PCOS/Insulin Resistance SupportSupport for us with any of the following: Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or other endocrine disorders.
breif intro on myself: i'm 25 years old (soon to be 26 - bah!), and i was diagnosed with PCOS last March.
at my heighest weight, i weighed 215lbs, and fluctuated between 195lb and 215 between the ages of 16-21 years old. i had been overweight all of my life, and doctors had never attributed my weight gain to PCOS, only depression and teenage traumas. perhaps a bit of everything was true.
when i turned 22, i decided to do something about my weight. i made a conscious lifestyle change -- gradually eliminated foods from my diet and began to take exercise a little more seriously. i committed myself to change -- i wanted to know what it was like to be "thin" and "fit" and be able to not look for the biggest size in a department store or cry in the dressing room or not be able to kiss a boy because of the size of my thighs. i told myself if i didnt like it, i could go back. i dont know what happened, but i stuck to it.
within the first month, i lost 5-10lbs... by the end of a year, i had lost about 35 lbs and the scale seemed stuck at 175lb. i kept at it until the scale was stuck at 165. but when it wouldnt go down, and i was seriously dieting and working out avidly, i knew there had to be a problem. my periods were still off, my hormones and emotions seemed out of whack (id cry for no reason, lose my temper for no reason), and i had a weird twisting/cramping feeling even when i wasnt having my period.
i went to the doctor, and thanks to my great nutrition and fitness schedule, all of my tests were normal -- i had perfect metabolism, cholestoral, etcetc... but my testosterone levels were WAY off.
a month of doctors appointments later, i was diagnosed with PCOS. EVERYTHING began to make sense, EVERYTHING. and now it feels frustrating to know that im *stuck* with this the rest of my life, and that i can work out as hard as i want but ill *always* have to watch what i eat.
i feel bloated, too, if i eat certain foods. others just dont digest well. BUT i have found that working out 4-5 times a week really helps with the mood swings, the symptoms, the diet, etc.
i wanted to post because i know that many people here are finding it frustrating to lose weight w/ PCOS. and i did it BEFORE i knew i even HAD PCOS, so it CAN BE DONE!!!!!!
i look forward to posting more in the future.
kudos.
Hi Melanie,
I am new to the boards myself, but I wanted to welcome you. You are a brave and determined young woman, and you deserve congratulations on what you have accomplished so far! Thank you for sharing your story, it is such an inspiration.
i posted my essay and my before and after pics in the Success! board, as well as a run down of my diet that i pretty much MADE UP on my own here it is:::::
Quote:
the first month, these were the biggest factors in weight loss... i started my plan, but i only gradually eliminated foods i was dependant upon... my logic told me that this way my body wouldnt feel like it was deprived. this is pretty much what i came up with:
*GIVE ME MY H2O*
i cut out ALL liquids -- I only drank water and LOTS of it. its the best habit you can learn is upping your water intake or getting yourself in the habit of refilling a 8oz-24oz bottle of water every hour or so. i try to drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day. the water alone helped me lose 5-10 lbs. especially when i wasnt drinking soda or added sugars in juices.
*BYE BYE FRIES*
i cut out all FRIED foods, any kind of butter or sauce.
*SIZE MATTERS!*
i watched my portions... fruit for freakfast, salad for lunch (sometimes a slice of veggie pizza and a salad) or a plain turkey sandwich w/ a slice of cheese on a grain bread, dinner was soup or pasta or grilled chicken.
*DIET... BUT DON'T MAKE DIET A BAD WORD*
i followed this pattern for 6 days a week. on sunday, id usually have a lunch of my choice and made sure i ate early enough that id have time to burn it off.
*TIME SENSITIVE*
i never ate after 8pm...
*WORK THE BODY*
i power walked for 30-45 minutes a night, whatever my schedule allowed. i usually took a friend who was already pretty fit to make sure i stuck at a good pace.
*READ A LOT*
*when i started learning about nutrition, i switched my refined carbs to complex carbs, etc,... i still follow the water rule, the complex carb rule... i rarely eat pasta, bagels, muffins (id much rather have a cookie or two when im pmsing!) LOL.
*NO ONE LIKES TO BE BULLIED*
*the biggest thing i did was taking it on as a lifestyle change and not bullying myself into it -- if i wanted something, i told myself id eat it on sunday. that way, it was easy to figure out if i was eating it out of a natural 'craving' or an emotional hunger.
*WHAT KIND OF EATER AM I?*
*its a lot of soul searching. you need to find out what kind of "eater" you are. im an emotional, texture eater. knowing that, i know how to ask myself when i want something if im "eating cause im hungry or eating cause im *sad, depressed, lonely, discouraged*"...
these were pretty much the biggest factors, and this was long before i knew i had PCOS. i think the way i began my diet really allowed me to not only STICK with it, but make it a lifestyle change. because i weigh 150 now, id consider myself active and that i watch what i eat and when i eat it and make sure i just dont eat crap all day.. but at the same time, i dont deprive myself anymore of food i like. i just UP the work out!! yesterday i ate an entire thin crust personal pizza from CPK (which i added protien to as well). but i also went to step class later that night where i did high impact cardio for 40 minutes and abs and such for 35. i also drink TONS of water... RARELY do i drink juice or soda, but still if i want it, ill have it because i live and work in boston, i also fit in "mini-workout" like walking to the grocery store and carrying groceries home.. or walking to the train or walking to the mall to get a salad at lunchtime. small changes like that are also give big profits in the long run.
i really love this site so much. ive told so many people about the wonderful world created here...
I'll take the opportunity to introduce myself as well. I'm 29 (will be the big 3-0 in November) and was just diagnosed a few weeks ago.
That was my official diagnosis anyway, even though I have struggled with menstrual issues for the past twenty years. Yep, lucky me got my first period when I was 9 years old, and I have never, ever experienced what people consider a "normal" one. Normal for me has always been either not having one for months on end, or having on that doesn't stop. Six weeks, 3 months, six months nonstop. you name it, I've had it that long. The first time I remember having one that lasted that long was in 5th grade when it lasted 6 weeks. Imagine being in the little girls' room when the other little girls didn't have periods, and there not being a private way to dispose of your sanitary needs. Everyone knew how long it lasted, and being naturally curious about what a period was like anyway, they became even more curious about why mine lasted so long. During those first years, my doctors were too embarrassed to examine such a young child, so they'd either give me pills or just send me on my way, promising that things would fix themselves in time.
Fast forward to age 17, eight years later, when things obviously still haven't "fixed themselves" but by this time, not only am I having wonky periods, but I began having excess body hair. Again, I was told that I was still young and I needed time for things to "fix themselves". By this time, I got fed up, pointing out to my doctor that things had time to work out on their own in 8 years, which was plenty of time. She didn't have any excuses, but gave me a pack of birth control, suggested I talk to someone becase I was "depressed", and past me along to a genetic person, who couldn't find anything wrong either.
By the time I went into college a few months later, at least the periods got straighted out by the pills, but with everything else being a mess, I really did get depressed. However, my psychologist declared my problems a medical condition, so she couldn't fix it all, which of course I knew, but try telling that to the "I'm the great doctor" mentality. Very little ever got done on that regard.
Fast forward to age 27 when I finally got fed up with the birth control. It wasn't doing much, so I decided it wasn't worth bothering with. As soon as I stopped, I started gaining overly excessive amounts of unexplained weight, despite the fact I wasn't eating enough to explain this. More hairy issues, and the periods became spotting to non existance by that point. The non periods honestly wouldn't have concerned me after all the years I wished for none, except I started having terrible mood swings. Still, I knew I was getting nowhere with the doctors, and I knew my hormones were changing from getting off the pill, so I kept waiting for that to settle down.
Finally, after about a year, I could no longer deny that I was not going to straighten out on my own, so I went to another doctor, who happened to be fresh out of school. The good news was that by this time, I happened to find an article on PCOS, and it described me to a "T", so at least I had something to ask her to look for. At first, she really thought I had it, was very concerned about my sudden weight gain and no periods, but after she ran the blood tests, she declared me "normal" once again. However, when a 28 year old single woman goes into a doctor asking for the pill, they automatically believe that you want it for birth control, so she gave me what I asked for. The first ones made me terribly depressed, except for when I had PMS and I felt the urge to shake someone I was so angry all the time. Then she gave me Ortho Tri Cyclen, but the terrible migranes I got from that made me stop taking them.
However, by this time, even people who didn't know me well could see something was very, very wrong. Someone I worked with discussed things with me, and realized I was describing a friend of hers who just found out she had PCOS. She got the name of the doctor and begged me to go. Feeling out of heart and mad at the medical profession, I put it off for a few more months until I got so bad that I either had to do something or I knew that I would not be able to function on a day-to-day basis anymore.
That was 3 months ago, which is how long it took to get an appointment with the doctor. I finally got go about 2 weeks ago, and decided not to mention my suspcious of PCOS at first, because if I didn't have it, I didn't want her to just use that as an excuse for me. However, I was thrilled that as soon as I begin telling her my story, she stopped me to let me know she thinks she knows what the problem is. Better yet, she didn't even care if the symptoms showed up on a blood test, because if I was having problems, they needed to be dealt with regardless. However, we did the blood tests anyway, while I hoped that the tests would show it just so I'd finally officially have a name to the madness of the past 20 years. Three days later, I finally got my wish.
I never had a weight problem until the last few years when things got full blown out of control, so that issue is new. My doctor suggested the Zone, which I've been doing for the last week and a half. I worried about starting bacause I tried Atkins earlier this year, but couldn't stay on it due to all sorts of stomach problems I have (a hernia repair, my gallbladder removed, a bad ulcer). However, even in this short time, this new diet has already helped my stomach so much and I'm already losing weight. She also put me on Yasmin, which I started today. I've been looking around the web and have seen more women complain about it than like it, but she sang it's praises. Therefore, I'm a little nervous about trying it, yet I'm willing to see if I'm one of the lucky ones.
This has been very long, and I'm sorry about the length, but when there is a long history, there is a lot to tell.
Thanks for sharing this! Is Yasmin considered 'low dose'? My sister sent me a link today from NBC news saying that the new lower dose pills aren't doing much for keeping cysts at bay. I'm not sure if you have problems with cysts or not. One other thing I have heard from other PCOS'ers is that we should never take Tri-Phasal birth control pills. Not sure what the problem is, but it must make the hormones even wackier. I'll see if I can find anything on it and post it here.
Good luck in getting things all worked out. Isn't it a shame that we have to dig for a doctor that knows how to help us?
Jennifer- My doctor told me any of the "tri" pills were the worst things women with PCOS could take because the "tri" means that the hormones are released in spurts thoughout the day. Therefore, your hormones are always going up and down all the time which is what makes some of us feel rotten.
Yasmin is one of the "mono" pills, meaning you get the same amount of hormones thoughout the entire day, so that your hormones are always level. Without the ups and downs, you're supposed to be more stable and feel better.
When I've been on any of the "tri" medicines, the doctors started me out on the low dose kinds, but they never didn't do anything for me. However, given that higher dose pills are supposed to cause cancer, they didn't want to put me on those, so I really had to fight for the higher dosage. My theory was that I'd rather be able to live and function in the present tense, knowing I was *risking* future cancer, than to be totally dsyfunctional forever in fear of what might never come. The times that I did have success on the "tri" was always with the high dose.
I really don't know if Yasmin is a low dose or not, but I still have the packaging that comes with it, so I'll check tomorrow and let you know if it says anything about that. I didn't think to ask since I was so happy something different was finally happening. However, if you don't find out by Sept. I will be going back to my doctor then, so I don't mind asking for you.
I don't know if I have cysts or if so how many, because the doctor did not order an ultrasound. I've been wondering if I should ask her for one though. Should I?
Most likely you do have cysts, but they might not be causing problems for you. My cysts just kept growing, and they are very painful at times. They are shrinking from the BC pills. However, this was not a recommendation of my 'expert' doctor, but a regular ob/gyn - so much for going straight to the top!
I did find the article on the low dose pills that I talked about earlier. I'm not on one. I take Ovcon-35. Here is the article:
Wow. I really loved your plan Melanie. Awesome. Thank you so much! I'm having trouble figuring out where to start. I've been exercising 3 days a week-weight training class, step and kickboxing. No weight loss yet. In fact a gain. My doctor told me I have to do a minimum of 4 days a week and start seriously low carbing. But I don't know how. I've read so many books that I'm senseless. I saved your plan and sent it to my exercise buddy. I think it will help both of us get more inspired and kick it into high gear next week! Thanks!
Newbie on the Boards - I've Found My People!!
here it is:::::
