Hi there everyone! I just wanted to introduce myself and I hope to get to know each of you. My name is Ginger and I am from Texas. I am a 29 year old female who feels like she has had PCOS for a very long time, however, I was just recently diagnosed with it. I have basically all the symptoms from irregular periods, to hair loss, to fatigue, to hair in places it shouldn't be. I am going to the gyno on Monday to hopefully try to find something to save my hair and get my self straightened out. Anyway, I look forward to talking with all of you and working together to beat this condition!
__________________ TTC #1 since 10/05.
February 2008: M/C - 8w1d (fetal bradycardia)
March 2009: chemical pg. Out of options, out of hope. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
hello i was also just diagnosed i still have more to testing to go threw i dont know if i should be scared or just happy that its not all in my head i really dont know what to expect im just glad im not alone
Hi Ginger- Welcome! You have found the right place, as these ladies are top notch!!! In the short time I've been around, I've learned more than any Dr. or book could ever teach! It's always nice to know you have gals going through the same (not so fun) thing as you are...
A big welcome to Angie too!
__________________
Have a Great Day!
Heidi
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
MEDS/ MISC:
Ovulex
Metformin (1700mg)
"Success is not in what you have, but who you are."
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
I am a newly diagnosed soul cyster. I received my diagnosis over spring break (March 2006). I've been very busy with school since then and haven't had time to research it much but I'm trying to rectify that and actually learn about my condition. What I know from firsthand experience is painful but it is so reassuring to know that I'm not the only one out there with these problems! It helps alleviate my depression slightly to know that I'm not some circus-show freak.
I first heard about PCOS from my dermatologist while trying to receive acne treatment. She noticed some hair on my chin and asked about abdominal male-pattern hair growth and about my menstrual cycles. I told her that I have a lot of extra hair everywhere (I couldn't live without my razor every day!), I have a period maybe 3 times a year on average, and I have bad acne on my face, back and chest. Over the past year I have gained nearly 15 pounds despite intense exercise and diet restrictions. I suffer from depression and feelings of worthlessness and have had thoughts of suicide over the last year.
Thanks to the smart catch of my derm, I was able to visit an OB/GYN and get bloodwork and ultrasound done, confirming that I do indeed have cysts on my ovaries and the typical PCOS imbalance of hormones: 3/1 FSH/LH ratio, testosterone level is around 100, and excess estrogen. It was so amazing to realize that there was actually a connection to all these seemingly random problems that have bothered me since the onset of puberty. At the same time I had to go home and cry a little after hearing all the serious problems that can develop from PCOS. My OB told me to try to lose some weight and she started me on Yasmin BC (which is supposed to help with excess androgens, I guess?). I just finished my first three weeks and got my period yesterday (!) Of course, my "normal" friends laugh at how excited I am :-).
I would love to talk to anyone else who is on Yasmin and see how it has helped them and what side effects it has had. I found that I had some nausea and the last couple of days I've had bad PMS and depression prior to the onset of my actual bleeding. However, the 2 and part of the 3rd week on it, my acne had cleared up a little bit (I actually went out in public without makeup!!) and my mood change was drastic! I was so uncharacteristically happy and motivated. It made my life so much easier. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, depressed, and lethargic I actually had energy to handle my classes efficiently and still have time to socialize with friends after!I'm really hoping that this wasn't just a fluke. My theory is that it was the surge in progesterone from BC, although I really don't know much about how BC works so this is pure speculation. Any thoughts on that? Has anyone else had this experience with Yasmin and depression/acne? I haven't noticed an improvement in hirsutism at all.
I usually have bad depression. I don't know when it started, since puberty I can remember being depressed and I think the first time I ever seriously thought about suicide I was 14. This whole depression thing is a thorn in my side, because I honestly don't have a good reason to be depressed. I think about my acne, hirsutism, slightly overweight, loveless life (I'm 18 and I've never been in a long-term relationship!), and I feel so alone and unattractive. Honestly, when all my friends are getting excited about getting back into their bikinis for summer I'm just dreading it with all my body and soul! Yikes! I mean, hair and belly fat? not pretty...I just want to be thin and attractive to someone. I've been hurt several times with guys and I'm just tired of hating on myself because I don't have a boyfriend. When I think about other people's problems (tsunami and hurricane victims especially!) in relation to my own and I end up feeling really guilty for being depressed in the first place. It doesn't help that people always say, "Just listen to happy music or think about your blessings..." etc etc. The thing is that most people would be surprised to know that I'm depressed unless they get to know me because I hide it very well and I am often on the opposite extreme (wildly happy, outgoing, "life of the party" type of girl) but I feel like I'm just trying to overcompensate. I have wondered if I am bipolar but then that's just hypochondraical to be bipolar and PCOS. The thing is that right after a "manic" episode I will usually be extremely depressed. I also have periods where I excel in my music and classes and feel like I can think clearly and brilliantly and then times when it's like navigating a murky swamp to try to remember anything and try to motivate myself to practice piano or study for exams. I don't know what relationship this had to anything else, but I feel like I'm writing a confession or something. I've never actually talked to anyone about all these thoughts and feelings that I've had before and it's therapeutic to get it all out in the open.
Back to meds...My OB wants to start me on metformin as soon as I get back for summer break. Has anyone else mixed birth control and metformin? If you have, please, please do talk to me about it! I would love to know what side effects I can expect and what benefits. Oh, and I don't believe that I have Insulin Resistance, although I'm not sure that she did the right blood test for it (it was the middle of the afternoon and I hadn't eaten in a couple of hours). I think she just wants me to take it for the anti-androgen reason.
Let's see, anything I missed...Oh yes, weight problems! How could I forget? Despite working out for almost an hour 6 days a week (intense stuff also, cardio tae-bo, lifting weights, jogging, walking, lifting weights) and trying to eat healthy (I eat vegetarian and try to restrict high-fat and high-sugar foods). With all this I still manage to gain weight. It is incredibly discouraging and depressing. I realize now that this a common problem of PCOSers. Would the metformin help with this? Even though I don't have IR?
Apologies for the wordiness!
Thanks in advance for reading this lengthy post and answering my PCOS questions!
Kristin..Welcome to SC..you will definetly get answers and support here... I think you should post this wonderful intro in the Newbie section and start your own thread..I am sure you will get alot of replies..You seem like such a sweet girl and I wish you the best..
GOOD LUCK!!!!!
-rani
__________________ -Rania MARRIED SINCE 07/2001 TTC since 02/2004 - lost a baby 04/2004
Welcome girls u gals are in the right place, welcome aboard and alllllll of us here are very supportive with one another, and we tell each other our problems, even if it's TMI =-))) well welcome aboard
__________________ ME 29 DH 37 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
MET 09/12/98 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
MOVE IN 09/14/01
MARRIED 05/14/05 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
DX PCOS IR 10/05
CURRENT MEDS MET 2000MG
Will start Clomid 50mg and Premarin0.625mg.
days 5-9
TTC #1
also taking Prenatals & 800mg Folic Acid
Whent in for U/S on CD11 no follies, so sad!!! =- (
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Well. I saw a specialist about two weeks ago that said from what I've told him it sounds like PCOS but that I need some blood work and a Pelvic ultrasound to determine for sure. So I am now waiting on the pelvic ultrasound.
I thought that when I was told for sure that yes there was something wrong that I'd feel better because I'd know it has not been in my mind. I'm 24 and have been struggling with problems since I was 11.
I feel alone in this because I'm from a small town and it took me asking to see a specialist for anything to be done before than it was always blamed on my weight (I am very over weight) but PCOS could help explain some of the weight.
I would just like to know for sure. I have so many questions and just want some answers. The specialist ask me what my biggest fear was and I told him not being able to have children or not knowingf before hand that I'd have problems getting pregnant. I'm just so tired of always have cramps, periods whenever with no consistancy and trying so hard to loose weight but never actually being able to keep it off and always having to buy products to keep the hair off my face.
Thanks to all for listening to be ramble on it felt good to get some of what I am feeling off my chest because as much as family members and doctors say they understand or they know what I am going through they don't and can't unless they are going through exactly what I am going through all the time.
I Guess I'm Not Alone 
=-))) well welcome aboard
Pcos 
