Body Image?

xolietuvaox · 03-25-2008, 02:12 PM

Hey everyone!

I've been reading posts and threads on here and have a few questions to ask!

A lot of the posts talk about having larger than normal bellies. I was disgnosed in 2004 at the age of 15 with PCOS. I've always been highly active, but I dont dawn many typical signs of PCOS...

No acne, no oily skin, no dark patches on my neck or armpit area, no excess facial hair or body hair, and I'm a size 16 jeans and dropping.

Now, I'm quite confused. All the things I dont seem to have, seem to be the way to tell you DO have PCOS. If I remember correctly (I was only 15 at the time..=) ) my endo. said I had a lower than normal progesterone level and my testosterone was only a little bit elevated.

I've always been highly active (playing sports, getting outside, etc..) and I've been brought up on almost all fat free and low fat foods (milk, cheese, butter, Weight Watchers bread...etc..)

I was just wondering if there were any other woman out there that have been diagnosed with PCOS but don't have very many signs of it.

sooo happy i found this website! =)

Jashobeam · 03-25-2008, 02:28 PM

At 19 I was about size 16, not as big of a belly, acne was clearing up, dark patches were clearing up, a little bit of body hair, but not much. Once I passed 25 things changed. You might get more symptoms, but if you keep up your exercise and a good diet, you might not.

Here is some info: The Newbie Road Map

Italian Friend · 03-25-2008, 02:31 PM

hey you! when i was dx my only problem was irregular periods.. yes of course i had a bit of oliy skin and so on but i was 16 and so it was pretty normal.. my weight has always been shifting from average to slightly overweight.

i guess my dx has been made based upon the cystic finding in my ovaries and my blood works at first. but then, out of nowhere, last year i started to gain weight and finding hard to drop it.. i made some tests and i found i was becoming IR. i started dieting (and discovered this board

) and now i am managing my IR, dropped 20 lbs and most important i am so much more prepared on the topic!!!

i wish you the best of luck!

KatCarney · 03-25-2008, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xolietuvaox

I was just wondering if there were any other woman out there that have been diagnosed with PCOS but don't have very many signs of it.

There are many, many women here who don't have all of the symptoms.

When this website was first started, and I was setting up the message board, there wasn't even a Skin Problems forum because I didn't realize that many women with PCOS had acne (it wasn't something I had). For years, the forum was called Acne until this past Sunday when it was renamed Skin Problems to accomodate the other issues (that I wasn't aware of, either like skin tags and HS (which I still can't spell)). I knew about AN.

sapphirepl · 03-25-2008, 03:26 PM

Well, yeah. The first time a doctor (general practitioner) talked to me about PCOS, he said that I didn't "look like someone with PCOS" because I wasn't overweight and didn't have many of the other symptoms (except hair growth). It also confused me for the longest time, that I always got AF every 30-35 days, but I usually read that the one necessary symptom of PCOS, even if you didn't have any of the others, was irregular or no menstrual cycle.
However, I was dx just a few weeks ago, March 12!! (hooray for me! lol) I have a really good endo now, and when I kept asking him questions because I was confused, he helped clarify to me what it means that PCOS is a "diagnosis of exclusion." As you probably know, there isn't just a test you can do and have it come back positive or negative for PCOS. At least some aspects of it are idiopathic (meaning they really don't have an explanation for it). I have relatively subtle symptoms that are associated with adrenal gland dysfunction (when I stand up I often start to black out a little; my eyes are very sensitive to light, etc.) so for awhile I thought that maybe it's not PCOS, and just an adrenal problem. Well, they did tests to rule out CAH, Cushing's Disease, and everything else that can be ruled out, so that was basically how I ended up dx PCOS. The endo explained that I very well may have adrenal gland symptoms--and it's just part of how I experience PCOS. The endocrine system is really one big complicated system, and if one hormone is out of whack, they can all get thrown off because they change into one another through processes. One of the articles Kat just posted mentioned that 5-10% of women have PCOS, and up to 30% have some of the symptoms. You might just fall more under the latter category, too.

Eva37 · 03-25-2008, 03:31 PM

welcome to sc

from what ive learnt here - everyones pcos is different.
eva

Sarah Louise · 03-25-2008, 07:13 PM

When I was first diagnosed I didn’t have any of the symptoms other than sporadic periods fast forward 11 years and here I am 100lbs heavier and I have a whole range of symptoms !! grrr

FairLady23 · 03-25-2008, 10:37 PM

Welcome xolietuvaox!

When i got my AF i was 13 and i was never regular. I just assumed that it was due to sports. I played year round- basketball, volleyball, softball until i graduated high school. I was actually at my lowest weight ever when i graduated. I was never overweight (maybe a little baby fat at times) but the sports kept it off. I didnt have any symptoms or anything. When i was 19 i put on maybe 10 pounds and my irregular perioud just kept getting more and more sporadic until i was going about every 6months. Finally i went to my general practitioner and he told me that it was normal nowadays for women to be irregular. And of course with him being a doctor i believed him. So after another 6mo he finally said well if you are so unhappy about not having a period take BCP so i took it for 3 months and switched to the patch for another 2 months and put on ---wait for it---- 40pounds!!!!!!!!! Now i dont know if it was because of the BCP or b/c of the PCOS but being a person who played sports i just couldnt believe it. I didnt want to take it after the first month but my MD just told me to keep taking it and come back in a couple months. Well needless to say i went to another doctor. I didnt and still dont have acne or other skin problems, dark patches, skin tags, body hair, or alopecia. The only symptom was that i wasnt getting my period and by that time after i stopped the BCP my AF had completely stopped. I had a ultrasound done and they found many multiple cysts. I'm now overweight trying to lose about 55 lbs. My weight is almost entirely in my stomach (i am a very typical Apple shape now). I'm wearing a size 16 but i'm only 5'5''. I'm now Insulin resistant and have a harder time losing weight, my progesterone is very low so i take a supplement and my testosterone is only mildly elevated. I also grew up on non fat milk, margarine, fruits veggies, fish (i almost rarely ate food outside of my house when i was growing up). I was diagnosed in 06 when i was 21 and i'm 23 now. But my Endo told me it sounds like i've had it since i was 13.

So.... the best advice i can give you is to STAY active. Dont put on the weight! Eat right and you and I are very lucky that we don't have to deal with those other symptoms. For me it's all about the weight and not getting AF. Those are the only symptoms i deal with really. But i guess also be aware of those other symptoms that could one day affect you.

TrishainAZ · 03-25-2008, 10:41 PM

I don't have many signs... you can see my picture on my avatar. I'm thin, plenty of hair on my head, no extra hair anywhere else, just mild acne and trouble conceiving.

Blue Eyed Enchantress · 03-26-2008, 12:33 AM

I have body acne, morbid obesity, lots of dark hairs on my chin, and AF maybe once a year....as far as body image is concerned, mine is terrible and I try to overcompensate with makeup and other things. I work in the fashion industry so to be so overweight and to have skin issues, and to see every single day perfect-looking women majorly contributes to depression and other struggles.