[carolinachickie]

Hi, Everyone!

I am new here and new to PCOS. I have quite a story.

I was on BCP from 17 until 24. Went off BCP at 24 and got pg immediately (terminated pregnancy- please no bashing. I've bashed myself enough, trust me ) Then, I got married at 25 and, at 29, really started trying to get pg. I had not really been using anything RELIABLE to prevent a pg before this. I had no luck and was very depressed so I went to see a fertility doctor recommended by a woman I worked with. Each month that I wasn't pg he would give me a higher and higher dose of clomid until finally I was at 250 mg. This was over the course of about 6 months. During those last three months with that doctor I lost about 55 pounds and ended up being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (after leaving that doctor's office and going to my general practitioner). I became pg again, was put on an insulin pump, but still had a m/c. This was devastating as I had tried for soooooooooo long to get pg. I went through a really tough time of feeling like I had been punished for terminating the first pg. After an HSG, a Laparoscopy, and an IUI on 100 mg. of clomid, I finally conceived my son, Ethan. He was born in December of 2003.
All along this crazy way I have been reading about PCOS and trying to convince anyone that would listen that I had it. I have had weight struggles my whole life (always the "big boned" girl) and the only time I was ever able to lose any was a 50 pound decrease in college when I was on bcp, attending WW, and working 10 hours at a summer job on a night shift in a factory doing manual labor...and I wasn't eating much b/c when I wasn't working I was sleeping. I have always had bad acne along my chin line except when I was on bcp, and I have a patch of hair under my chin which started as a couple of strands in my early 20's and now has to be shaved or tweezed daily (I'm 34) My arms are also starting to get hairy.

Anyway, no one would take me seriously b/c I had type 1 diabetes and they all said that, to have PCOS, I'd have to have type 2 diabetes. Well, I have finally found a new endocrinologist who LISTENED to my story and diagnosed me with clinical PCOS. He did do blood work also, but everything came back "within normal range" possibly due to the fact that I am already taking some glucophage along with insulin for my diabetes. This doctor has also requested my original tests for diabetes diagnosis to see if, perhaps, they were misinterpreted...still waiting for that.

other signs of PCOS that I haven't mentioned: cyst like ovaries (but I have a fairly regular pd.), fatigue, depression, I lost almost all of my hair when I started taking insulin (it did all grow back)

I would really like to be in better shape, lose 34 pounds and have another baby. I have been reading about the South Beach Diet and am going to try it. I just need to get the groceries to do it right. I've been "practicing" this week, but am starting phase 1 on Monday, May 9th.

I'm just looking for general friendship and support in this journey of ttc, PCOS, and weight loss!

[subcriminal]

Hiya

I am certain that I have PCOS and none of my doctors want to beleive me because I have regular periods. However I was confirmed to have IR, and since the treatment for PCOS is pretty much the same (lose weight and maintain an ideal weight) it doesn't really matter at this point whether I am beleived- at this time I am not trying to concieve.

I tried sooooo many diets throughout my life, all of them are fads. Atkins worked somewhat but it was hard to stick to because it was so carb restrictive. The only reason why it worked for me is because carbs aggrivate IR, remove the carbs and you start to see results.

If you can find a good nutritionalist in your area who has experience treating people with IR/PCOS, I would really recommend seeing one instead of trying trail-and-error with commercial diets. Check their background, ask if you can speak to any of their "references" (former clients who had the same condition as you), and save some money because they won't be covered by insurance most of the time. The best place to fish around for nutritionalists with the right kind of experience is with your endocrinologist or OBGYN- they probably know a few.

My nutritionalist put me on a low-carb diet with some medical food suppliments and I've already lost 7 pounds this month. I am soooo glad that I found my nutritionalist!!! It was truly a breath of fresh air to find someone who knew exactly how I had to eat, how much, and knew how to tweak my diet for my individual variations in muscle mass, hight, medical complications, etc. She is expensive, and the medical food is spendy, but I am seeing results. I wish I found her so many years ago!!!!!!