the fact that women aren't supposed to grow hair on their faces, or who don't bother to CURSE at you the way they do everybody else, they just make fun of your weight. How about the supervisor that denies paying for you to attend a professional conference where you've had a major paper accepted for presentation because he's EMBARASSED to have you represent the company? Forget PAYING for it, how about he refused to let me attend the conference at all until it was TOO LATE for me to be on the program to present? Better still, your supervisor and the HR department WRITE YOU UP BECAUSE YOU SMELL BAD! And then they talk to your doctors without your permission about your condition?
How's that for motivation? You want nasty? There it is. Every day, all day long.
Many of you have children, boyfriends, husbands: I don't have ANY of that because I can't even get a guy to LOOK at me. Don't tell me its my attitude, because I never even open my mouth!
How about all the people who give you that look, make that comment, tell you with that knowing wink, "Well, I had that surgery" or "Why are you buying that? You can't POSSIBLY think you NEED to eat it!" All the doctors and nurses and lab techs who refuse to treat you, don't give you good treatment because you're overweight, blame everything on your weight because they don't or won't or can't look past it.
Nasty? Yea. Okay. Whatever. Read whatever you want into this post or any other post I've made.
I won't make anymore in this forum since everybody agrees I'm so horrible.

Hi, I recently came across this website and I found it to be very useful and informative.
I came across an article on PCOS. After reading it I noticed that I had most of the "symptoms" (weight and fertility problems, hair growth, skin tags, irregular periods, etc). I decided to visit a reproductive endocrineologist in Jan. 2004 which confirmed PCOS. He gave me some information but basically he could not treat me because the Insurance would not pay for it because they thought I was going to be treated for fertility.
I am blessed to be the mother of 2 boys, both of the results of having to take Clomid.
Right now, I am fine with just those 2 maybe in the future I can change my mind.
Right now I want to focus on how to loose weight, chin hair growth to a minimum and to get my periods to be regular.
Is there a specific doctor I need to go to???
Can anyone give me some guidance?
I would appreciate any information provided.

I used to see a regular endocrinologist. Perhaps that would help with the fertility/insurance issue? I never had any problems with my insurance. Now I don't see anyone b/c I know how to fix it myself.

Does your office not have another endo that does not focus on fertility issues? I go to Dr Sam Thatcher's office (PCOS: The Hidden Epidemic) but he only sees patients ttc. I see his partner, Dr Kennedy. I don't see why the specialty would matter, but apparently he has had problems with that. Maybe you could call you insurance company and find out. They might be different.

Have you already been trying to lose weight unsuccessfully? Some people do not have insulin resistance, and can lose weight like normal. Depending on your level of IR, you may have to have a good carb or low carb diet. I would start on the diet that appeals most to you, and if it doesn't work after a good, solid try, then start restricting your carb intake from there. Also, exercise is vital, particularly if you have IR. Weight loss should help take care of your symptoms to a degree. Birth control pills help some people with the hair growth, and there are also more medications that your dr can prescribe you. If your Dr will not be able to treat you, you can get help from many gynecologists (call ahead to see if they treat PCOS - some doctors are still in the dark) and dermatologists can help with excess hair or acne, if you have that.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the great advice.
Yesterday I went to my regular gyno and he put me on Yazmin and we talked about PCOS. Except when I talked to him about Metformin/glucophage as part of the treatment he gave me this blank look so he simply referred me to a regula endo. I will be setting up an appt with him soon and I will keep you all posted.
I tried the low carb diet before and I did seem to loose some weight it was just soooo hard to keep at it.
I think I should try it again and see what happens. I am also looking into laser surgery for my chin hairs.
I am just glad to know I am not alone and that there are soo many women who are going through similar stuff.
While I am here I will share a little more about me.
I am 28 years old.
I've had irregular periods since they started.
No acne but my facial hair just started getting darker and darker right after my 23rd birthday.
I have 2 boys both with the help of CLOMID. Got pregnant on the 1st month of taking it and both were over 10lbs babies. Don't know if this is a result of the PCOS or not. I did not have gestational diabetes and only gained 24lbs each pregnancy.
Ever since the pregnancies I was unable to shed the pounds and by reading a fitness article on "difficulties to loose weight" I came across PCOS.
I just want to take control of this. I am 5ft tall and just simply heavy for what I should be. I have husband who loves me any way I am but I would like myself a little bit more if I was a bit more fit to be able to keep up with my boyz.
Anyway.
Thanks again for all the support.
I hope that when I get more informed I can do the same.

Well, I'm sorry he couldn't help you, but at least he referred you. Good luck getting to the bottom of it, and don't forget to exercise! That is vital if you are insulin resistant.
Good luck!

Oh boy have I been there. I lost two jobs due to the change in my appearance. And I dressed impeccably. And I was meticulous in my hygiene.
Fat/Size discrimination is one of the biggest barriers to receiving proper care for PCOS or any chronic condition as well in the United States.

Discrimination leads to less caring treatment, less caring treatment leads to people getting sicker, and being sicker leads you into poverty. I feel your anger. I weight 310 pounds because drs gave me only birth control when I was 26 and told me to loose weight.

And I think this is why ignorance of PCOS needs to be stamped out entirely. It has been around since 1935 and even then the bashfulness doctors don't even discuss ALL the symptoms on the websites.

Like Bipolar is very common in women with PCOS. Like nearly all the effect women get taking steroids happen to women with PCOS. But time and time again doctors just never stop and read up on the CURRENT research of PCOS because they have the ego to think they know everything or just no time to care for a "ugly" fat woman nonetheless help her reproduce.

SO now (and you can tell your doctor this):
Treatment:
*Diet: Low Glycemic/ Low Carb : no sodas, no sweet drinks, no corn syrups or refined sugars
*Supplements/Vitamins: Multi-vitamin, Vitex, White Peony, Coq3, Insitol, Fish Oils, Milk Thistle (I use Insuite PCOS for most of these but Fish Oil/Coq3)

*Exercise: 1 hour a day at least of strength training then work up to cardio

*Medications: Dinette and Yasmine are two of the anti-androgenic birth control pills that actually suppress testosterone (Dinette is actually used for M to F hormone therapy.) Metformin is also ESSENTIAL. You need it to regulate your insulin to loose weight. Eating food with it to pad the upset till you tolerate it is something they never mention. They also never tell you if you don't quit eating sugar filled foods, you will get constant upsets everytime you eat sweet drinks or high carb foods (ice cream for example, donuts..ect.)

*Mental Help: You need someone who loves and understands PCOS to support you through the journey. Soulcysters dot com and PCOS Support dot com both have women who can REALLY support your journey.

As well finding a mental health professional may become essential if you are experiencing bipolar symptoms that are related to PCOS.

The first step is to love youself. The second step is to advocate! You pay those doctors, don't let them bully you and you can take your money elsewhere. My good wishes are with you! You can do it.

Ditch ALL the grains. "Heart healthy" whole grains, sugars, "bad" white grains, all flours, quinoa, brown rice, etc. This message of 'healthy whole grains' is complete farce, and will keep us fat. I have PCOS also and when I dropped the grains I got my period within 1 WEEK, after not having it naturally for 18 months! You can indeed lose a lot of weight fast with PCOS by eliminating all grains and just eating animal protein, fat, and vegetables. Plus it's the best thing you can do for your fertility since PCOS in as inflammatory disease they are now finding, and all grains are inflammatory.

Dearest Anonymouse,

I can feel your pain through your words. I'm so sorry you're going through these things. I've been doing much in-depth research about what is causing most of our modern-day diseases and ailments (heart disease, diabetes, PCOS, alzheimer's, arthritis), and something very interesting has come up. Have you heard of the new book, "Wheat Belly"? It's about a cardiologist that accidentally realized when ALL of his patients cut out wheat products most of their ailments, both heart-related and non-heart related, disappeared. Among those: MS, Depression, Bi-Polar, Skin rashes, Arthritis, Heart Disease, PCOS, Excess weight, the progress of Alzheimers, PMS, Emotional outbursts, ADHD, etc.

I'm telling you this because it seems you're frustrated by not knowing what's wrong with you and what to do about it, which I totally understand. If cutting out wheat was able to fix this cardiologists' ENTIRE client list (thousands of patients) from ALL different diseases, maybe this could help you? It's not low carb, or even cutting out sugar, just the wheat plant and all of it's products. So you could still eat rice, quinoa, and gluten free products.

What happened to the wheat plant over the last 50 years is that it is no longer the wheat plant we humans have been eating for the last 10,000 years. It's now a franken-seed, unrecognizable in nature, and this is ALL wheat sold in the U.S. It is no longer an "amber wave of grain", but a short, stocky plant the earth has never seen before, and has never been tested on humans until we started consuming it blindly. Scientists have not only genetically modified the seed beyond what any other food as been subjected to, but they also run it through chemical 'baths' that alter and ****** the seed's makeup.

Just a suggestion for you to try and heal. Hugs.