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Old 09-12-2012, 05:05 PM   #1  
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Default IP and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Has this diet helped any of your symptoms of PCOS???
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Old 09-12-2012, 05:32 PM   #2  
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Yup. I got my period back when I crossed that 10% weight loss mark. Insanity. I hadn't had it 'naturally' for over two years.

Now it's pretty regular - has been for the last six months. I average a 28-31 day cycle. And I NEVER cycled normally in my entire life previously.

I have no clue if we have any chance of getting pregnant now (we went through seven years of infertility treatments and nothing worked) but I still kinda doubt it as my main issue seems to be egg quality. Annnnyway...

That's been the biggest change for me. I haven't had any hormonal blood work lately to see if anything has changed in that regard.
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Old 09-12-2012, 05:53 PM   #3  
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Actually, my symptoms seemed to disappear the last time I lost weight. I had been going through fertility treatments and decided to take a break, because the next step was injectable hormones, and I was afraid of ending up with seven babies. At that time I also decided to try to get some weight off- and I ended up getting pregnant on my own. Obvious the diet was abandoned at that point (I was taking phentermine, that was my weight loss MO for many years, until I came here).

Since I had my son three years ago, I have been like clockwork, every 28 days. My skin is good, no breakouts to speak out. Facial hair.... isn't better, but isn't worse (unless you consider the fact that a lot of it is turning WHITE worse! but that's age, not diet).

I think IP indirectly helps PCOS, since it deals with the insulin issues that many of us have, which in turns allows for weight loss, which is what really makes the big difference in symptoms.

One thing that I get frustrated about, in hindsight, is that when I was going through fertility treatments, it was never suggested to me that I try to lose weight. Obviously, at 250 lbs, I was overweight, I didn't need anyone to tell me that. But I think if someone had said to me "Lose 25 lbs and our treatments will be much more effective and your chances will be significantly better" then I would have done it. I didn't understand how closely the two were tied.

I have a friend who went through years of treatments with no results. She had gastric bypass, lost a significant amount of weight (at least 100 lbs) and found herself pregnant at 39 without any ART. I think that weight has a lot more to do with fertility than we are led to believe.
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Old 09-12-2012, 06:33 PM   #4  
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I had a talk with my endocrinologist prior to starting IP and I was thinking at that time I was going to look into gastric bypass as he said that they were having good luck with weight loss with the Roun-Y surgery and that was where I was headed.

I then was talking to a friend of my husband's and he is a Dr. and he had been doing IP and was losing weight and said I should look into it as it was specifically tailored for insulin resistance which is what I have with PCOS. I had been told for years that my symptoms would improve if I lost weight but having the PCOS made it all but impossible. I had tried several diets and would lose but gain it back. So I thought this would be the same. I have done a lot of research and I feel that this is really going to be the one to change my life.

As for the symptoms, the body hair is less (I also take spironolactone for this), periods are regular at every 29 days, hope to get off the metformin and Bydureon soon and my cholesteral is down to 168 from 209, my A1c is normal too so I think the weight loss has improved my symptoms a lot.

Sorry for the ramble but I thnk it works!
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Old 09-12-2012, 07:51 PM   #5  
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There is indeed a growing body of evidence linking obesity to fertility challenges. On the side I have a whole other life that's involved in this stuff and was at an IVF conference in Vegas this summer where this was a big topic of conversation.

I'm sad that you were never counselled to lose weight. My doctor did suggest that it might help but we were always focused on treatments (and all the stress of trying!) that weight loss always took a back seat.

One of my biggest regrets is not having lost the weight earlier. I am forced to wonder if we might actually have gotten pregnant on our own at some point instead of ending up childless as we are now.
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Old 09-12-2012, 07:53 PM   #6  
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I haven't had a lot of changes in symptoms yet, but hoping soon...
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Old 09-12-2012, 10:55 PM   #7  
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I appreciate this thread because I feel the same way as many of you. The "it would help if you lost weight" was such a "generic" term I didn't realize the importance of it and always regret now too, that I didn't lose weight sooner. However, we've adopted and met our family needs that way. There would be a REAL irony if I got pregnant now! LOL
As for other symptoms, my periods are heavier and longer since I started IP, but not regular. Facial hair is blonder but that could be from summer sun. My skin is definitely softer and not as dry. And my hair is thinning near the hair line -- hopefully NOT age related. I never did take any meds etc. so can't tell you if "VITALS" are improving. Overall though, I feel much better. I am finding I get "hot flashes" more but maybe that's "change of life" stuff starting to creep up on me
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Old 09-13-2012, 09:00 AM   #8  
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Hi ladies,
I too have PCOS and YES, the symptoms improve dramatically with IP. The first time I was on IP was harder for me, but I definitely noticed a change in my cycles, hair growth was the same. After going off IP, while I maintained my loss, my cycles were regular, if I had a cheat moment, it didn't affect my weight, so I think it successfully re-set my insulin secretion. However, after I got lazy and gave into pasta and bread and sweets, my cycles got irregular and then I finally became pregnant, but ended up losing the baby at 8 weeks. It was devastating, so I ate and comforted myself with carbs and sweets. I finally said ENOUGH and am back on program, this time determined to lose the weight and have a healthy pregnancy. I definitely believe that weight affects fertility and the health of the baby.

I was in a BSN program in undergrad for 3 years (before I got out and changed my major) and our nutrition was literally one semester (I was told doctors took a seminar or one class of nutrition and we knew more than they did about this unless the doctor took a particular interest in nutrition and pursued it on their own). It is strange in the US (and evident) why medicine does not connect nutrition to body health and mental health and overall well-being. Other cultures study this connection from day 1 and incorporate it into their treatment. Interesting...my husband is from another country/culture and his brother is a doctor and when they prescribe treatment to patients, it includes what the patient should be eating and why. I think it is a shame we don't do that.

"You are what you eat" is so true. Ok, enough babble. I'm happy to have found other IP people with PCOS to share and chat with! Good luck to all of us!! My whole goal is health and BABY!!!
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Old 09-13-2012, 09:16 AM   #9  
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I was never diagnosed with PCOS, but after discussing this with my new OBGYN, she said it does sound like I was dealing with this. I always had regular periods and my ovaries where not cystic, but I never did ovulate without help. I have/had every other symptom of PCOS. I did manage to have a child with some fertility help, but it never happened again and we decided to adopt our second child. I actually thank God we couldn't get pregnant again otherwise we might not have chosen adoption and then I wouldn't have my wonderful son. I did end up getting endometrial cancer a few years back, which added to the list of my PCOS symptoms. I had a complete hysterectomy at that point, and now with having lost almost all that I want to lose I feel 100 percent better. Just not having to deal with the hormonal issues anymore is a true blessing.
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Old 09-13-2012, 11:46 AM   #10  
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I was diagnosed at 13 with PCOS and it has been a battle ever since. I am now for the first time off progesterone as one of the many hormone pills I was taking. I have now had 2 periods naturally in a row with a semi "normal" time in between. My facial hair growth has slowed but the texture has not changed. Still uber dry skin and really heavy periods but hey they came naturally. I went to a fertility doctor and she would love to see me at 200-220 before we do any testing to see if the weight loss will increase my chance to be more than 3% to get preggo with out any help. Well only about 30 lbs or so to go before I make the appointment. I am really really excited to find other PCOS peeps to talk with this.
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Old 09-13-2012, 12:48 PM   #11  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tigerlvr52 View Post
I was diagnosed at 13 with PCOS and it has been a battle ever since. I am now for the first time off progesterone as one of the many hormone pills I was taking. I have now had 2 periods naturally in a row with a semi "normal" time in between. My facial hair growth has slowed but the texture has not changed. Still uber dry skin and really heavy periods but hey they came naturally. I went to a fertility doctor and she would love to see me at 200-220 before we do any testing to see if the weight loss will increase my chance to be more than 3% to get preggo with out any help. Well only about 30 lbs or so to go before I make the appointment. I am really really excited to find other PCOS peeps to talk with this.
I am REALLY hoping my facial hair growth will slow down! That's one of my biggest struggles. I also get a lot of ovarian pain, so I hope that starts to decrease, too.

PCOS is the main reason I started this program. Last resort before I thought about lap band surgery. So happy to see it working!
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Old 09-13-2012, 12:59 PM   #12  
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This somewhat off topic- but since we are talking about fertility, I will say that losing as much weight as you can before you conceive is highly recommended. As stated above, I did not do this, and suffered a lot of complications before and after delivery that almost killed me. They were not directly caused by my weight, but as with everything, being overweight increased the risks. I get very angry with myself for letting food control me to the point that I almost lost my life.

Not trying to be alarmist- but as before, if anyone had explained to me how much higher the risks of complications would be because of my weight, I think I would have taken it more seriously. I was in a lot of denial about how heavy I really was (not sure how I pulled that off, but I am realizing that I am an expert in denial) and I guess I wish someone would have tried to open my eyes. I didn't think i was "that bad" and when none of my doctors ever said anything, then it reinforced my delusion. Ultimately I know it was my responsiblity and not anyone else's job to tell me I was obese.

Kudos to you for getting this in line before you bring on the physical demands of pregnancy!
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Old 09-13-2012, 01:07 PM   #13  
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WOW When I looged on today I felt like this slapped me in the face!!! I was diagnosed with PCOS at the age of 14 when my mom was watching Oprah. Since I live in Chicago...my mom took me to the Dr. that was on Oprah. Since then she has moved on to teach....but now I have an amazing Dr!!! I was hoping to find out how and if this helped PCOS....THANK YOU!!!! I had my first weigh in on Tuesday....so in 6 days...I lost 4 lbs. My first week was very hard!!! I was very crabby this week and went in to my weigh in thinking I was not going to lose anything! I'm glad I did the weigh in.....Cause it chnaged my mood greatly!!!! So now I am in week 2. I can not wait to chat with you all through out this process. I know because we have PCOS we will struggle a lot more than the average person!!! Good luck to us all!!!!!

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Old 09-14-2012, 08:45 AM   #14  
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Good morning, ladies,
Let's keep this thread going! I was diagnosed at 15 and put on birth control pills and other meds. It was awful. About hair growth, I have had countless laser hair removal and electrolysis sessions. It still comes back (of course because it is hormonal), but it is less now and the texture has changed for me. The first time on IP, I was working with a naturopathic doctor who was helping me with PCOS and IP definitely helped with symptoms. It will reset your pancreas and your insulin resistance should improve. It takes a full 3 months off carbs to reset the pancreas. I know it worked because I kept my first loss off with little effort for a year. That knowledge alone keeps me going to the 3 month mark and then knowing my fertility and chances of a healthy baby/pregnancy/me will improve.

Hugs to all!
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Old 09-14-2012, 12:50 PM   #15  
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Facial Hair:

The bane of my existence..... the most embarrassing part for me of PCOS. Constant monitoring to keep it under wraps, I am not lucky to have fine hair, it's coarse and super dark. So very frustrating. I found the only thing to get rid of it is what is called hard wax. I have to heat the wax on the stove and it doesn't use any strips. It drys hard and you yank away. Pulls out even the shortest of little hairs. What do you use?
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