PCOS/Insulin Resistance SupportSupport for us with any of the following: Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or other endocrine disorders.
I was officially diagnosed with PCOS/Insulin Resistance at 18, due to skipped cycles (6+ months at a time) and weight gain, but I'd been gaining weight ever since I started my periods at 13. I was on Metformin for about 3 months, but my dad's insurance no longer paid for my endocrynologist appointments, so I had to quit going and go off the Met, though it did seem to help.
I've just kept gaining weight. I'm at 320. I need to be down about 100 pounds. I have no motivation, I'm depressed even on meds, and I'm so exhausted. My weight hinders me in movement and such and I just can't keep going on. I can't walk far, I don't even know how to exercise, and I have no motivation to be active, even though I'd love to. It's just not there.
We've looked into Insulite, but currently don't have the money to shell out 100+ a month, plus I'm wary of swallowing -that- many pills a day. I hate pills... but then again, I hate my weight. Which is the worse evil?
Another issue I have is that I'm Gluten Free. Wheat gives me terrible heartburn and upset stomach, so I'd need a diet that would be good for IR/PCOS and be Gluten Free at the same time? >< I can't make this simple on myself, can I?
At the moment, we don't have the money/insurance to see a dietician. I'm in the middle of getting SSI to come through due to medical issues and my not being able to work; I'm just waiting for a court date. But I need something to work on -now-, not in 6 months from now when I'm who-knows-how-much-bigger!
Is it even possible to lose 100 pounds with PCOS, or am I screwed? LOL.
Last edited by coyotefoot; 08-04-2010 at 04:48 PM.
I'm sorry that I don't have any specific information to give you, as I don't know anything about PCOS.
It's just that I noticed you posted a few hours ago, and waiting for a response when one is feeling so discouraged can be demoralizing. So I thought I'd just
let you know that your post is being read, and someone will come along who will have some useful help for you. I haven't participated on the forum for long, but I have read through many, many areas of it, and there are some fantastic people here....and they understand how hard this process is because they've struggled with it too.
Right now I imagine your situation seems very overwhelming, so no wonder you can't get started. May I suggest, that to start by doing one, small thing today. Set one easy, small goal...such as reading more posts at this forum, or googling a question about PCOS and reading the answer. Walking one block, or 1 lap around your house. Maybe making one healthy food choice day. Then you can tell yourself, "There, I accomplished something today, and I can do it again tomorrow."
Set yourself up for success, and then you'll be feeling ready to try two things.
I'm sending you lots of encouragement and hope. Oh! And by the way, I really admire the spirit you show when you said that you didn't want to wait 6 months (dealing with SSI and the court date) to address the issue!!! Good for you! Whether you lose 5 or 20 pounds, or just start eating healthier, and maybe tolerating a little exercise, you will have made progress and you won't be berating yourself for losing 6 months time. (Something I regret...waiting YEARS to get serious about losing weight!)
I wish you well, and hope you get the medical care you want, too.
Hello Coyotefoot!
Here I am...your friend in HATING PCOS...lol. But literally I do. I understand how frustrating it is to not have health insurance. I only got health insurance last fall, and was put on Metformin. It really didn't do anything for me. After my experience over the last 6 years with infertility and dealing with the side effects of PCOS, I have come to learn this truth:
The BEST way to combat the symptoms is DIET and EXERCISE.
Nothing else has helped me more. My personal experience was as soon as I started doing South Beach and exercise regularly, my body responded to it. I got pregnant the cycle I started South Beach. I miscarried, but it was the first of many signs to come that what I said above is all the more true.
Now, I would highly suggest as a PCOSer that you choose an eating style that helps you watch your sugar/carb intake. Personally I read labels now and pick stuff that have no sugar added to them. I try to focus on eating veggies and lean meats. You could really do anything though, but I have found the greatest success is watching your sugar intake. That usually means too not eating a lot or any processed foods.
As far as exercise, you can start slowly. Find a short route around your house, walk it and every week try to do it faster or add more distance on to it. If you have a few extra dollars and would feel more comfortable working out in your home, I highly recommend the Walk Away the Pounds DVDs. I lost 30 pounds one year doing that and counting calories. The moves are easy to follow, the instructor is very inspiring, and it gets your heart rate up.
These are all things you can do without insurance. I am just barely learning that I CAN control what my body does as much as I can from this end. I feel stronger then PCOS when I take control. Even my skin has gotten clearer.
If you have any other questions or want any more explanation of anything I said, I will answer any and all. But know that you aren't alone. This disease is a very frustrating one, as really there is no set treatment or a cure for it. But I can pretty much guarantee you that if you try to do what I have mentioned you will see a change.
Hugs!!
I know how frustrating PCOS can be. Its hard to understand, its hard to find anyone including doctors who inderstand it and it puts many challanges infront of us. I found out I have PCOS in 2005. I was having trouble conceiving and finally I broke down and talked to my OB. He asked a few questions and did a blood test. He old me I had PCOS and gave me a perscription for Metformin and clomid. That was it, no explaination of PCOS..nothing. I went home and started researching it myself. I learned everything I possibly could about the disease. Understanding it made me feel a little more in control. I got pregnant with my daughter two months after taking the meds my OB gave me. I was also dieting at the time which I was told would help me concieve. My daughter passed away at birth. I was heartbroken. I tried again and got pregnant about a year later with my son. Also on meds and also dieting. After he was born I decided to go back on my diet and lost 50 Lbs. My cycles became normal and I had so much more energy. I felt good about myself. Mood swings went away and I was more active and just overall much happier. My son was a year and a half old when I found out I was expecting again. This time on no meds!!! A much welcomed suprise!!! I gained all 50 lbs back with my pregnancy and am now in the progress of losing the weight again. My point is that diet and excersize really does help us PCOS'rs. All three times I got pregnant while eating healthy and losing weight. My symptoms almost dissappeared. You said that you had no motivation to excersize. Let your motivation be Breaking free of PCOS. Managing it not letting it manage you. I've been on the low carb diets and it does work. I lost a lot of weight on it, however I gained it all back that way. It was just too hard for me to make it a life change. It wasn't for me. I love potatos and pizza and pasta. There are some low carb diets that allow you to have carbs but only good ones. That may be more managable however I've found that calorie counting is the best diet for me. I still watch my carbs and try to make good choices when I do eat them. I excersize more than I used to but I definately need to make more time for it. I'm not sure if you have done any research on PCOS but I think the key is to fully understand what it is and what it does to our bodies. That should be your motivation, This can be a very serious condition that has many side effects and none of them are good. If we control our diets and take care of ourselves we lesson our risks for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, hairloss, unwanted hair, skin darkening, fertility issue,s weight gain, mood swings and more. If thats not motivation to get moving, what is?!?!? I really hope you find something that works for you. Little steps and lots of knowledge and support. Be strong! We can beat this and yeah it is possible to lose 100 lbs with PCOS. You must be willing to give it your all though. Are you willing? If so this is a great place to be. I haven't been on 3FC very long but its a great place. Lots of support. Best wishes to you on your journey!. Let me know if I can help in any way! You CAN do it
I know well, that crazy frustration! But take a deep breath and look at your life. Make the changes you can make to support your healing.
When I began, I had no insurance and no official DX when I decided to take the bull by the horns and do SOMETHING, anything to help myself in 1998. I didn't even own a scale so I didn't know my real highest numbers.
I started with the easier stuff -- drinking more water, taking a multivitamin, a regular bed time.
Then I took a look at my housekeeping and explored natural and green cleaning to reduce my exposure to chemicals. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I didn't think chemical exposure really helps anyone anyway, healthy or not. Even plain baking soda and then Murphy's oil soap diluted in a bottle will do!
Then I started keeping a food log, tried to increase veggies and reduce animal foods to improve the pesticide/hormone load. I figured swimming was the least sweaty and most kind to joint type exercise method so I joined my apartment complex water aerobics class. I was 23 and everyone else was 65+!
Then I started walking. Then I can't remember everything in order, but I lost considerably. I derailed some for a few years going through a high risk pregnancy and early infancy/childhood. But I'm back to trying.
In your case, maybe do the simple things first?
Resources now are so much more available than in the late 90's! Maybe look at low-gi and stay away from the wheat or make substitutions. (ex: rice pasta instead of wheat.)
The book I like best is Helen Foster's. It's been put out under various titles.
I know exactly how you are feeling. At least you were diagnosed at a fairly young age; I wasn't diagnosed until I was 27 years old!! I spent my entire teenage years trying to get doctors to figure out what was wrong with me. I was gaining weight like crazy, and losing it seemed like it was impossible even though I was dieting like crazy. My acne was horrible growing up (to the extent that I had to go to a dermatologist several days a week!). I had excess facial hair I was forced to either shave or wax off all the time. I was always cold, and not to mention being VERY irregular with my cycles. I averaged about 4 months between cycles, but my longest was 10 months. At the beginning all the doctors said that it was "just because you are a teenager. Things will regulate out eventually." Well that never happened, so they put me on birth control to get things regulated out, but other than a thyroid test (which came back normal), no other investigation was done.
Finally last year I mentioned the symptoms to my new general practice doctor, who asked me if I had been diagnosed with PCOS. I asked my new gyno about it (I'd just moved to Kansas), and he reviewed all of my symptoms with me. Based on what I told him, plus the fact that I tend to gain weight around my middle, he diagnosed me with PCOS. Unfortunately the tests to confirm the diagnosis are VERY expensive, and my insurance will only cover about 10% of the costs. So it's never been confirmed with testing, but the diagnosis was made.
Because I can't post links yet, run a google search for PCOS and you should find the major support group; it's a .org. They have TONS of info there.
Basically, 20% of the time PCOS is caused by a thyroid condition. You can treat that with medication and the PCOS goes away. 80% of the time PCOS is caused by Insulin Resistance, which is basically where your body can't process sugars correctly because the cells are semi-immune to insulin (also called pre-diabetes). Metformin is an insulin re-sensitizing drug, which is why it seems to work so well with PCOS treatment.
My insurance would laugh at me if I asked it to cover Metformin (yes, I have crap insurance), and quite honestly I'm not into jumping right to that option right away because of some of the side effects. If you check out the link, you'll see about halfway down the page that an alternative therapy is Cinnamon Bark (Caissia Cinnamon). You can buy it at any store, and it has the same effects as Metformin; it's just not as powerful. I've been using it at the recommended 1000mg dosage and it does seem to help. Here is what the support group says about it:
The Cinnamon you get is powdered Cinnamon bark, like what you buy at the grocery store. The variety is called Caissia Cinnamon. Some people prefer capsules, as it is easier to measure and you don't have to have Cinnamon with everything. If you do get capsules, be sure that it is the powdered bark, or at the very least, a water-soluble product. You want to be careful NOT to use Cinnamon Oil, as it is difficult to process and flush from your body, and it does not have the insulin-sensitizing effect. If you are using regular Cinnamon from the store, a teaspoon is about equivalent to 500 mg. You can take it sprinkled on cereal, in tea, on desserts, mixed in applesauce, and so on. While previously, dosages were recommended up to 4,500 mg/day, due to the discovery of Cumarin (a powerful blood thinner) in Cassia Cinnamon, we no longer recommend this. Now, dosages of 500 - 1,000 mg/day are recommended. It may take a little longer to be effective, but some studies show that a lesser dosage can be just as effective long-term. This also reduces the need to gradually work up to your dosage.
Cinnamon can bring your blood sugar down when first getting used to it, so if at any time you get hypoglycemic symptoms (the "shakes", dizziness, headache, nausea/hunger, confusion, the sweats, irritability), treat it with a sweet drink followed by a healthy snack that is high in fibre and protein. You may need to either reduce your dosage for a week, or adjust your eating/exercise routine to better adjust to it.
Because PCOS is related to Insulin Resistance, you should look into a low-carb diet. I'm on South Beach (as are a number of us here with PCOS), because it is a low carb diet that can help you keep your blood sugar levels steady, thus reducing the effects of IR. South Beach really is the easiest diet to follow that I've ever been on.
Sorry to hear about your pcos. I was diagnosed last year after I gained 70lbs in 5 months. I have no insurance so I had to come up with a way to loose over a 100 lbs (I was 300lbs) on my own with no supplements unless they were cheap and over the counter. Its not an easy task, but it is possible. I am still working on my weight loss and I have gone down 25 lbs. I did a restricted calorie diet (1400) with all my foods being low glycemic load. If all this is new to you I understand you being completely overwhelmed. Here are some good tools that I use online to develop a diet for myself that is pcos friendly:
nutritiondata .self .com
This site allows you to enter in your meals and your ingrediats to recipes to figure out the amount of calories, carbs, protein, fiber, and best of all the GL of what your eating. This takes time, but I promise you if you really want to loose this weight this website can be the best thing you ever do. The goal is to keep your Glycemic load as low as possible, but you definitely want to keep it under 100 total every day. Also remember to count your carbs up and make sure your getting 6 servings everyday (I try not to go over 6 a day) and that you count your starchy veggies and all your fruits as carbs. Also make sure you have the foods you just cant live without. For instance I have to have my pizza, hot dogs, and ice cream! I make little english muffin pizzas, 98% fat free hot dogs (80 calories for 2), and sugar free ice cream.
atkins
Its not quite as healthy (or efficient for me), but the atkins diet is easy to get started on and tons of ppl on the web who have pcos swear by it. The problem is that it is high protein and that can lead to gout easily... and for ppl like you and I who cant pay all the medical bills that would be associated with it sometimes it better to avoid.
My exercise is kinda an issue for me. As a morbidly obese person its down right embarrassing for me to go to a gym or even go for a walk. My solution to this is a personal one: I have my buddy go with me as early as possible to a gym that is not busy so that only a few ppl witness me working to save my life. My other option, which may work for you if your to busy or shy for a gym is a rowing machine at home. They are easy on the joints, easy to learn, work almost all your body and burn around 1000 calories per hour. If you walk for an hour you may be lucky to burn 450.
I hope this helped. Its my plan I came up with after months of research and trial and error. It works, but pcos is a hard thing to beat at first. I know you can do it because I have been their, or should i say i am their, and I am slowly winning my battle.
I have a little mental trick that might work for people who are too shy to go to the gym because they are "too big". I've heard people say this a lot...and I've even thought it myself. But here is my trick:
Think about how self conscious you are when you are at the gym. How much time you spend thinking about yourself and how you look. MOST of the people you are going to be at the gym with are just like you...meaning that they are just as self-conscious as you are! Do you spend your time at the gym judging how others look? Neither do most of the other people.
There are exceptions of course, but most of those "beautiful people" are spending their time totally self-absorbed into how "awesome" they look...or they're trying to attract the attention of their preferred sex.
In my experience, every time I've been noticed at the gym it's been in an approving way...even some of those "beautiful people" come up to me and tell me how proud they are to see me there working so hard.
You ladies are quiet an inspiration - I have been dealing with PCOS since 2005 - I was diagnosed when we were trying to conceive and it never happened. My b*tch of a doctor put me on BC (I mean HELLO I'm trying to conceive!) and told me to lose weight, flat out, she provided no support or any explanation. I left her office in tears, and later on switched my obgyn. I don't know what it is but it seems like there aren't many doctors who are educated on the subject. I am on 1500 mg of Metformin a day, which btw if some of you can't afford, because at a local pharmacy it does cost and arm and leg, I fill mine at the Walmart pharmacy for 6 bucks! Where as I was paying 40 at my local pharmacy, big difference. i find that it helps but if my diet doesn't compliment it, the drugs are pretty much useless.
Unfortunately, PCOS'ers crave carbs which if the very thing that is bad for us and what we need to avoid at all costs. It's one of my biggest struggles, because at any given time I will crave bread, or pasta, and sometimes I give in.
I totally relate to your problems. I am also gluten intolerant and find losing weight really hard. I fiind that a low fat protein based diet really helps me. At the moment i am doing Dukan Diet but I think any diet thta takes out all sugars (including fruit) and carbs (except for low carb vegies) really helps me. Both with my mood, coz i tend to get severe depression when i eat processed sugar. I also tend to get really irritable and I now recognise it so I stop taking it out on people around me and just retreat till the sugar rage hsa stopped. I have tried every diet there is and so far this is the only diet that has helped me and the booking only cost me like $20.
Initially its really daunting losing weight and seems hopeless. I find that initially i can only concentrate on diet alone without exercise (except for walking the dogs) because 1) i hate exercise and 2) when I do exercise I get really hungry and it makes it impossible to lose weight. But the more I lose the more energy I get and more motivation so start with low impact exercise like tai chi and then you can see what you want to do.
Also drink lots of water because it tends to ease the mood swings a bit. One more thing about the protein diet, initially the sugar craving is really strong but it tends to ease and in a couple of weeks you tend to not even think about it. I eat vegies and cheese when I get sugar craving and they help.
Best of luck! I know it seems hopeless but it really isnt!
Where do I even start?
Oh! And by the way, I really admire the spirit you show when you said that you didn't want to wait 6 months (dealing with SSI and the court date) to address the issue!!! Good for you! Whether you lose 5 or 20 pounds, or just start eating healthier, and maybe tolerating a little exercise, you will have made progress and you won't be berating yourself for losing 6 months time. (Something I regret...waiting YEARS to get serious about losing weight!)
