[DesertTabby]

I wasn't sure where to post this in the diet section or here. But figured this place would be ideal since all my fellow dieters with obstacles would be here!

I was diagnosed with the trifecta and was given levothyroxine (Synthroid 75mg), bcp (diane-35), Vitamin D (Alpha-1) and metformin (glucophage). I kept up with the Levo and BCP but have dropped the Metformin (mainly because I felt the doctor was too Metformin happy, he prescribed it to everyone I know who went to him!) And sporadically take my Vit-D.

My question is when it comes to diet. I am trying my best to eat low carb and minimize sugar because I hear/read that that's what slows our weight loss and wrecks havoc on our sugar levels. So how do I know how much carb I should eat? I know I should keep to the low-GI foods but its rather difficult to remember which is which (like bananas! I didn't know I shouldn't eat bananas...What about potassium to stop muscle twitching after exercise?) Then there is edamame, a fantastic source of vitamins, protein and everything good for the body, but I hear soy-based products is the worst thing you can eat! How true are these little factoids?

My goal is to eat less than 100 grams of carbs (preferably around 80g) and up my protein as much as possible (100g). I will also try to have all of my carbs be eaten alongside some protein. Now that I've read I can't have bananas and possibly some other fruits and veggies I'm kind of confused on what's allowed and what isn't. I'm skeptical about why we can't have these 'healthy' foods especially when you consider the fact that ice-cream has low GI!

TL;DR:
If the above is too long, my basic question is about diet. How are you guys dieting with PCOS/Hypo/IR? Do you go for low-carb? Has it helped lessen your symptoms? Is soy-based products really that bad? And fruits that have high GI, do we have to stay away from them? What are your 'no-no' foods?

[lovemydoggiesx2]

I have PCOS/IR. My diet consists of mainly lower-GI, but not solely. I TRY to never eat white carbs, and only stick to whole grain brown ones. I keep my proteins high but do not count them (I start everyday with 3 egg whites, and usually keep to turkey and some chicken, usually never beef, and never fish or pork (I hate it))) I try to not have very much sugar (here and there I suck a hard candy when needed). I think the main thing is that you have to do what is right for your body, everyone is going to be a little different.

I also ditched my metformin after 3 years of taking it. I felt it just made me have tummy aches and I couldnt actually see it helping me.

[astrophe]

Another "trifecta" here. I like how you wrote that.

I take levoxyl and just dropped my BCP. I also take Metformin for the IR. I want to add spironolactone to address high androgen.

Met for me helps regulate cycles and stop further weight gain by helping chill the IR. It's not going to do much about weight LOSS for what I already tacked on but I like not having it creep higher!

Here's BCP article. Consider which you choose carefully in the light of your PCOS needs. Some can aggravate androgen or IR. Check your brand out and talk to your doc about it.

Here's PCOS diet guidelines from PCOS diet book and here's the one from hormonal balance book.

Can also read most of Natural PCOS solutions book and its diet info at google books.

http://books.google.com/books?id=2bp...page&q&f=false

I like the 40% carb, 30% protein, 30% fat split.

I do try to choose low GI foods. My fav book is http://www.amazon.com/Easy-GI-Diet-G...9&sr=1-2-fkmr0

It Helen Foster / Louise Blair but has run thru several editions. The reason I like it is because lots of pix and menu plan I can actually follow. In general the more natural, the better the GI. Apple is better than applesauce is better than apple juice. The apple juice would slam into your system the fastest and spike your blood sugar.

However we usually eat mixed meals so pairing up helps slow it down.

I pretty much have whatever fruit -- just not "naked" and alone. I pair a proper portion (official diabetic exchange pocket book) with cheese, peanut butter, some other fat or protein so it doesn't slam right into my system and spike my blood sugar and that works out fine for me. Those who are more sensitive with IR may want to watch the fruits more closely.

Ex: Banana -- I usually do half with some PB and give the other half to my kid or save it for later.

Exercise to burn off extra insulin floating around in your system -- check out Mary's PCOS faq. Exercise gets a big ol' 5 stars!

HTH!
A.

[DesertTabby]

Lovemydoggiesx2, I agree with the metformin. My mother takes it when she feels her sugar levels are out of whack (she's a chocaholic but her sugar levels are crazy, they drop from too low and cause her to faint or too high and approaching diabetic ranges) but to me it felt like the metformin is the cause rather than the solution. I just got worried and ditched it, though I LOVED how it stopped my craving for sugar completely.

astrophe, wow! That's a whole lot of incredibly helpful info! Thank you! It's fascinating what you said about BCP and androgen levels. My androgens are completely out of balance as well, so much so that the doctor prescribed me finasteride (Proscar). Unfortunately his warnings on the side effects freaked me out! I'm not going to have kids anytime soon since I'm not married, but a whole year of no having kids or risk deformity (micropenis if your baby is a boy!!!) scared me so much that I was hesitant to try it. Is spironolactone better/lighter?

It was the doc who specifically prescribed diane-35, I am guessing due to its high estrogen while being as low on the bcp scale as possible. So I figured it was a safe pill to take. But damn, you certainly gave me some food for thought! I just might have to look it up.

[astrophe]

Proscar is in the 5 star section under antiandrogens but it the last one listed.

http://pcosfaq.com/

I was on spiro only for a short bit but I had so many other pills to take at the time I dropped it. Now I feel more ready to tackle it again. I have to see at my next check up where the labs are at.

GL with yours!

A.