PCOS/Insulin Resistance SupportSupport for us with any of the following: Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or other endocrine disorders.
I'm wondering if anyone else has all these conditions at once, and wondering how they are all related. I was first diagnosed with PCOS at age 16, weighed in at 165 through high school, but managed to lose it as a freshman in college and keep it off until about 12 years ago, when I started to gain. Then about 8 years ago I started having really long excruciating migraines, with a more or less constant aura.
Now, since I've been eating better, I noticed the aura has gone, and my only migraine in the last 27 days was after two glasses of red wine about a week ago. Even then, the migraine didn't even last a whole day. Well, yeah me, but why, and how? The only thing I've really cut out of my diet is sugar in any form, all the "bad carbs." But I've also noticed if I try to exclude all carbs, I get hypoglycemic very easily, and have far less energy for exercise. (I keep a food/exercise/symptom journal.)
So my question is, obviously there is a big insulin/blood sugar factor of PCOS, but is migraine involved in the insulin "transaction" too? Is migraine a cause, or effect, or is there some subtle metabolic reaction going on?
I really want to understand this better. I'm willing to forego wine or whatever for the rest of my life if need be, but I feel like I'm thrashing around in the dark, and the PCOS books don't seem to address this issue directly. My doctor is very supportive, but it's a family practice, and they don't have a deep knowledge of PCOS.
Thanks in advance for any help!
P.S. On the good side, I just got my bloodwork back, and my cholesterol is 177 with HDL at 51 and blood sugar at 88! That's down from 244 total cholesterol last year. Happy Dance Time!
Last edited by SeekInnerThinChick; 01-27-2004 at 01:37 PM.
Reason: spelling
I am not sure how to answer this one but I can tell you this...When I cut out all of the sugars out of my diet, I had a MAJOR migrane for 2-3 days..like a "sugar withdrawl" type of thing. Now when I eat anything with alot of sugar, I get a Migrane!! Go figure...I guess my body is not use to it anymore and so it freaks out. Granted I take Metformin, but I still dont think it can handle large quantities of sugary stuff anymore. Anyone care to comment about migranes and the such??? I'm interested to know too...
Over here if I eat less than 40% carbs I get a major headache. I have PCOS/IR and was on Metformin/Glucophage until I got pregnant. Now I'm not on it but I'll go back once I'm done nursing. In the meanwhile I am to follow a gest. diabetes diet that was 44% carb, 23% protein, and then the rest in healthy fats to keep my blood glucose happy and the insulin resistance thing under control.
I'd ask you doc. about a referral to a dietitian or going to diabetes nutrition class. You are right in that the insulin connection needs to be addressed if you are feeling unwell. Esp. since PCOS/IR people have an increased chance of developing Type II down the road.
But if I had a bad case of insulin resistance, wouldn't I have had much more trouble losing weight than I am doing? I lost 30 pounds over the last 2 years without dieting, just exercise, and since I started a more structured eating plan, since Jan. 1, I've lost six more pounds. So IR doesn't seem to be much of a problem, it's more like dizzyness and so on if don't eat frequently. My blood sugar seems to crash easily, but I don't get cravings, I just feel dizzy, faint, and sleepy. That can often trigger a migraine.
But that's certainly not the only time I get them, often it's out of the blue, not menstrual or even stress-related. I would sure like to be completely migraine free, and I really don't know why that started or why it seems marginally better now. Did the migraines have something to do with gaining weight? If I lose weight will they go away forever? Or does the fat being burned release some hormore or other substance that prevents the migraine? Or, maybe they have no connection to PCOS. After all, I've had PCOS since I was a teenager, but the migraines didn't start until I was in my late thirties.
I just don't know, and neither does any medical person I've spoken with. They can't even tell me why they started, as it's unusual for someone to get them in adulthood, full bore and frequently, with no prior history and no family history. It's frustrating to think I'm getting a lot healthier generally, but without understanding the migraine mechanism I can't attack the one issue that really holds me back.
I don't know what kinds of foods you are eating, but exercise is vital to the insulin resistant person to lose weight. If you aren't eating an overload of high glycemic food, then the weight loss could be occurring anyway.
I'm sorry, I can't help with the migraine issue. I looked around on the net, and found a few people asking about it, but no answers!
Thanks Jennifer, I haven't found any answers on migraine either on the net. But I honestly don't think I'm particularly insulin resistant. I lost thirty pounds in the last two years on a bad diet that had a lot of sugar, fat, calories, etc. The only thing I increased in that period was exercise. If I were insulin resistant I don't think I could have done that, judging by the posts of those who are IR. And I don't believe, although I could be wrong, that IR and hypoglycemia necessarily always go together. In fact the hypoglycemia only seems to happen when I haven't eaten as frequently as I should for the calorie expenditure I've done. Which actually makes sense: you don't eat, or you exercise a lot, your blood sugar goes down, you get hypo.
I just can't make the intellectual connection as to why the migraines are lessening. The only other factor is the Spiro, which blocks testosterone. It also lowers blood pressure, as it is a diuretic. Maybe lowering testosterone has an affect on brain chemistry, making you less sensitive to migraine "triggers." Maybe lowered blood volume tends to lessen the inflammation in the skull circulatory system that starts the migraine process.
Maybe high blood glucose leads to high blood volume and higher blood pressure, which, in the presence of a migraine "trigger" like red wine, bright flashing lights, etc. then starts the migraine. That would explain why suddenly taking out almost all sugar from the diet, as I did starting this Jan. 1, would help keep migraines from starting.
If that were true, people on blood pressure lowering medications should have a lower incidence of migraine. Hmmmm. I think I've got something to google on. Just thinking "out loud," forming hypotheses, etc. As you can see, I'm an amateur scientist, lol! Thanks again!
PCOS, Hypoglycemia, and Migraine
