I just found this site and it looks great! Everyone seems so helpful and caring. I was diagnosed a little over 3 weeks ago with PCOS and am now up to 1500mg of Metformin a day. Uggg it makes me feel like crap! I am also thin 5'4" 110lbs. I had no idea I needed to be watching what I was eating! My dr didn't tell me much other than I have PCOS, so I have been searching the net trying to find info. My hubby and I have been ttc for 14 months now and it is so frustrating, I get so disappointed sometimes. I starting bbt charting this month but I don't think its really working for me. It says I ovulated on cd 11, that's just hard for me to believe, but we will see. Anyway I guess my question is should I be on some sort of diet? Any help would be awesome!
Nicole
I'm sorry, I don't have an answer...but I'm in the same boat. I haven't been TTC nearly as long as you, so I definitely admire your patience. I know the past 9 months have been hard for me! My doc wouldn't even put me on the met - he seemed to think it wouldn't help, but it from this site it looks like it's helped a few thin cysters. Hopefully someone will have an answer for you. I'll be peaking in as well to see what they say.
__________________ lean PCOS, no IR TTC one year - follistim worked Loss due to IC @ 21w2d on 7/30/07
2nd Loss due to IC @ 21w5d on 3/6/07 with TVC
Currently TTC again with TAC placed 5/12/08 awaiting 3rd try
Thanks for replying. Did your doctor tell you anything special to do for the PCOS? Maybe once you have been TTC for a year he will be more likely to put you on some sort of medication. I go back to the doctor at the end of January for a check up and he said if the met was not helping he would put me on clomid. He said he would rather try the met first because insurance would pay for it, but they are not likely to pay for the clomid.
Nope, the doc didn't tell me anything special. I asked about diet and met. He didn't seem to think either would help me. It's a bit frustrating!
This will be my third (and probably final) month on Clomid. The cost is actually pretty low, and my insurance doesn't cover it at all. For 5 days of the 100mg dose, I think it was only $40. That's a lot different from the injections - which is where I will be headed if the Clomid fails again.
Over on the TTC board there are several girls that are on met and clomid. You might get more of a response over there to your question.
__________________ lean PCOS, no IR TTC one year - follistim worked Loss due to IC @ 21w2d on 7/30/07
2nd Loss due to IC @ 21w5d on 3/6/07 with TVC
Currently TTC again with TAC placed 5/12/08 awaiting 3rd try
Elocin,
I was recently diagnosed (July '06), and like both of you, of course my doctor didn't say much about it!! Except that I was an "abnormal" case and there is a lot of info. on the web. How frustrating! They're supposed to be educating us, and they don't even inform us. Actually, my fertility doctor told me that low carbing and checking temps isn't worth the trouble!!
I am also seeing an acupunturist, who, of course, told me that I should watch what I eat. She told me to avoid : refined carbs and sugars, caffeine, alcohol, and dairy. After she told me this, I started becoming more proactive. I bought several books about PCOS, and all of them support what my acupuncturist said (except for avoiding dairy). I am not sure yet if I'm insulin resistant, that is the next thing I would like to get checked. I am currently on 1500 mg of met. and started a month ago. I first was on clomid for three months, but nothing happened. If met. alone doesn't work, they would like to put me on met. and clomid, although I am a little concerned about putting so many drugs into my body! By the way, I've been TTC for a year now. Good luck! I hope this info. helps!
Just wanted to reply to give you some hope. I am also a thin cyster, and have been able to conceive two children (I'm back on this site as I get ready to try for number 3). I was 109 lbs when I conceived my daughter (I'm 5'4.5") and 107 lbs with my son. I went on the low carb diet and used metformin. I never did clomid as my doctor thought it too risky (for multiple pregnancies) to try right away. With both kids I conceived about 3-4 months after diagnosis and strict attention to diet, exericise and medication (it sure isn't easy though... and I lost a lot of weight even though I was already skinny.. my "normal weight" is probably more like 115-120 adn it makes me feel very sick) Good luck to you!
I am sorry to hear that your doctors haven't given you much information. I got really lucky with my RE--she's great and full of information. She recommended a book to me (_PCOS: The Hidden Epidemic_ by Samuel S. Thatcher) that is a dense but fabulous reference. I also found _PCOS and Your Fertility_ by Colette Harris to be EXTREMELY helpful (it's a much faster read that focuses on fertility issues). Both contain information about diet and exercise, as well as medications, and both are available on amazon.com. I recommend that you read one or both of these as a start. If it's possible, you might also want to consider finding different doctors (an RE who specializes in PCOS would be a good idea). If you're not comfortable that your current doctors are giving you enough information to make you comfortable, well, that isn't going to make your journey any easier.
Met does make you feel like crap, but maybe if its too much to bear you could cut back to 500 or 1000 and start building up again, slower. You've been without Met for your whole life... a few more weeks isn't going to kill you and might make the transition a whole lot easier.
My endo actually had a nutritionist in his practice that I went to immediately after my meeting with him when he prescribed Met. I was a real carbaholic, but she said that I should cut down on carbs, make sure I get enough protein, and watch how much fat I ate. The fat was the biggest thing for me - if I ate a big greasy hamburger, I would definitely feel it in a few hours or the next day. You'll figure out what you can and cannot eat soon enough - and really, after a while you don't even want those old foods anymore, IME. I mean, I used to like big greasy hamburgers, but now whenever I think about them I just associate that yucky awful feeling with them and have no appetite. I've been off of Met for a few months, and I still feel this way about greasy & fatty foods. It just becomes second nature after you learn what you can and cannot tolerate.
Good luck!
__________________ Previously on Met, currently on Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Spiro, and cinnamon
One more thing... check out the book "Taking charge of your fertility" or just do a search on the internet about cervical fluid/mucus. I have found this to be a good method for trying to conceive. I did the whole BBT with my daughter and it was so hard when my periods can so few and far between. Then it was impossible when I was trying to conceive my son since I was up all night with my daughter and didn't have a predictable morning routine. Unfortunately it won't tell you for sure if you ovulated (it only shows that you are becomnig more fertile and closer to ovulation), so it may be best to use in connection with BBT. However, I was able to conceive my son using this alone with my very first ovulation after giving birth to my daughter. Using Met and a low carb diet has shortened my cycles considerably. Before I was diagnosed I had about 4 cycles a year but with the met, my cycles are about 35-40 days long. Also, from what I have read an ovulation at 11 days (especially with PCOS) would be unusual. However, it is possible as the only set 14 day rule applies to after you ovulate that you would then get your period. So, for instance I ovulated on day 21 and got my period on day 35. Hope this helps some. Good luck.
Help! I dont understand! 
Me too... 
