I realize you are not doctors but...

[mousie]

...but you have experience with this, and Iwonder if I could ask some questions.

First, my story:
in the last 18 months or so I've put back on 50 of the 80 pounds I had lost years ago, and now they won't budge. I'm a personal trainer, and none of the answers/tricks I know work. None of the other trainers I know have answers, either. I've tried almost everything (not prescription drugs). I am 27 years old, married, no kids as I'm still in school studying for a physical therapy degree. As you can see, I KNOW the subject of fitness, it's my passion. I backed off for a couple of weeks to give myself a break from the frustration, and it occured to me to come here and look at the PCOS pages (I'm usually a Turtle).

I took the test at PCOSA and came up with a score of 8.5. "If you're concerned go ask". Um, okay. So should I be concerned? My struggles are really with my weight, I don't have problems with excess body hair (never have, I don't even have to shave regularly)(although come to think of it I need to shave more regularly than I used to...hmm) or skin problems. Around TOM each month I break out along my jawline, but it's only at that time of month. I've been on the pill for years, I occasionally just miss a month but I've never been pregnant. I'm usually quite regular. But I read an article in this month's Fitness that says that being on the pill can mask the symptoms of PCOS...I don't know what to think.

Anyway. My father is a type 2 diabetic, both parents have high blood pressure and high cholesterol (I do not, I've been recently tested). Both of my father's parents died of heart disease, and my father has heart disease as well. My materal grandmother died of breast cancer, my own mother had severe problems with carrying her children and after my brother had a full hysterectomy at age 31. I've always been passionate about exercise because I have such an ugly genetic history, so maybe that's masking symptoms too?

At my last blood tests my cholesterol was HDL-53 and LDL-91, triglycerides 123. My blood pressure is fine (122/68), probably because of all the exercise. Last year I can having trouble with high blood pressure but we think that was stress-related, as it came right down when life settled down again. The doc also said I was slightly hypoglycemic, her thoughts on that were that I wasn't eating enough so I was reacting to starvation.

So anyway. This is longwinded. I have some of the symptoms, yes. I'm also doing a couple of things (heavy exercise and taking the pill) that could mask more symptoms. Should I be tested? Am I grasping at straws? Does anyone have any ideas for me?

We're not starting a family right now of for a couple more years, until I finish my Master's degree, but I would like to have that option when the time comes. And my husband desperately wants children. Please help!

[Jenniffer]

Hi Mousie. Glad you decided to come in...

Well, your right, I am not a doctor, and not even close to it. So..this is all on just my opinon.

You made two very good points.

*The pill. The pill can do wonders for people. Many doctors will throw the pills at you or even stuff them in your pocket on the way out the door because, this magic little pill will disguise alot. Sure, it regulates your cycle. Well, we at least think it does. We don't know about ovulation and all that while on the pill. But we get our "friend" every month, usually on time. But then, one day we get off the pill, and then find out, not everything was okay for all those years. So, the pill can be disguising alot of the symptoms of PCOS in you.

**Heavy exercise.
Heavy excercise is one of the most important elements in controlling the symptoms of PCOS. It actually may be #1. And again, because you exercise daily, this may also be helping the PCOS symptoms.

An important thing to remember is, not all women will have the same PCOS symptoms. You may have 1 symptom or you may have all of them. There are "mild" cases and there are "extreme" cases. If someone is on the pill and really faithful to an exercise routine, it would be very unlikely that they would have many symptoms. And looking at your family hisory "insulin resistance" may be playing a role also. PCOS has been linked to genetics. And also, you don't even need cysts on your ovaries to have the syndrome. Confused? Me too. It is very confusing, and for those who have been diagnosed, it is also very frightning.

Do yourself a favor. Go see a doctor. Get a referral from your Ob/Gyn for an Endocrinologist. Tell them you have some concerns. If they give you a hard time, switch doctors. When you see the Reproductive Endocrinologist, they will run some tests, check your hormones, take your histry and then take it from there. Even if you don't have PCOS, which there is a high chance you don't, there are other endocrine disorders you may have.

You have nothing to lose at this point. You were concerned enough to post here, please, make an appointment.

I hope this helped a little. Remember..this is just my opinion. Please post again...

[Jennifer 3FC]

Hi Mousie! I am very late posting here, but wanted to add on something about myself. I had few pcos symptoms when I was on the pill. I got pregnant pretty easily after stopping, but during pregnancy I noticed that my armpits and groin were staining brown, and I had a thin brown line on the crease of the back of my neck, which I basically scrubbed off with a buff-puff not knowing what it was! I always battled with these same 2 or 3 hairs on my neck, but that was the extent of it. Then came weight gain, then many years later acne on my jawline, receding hair line and inability to lose weight. If it were me, I would go get it checked. You may not be PCOS but insulin resistance is much more common. Have you tried a low carb or low glycemic diet to lose weight?