I'm new here, not the 3 fat chicks, but new to the PCOS board. I was officially diagnosed with PCOS yesterday. I'm 17 and haven't had my period in 2 years. I've put on 30 pounds since September, and before my diagnosis, I blamed solely myself. The impacts of this illness have dramatically torn at my self esteem. I've resorted to eating disorders and extreme methods in attempts to get back to my old self. I am so happy to realize that it is not my fault, that there is nothing wrong with what I was doing, but that there is something genuinely at fault with my metabolism. I have been tested for numerous other things, all of which I did not have, and felt hopeless. I recently moved to another city last summer and switched doctors as a result. My first doctor was clueless so I saw another adolescent specialist a few weeks ago and her initial thought was PCOS. Well, she was right, and now I plan on dealing with this pesky syndrome head on. Are there any other teens out there dealing with PCOS and weight gain? If so, I would love to talk to you and share ideas and support! Best of luck to all of you!

-Katie

Hello Katie -

I'm not a teen per se, but my teen years aren't that far behind me (I'm 25)and I can certainly relate to being an overweight teen. I was diagnosed about six months ago, and it took YEARS for this to happen. I don't know how this seems to slip by so many doctors, when something like 40% of obese women have it, and 10% of ALL women. Anyways, I've never had a regular period...not since I was like sixteen...so I suspect I also had PCOS as a teen, I had some of the symptoms then too...I've had acne off and on since teenagerhood, as well as the oily skin and just a TAD bit of thinning hair. Anyways, if you ever feel like chatting just send me a message.

Mel

hi katie,i can relate to your problem,im 17 and also have PCOS,i was diagnosed at about 14 and what they gave me as treatment were hormones which led to a lot of weight gain..however when i entered senior year i stopped taking those pills and had a new gyno give me different ones..the names yasmin(they're also birth control)and help us who have pcos without bloating or weight gain,and keep ur period on track,its been a year now and with the help of diet i managed to lose weight,tough u can't really get rid of pcos i suggest u ask ur doctor if u can take these pills aswell.good luck.

I took Yasmine for a while and had HORRENDOUS side effects. Actually, the doctors never WERE certain if it was the Yasmin, the Metformin, or a combination of both....either way, that first month that I took the pill I asked my mom to drive me to the ER because my cramps were so bad.
Mind you, I'm normally quite used to contraction-esque cramps...but the ones with Yasmin were unbearable, I thought I had appendicitis, I could barely breath one time, and I couldn't stop vomitting.
I'm not trying to scare you away, I'm just letting you know that I had a bad experience. I ended up having to take them for a second month, and while the cramps were not quite so bad, I still hurt and had HEAVY bleeding.
Sorry if this is too much info, but I just felt inclined to share...LOL.

So, I guess you posted this in like 2004, but Ive been googling PCOS all day. Im 18, and I was diagnosed a few months ago. In the last 20 months ive gained 80 lbs and I guess ive always had symptoms but since I was diagnosed, and started taking the BirthControl my doc gave me I feel like its not helping its just making it worse. But anywyas, I thought maybe we could talk.. I hate this thing. Being 18 is sucking hardcore with this disease.

Bunny93 I hear you and feel you. I was diagnosed when I was 17. If you need any info, anything Let me know, I know how hard it can be with al lthe research at first! Overwhelming!

Gawd. I wouldnt know where to start really. lol is there like a messenger or something on this site for like private chatting or whatever? I feel like now that my body knows im PCOS its like kicked into gear or something. :/ All the things i sort of noticed like forever, that bugged me but didnt keep me from life, all of a sudden are like 10x worse, and i find myself not leaving the house, and therefore gaining more weight and eating through my stress and well boredom.

Hi Katie, I'm 16 and my doctor told me I have insulin resistance (and probably) PCOS. I take 500 mg of Metformin HCL every day, and I will be soon buying a B complex vitamin to work in compliance with it... I wish you the best of luck... Weight loss might be even more difficult for us, but we just gotta talk ourselves through it!

bunny93 -- hang in there. In a way you are lucky. You know at 18 what it is.

I knew I was messed up at 16, but got slapped on BCP with no explanation for the irregular menses other than I was a teen and when I got older it would work itself out. I was 25 before I got the formal PCOS dx and even then I didn't get a lot of info on what to DO about it.

These days there's LOTS more resources online. Here's one just for teens.

http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/pcosinfo.html

There's more out there but don't feel like you are alone in this. We are here with you.

Remember you might have PCOS, but PCOS doesn't have YOU!

GL!
A.

I was diagnosed as a teen too and even though the doc knew it was PCOS, the "treatment" for it was birth control pills because they say my testosterone levels as high and figured, let's just add more estrogen and progesterone and it will all "even" out!!!!

Well, it gave me my period, but it didn't fix anything and later, I found out that the type of birth control pills that I had been prescribed actually were the worst ones to take and then the second set make insulin resistance WORSE. In other words, I decided BCP are NOT the way to go for my body.

Anyway, this isn't the end of the world for you. I have a feeling you are more self-conscious about these things than what anyone else thinks. The best advice I can give you is to be proactive about your health. Learn about it. Treat yourself. Educate your doctors.

There are famous women who have PCOS, lots of thin women who treat their PCOS, lots of women who conceive with PCOS, lots of women who no longer appear to have PCOS because they've been so successful at treating it.

You just have to learn what's best for you body and DO IT!

I recently joined the site so I'm very new to this, but I was diagnosed with PCOS and hypothyroidism when I was in the 8th grade. I'm in high school now, and have been on medicine for both since. Last year, i slimmed down to my lowest and was almost pure muscle, but recently I have developed a seasonal depression (I think that's what they call it) and lost my diet and work out routine. I would like to loose some belly and tone up. If any one has any advice to do either of these, please share.

NorthernDownpour-- Hi! I'm also in high school and have PCOS. I have a few tips that have worked for me when it comes to losing the belly and toning up, but please remember that I'm just a fat chick and not a doctor.
First, I find that cinnamon/chromium capsules from Wal-Mart have really made a difference in my carb cravings and weight loss in general. It's not drastic, but I lose an extra half pound to a pound a month when I take them. Also, I eat a lot of protein and fiber, which keeps me full. And it's not all chicken breast and bran cereal, either. I make banana splits with Greek yogurt and have quesadillas made with fiber-rich tortillas. What kind of exercise do you like? If you're having a hard time getting back in the gym (or just the routine), maybe start with just doing the parts that you love. Then, you can add something that you might not like as much and use the part of your routine that you like as a reward. I hope that some of this advice helps you out; it has made a real difference for me.

Hi all (: I'm a teen with PCOS. I was diagnosed my Senior year when I started having pains in my side and a CT scan revealed a 24cm tumor on my right ovary. Yikes! Anyway, I've been overweight, oh, my whole life, so I decided to join this forum and see how it was. I'm currently on Weight Watchers though I don't have very high hopes since I've tried EVERYTHING under the sun and nothing has ever really helped me lose weight.

Mostly I lose 20-30 pounds and then plateau, or, more often, I start gaining weight for no apparent reason. Boo.

As for the other symptoms of PCOS (the list is extensive) I don't have many. I have the tumors. I have excess hair, acne, and weight, but everything else is pretty much normal. It's weird. Every time I switch doctors they insist on doing a full blood test because they never believe that I'm not at least Pre-Diabetic or they assume since I have one hormonal disorder I'll have more (thyroid, mainly) but my numbers always check out. High HDL cholesterol, low LDL cholesterol, low blood sugar numbers, no thyroid problems, yadda yadda yadda.

My doctor prescribed BeYaz for me assuming the same thing VermontChick's doctor did, but BeYaz always made me feel weird. If I missed a dose (which I did a lot. I'm super forgetful) I would be extremely tired and it would take about 3 days of regular medication to get back to normal, so lately I've been not taking my BC at all and seeing how that goes.

At any rate, if you need someone to talk to I'm always here(:

Hi I know this is a very old thread and I'm completely new to this but just wanted to share my story and see if anyone out there can help since its been getting me down a lot lately.
As you may have guessed I'm 21, I was diagnosed with PCOS early last year after many unhappy years dealing with excess hair and finally got an answer to what was causing it.. and thought that would be a start to a better life but I was wrong as we all know theres no cure, doctors don't give much help but put you on the pill straight away. I wasn't overweight at the time, after taking the pill i soon put it on.. but had to stop taking the pill before i could see any changes due to constant headaches and migranes.. then tried vaniqua an expensive cream for the face, and currently on my third bottle with no luck. Going to see the doctor tomorrow and was wondering what other options people have taken, as i'm at my wits end with it now, have a lot of scars from removing the hair all over my face and really don't want to do any more damage.

p.s although i didn't need to make huge changes to my diet, i decided to do so anyway to help get rid of the excess weight.. which it hasn't but i do have a pretty healthy diet now, just a shame i can't feel great as its overshadowed by everything else.

R

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