Do I really need to treat?

GovtProf · 09-24-2008, 02:08 AM

I am so confused... any maybe you lovely ladies can help. I am 5 foot 3, 103 pounds, cycle every 36 days, and mild-moderate symptoms. I have read so much information and was just diagnosed last month. Both my Endo and OBGYN told me that they saw no reason to treat me based on weight, age (24), and blood sugar levels. But, then again I read about all these terrible things "possibly" happening to me years down the road. I am so confused... after all can't we only treat symptoms and not the root cause? The Endo said no Metformin for me as long as I was not TTC nor Type 2. Gyn said can do birth control and when needing to get pregnant wait and see if you can get pregnant on your own and then we can try direct medical intervention. Is it really harmful not to treat PCOS symptoms? I use exercise and diet currently. Thanks for shedding light .... very confused!

amigagirl · 09-24-2008, 07:39 PM

I am just curious how you were diagnosed? You sound very similar to me, thin, cycle every 36 days and some symptoms (I have the symptoms of acne when off the pill, and some extra facial hair on my chin.) I have been tested twice and both times the specialist told me that I should not be worried and that everything came back normal.... she told me specifically that I do not have PCOS..... however, i do not know what else it would be! ;-)

GovtProf · 09-24-2008, 07:57 PM

Hey Amigagirl,

Nice to "speak" with you! I did have my hormones tested and my testosterone was high 110, my LH to FSH was 1.7, and my A1C was 5.2.... all other blood tests were normal to low-normal (in the very healthy sense). I went to an Endo because everyone said... You don't have PCOS and I thought.. yes I do! He said that it appears that I have a very mild case of PCOS (if that is possible?) and that I needed to just watch my sugar levels and keep acting like I currently do. He did not recommend further testing since all other blood levels were normal and he didn't think I really warrented further investigation. His opinion was... go on your merry way and do not even think about this unless you are TTC or have sugar problems later in life.
What are you up against? Do you treat yours?

GovtProf · 09-24-2008, 08:02 PM

Oh I forgot to mention, all blood work was normal when I was on BCP but it was after I had been off of them for 6 months that the testosterone and LH to FSH showed up!

jlecool · 10-01-2008, 12:24 AM

Typically, they put people on bcp to make sure they shed their lining every so often because so many of us with pcos dont have a regular cycle, if at all. (i dont have a cycle at all unless on bcp or given progesterone to enduce a cycle). Typically, if you have a cycle every 35-40 days, they say it is fine. However, your testosterone is high, as is mine, and the metformin is said to help bring that down, so that might be an option. I have been on for 3 months and have not lost any weight (I am 5'5" and 124, so I dont need to loose any weight) but might want to find out if metformin would be a good option to help bring your testosterone down.

Hope that helps!