Is insulin resistance always present with PCOS?
 

Is insulin resistance always present with PCOS? Dr's have speculated for years that I have endometriosis but I've looked at the symptoms for PCOS and it seems more likely that it is the real culprit. I DO have cysts on my ovaries (per recent test results)...but I don't have thickened body hair, in fact, my hair is very thin all over. I also can eat lots of carbs, good and bad, and lose weight with no problem. However, almost all of the other symptoms fit me exactly. Does anyone have any idea?

The short answer is NO, not all PCOS'ers suffer from IR. The S part of PCOS stands for syndrome, there are many combinations of symptoms that PCOS sufferers have. It's one of the reasons that a lot of reg OB/GYN's still don't diagnose it properly.

Hirsuitism is a common symptom, but so is male pattern hair loss (I forget the name for that symptom). It can swing one way or the other or not even effect your hair growth at all.

I would look upon the lack of hirutism as a GREAT thing! You're lucky!!!! One less thing to worry about :D

And I'll second the thing the other lady said, not all with PCOS have IR, but it's common to have both.

I agree, they are two seperate conditions that just happen to come together for many people. I have IR, but only "borderline" PCOS according to my doc. She said my lab work for the PCOS was barely in the range, but, there's no question that I have IR.