Newbie with PCOS and no thyroid
 

Hi Everyone. I just started IP on Sunday (July 19th). I have PCOS (on Metformin) and I had my thyroid removed June 1st this year because of papillary thyroid cancer. My husband started IP with me and the hope is that we can help reinforce good choices and hold each other accountable. I guess my big question is "what should I expect?" With the Metformin and the endocrinologist still getting by synthetic thyroid medication right, should I expect different results than others? Should I be concerned I am not getting enough carbs because of the Metformin? I am just feeling really discouraged and really hungry all the time. I have not cheated and it's only been 5 days, but this is really hard.

Hang in there. The first two weeks really are the hardest part of this plan. Your body is dealing with the withdraw issues of no longer having sugar and bread. They are no longer an option as a crutch for the emotional eating so many of us do. At the same time, the IP foods are new and you probably haven't found many you actually like yet.

It gets easier.

You will try enough foods to find ones you are ok with then your tastes will change and you will actually start to like some of them.

I've been on 90 day birth control for 15+ years for PCOS, but I can't speak to your thyroid issue/meds. There are people on here who have successfully done the plan with thyroid issues though.

The first week is definitely the hardest, it gets easier.

I am on thyroid med and did fine for a year of P1, but I have a thyroid.

I think I might have had more fatigue and needed more rest than others - hard to say though, I’m not in their body:). A lot of people report having a lot of energy on P1 and I definitely didn’t have that. Also my loss rate was about average, not faster or slower than others.

Maintenance though I think possibly has been more challenging for me to maintain the loss - I have had trouble with blood sugar swings but that might be very unrelated to the thyroid. I have had to keep things still pretty low glycemic and eat small amounts every few hours.

Given those details though:) overall IP has been a great experience for me and I am much healthier at a healthy weight than being overweight, and about 75% of my health problems have improved, and the remaining 25% are much easier to handle without the extra weight.
It was definitely worth it.

HANG in there!!! PCOS Girl down 40 on IP! I do still have my thyroid, although it doesn't work the best. Hang in there...Week 1 is definitely the worst!

PCOS with my thyroid but hypo / medicated. IP has been a life saver! The first couple weeks were tough. You've made it this far - you've got this!

I have PCOS. Still have my thyroid, but I've got thyroid disease (Hashimoto's), and a lot of other health issues. I take Metformin both for PCOS and because I'm diabetic. Since starting IP on March 1, I've lost 59 pounds. My weight loss has been on par with the average.

I do know someone who's done IP who doesn't have a thyroid. My coach. I don't know if she has PCOS or any other health issues, but she was able to lose 65 pounds in 5 months.

The first week or two can be really difficult. I felt nauseous and extra tired from day 4 or 5 to about day 10. Going forward, sticking to protocol became more or less routine. It has been difficult still at times, just getting sick of the routine or when I've needed to deviate from it (going out to eat, eating off-schedule to keep my blood sugar from dropping too low, etc.). But I couldn't be happier with the results, and sticking with it has proved to be more than worth it.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone! I have my first weigh-in tonight, and I guess I am getting nervous. I don't want to have gone through all this and have it not work for me. Keep you posted :)

I had my first weigh-in yesterday. I was down 4 lbs. Is that good for the first week? My husband was down 13.4 lbs, which is awesome, but it makes me wonder if my 4 lbs is good.

The scale is just a number - and remember physiologically men lose faster than women (generally they have a faster running metabolism).
But Yes, 4 pounds is great! :D congrats!

HI I have just started IP as well. I have my thyroid but have PCOS and am on metformin. I have been feeling pretty crappy adjusting but am losing weight at least. How are you doing with it now that it's been awhile?

It is very normal to feel sluggish, tired, and ugh for a while starting IP - your body is detoxing and going into ketosis.
Almost 28 weeks in and it appears weight loss has slowed, but not stopped. It's just going to take a little longer to get off the last 20 :)

Things have been going okay. I am down 15 lbs so far, which is good. When I went in for my check-up with the endo last week my TSH was at 21! Needless to say he upped my synthyroid dose a lot. He was surprised I was even able to lose weight with a TSH so high. Hopefully I will see some improved results with the increased dose.

Hey I was wondering if any of the other PCOS people on metformin have been having bathroom issues? I have had diarrhea issues since I started on this plan. I know it gets out of control (literally) on days where I have more sucralose so I try to limit my sucralose content. I spoke with my coach about it today and she suggested I try a week without taking the Cal-MAg supplements to see if maybe it's a magnesium sensitivity but she thinks it's most likely connected to my metformin since most IP peeps have the opposite problem. Just wondering if anybody else has experienced this, if you found any contributing factors, if you found anything that helps.

I haven't had diarrhea as much as I have had constipation. My coach said to try cutting my Cal-Mag down to one pill twice a day to see if that helped. It really didn't. I just needed to wait for my body to adjust to everything. I was not regular for the first 5-6 weeks. I am doing better now. I had pretty sever diarrhea when I first started taking metformin, but that was years ago. It took about 4-5 weeks for that to clear up at the time. Good luck!

Does anyone else have yo-yo weigh loss week to week? I will have a week were I lose 4 lbs and then a week (like this week) where I lose 0.8 lbs. I keep doing everything the same. Every other week is a good week and the next week is a bad week. I haven't had a week where I have gained yet, so that is good at least. The only thing I did different this past week is that I exercised a little more than usual. I thought this would help my weight loss and now I am feeling a little disappointed.