I was diagnosed with PCOS at 14 - I'm now 38 - and if someone told me how to control my PCOS I would have done it in a heartbeat. My symptoms were similar to yours and got progressively worse over the years. I would skip a period for 4,5,6 months and then bleed HEAVY periods for 8-10 weeks straight. The weight piled one no matter how healthy I ate. I finally came to a breaking point and went to see my Internist. I thought I needed gastric bypass because I knew the key to PCOS was weight management. My doctor ran a bunch of tests and my hemmoraging of blood was killing me - All of my mineral levels came back at trace levels, my EkG was questionable, and he wanted to give me a transfusion because I was so low. I was desperate, but before I had surgery I knew there was one thing I had not tried. I had never given up carbs.
I immediately went on a KETO diet 2 years ago/ Within 6 months my hormones stabilized and I began having normal periods. I was also seeing my OB/GYN. Before I started keto, my ovaries looked like bunches of grapes - when I went in 8 months later, only 3 cysts remained. Not eating carbs controlled my PCOS. Since then, I've lost 102 pounds. I still have 75 or so to go, and it is coming off much more slowly, but I will never overeat carbs again. I have learned that my body just can not process them correctly because of the PCOS and Insulin Resistance.
I also got a mirena IUD - I am done having children though - on the advice of my OB/GYN (who specializes in PCOS). He explained that we are at a higher risk for uterine cancer and Mirena helps guard against that.
Good luck - I know how overwhelmed you must feel. PCOS is awful - it is a silent disease that doesn't have a cure, but we can manage it!
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