I understand it is difficult to loose weight - but believe me when I lost 10 lbs it did regulate my cycles. It makes things more difficult when you are stressed out too. Has anyone explored the possibility of homeopathy meds?
Yes, some docs think it is more cosmetic but - look at the downside - those high trigyclerides and hair loss....it's depressing...do any of you have any suggestions for hair loss that has worked...thanks girls...
Sky Hunter...Don't stress out about finding a guy...when it happens you know. I am also darker skinned...tan like crazy during the summer, unlike my husband. I've also had weight issues all my life and a very crappy self image. It doesn't help when all you hear from your parents, and aunts and uncles is that you are FAT. They seem not to accept you unless you are thin. My parents were terrified that my husband and his family would never say yes to the alliance. The thing is that before my husband and I knew what each other looked like we connected over the phone. He has said that he knew I was the one from the second phone call!! When his parents and he came to see me the first time...we were told to go out on a quasi date...we did...what my husband said floored me...he said that he came to Edmonton, Alberta from Toronto, Ontario with the full intention of saying yes to marriage. He just wanted to do it in person because he found that that was the most respectful thing to do. My parents from that day on continously said that he was better looking than me and if I did not want my marriage to endin divorce I better lose weight. It's all crap...myhusband and I love each other more and more everyday....and he is more supportive of me now since we found out that we were going to have problems conceiving. I am the one looking at worst case cenarios...he is the one looking at the positives. My cousins always told me that I would find my soul mate when I no longer stressed about getting married and stopped looking...they were right. My cousins also said that whn you find that person...looks are actually overlooked...you just know in your heart that he is the one, I thought this was a load of crap, but you know what...they were right. When it happens you will know...
It is all stressful...And I get bouts of depression...I just thank god that I got such an awesome husband!! Everything will work out.
Avantika...unfortunately I have not experienced hair loss, my husband however suffers from alopecia (his immune system is so strong that it thinks his hair is a virus...so he has hair loss...plus side is that he never gets sick!) what has worked are injections that a dermatologist administers...alll his hair has grown back...maybe you should look into that.
Tasha...your husband sounds wonderful and similar in thinking to mine. Its nice to have support...
Avantika...i have lost tons of hair....it happened within a 3 year time span...my doctor said i can try to do things to help after I try to conceive...its either fix my body's cosmetic problems or try to have a baby...so for now, i picked baby...
hope this helps...
~anjali
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PCOS dx in 1995 Endometriosis dx Jan. 2009
IVF #1 (India) Day 5- 2 Grade A blasts transferred...7/14/09-BFN FET #1 (India) BFP!!! 9/2/2009 1st beta 9/2/09- 220 2nd beta 9/9- 4394 3rd beta 9/17- 14312
1st u/s 9/25/09: 7w1d Heard Heartbeat To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. : 143 bpm Due Date: 5/13/10
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Tasha...it's so fortunate that you have not experienced hair loss and you are so blessed to have a supporting husband. Thanks for sharing that info with me - I had been to a dermatologist and he was the one who sent me to an endocrinologist and then I was diagnosed.
Anjali...my hair loss experience sounds more like your's. I wish you the very best to conceive...am sure it will all work out...have you read about alkalizing your body to conceive.I thankfully have two kids and my problems started to worsen after my second baby turned a year old. The first time we conceived on our own. The second time I conceived with the first cycle of clomid and had a smooth pregnancy with a careful diet plan. It is wonderful to have a supporting husband for me...but this hair loss makes me feel less confident and not so pretty. I have started a prenatal vitamin this week after reading some reviews about it on some boards at this website...thanks for sharing your experiences girls....
Hey Tasha,
sorry for not replyinng sooner. just going through a bit of a depression period. thing is, i actually dnt want to get married...i feel life is screwed up enough without the added stress of having to look out for someone else. it takes up so much energy just to get up in the morning. now the idea of having to go home after work to cook, etc is too much. i reach home, and am normally so depressed and tired, that i just go to bed, to escape in my sleep. having the stress of ttc, then realising i may not be able to, i think would be the last straw that would break me. i guess am just tired of life, and dnt want more changes.
am really happy that you have a wonderful husband, i think that's a rarity, and something that am not expecting for myself. yes, am a pessimist, but with everything else going wrong in life, why should that thing go right?
lucky you for not suffering from hair loss i used to have such thick dark wavy hair, now there's very little left.
let me try to get through today
i hope your ttc is going well...
hey Tasha,
sorry for the late reply. been going through a bit of a depression period. actually, i dnt want to get married. life is screwed up enough without the added stress of taking care of a hubby, ttc etc. it is hard enough getting up each morning to face the day. in the evening, after work, am so depressed and tired at times that it i go straight to bed after eating. i cant handle reaching home to cook etc. i guess am just tired of life, and dont want more changes. am having problems enough dealing with this right now, the added stress of ttc and then maybe not being able to. i think that would send me over the edge.
am happy for you that you have a wonderful husband i think that's a rarity, and happens to a lucky few...yes, am a pessimist. with most things going wrong in my life, am not very hopeful that this will go well...
you are indeed lucky that you dnt suffer from hair loss. i used to have such dark, curly hair...now there's very little left. i guess that doesnt exactly help my self esteem.
anyway, let me try and get through today...
how's your ttc going? well, i hope....we want ladoos!
I'm Korean-American and new to SC. I was recently diagnosed in June 2008 and am learning as much as I can about PCOS. My husband and I have been trying to conceive on our own for almost 2 years and finally decided to see a FS in April. I did all the blood work, but PCOS didn't come up until she did an internal ultrasound. It does turn out that I'm not immune to measles so I need to get the shot soon and not conceive for 3 months. So, we're on a break. I've been reading this book entitled, The 7 Principles of Fat Burning by Eric Berg, DC which has been helpful in terms of diet and exercise tips. The author explains 4 body types that come out of having the following problems: adrenal, ovary, thyroid and liver. Since women with PCOS produce too much estrogen anyways, the worst thing to do is to eat commerical food... especially milk! I've started to eat more organic foods and lost 3 pounds with exercise. Commercial milk has the most estrogen in it as the cows are filled with hormones and the feed they eat are sprayed with pesticides that contain estrogen. As we consume the meat, milk, eggs, etc... the chemicals are entering our body and producing hormones that aren't helpful to our condition. Also, taking a cinnamon supplement or adding it to your foods such as apple sauce, yogurt, etc. help to lose weight in the mid-section. It has done wonders for a friend of mine who has PCOS. I hope this book helps you as it has for me.
I had just gone through all the posts over here and the first thing i would like to say is that its really great to know that we've got some fellow indians going through the same things as each other.By the way,im Indian too :-)).
I had irregular periods (sort of regularly irregular i would say - every two months) and started to gradually put on weight.Was officially diagnosed in 1999 at which time i was out on bcp's and aldactone to take care of the symptoms.Had those for about one and a half year(lost a remarkable lot of weight) and was pill free since then(till this year).Well,i was married in 2003 and i dint actually tell my husband about it because i dint think it was a problem in terms of conceiving.I actally had a reason behind this - there are lots of others in my family who have weight issues and mild hirsutism,etc(i bet they never knew it was pcos) starting right from my fathers grandmother!.but none of them had problems conceiving!.It was a risk but luckily for me my husband was understanding too.he dint have any problems.As for the in-laws,we both dint bother to tell them.We reckoned it was our personal issue.allthough,like tasha had mentiond,we did get the 'why dont you have a baby yet' sort of looks.
Well,we went to see a doctor after ttc for about 6 months and was put on letrazol (something similar to clomid i think) and was also diagnosed to have anovulatory cycles(meaning i wasnt ovulating).The very same month i was given glyciphage too and within one week of using that,i conceived.So it was like i was on meds for about 2 months or so.
What i would like to tell you here is that there is no need to panic.It only makes it worse.Believe that you can conceive because the way we think really helps in terms of the release of hormones and stuff-especially for tasha who is ttc.We are fortunate to have understanding husbands and thats all that matter.We love them and they love us.what else do we need to be confident and positive?Dont even let thoughts about the others come into your minds because they are just there to pick on us - when needed they dont even help.So rememeber,no one of that sort is worth bothering about!.
sorry for the long message but just wanted you all to know that i support you all!
Sorry I have been out of the loop for a while, just been really busy and stressed. I think things are finally starting to calm down.
Tasha, Anjali, Avantika-- You are all very lucky to have such fabulous and understanding partners. I hope I can find someone just as caring.
Skyhunter-- I completely understand how you feel, I have been feeling the same for the past month. When I was diagnosed and even before... I always thought why me! I don't have any friends that have PCOS and my sis is very lucky that she doesn't either. I have been wallowing in self pity for a while now but I have finally realized that worrying and pitying myself is not going to make things any better. No one knows why this happens to some women and not others, but I think we just have to make the best of the cards that we are dealt. I have been really depressed about my hair, I recently saw an endo and she prescribed Yasmin to get me regular and 50mg of Spironolactone (since i am not TTC) to help with the excess hair/hair loss on scalp. I too had long, curly, thick hair and i have lost almost 1/2 or maybe even 3/4 of it. I know these are not miracle drugs and I don't expect them to work overnight but hopefully in time they will work (i am hoping my hair stops shedding and grows back!).
I completely understand how depressing this can be but we can chose to let PCOS take over our lives or we can take charge of it. We will all have days where we just want to cry and I think that is OK.
Ahnie...welcome! your perspective on the hormones thing was really helpful! I hadnt thought of that...your story is so similar to ours and culturally I believe that we are coming from alike backgrounds...I am glad to have this link to you for advice...
sim81377...
I am happy that you concieved early on. I didnt ovulate even on clomid and went to injectables, which is what I am taking now. I am just waiting for my body to cooperate and produce a good quality egg so that I can finally get pregnant...
Stay positive ladies!
~anjali
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PCOS dx in 1995 Endometriosis dx Jan. 2009
IVF #1 (India) Day 5- 2 Grade A blasts transferred...7/14/09-BFN FET #1 (India) BFP!!! 9/2/2009 1st beta 9/2/09- 220 2nd beta 9/9- 4394 3rd beta 9/17- 14312
1st u/s 9/25/09: 7w1d Heard Heartbeat To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. : 143 bpm Due Date: 5/13/10
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Ahnie I have started giving my kids organic milk and yogurt some time back with fear of the hormones - good point there, thanks for bringing it up.
Sonia - I used to take the Spironolactone - stopped it now. My endo relocated so I need to see my gyn next month to get authorization for more. It did help with the hair growth and hair loss - I have seen the worse of it. How many hairs do you loose on a daily basis? My thyroid was like 3.9 and I was prescribed synthyroid 50mg but it did not agree with me much as I started to shed scalp hair like crazy - so with consultation with the endo we decided to stop it. Older studies suggest within 5.0 is a normal range but now the endo's guidelines are that anything above 2.0 is considered not normal. But, the next time we did the blood test with no medications the tsh was 1.7 or so - so it varies depending on your emotions and moods and stress I guess.
Right now I am taking metformin, prenatal vitamins, flaxseed and primrose oil. Have stopped birth control since last year - fear of synthetic hormones. Am taking banana flower as a natural progesterone and that has helped me some with my periods...
Do keep your suggestions coming in. I know it is very depressing - hopefully there is light outside this tunnel...thanks Tasha, Anjali, Skyhunter
Ahnie had a good point there about the milk.We've switched to organic too after i read about the hormones being prevalent in commercial milk.
Avantika,im hypothyroid too and was on Thyroxin (its what we get in india).I havent had any problems with it so far and ive always been on the euthyroid.Although,when i did stop it for a while,my T3,T4 and TSH were all whacky and so i was actually told that im not supposed to stop it at all.I had a problem with aldactone in india and shed hair like hell so my endo stopped it.Havent used it for a long time now and im scared of these synthetic things too.
I hadnt used anything at all except my thyroid meds but i was forced to see a gyno two months ago because of the acne that started on my face over the past one year.I waited so long with the hope that it would go away but it dint,so im now on birth control.The acne has drastically reduced but im not sure im having any luck with the hirsutism!.
I guess ive had a bit of luck on my side because ive managed to lose about 5.5kg over the past two months.Ive drastically reduced my intake of white rice?(which is our staple) and switched to whole grain pasta,chapathi with whole wheat flour,bran flakes etc.Im doing some light exercises like the steps and walking but that is all.Also ive eliminated all the foods which contain High Fructose corn syrup which i heard was detrimental for our case.Does anyone have any insight on this?
I was told that bcps cause weight gain but ive not heard of people losing weight yet.have any of you had anything similar happen?I really want to stop using these bc pills and like sonixblu has said,im determined to take charge of it,rather than having it take charge of me!.Hmm...,its really frustrating at times,when you just cant put your finger on what the actual problem is.Its more like a trial and error process for us.
Morning Sonia, Tasha, Avantika,
Sonia, am on yasmin as well, been on it for the past 6months. the good thing about it, is that it slows down excess hair growth. on the downside, i have added weight previously, i was on marvelon...that really helped me lose weight. although none helped with the hair shedding. by the way, I read something about iron levels helping hair growth and stopping shedding. there are threads on this website discussing it. am going to ask for ferritine tests next time i go to the doctor. and hopefully, be prescribed iron supplements.
thank you for your encouraging words, though there appear to be more days for crying than otherwise
by the way, what is organic and commercial milk? how do you tell the difference? by organic, do you mean straight from the cow?
slm, what bcp are you using? yasmin is the only pill tht has a certain component that slows down hair growth...you should ask your doc about it.
am not sure about stopping taking synthetic hormones in form of bcp...i think at some point medicine is indeed necessary..i have read cases where women have gone off bcps, and the hirsutism returning with a vengeance...i dnt know...am not sure i want to risk trusting 'natural hormones'...which out of curiosity, are what exactly? and any success stories?
i must say that my hirsutism is slightly under control after taking bcps...my skin looks a tad better, too. about weight gain, it depends on your body, some pills will make you add, others lose...like slm said, trial and error!
Im using Femcon Fe.I wasnt prescribed this for any reason.Actually i hadnt been using any bcp's and the nurse said (the doc was on holiday when i went for some cholestrol blood tests) that the doc had advised me to continue using whatever bcp i was currently using at that time since all my blood levels were ok and only the testosterone was slightly high(it was 80).I told her then that i wasnt on any bcp's at all and so she gave me a sample that they had at the docs office.Since i dint have any major issues with it,im still continuing.
I'm happy that it has helped clear up my face and im at least happy to be in photographs now!believe me,i dint even want to take a photograph because of all the acne i had.I am thinking it has thinned the facial hair a bit but im yet to see if thats just wishful thinking :-).
Im just outright tired of worrying so much all the time and thinking."why me?".Ive decided id rather face it with a "yes to hell with it,i have pcos,so what?".Makes me feel a bit better.
Hello ladies,
sorry it has taken so long to reply.
Sky Hunter....I get depressed as well but honestly, when you have someone in your life it does make it easier. Sure you will have more responsibilities but it does work out in the end. Don't put your life on hold because of fear of the "what if's". There have been days that I do not want to get out of bed...there also times that I cry for no apparent reason. I have been diagnosed with depression, although I have been told that I do not need meds to control it. Talking to a counsellor helps, as does going to the gym. Hang in there. You can always chat with me if you are feeling low as well. There are days that I feel like there is no hope of having kids but then I try to look at the positives. Science has evolved so much that there is hope for me still. I have had to put my appointment with the fertility clinic on hold because school os starting in a week. But I get one day off a month (non-sick leave) so I plan on taking it in two weeks.
Slm81377...it's great to have you with us. Your experience definately gives me some hope...
Hope all is well with all of you...I think its time to get back to my unit planning for the new school year.
i used to have such thick dark wavy hair, now there's very little left.
previously, i was on marvelon...that really helped me lose weight. although none helped with the hair shedding. by the way, I read something about iron levels helping hair growth and stopping shedding. there are threads on this website discussing it. am going to ask for ferritine tests next time i go to the doctor. and hopefully, be prescribed iron supplements.
