PCOS/Insulin Resistance Support Support for us with any of the following: Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or other endocrine disorders.

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Old 09-03-2004, 01:57 PM   #1  
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Default SyndromeX! PCOS! Insulin Resistance! Just diagnosed, How do I fix it?

Oh, where do I begin!! I am new to this! I have been in search of support and answers when I came across this forum. I have yet to figure out how it works or what it is all about. However, I hope there is somebody out there that can offer me a little information.

I have just recently been diagnosed with Syndrome X/PCOS. I have to tell ya this has hit me pretty hard!

I just got married 2 months ago! For my husband and I babies are the next in our plan. So off to the Dr I go. I have always had a problem with menses and in fact have not had anything for a number of years. This being the reason for the visit to the Dr. I have gone through about 1 1/2 months of pokes, prods and various testing. The end result being the diagnosis of Syndrome X/PCOS. Though I now have to change from a gyno to a physician the expected treatment is Metformin and serious weight loss.

I have always been over weight. However over the last 2 years I have gained over 100lbs. Holy Cow!!! The diagnosis shed alot little light on that aspect of my health as well as why I never feel good. but my question is this.....

Are there any good suggestions as to how to take the weight off? Obviously hard work and will power is necesary. However that has not worked this far.

What is a good exercise program? Can anybody recommend any good videos or have any good ideas?

I am told my ability to conceive and have babies is based on fixing this problem. And I need all the help I can get!! Are there women out there who have overcome this problem and have been blessed with babies? Or is there really no hope? I have faith, in that, if I am meant to have children I will. but, medically what are the odds?

Please if you have any answers or can offer any information I would be greatly appreciative. If there is someone who has been as overwhelmed and discouraged as I am, I'd love to hear from you.

Desperately Seeking Answers,
Tiffany
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Old 09-03-2004, 04:44 PM   #2  
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WELCOME, Tiffany!!!!!

First off... Congratulations on getting married!!

To answer some of your questions...


Are there any good suggestions as to how to take the weight off?

I had to do a major diet change. That meant cutting out 99.9% of my intake of sugar, fried foods, junk foods, etc...and eating more lean meats like chicken, turkey, and lottsa fresh fruits and veggies and I drink ALOT of water. I rarely drink anything else except light chocolate soy milk. I also incorporated exercise into this plan. I started doing whatever would keep me busy and so far I've lost 50 pounds!! It didnt come off over night though...it took me about 6 months and I'd like to lose another 30 so I figure I have another 4 months or so to go.

What is a good exercise program? Can anybody recommend any good videos or have any good ideas?

My advice: Do something you like. That's the best way to get some activity without getting bored or winding up hating it. I like tennis, swimming, bike riding, gardening, roller skating, etc.. so I started doing more of those. When I first started this adventure I bought some DVDS and did those, but I wound up getting bored with them later. Not everyone does though, so you could try one and if it keeps your interest, then you know you have a keeper.

Are there women out there who have overcome this problem and have been blessed with babies? Or is there really no hope? I have faith, in that, if I am meant to have children I will. but, medically what are the odds?

I have a child. Jennifer has a child. So yes, there's hope!! Medically it IS harder to concieve with PCOS but if you get the proper treatment for it, your chances just as good as anyone without PCOS.


Please if you have any answers or can offer any information I would be greatly appreciative. If there is someone who has been as overwhelmed and discouraged as I am, I'd love to hear from you.

We'd love to hear from you too!!! Feel free to join is in our monthly chat area!! Just click on the link below to get there...

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45988

Also, here is a link to our PCOS articles section. Feel free to browse through them and read up. Just click on the link below to get there...


http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=125
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Old 09-04-2004, 12:45 PM   #3  
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Red face Thank You Noodles

Thank You for your reply!! I have been moving around in here and reading different articles and post's, it has been such a relief to know that I am not in this alone. Or rather that I am not the only one with these issues and questions. I had never heard of SyndromeX or PCOS until recently and had no idea what it was. And I can honestly say there aren't many publications that will tell a person exactly what it is. Considering I don't think doctors or scientists have a real idea either.

I have put myself on kind of a low carb diet. Up until my honeymoon my husband and I had stuck to it pretty good. Since then we've kind of laxed and I can feel the difference in my body. Even in my younger years starches noodles,potatoes, rice) have always packed on the lbs. So I have tried to cut all of that out. It has been difficult following that since we are a steak and potatoe household. And I wonder why I am over weight!! I had lost a few lbs, about 13. Maybe that will work for me in the long run!! I have heard and read alot of negative issues concerning the low carb, atkins lifestyle. Especially regarding the high fat intake. Seems I alrady have a problem with the HDL/LDL and the Triglycerides. However, I can not find anything that says it is bad for me. Do you know of any issues with this or where I can find good information.

And where do you all find the time and energy for all of this exercise!!!! I have a hard time finding the energy to get out of bed and function through out the day!! Ya know, I am 26, I shouldn't feel this way!! I should be in "my prime" right? Well I'd like to know where this prime is. I find all of this soooo discouraging!!! I am just hoping and praying that once the doc puts me on meds to counteract the IR I will feel better!! And will find the energy to do some serious exercising. I have been considering joining Curves!!! Are there any who have participated in this program and has it been beneficial? Hate to spend the money and it be one of those things that will not work for me or I get bored of.

The suspected medication for me is Metformin. Now I have read some pretty terrible things on that as well. My mother in law has taken it and has nothing good to say about it. However, my gyno says with this I will be able to conceive. That offered a little hope, but, soon began to wonder if this is really possible. And will it be an immediate thing or will it take time!!! Jeepers!!!!

I hope that you can forgive my whining!! I know all could be worse and I have a long row to hoe. Not knowing the answers is driving me nuts!!!! I also understand I have a serious lifestyle change ahead of me, just don't know where to begin!!! I am kind of at a stand still until I go and see this new DR. Then I hope she will take it seriously and help me fix it.

Well Thank You all for listening and Noodles for all your ideas. As you said it won't happen over night!! Would love to hear from you again.

Tiffany
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Old 09-05-2004, 01:02 PM   #4  
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I had never heard of SyndromeX or PCOS until recently and had no idea what it was. And I can honestly say there aren't many publications that will tell a person exactly what it is. Considering I don't think doctors or scientists have a real idea either.
Well, no. The doctor's don't know what it is, and some of them flat out don't care what it is. For many doctors and the average person on the street, if you're fat its because you eat too much of the wrong things. I get comments all the time about how I look, even from people who see me exercise. One of my favorites was the lady at the gym who asked me how far I swam. I replied that I swim about (at that time) 3/4 to 1 mile. She looked surprised and responded, "And just think about how you'd feel if you did it every day!" I just smiled and said, "But I do swim everyday." I was finished dressing, so I turned around and walked out of the locker room. It was another few weeks before I relented and told the poor woman the whole story.
And then there are people who assume I don't walk far distances or do stairs because of my weight, but its not that... it my ankle and the injury that I have there. Sometimes I don't care, and other times (just ask Noodles!) I get really upset about the assumptions. It makes me feel proud to realize that I can carry a 30 pound tub of cat litter, plus all my groceries inside now. But that's is from all the weights I've been lifting along with the swimming.

I have put myself on kind of a low carb diet. Up until my honeymoon my husband and I had stuck to it pretty good. Since then we've kind of laxed and I can feel the difference in my body. Even in my younger years starches noodles,potatoes, rice) have always packed on the lbs.
Its not just the noodles and pasta or potatoes. When I was in college and graduated, I wore a size 18-20. I'm 5'7", and before I gained the weight from the endocrine disorder, I weighed about 220. Yes, that is overweight. Especially if I go by the BMI chart that says I shouldn't weigh over 150. My best friend is incredibly active and muscular. She and her husband do yoga, pilates, and take miles long walks (10-15 miles!). She used to dance. She's 5'2", and the BMI chart says she shouldn't weigh over 120. She weighs 136. She said the ONLY time she weighed 120 or lower was when she was dancing ALL THE TIME. I think the BMI chart is full of dreck. Anyway, its overweight but I looked normal. I wasn't a size 4, but I wasn't huge either. I felt, as many woman, that I could certainly stand to lose weight... but I ate pasta, and potatoes and ramen and rice. That's what college students eat: ITS CHEAP! I couldn't afford the college meal plan, but a box of macaroni was .45 cents, and fed me for several days! So did a loaf of day old white bread. And guess what? I didn't gain huge amounts of weight. I almost certainly had some of the endocrine issues then that I have now because I've NEVER NEVER NEVER had a normal period. I just flat out don't have one. I started when I was 13 or 14. It was never normal, I never knew when it would show up. It wasn't particularly heavy, and it was never painful. By the time I was in 10th grade, it was coming perhaps 1 time a year, and by the time I was a college freshman it had stopped... until I saw the endocrinologist, I hadn't had a cycle since I was a junior in college, in 1995. I saw the endo the first time in 2001. So it was 6 years. By then, yes, I'd gained weight... but I wasn't eating as much rice or pasta anymore. What had changed was some of the exercise level: I couldn't walk everywhere anymore because of my ankle.


So I have tried to cut all of that out. It has been difficult following that since we are a steak and potatoe household. And I wonder why I am over weight!! I had lost a few lbs, about 13. Maybe that will work for me in the long run!! I have heard and read alot of negative issues concerning the low carb, atkins lifestyle. Especially regarding the high fat intake. Seems I alrady have a problem with the HDL/LDL and the Triglycerides. However, I can not find anything that says it is bad for me. Do you know of any issues with this or where I can find good information.
There are lots of articles here at the forum. However, there are studies that have been done that show Atkins and South Beach both cause initial weight loss, and the claims are largely false. The body burns off the water. South Beach claims to cause 13 pounds of weight loss in 2 weeks (14 days). To lose one pound, you have to burn 3500 more calories than you take in... so to lose that much weight you need to burn 45,500 in 2 weeks. Even with all the exercise I do, and my basal metabolism (the calories I burn just by breathing and existing) I only burn an average of 4200 calories per day. I take in an average of 1600 calories per day. That means that I have an extra 2600 calories that went toward weight loss. All of my figures are from my food tracker (I'm using FitDay and another program that is on my PocketPC), so they're pretty accurate. So even with all the exercise I do, I'm not burning 1 pound of fat per day. Also, losing weight that quickly is very bad. You should aim to not lose more than 1-2 pounds per week.
Also, the reports have shown that while people on Atkins and South Beach lose weight initially (the water weight I speak of above), after 1 year the results are the same as anybody else on a low calorie diet.
The key is not to eat too much of anything... You can't eat a lot of McDonald's or junk. The best thing to do is completely revamp your eating habits so that they are something you can live with. Eat sensibly, and control portions. That portion control is the hardest part for me, I think... mostly because I'm hardly ever hungry and I tend to only eat when I am hungry. My job doesn't allow me to have snacks during the day, so I can go 5-6 hours between the ability to eat anything. I won't eat in front of my students, so I eat breakfast in the morning around 6:30. My next chance to eat is my 5th period planning, which is at 11:30. Then, I can't eat again until 3:30 (if I remember my snack!), and after that, depending on the night, its 6:30 or sometimes 8:30 before I can eat again. Grad school nights are the worst, because I go from work to class, and there isn't a refrigerator I can use at school. Its impractical to bring breakfast, lunch and dinner with me on those nights! Especially since I usually forget the dinner in the student refrigerator on the 3rd floor. Its not anywhere near my classroom!

And where do you all find the time and energy for all of this exercise!!!! I have a hard time finding the energy to get out of bed and function through out the day!! Ya know, I am 26, I shouldn't feel this way!! I should be in "my prime" right? Well I'd like to know where this prime is. I find all of this soooo discouraging!!! I am just hoping and praying that once the doc puts me on meds to counteract the IR I will feel better!! And will find the energy to do some serious exercising.
I have insulin resistance as well, but I can't take glucophage/metformin. I exercised, but there wasn't anything I liked to do... I liked walking, so I did that until I hurt my ankle. After that, the only other thing I liked was swimming. But I hated laps. I liked water aerobics. But most classes were at times I couldn't attend. I tried different machines, and didn't like those. Then I started coaching/teaching swim lessons to kids with disabilities, and liked that. I was spend a whole day or 2-3 evenings a week in the pool... and got free water aerobics classes at the rec center since I volunteered. And when I moved to where I am now, I lucked into a fantastic gym. Its run by a local hospital program and the gym is geared for the average person, although there are lots of not-averages there. The Ravens football team trains there during the off-season, and there are members of the Orioles here too. But there are also plenty of people like me who have an injury or an endocrine disorder, or something else wrong. I started off doing water aerobics and using this funky bike that is run with your arms. And then I met one of the swim instructors and she gave me a work-out to do... which included walking in the water. From there, I started swimming laps. I bought myself a water-proof bag for my CD player, so now I swim laps with music.

I have been considering joining Curves!!! Are there any who have participated in this program and has it been beneficial? Hate to spend the money and it be one of those things that will not work for me or I get bored of.
I haven't heard a lot of good things about Curves to be honest with you. They only allow you to go 3 times a week for 30 minutes. If you can't do their exercises (its a circuit training, and you get the cardio by jogging in place), you're screwed. When I started exercising, I aimed for 3 times a week and saw few, if any results. Of course, I still see few, if any pounds lost, but friends tell me that my body shape has changed... and I know I can swim longer and lift more weight. But I go nearly everyday, or a minimum of 5 days a week. And I'm there for at least 90 minutes of exericse (not including changing and showering): 45 minutes of weights, and 45 minutes of swimming. On some days, I'm there exercising longer because I also do the water aerobics class. My friend who is the swim instructor says that Curves is a good starting place, but that you need to prepared to move to another program or a full gym because you can plateau there quickly. She said its a good place for the average beginner to start off.

The suspected medication for me is Metformin. Now I have read some pretty terrible things on that as well. My mother in law has taken it and has nothing good to say about it. However, my gyno says with this I will be able to conceive. That offered a little hope, but, soon began to wonder if this is really possible. And will it be an immediate thing or will it take time!!! Jeepers!!!!
Glucophage/metformin made me and many others here horribly sick. I haven't been as sick OFF the medication as I was on it, except this past spring and early summer when I couldn't keep food down. But that turned out to be another hormone going bad. There is nothing that could induce me to go back on that medication. The side-effects aren't worth it.
And it won't make it easier for you to get pregnant... I know that there are some people who have ovulated more regularly on it, enough for them to claim that it helps, I guess... but my guess is that for those people, the lowered insulin and weight loss were the real causes of the more regular cycles. Especially since the drug says you shouldn't take it while pregnant or breast feeding! I'm surprised that a gynocologist would says that metformin would make you able to conceive. My endocrinologist is a reproductive endocrinoloigst with a specialty in infertility, and she definitely doesn't feel that way. In fact, when she thought I needed to be on glucophage, she had me go to another endocrinologist, a medical one, who specialized in treating patients with diabetes.
I hope that you can forgive my whining!! I know all could be worse and I have a long row to hoe. Not knowing the answers is driving me nuts!!!! I also understand I have a serious lifestyle change ahead of me, just don't know where to begin!!! I am kind of at a stand still until I go and see this new DR. Then I hope she will take it seriously and help me fix it.
Its not whining: its asking quesitions. I wish somebody had answered my questions 4 years ago when I started this journey. Pick one part of your life to change and start there: It happens gradually. My first thing was to give up soda. The next was the exercise. Then I worked on getting rid of excess sugar, so that if I wanted something sweet, I could have it... but for the most part, I buy things with Splenda. Okay, it helps that I'm not ever home to cook between full time teaching, part-time grad school and the gym.
I eat mostly lean cuisine... And the shame is, I know how to cook and I'm pretty darned good at it!

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Old 09-06-2004, 08:11 AM   #5  
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Red face You're Welcome, Tiffany!!

Holy Moly, mousie!!! Are your fingers sore from typing all of that??

I don't have much to add...Mousie said it well. The only thing I can add is that metformin DID work for me. I've been on it almost a year and I haven't had any problems after my body got use to it. I wish it worked for everyone...cause it is a good drug for the IR.

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Old 09-06-2004, 10:31 AM   #6  
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I don't think so, Noodles... But, like I said, I really wish there had been somebody to answer my questions. I didn't find this forum until a year after the first tenative diagnosis. And then this part wasn't very active at all until this past winter.
I love my endocrinologist, as you all know, but if there had been somebody to ask all the questions about medication, and diet and exercise... I might not have waited so long with the glucophage (the regular endo's office told me it was normal to feel this way, and I didn't push... my pushing medical professionals is a recent occurence!). The same with exercise: I honestly thought that 1 day a week, 5 hours a day, was enough... that worked out to an hour a day for 5 days! Right? Yea, not!
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Old 09-08-2004, 02:59 PM   #7  
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Default Thanks Ladies!!!

It is terrible that there are so many of us woman with this problem. However I am sooo thankful that there are others struggling with similar issues. I have found that when it comes to getting a medical opinion, good advice is hard to come by. I don't think anybody wants to hear "your fat and lazy!" Do these so called professionals really know? Yeah it's easy to look at me and tell that I am overweight, but lazy!!!! It's really easy to sit on a high horse and pass judgement. Just tell me what to do about it!!!!!
Anymouse, I thank you for all of your input. Your information and ideas have been a great help! I am trying so very hard to change my lifestyle and cut out the things I know are not doing me any good. The daily trips to the coffee shop, Yummy!!! Nothing better than an Kaluha Kicker! And I have also given up Pepsi. I now am a devoted diet drinker! I try to only eat chicken and vegetables. I have been drinking Slim Fast shakes for breakfast and lunch and of course a "sensible dinner" . This has been difficult because I have never been much of a breakfast or lunch eater. Usually just dinner. So getting myself to actually drink the shakes has been difficult. I have cut out the pastas and starches not only for dietary reasons, but more so because I have noticed I feel better.
I have decided against Curves for the same reasons you have described. I don't think they can offer me all that I need. Instead I have decided to join the YMCA. The membership is expensive, but there I will be able to go as often as I can. I will be able to swim, use the gym and join any classes they have available. I think that will work best for me. I am also going to try to get involved with a dietician. To get me started on the right track!! It's just a matter of jumping in there and getting it done. Unfortunately, I feel like I am fighting a losing battle. Maybe I am doing it for all the wrong reasons. My goal is to conceive, rather than lose all of these pounds. Am I happy with my self? NO! Do I hear all of the comments? Of course! Do I care? Sometimes! But, ultimately I am not trying to lose weight for these reasons. More so to have me lots of babies!!! Am I going at this wrong?
As far as the Glucophage goes, I am a little confused with it as well. All I have read about it, it is used to produce more insulin in the body. Why do I need to have more insulin, when my body doesn't use what it already has? Unfortunatly, I am not comfortable with her ideas of using that particular drug. She threw that out there as she told me she was leaving her practice. Which obviously left me without a true fix to the problem. I am scheduled for a family practitioner and hopefully she will think through it a little more seriously, instead of just tieing up a lose end. My insurance will not allow me to go to specialists(endocrinologists) so I am kind of stuck with what I can get. And hope this one is willing to care and fix the problem.
Thank You again for all of your thoughts and information!! It is great to have someone out there, that is fighting a similar battle!

Hope to hear from you again,
Tiffany
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Old 09-08-2004, 08:55 PM   #8  
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Tiffany,
Glad to see you back. I can't speak about your reasons for changing or trying to take care of this problem. In my own case, its highly unlikely that I'd ever conceive because even before this, I never had a normal cycle. However, I get plenty of children since I teach high school special ed. I LIKE sending them home at 2:45!
I'm glad you can drink diet soda, but also try water... Nutrasweet does nasty things to your body, including turning into formaldehyde (I hope I spelled it right!). Formaldehyde is used to PRESERVE ORGANS or tissue samples for biology and other classes or reasons. It smells awful.
I drink diet soda, but only those with Splenda; Nutrasweet is one of the things that makes me sick. We're getting luckier in that area... a year ago, there were NO sodas with splenda except fruit-flavored Diet Rite, which was nasty. Now, there is Hansen's Diet all-natural (ginger ale is great), Diet Rite (much improved, the cola isn't bad, the black cherry is good), Waist Watchers (ginger ale is good, not as good as Hansens, and the orange soda is GREAT!!!!), Boylan's Diet (black cherry good, cream soda not so good), and there is a new 7UP. The 7UP is being called 7UP plus, and has added calcium and fruit juice. My body likes it... it works almost as well as ginger ale for making me feel better! Right now its just in mixed berry flavor, and I've never seen it anywhere outside of Baltimore (I looked for it in Lancaster when I was at my mom's house), so it might be a trial market right now. Pepsi Edge is good too when I *need* a Pepsi... it uses Splenda but still has lots of calories.
As for doctors: your plan allows a gynecologist, right? Why not try to find a reproductive endocrinologist who is also a GYN? That's what mine is... when I had Blue Cross HMO, I didn't need a referral to see her, because she was a GYN as well. I have a PPO now, and can see whomever, whenever as long as they are a participating provider.
For the Glucophage: the theory with PCOS and other disorders is that the glucophage will help your body use the insulin it produces better. That's what my endocrinologist told me, and also the one she sent me to when she wanted to trial the drug with me. I couldn't tolerate either form of it, and while I am rather known for not tolerating drugs lately, I'm generally able to ignore most side-effects. For example, the spironolactone makes me really dizzy, and the anti-nausea meds make me high.

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Old 09-09-2004, 02:16 AM   #9  
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I can vouch that the splenda stuff tastes MUCH better than that other artificially sweetened stuff. Yum!!

Hey they have that new 7-Up here too...I thought about trying it but I need to read the sugar and caloric counts first. Does it taste pretty good???
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Old 09-09-2004, 08:19 PM   #10  
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My husband and I picked some of the 7UP Plus up on our travels home from my moms house. He didn't care for it much, but I thought it was pretty good. Better than most!! It tasted like mixing cran apple juice with 7 UP. That combination has always been yummy to me!! I have tried the Diet Rite and couldn't quite stomach the flavor. And I have just recently heard of the effects of aspartame on the body. So I have yet another thing to be concientious of. I'm in the middle of cooking dinner so I will have to talk again later. Thank you for including me in your conversations.
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Old 09-10-2004, 12:07 AM   #11  
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I just picked some up at Safeway for our road trip. I might have to sample one beforehand though. I'll let ya know how they taste!!
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Old 09-10-2004, 06:39 PM   #12  
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The 7UP is 10 calories per serving, so there are 2.5 servings per bottle, which is 25 calories total. That is the same as a 24 ounce bottle of Propel water... and Propel doesn't have calcium. I can't do plain water... it gives me heart burn, and makes me nauseous now. :sigh: I can't even do plain seltzer anymore... that's almost as bad as plain water.
Waist Watcher's has a website: http://www.waist-watcher.com
And, for the love of cats and rats, MAKE SURE YOU PUT THE HYPHEN IN! If not, you get sent to a condom site.
The Waist Watcher soda is cheaper than the Hansen's, about the same as Diet Rite, deifnitely cheaper than Boylans.
If you go by the theory that fructose and corn syrup, being processed, are worse than cane sugar, you can also get Boylans and some other sugar-based colas at Trader Joes and Whole Foods. If you live in a Jewish area, you can get Coke and Dr. Brown's with sugar around Passover, because Orthodox Jews won't drink thinks with corn syrup during Passover. Well, I try not to also, and since I drink mostly diet stuff, I'm usually safe.
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Old 09-11-2004, 06:04 PM   #13  
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Hey everyone... I thought would chime in on this subject and give my story. I too was diagnosed with PCOS a couple of years ago by a wonderful endocrinologist named Dr. Sills here in Atlanta. I was put on gulcophage (2-850mg a day) 1 baby asprin, synthroid and a prenantal vitamin. I was then referred to a person at Northside Hospital to talk to about the best diet for PCOS patients. It was a high fiber, low fat diet that really wasnt that hard to stick to. It was pretty much, dont eat anything white. No white bread, no white rice...things like that.
The glucophage does make your stomach very upset for a while but you gradually up your dosage until you get to where you need to be and it does finally go away. While I was taking my meds and eating right religously I lost 60 lbs in 3 months. I was extremely satisfied with my results. Then the bad part.... The Insurance we had stopped covering the Drs that we were seeing and we had to stop. Nobody here in Griffin where I live knows about this stuff like these Dr.s did. Needless to say I had no more glucophage and no Dr. I have now gained all of my weight back and am starting over. Luckily 3 years later the Insurance changed again. I went back to see Dr. Sills last week. My whole body is out of whack and it seems like it will never get back to normal. I was informed Tuesday that I am now borderline diabetic. The blood work showed 1 point over in the diabetic range and he says it may be too late to reverse it.
I have been back on track for about a week now and I have to admit...It feels good. I have a rubberized track to walk on near my house and I have a bunch of tapes to exercise with. I was a member of curves and I have to say I loved it. Everyone can do it. The machines are hydrolic so the harder you go the harder they will be. If you want to go slow it will be a little easier. At my Curves you could go as many times a week as you wanted and if you wanted to go around the circle more than the 3 times you could. They dont watch over you or anything. You can do what ever feels right for you. I lost 12 inches and 4 pounds my first month at curves. I am sad to say that I had to quit recently due to financial matters. There is a great curves thread in the exercise forum that you could read for information. I do think they will let you work out for a week free just to see if you would like it. It may be worth looking in to for you.
I know I am jumping around but there is so much I would like to say...I think you could possibly find some good information on PCOS on my Dr.s website.. go to www.ivf.com

I hope this wasnt to scattered...If you have any more questions feel free to ask. There is also a good book on PCOS. It is called PCOS, A Hidden Epidemic.

ok... I'm gonna go now before I start typing again.
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Old 09-11-2004, 11:05 PM   #14  
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Cheyenne, I'm impressed with your weight loss, and more than a little jealous. The only white stuff I eat are non-fat milk or sour cream, cottage cheese, etc. I have given up white rice, most potatoes, and never buy white bread anymore. I buy rye or multigrain or whole wheat sourdough. I eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
I can't do Curves... I looked at it, the ones around here are very strict with the 30 minute time limit, 3 days per week... And I could only use about half the machines because I can't do much with my left ankle due to nerve damage. But I am a member of a fantastic gym.... I'm there at least 5 days a week (although this week was a bit strange because of Labor Day, school starting, and then my car died, so I only went 4 days this week). When I'm there, I lift weights (mostly upper body... I worked with a trainer and then a friend to figure out a routine that I could do), and swim laps. I worked with a swim instructor for a while when I started, and she helped me set goals. She's the same friend who helped me out upstairs when I started doing that. I also do water aerobics classes there. And recently started teaching children's swim lessons on Saturday nights there.
But, with all of that, I've lost no weight. This is an on-going depression thing for me. I lost more than 15 pounds when I had a cast on this spring, and then lost another 10 pounds when I was very sick and throwing up, but it seems to have leveled off. I lost about 60 pounds total in a bit over a year.
Also, there are some people that don't ever get over the side-effects of the glucophage. I'm one of them, and I believe Jennifer is another.
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Old 09-17-2004, 08:24 PM   #15  
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Hi there!! I'm new and have never done one of these forums!
I am in your boat - IR and cannot lose weight!! I also have a low thyroid...I just keep gaining weight. ITs so frustrating. I was just put on 2,000mg of metformin and hope this will help. My endo said my insulin was still high at 20....i don't know whats normal??
I have tried a natural sweetner called Stevia - it is actually pretty good and has no harmful side effects like other ones do.
Anyway, reading these have helped me so much!!
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