hi, i'm a 16 yr old girl from new jersey and i was diagnosed with pcos when i was 12. i started with acne, and now i'm fighting off acne, weight problems, hair growth, dark patches, ovarian cysts, messed up menstrual cycles (periods lasting 2 weeks at a time) and hair loss on my head. my mom isn't listening to me, and i have no where else to turn. she's going to call a endocrinologist for me, because she has PCOS, and so does my grandma. what medicines will help all of these symptoms? and treat the syndrome, not just the symptoms.. i'm tired of just treating the symptoms and not the syndrome.. any help would be much appreciated.. and i was also wondering, do endocrinologists or any doctor for that matter treat teenagers with metformin(glucophage)? thanks!
Hi honey,
I totally understand what you are going through. My problems with PCOS didn't start till I was 18 but by the time I was twenty i had thick hair on my chin, neck, sideburns, lower back, and navel that was as bad as a man's. I went to my family doctor and then a gyno but niether of them knew what they were doing and things kept getting worse. Last year however I went to an endocrinologist who specialized in treating diabetes and he put me on a generic form of orthotricyclin and also spironolactone (aldactone). I took the medications religiously and switched to a very low carb diet (less that 20 grams of carbs per meal) and within 3 months I lost 40lbs (overall I've lost 65 ILBS this year) and my free testoserone had gone down to 3. Three months earlier it was higher than 24. Along with taking the medicines and changing my diet, I had five treatments with LightSheer lazer hair removal which has improved the facial hair situation 90%. I still have thin sideburns but so do most other women and I only have to pluck a couple of hairs out of my chin once in a while as opposed to shaving thick stubble off it once or twice a day like I used to. Also the hair on my lower back is very very fine now do to the meds (I had no lazer there.) So things are really looking up for me now. I would advise you to go to an endocrinologist rather than a gyno because the gynocologist probably won't know quiet as much about the hormonal and chemical problems that cause PCOS as an endo would. I would also suggest that you start a low carb diet in order to lower your insulin, also make sure to take whatever meds the doctor gives you at the exact time each day, this makes a big different too especially concerning the effectiveness of birth control pills. I really wish that someone had been able to help me out and give me hope when I was having such a terrible time with my PCOS so I would love to help you if you need advice. You can E-mail me at age22cafestdnt@yahoo.com or IM me on AIM anytime. my screen name is age22cafestdnt Good luck with your health!
hey im 17 and was only diagnosed when i wsa 16, since then i;ve lost over 44lbs i feel better (physically and emotionally!) i'm on 1500 of met, and 200mg of spiro, i expperiece pretty much the same problems as you! and can def relate, althought no one eles in my family has pcos so theres often conflict due to lack of education on their behalf, so you mum haveing pcos is def a advantage! im only seeing a gp, but i used to see a gyno who had no idea what he was doing or how to even show understanding. i guess its just a case of finding a doctor or specialist that really knows their stuff!
if you ever want to talk about it, heres my email (kiss_me_quick010@hotmail.com)
thank you both for your replies. it seems like a lot of people are on metformin.. doingbetter, where in nj are you? what endo did you go to? i'm going to one in Flemington, nj.. since i live in frenchtown. my ob/gyn didn't even know what PCOS was.. and i was like, uh. but yeah, i would love to talk to you both on AIM/AOL or whatever. happy holidays and i'm glad you're both doing better!
Hi ihatepcos,
I live in Bloomfield NJ and the endocrinologist that i go to has an office in West Orange and in Fort Lee. So his practise is a bit of a drive from where you live. But if you are still interested in him you can check out his website http://www.diabetes-doctor.com/front/index.html . He specializes in treating diabetes and related illness such as PCOS and he has been a great help to me. The is another page which has info on him too http://www.englewoodhospital.com/1Se...p?DoctorID=180 . The dermatologist that i went to to get the lazer hair removal is Dr. Robert Nossa he is great but his office is in Verona NJ. However on this website http://www.thedermatologygroup.com/medicalteam.htm
you can find other locations for offices of the Dermatology group that he is affiliated with. Hope this helps, I'm sorry that all of the places I go to are so far away from where you live. Anyway feel free to IM or E-mail me any time.
oh alright thanks, ive got an appointment with one in hunterdon medical center in flemington. shes been in practice for quite some time so i hope it'll all work out. thanks for the info and reply! happy holidays
16 with pcos and looking for help 
