i have insulin resistance, hence why i'm here! (:
the entire thing is just depressing me recently. so i figure i'll introduce myself and post my issue at the same time...
i'm lauren, hello! i'm 16 years old as of today actually. i've always, ALWAYS been overweight, even as a child. as of now i'm 5'6" and 234...yes that sounds very large, but i am actually somehow not overwhelmingly large and i have great body image. i lost 10 pounds, and although it was very slowly, i was so happy! i had begun thinning out and my face was definitely a lot thinner, too...
well exactly a week ago, i started a birth control called loestrin24fe because before july 10th, i hadn't had a period in 8 months. i knew it was a bad idea, but low and behold... within the week, i'd gained 8 pounds of that back. i feel extremely miserable. i want to cry. i ended up skipping tonight's pill. i'm done with it. it's just miserable for me. my boyfriend and i have decided to wait for a while to have sex, so this isn't a problem anyway.
when i was at the gynocologist at first, however, she was against putting me on metformin, which i had originally suggested, because i was not trying to get pregnant.
should i raise the issue again and try to get on the metformin again?
i've also been thinking of trying the Carb Addict's diet... I'd rather fix my issues from the inside out. I want to be healthy, and I don't want diabetes risks or cover-up methods like birth control, and I want to be able to get pregnant when I get older.
What is the better option? Losing weight with this issue is so hard...

hiya and welcome i dont really have any good advice but i wanted to wish u the best with your weight loss xx

Here is what I know. I personally stopped taking Metformin, it was my own decision. For me the side effects were HORRIBLE...and they never stopped no matter what changes I tried to make.
I also hear you about birth control. My husband and I recently had a miscarriage and have decided to try to take a break from trying, but I refuse to get on birth control because of the reason you mentioned, the weight gain. Its hard, PCOS is not a text book disease. There are many forms of it, many symptoms. So really you just have to find out what works for you and your body.
Its good you are taking charge of this now though. I finally went to see a dr last year and was diagnosed with PCOS, and I had to have surgery because my ovaries were covered in cysts. So if you can find a birth control that will work for you, or just stay in contact with your dr so you can get a period started every 30 days or so, you will be better off in the future if you want children.
Also, sugar is a huge culprit in causing PCOS symptoms. If you can learn to watch what you eat now as far as sugar intake it will be better for you in the future also.

Who dx'd you with IR? Not the gyn, right? Talk to the person who dx'd you about how to best treat.

I didn't bother with a ob/gyn except for when I was actually trying to be/was pregnant and had my daughter. My main PCOS doc is my endocrinologist since this is an endocrine problem.

Being on the pill can protect your fertility for later, but again -- it isn't the only approach and you should talk to your main doc about treatment strategies.

There are different kinds of PCOS patients and how PCOS manifests itself will vary:

• traditional PCOS -- anovulatory, increased androgens, no insulin resistance
  
• endocrine syndrome X -- anovulatory, increased androgens, insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes
  
• non-traditional PCOS --anovulatory, normal androgens, obese, insulin resistant or type 2 diabetes
  
• non-traditional PCOS -- ovulatory, increased androgens, mild insulin resistance
  
• idiopathic hirsutism -- ovulatory, increased androgens, no insulin resistance

Depending on how your PCOS is like and what your immediate goals are, your strategies will be different than other people's.

GL!
A.

Hi, Lauren! Sorry to hear you have so many issues so young and are getting resistance at trying to take care of yourself. You seem to be a really mature young woman.

My gyno, who hounds me about losing weight at every appointment, recently put me on metformin to help stimulate weight-loss - ONLY to stimulate weight loss (getting PG is so not an option!). Another med I'm on has made me insulin resistant, and I was stuck losing and regaining the same 2 pounds over and over for months - despite upping my exercise, counting calories, etc. I was just STUCK!

Since being on it (about a week and a half) I've lost 3 pounds. My routine has been pretty much the same - I've continued jogging and counting calories, but did begin cutting back on the carbs a little bit as well to help it along. Anyway, seems to be helping so far (fingers crossed).

The first night I was miserable with side effects, but it's been much better since, altho I've been seeing a resurgence of my migraines and it irritates my stomach occasionally. Also have to pee a lot more! I just recently increased from one 500 mg pill a day to two.

Maybe you'll be among the lucky half who won't have any side effects, but just be aware that metformin can be a rocky ride for some users, and you might have to really want to be on it to get past the adjustment period.

You might want to request the extended release version of metformin if your doctor will prescribe it - seems to cause fewer side effects for many people.

Good luck!

Hiii! Thankyou so much (: I try. I'm just trying to get past all of it. I was put on the metformin and it's not so bad so far. I did request the extended release because I had heard before that it was better to minimize side effects. I get the diarrhea, it's not fun, but I'm hoping it will go away. I've also noticed that if I don't eat enough, I start feeling very, very, very horrible. I went to the beach with my friends yesterday. We woke up at around noon, so I didn't get breakfast, but I ate a sandwhich for lunch when we got there, and a few potato chips and some water and then swam... Not only was it hot (and I got a sunburn) but we rushed to swim out to the little floating dock and it was harder to swim that fast (because of fish) than you'd imagine! So I was pretty whipped... When I got out I finished the sandwhich and got trail mix, but I just couldn't shake this really bad feeling I got... I felt light-headed and dizzy and I just wanted to curl up and pass out. I wasn't hungry, but I felt like my body was telling me to eat, yet no matter what I ate or drank I just didn't feel better for the rest of the night. Finally I ate another sandwhich for dinner and took my metformin and went to bed... I'm on 1 pill at dinner for this week. Then this morning I tried oatmeal... I am just nauseous and sleepy and nothing is very appetizing. My friend ran the idea of sun poisoning by me, but I definitely don't think that's the case... Have you had side effects like this at all?
Anyway, I bought the carb addicts diet book and the insulin resistance diet book too... I'm studying the insulin resistance one currently.

It took a good month on met for the tiredness to ease up for me. Also every time you I crease the dose, the side effects start over.
The usual culprits for s/e are sugar, flour, eggs, lettuce, bread, corn, certain kinds if fruit, anything greasy. Also watch for the sugar in salad dressings, drinks, lunch meat, etc.
Lots if things can trigger the stomach upset.
Some people claim taking it on a full stomach helps, but I always have to take it on an empty one.

Laurenbeast: glad to hear you got to give it a try. i get kind of lightheaded and spacey feeling sometimes, but not (at least - yet) to the extreme that you seem to be experiencing. hopefully that'll pass soon, and you'll get the scale moving.

sorry about the sunburn! Ouch, poor girl, no fun to have on top of the med stuff.