Spring time! We're kickin' PCOS one day at a time!

So let's round up for April! (The old March 2012 thread is here. )

Who is here this month?
How are you?
How was last month?
How is your PCOS management last month?
What are you going to work on in April?


A.

Even though it's early, I'm posting! I am procrastinating some work I have to do....

Who is here this month?
I am, said a little dejectedly.

How are you?

Annoyed. Frustrated. Scared. Mad. Annoyed. Frustrated. Scared. Super-mad. Feeling even a little hopeless.

Yet, maybe even feeling a little hopeful?



How was last month?

Good and bad. March was a hard month because of the recent news that I received from my doctor (although the follow up appointment is next week) and mostly because I feel like I wasted three months of my life and gained a few pounds in the process and set back my blood sugar management.

Sure, I took my supplements, exercised, and ate all the wrong things...

How is your PCOS management last month?

PCOS for me is linked to the blood sugar stuff, so I guess it was NOT managed well.

What are you going to work on in April?

I'm going back to basics.

I'm angry and frustrated at the nutritionist (I have to still call her and fire her) and I am angry and frustrated at myself for not listening to my body.

No, it isn't working if I'm gaining weight.

THAT has to be something I need to really listen to rather than to someone who has a degree in nutrition.

The red flags were there. I just didn't listen to the alarm bells. I didn't want to listen to them because I thought that someone who was educated in nutrition and who claimed to have worked with people who did a lot exercising and PCOS/diabetes, actually did.

I'm really frustrated that I didn't listen to myself. At the end the day, I'm the one that's inside THIS body. This is MY body. I feel it every day. I work with it every day. It carries me around and when it hurts, I feel it. When something is off, I can sense it. Sure, I may not have a medical degree in my education, but I know my body better than my doctors. They just know how to label what I'm feeling.

And this nutritionist? Damn her. Sure, she was better than another one I had in the past. But my conclusion right now about the whole nutritionist field is that unless you're starting off eating the standard American diet, they can't help you. Chances are, you know more about food and nutrition for YOUR body better than they ever will.

Talk about a lesson learned...

My blood sugars today are out of control and I've been eating low-carb. The damage that I've done in the last three months can be reversed, but it won't be overnight.

My weight this morning was at 164.0. It's a good start. I'm going to start posting my weight on a weekly basis just for accountability.

I may even start my own thread about my diet and weight just to stay on track.

I think what scares me is that when I started this, I changed my way of eating. I sensed in February that something was off (about one month into the new food plan) and asked my doctor for a glucometer to verify what I was doing. I tested just a couple of times, because my own doctor, having seen my progress in the last two years, never suspected that I could be off. She thought I was crazy to be asking for it and worried my insurance wouldn't pay for it.

Those few times nothing was out of normal. I started noticing an issue when my fasting blood sugar kept creeping up. That wasn't normal.

Now, two hours after having lunch, my blood sugar was up at 137 and I had STEAK for lunch. That steak should have balanced my blood sugar down. It should not have been that high.

(Normal range after 2 hours of eating should be between 80 - 120, at least under 120.)

I haven't seen my blood sugar down in the 80s in FOREVER.

Anyway, my update for April is that I am going back to my plan. Whole foods, low carb, lots of homecooked meals to carry me through, and of course, testing with the glucometer to make sure that I'm improving as time goes on.

Of course, I'll keep up with the exercising, which I always do...

And when I travel, I just have to be more careful with what I eat than I have in the past. I can't "treat" myself right now. I need to get the weight off and normalize my insulin resistance.

This sucks.

Hang in there, Rana!

Here is me...

Who is here this month?

Astrophe, rhymes with catastrophe. Though I'm not catastrophic.

How are you?

Great!

How was last month?

Good for the most part.

How is your PCOS management last month?

Chugging along. I'm still on my short run of Phentermine, the Metformin, off BCP, just got my period only 3 days late. So all chugging along like it should. I have doc appt later down in April for labs and follow up.

What are you going to work on in April?

I need more time, so same goals as March. Work on my PALA award, support DH in his quit smoking thing, and try to arrange dietitian over skype after endoc.

A.

Who is here this month?
Hey cysters! I'm new and I'm here.

[B]How are you?
I'm doing alright...making progress.

How was last month?
Last month was pretty good. Lost 13lbs, can't complain about that!


How is your PCOS management last month?
I am managing my PCOS naturally with low carbs and supplements right now. I haven't been to see my endo or ob/gyn in quite a while because my hubby changed jobs and insurance. Had a normal (for me) cycle 33 days this month and I am positive my insulin and sugar issues have improved because of the low carbs.

What are you going to work on in April?
Just keeping at it with the lower carb diet and trying to remember my supplements every day. I seem to get them down about 5 days a week. The weather has been SO nice this spring. We have been walking almost daily for about six weeks. Our new insurance just kicked in and I need to stop procrastinating, check to make sure my doctors are on the plan, and make some appointments.

Who is here this month?
I am


How are you?

Honestly, not very good. I was put on metformin , and im having a **** of time trying to figure out when the fack i should take my pills. Im seriously considering taking the release ones instead... actually do any of you know how many hours between each 500mg pill.. Im suppose to take 3 a day. My eating is okay. Ive been pretty ill, Major Migraines... Todays lasted 8 hours... wooohoo

Totally unrelated , found out my MIL snapped. I feel awful for her and Im sure she is feeling pretty helpless. She immigrated to Canada after she married my FIL 7 years ago. They have a 3 year old little girl who is special needs. So i understand there is alot of stress. I also noticed something fishy when i was there with hubby visiting. Well, something snapped and she pulled a knife on my FIL and her daughter was threatening to kill everyone, then headbutted My hubby's aunt. And now she is locked up for fear of her hurting herself or someone else. The men in that family dont live very long and I highly doubt the courts will let my MIL take my SIL back to Vietnam... God forbid anything happens. so needless to say Im freakin stressed and im sure that isn't very good. Is it bad that i dont want to take care of other people when I can barely take care of my self right now? I feel like a bad person.

How was last month?

It was okay.. maybe this one will be better, But i have noticed the major bloating going down in my tummy.. Now its just normal bloated haha

How is your PCOS management last month?

ok, I take it day by day.

What are you going to work on in April?

Everything.. Im going to working on everything!

Who is here this month?
Georgia, intermittently


How are you?

I am on a new med now, Janumet, to control blood sugar and insulin resistance. It's actually starting to work, but I feel really dizzy, my sleep cycle is all messed up and I can't focus on work during the day. Plus, I seem to be hitting a mid-life paranoia stage. Things are scaring me that never used to bother me before. I wonder if it's the meds.

How was last month?

Last month was erratic trying to figure out the blood sugar issues and trying to keep the weight I've lost off. Lots of skipped meals!

How is your PCOS management last month?

I manage what I can on a daily basis.

What are you going to work on in April?

Morning blood sugar has to be controlled first. It's most important. Beyond that, still working on a very, low carb diet and some daily exercise.

Welcome, welcome everyone!

My fbs is still too high for "normal" but eating back on my plan (brown rice, beans, leafy green veggies) has my post-meal tests back to "normal".

Just another update all:

I went to my GP, who was the one that convinced me to start treating my PCOS (instead of ignoring it). She took a look at what my nutritionist had recommended I eat, clearly she was shocked when she read "dried fruit in oatmeal" and asked my nutritionist's name and when I gave it to her, she said that it's a good nutritionist! She then sighed.

She told me to go back to my old way of eating (which I was doing anyway) and to eat more protein. I used to be vegetarian, so getting enough protein without shooting up my carbs is always hard.

They measured my blood sugar after lunch which was fine, at 116. She added something interesting, because my blood sugar rises when I exercise, that I eat something, rather than not eat.

And now I'm scheduled to go back in two months so she can keep track. She took my weight, of course.

Good morning ladies. I'm starting to feel a lot better on my new meds. The wooziness is diminished today and I feel like participating in life again. I'm focusing all my efforts on the insulin resistance. I hope addressing that will help me lose weight faster.

The new meds seem to help me a little in that department. I had gained back a few pounds over the last few weeks, but since going on the meds, the few carbs I eat don't affect me as much and the weight is very slowly coming back to my most recent low. Come on, belly! Give it up!!!!

I got a print out from my local healthfood store about things that help reduce/control insulin resisitance. There's a lot! Some I've already been doing that don't seem to help at all. But I was happy to see eating dark chocolate on the list!

Just wanted to say "hi" and give everyone some encouragement on the PCOS front!

I'm kinda busy right now with a lot of house stuff but I am reading!


A.

I'm curious, which new meds are you taking?

mmmm....dark chocolate.

Mariposssa, I'm on Janumet, which is Januvia plus Metformin, 50/500, twice a day. I am type 2 as well as insulin-resistant and PCOS, so my doctor switched me to this since the Metformin alone didn't seem to do anything for me. Since I'm way past the having-kids stage, no one seemed to pay attention to the PCOS issues until I started making a big stink about it. Suddenly my thyroid is getting tested this week as well as all sorts of other stuff.

The diabetes isn't as bad as what some are dealing with as type 2s. Mostly I'm just cutting carbs (a lot), protein (I tend to eat too much), and fats (too much of that too and it causes an IR thing with me), and the Janumet helps my body access the insulin better. As a result, I just don't feel so hungry all the time. I'm finally able to not eat so much in the late afternoon and into the evening, which typically was my time to hoover in all sorts of things I hadn't planned on eating. My weight isn't wildly fluctuating now, and I'm hoping the downward scale trend will pick up speed.

Oh...the only meds I've ever been on are glucophage (metformin) spironaldactone and yasmin. Is Janumet only for type 2 or do they use it for pcos now, too?

It's specifically to address the insulin resistance. I don't know if it's used for those with PCOS specifically. It really works for the IR with me. In a week my bg levels have gone from highs near 200 to highs around 100. Kind of a booster for the metformin, I think.

I guess that the question would be if it's okay to take Januvia while trying to get pregnant. I don't know anything about that. It's not even on my radar any more!

As promised, I'm checking in on food and exercise today:

163.6 lbs

Food and exercise were good this week. I even had my boyfriend keep me away from the bread yesterday. We had a late lunch/early dinner and a movie and I told him, "Do NOT let me eat any bread." And good to his word (and of course, I know myself and what I'll do when I'm faced with it) he stopped me from eating the bread.

I've been basically wheat free since I got back on my diet (I eat other carbs like brown rice and legumes and vegetables/fruits and in dairy products) and my body is feeling so much better. I feel like I'm not as puffy as I was before. Whenever I eat wheat products, I get a distended belly and if I do it long term, I get puffy all over, like I'm retaining water or gaining weight.

I'm coming up to a period of traveling in the next couple of months, so this is going to be hard. I have to remind myself travel is NOT an excuse to overeat!!!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and I hope all of you are focusing on getting your PCOS under control!