I'm a newbie here and have completely comitted myself to losing weight. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 19. I'm 25 now, and I haven't been back to the doctor since my original diagnosis. I miss a lot of periods, which is what prompted me to go to the doctor 6 years ago in the first place. I also feel like I lose more hair in my brush than normal people, but I don't have noticable hair loss. I also haven't really experienced the extra body hair that sometimes comes along with it. I think the fact that I don't have physical symptoms that I notice every day is making me believe that it's under control and I don't need to do anything about it. In reality I know that I really need to see a doctor, but I just am really embarassed about my weight and I don't want to hear how bad it really is. I know it sounds stupid, and I know that doctors see patients like me all the time. I just can't get over my fear of going. Has anyone had a similar experience or any advice?

Lisa

Go to the doctor! Get an otherwise clean bill of health and start working on losing the weight.

I wasn't diagnosed until I was 23 and trying to get pregnant. Looking back I suspected mine started around 14. I was on Glucophage (metformin) for about 6 months and got pregnant. After having the kids and my tubes tied I was really hesitant to bother going back for a follow up appointment. After all I was done having kids what did it matter if I didn't have periods? I finally sucked it up and went back on the Glucophage and that with about a 34 pound weight loss has restored my cycles from 120+ days to about 32. I am feeling better than ever and I still have a long way to go.

Left untreated it will probably get worse.

Shoot, I'm 26 and finally worked up the nerve to talk about it to student health yesterday at my gyno appointment. I've been on BCP since I was 16 and went off last fall. I noticed marked changes, especially hair loss and growth of body hair where it wasn't supposed to be.

They have me coming in this morning for a blood glucose and cholesterol screening. She said if any of the values were abnormal or more towards the high side, I would be referred to an endocrinologist.

The only frustrating thing is paying for medications. I'm on a student health plan so a lot of things aren't covered (birth control pills for one). I never thought I'd say it, but god bless walmart for putting Tri-Sprintec on their $9 list. Since most campuses can't offer cheap pills anymore, it's a lifesaver.

The glucophage (metformin) is on the $4 list at Walmart if you end up taking that.

Another tip for medications. Always call around for prices. We have 4 pharmacies in my small town. Before Walmart started their $4 ones I called around to all to compare prices. Modern Pharmacy was $12, Walmart was $24, Glens was $30 and Kmart was $35. For the same pills!!!!

Plus since I didn't have insurance Modern would fill for 90 days instead of 30 and I was only paying $18 IIRC for all three months. I'm supposed to take 500mg twice a day. If you pay cash sometimes it is cheaper to get the 1000mg pills and cut them in half yourself. Takes a few minutes but does save a few dollars sometimes.

Thanks for telling me that I just need to do it, guys. This is just what I need.

Zen congrats on taking the first step.

Lisa

I agree with you. I was on BCPs for years which masked my symptoms. I stopped the BCPs while TTC and couldn't lose weight even though I trained for and ran a 15k and two half marathons in a matter of 3 months. I was an overweight athlete. lol Other than the weight gain & infertility, the worst part for me is the chin/upper lip hair. I've always had a couple of hairs that I've plucked regularly. Well they just got to be more and more. I had to stop plucking for 6 weeks to prepare for laser hair removal..talk about a nightmare when your nightly ritual is plucking hairs and popping zits. lol I tried counting them and counted at least 63 hairs....black ones. I also suddenly got bad acne on my back, neck, scalp, hairline, and jawline. They were those painful, cyst-like ones that were below the skin. That's where my diagnosis started. I complained about the acne and my dr found out my testosterone was elevated. THen I suspected that I wasn't ovulating. My reg dr kept brushing me off. He said I was normal and it can take a year for bcps to get out of the system. ha! So how it is that someone can miss one pill and get pregnant? I was 34 at the time and not getting any younger. I self-referred myself to a fertility clinic in September 2006 on the advice of a friend who had fertility problems. Within three weeks I was diagnosed and scheduled for IVF. I was pregnant by December 2006. That was lucky for me. Sorry for the long bio.

Please go get treatment now if you have the resources.