i've had PCOS for the past 5 years. my weight has just goine up and down ove that time but i'm officially at my heaviest. i dont get extra hair growth but i have thinning hair and horrible weight issues. i eat pretty well and have deicded that for the next three months i'm going to try and take all the correct supplements such as zinc, vitamin b's, magnesium, etc and my doc has put me on 1000mg a day of Metformin, i really hope this is going to work as i would like to get pregnant by the end of the year and i cant come off the birth control pill until i get my weight down.
has anyone else had this issue? or have you just gone off the pill altogether?
i'm confused and hope i'm doing the right thing. here in New Zealand i dont feel the knowledge of this condition is very vast..
Hi i've had PCOS for 8 years now and I'm only 23! I was on Yaz for 3 years and finally got off it. I've all ways been up and down with my weight, but once i stated Yaz its seemed to always go up never back down. I ate ok then and exercised twice a week. Well now i'm off yaz and eat really good as well as exercise 3-4 times a week.... I've lost 60lbs in the last 10 months!!!!! I feel great i still want to lose another 40 lbs. My goal was 100 lbs. My main reasons was my health and were to trying to concieve as well! I dont get my period now that I'm not on the Yaz but i take provera every three months to jump start a perid. In march im going to start Clomid if all gos well.....!
Good luck with everything.... I'm here if you want to talk more.
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Diagnosed Aug 2005. Symptoms: No periods, obese, excessive hair
Fit Cyster! -Loving To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. !
Currently doing To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. + extra cardio & core work.
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Hey there! I am originally from Hamilton! Guess what, when the doctors first started looking at my unusual symptoms (at age 17), they were convinced I had an STD. Nice one, so not only did I feel humiliated, but I was not offered any real support. So I just got used to my symptons and didnt do anythign more about it...It wasnt until I was on my OE that a specialist actually found out what was going on with me. I thought I was going to go crazy with all the symptoms I had. But it was just pcos. ;-)
A friend of mine in NZ also has PCOS and she has had better luck - she pays the extra to go to a gyn. and she seems to be on track. My only complaint about her situation is that her dr does not give her any hope (about her chances of having kids)- and because there arent a whole lot of specialists in NZ (compared to other countries) she doesnt have a whole lot of choice on which specialist she gets to see.
What kind of doctor are you seeing? (Think about going to an endocronologist!!).
The weight came down for me when I started taking a bcp with andorgen blocker. It took 3 months before it really started to help with the weight and then with exercise the kgs just dropped off.
Also just recently my gastroenterologist (am diary intolerant) diagnosed me with vitamin d deficiency -- normal range is 50-100 (what ever the units are) and mine was only 23. Being from NZ I was surprised because I like to be out in the sun - but I also always use sunscreen....So the dr put me on 2000 units of vitamin d3. Most doctors only test for vitamin d1 and d2, but this specialist insisted that d3 is the most important one and pointed out most other doctors do not really know about vitamin d3 deficiency and its impact on womens bodies (including ovulation...)
The other thing that really helps is avoiding carbs as much as possible. You need some carbs to function normally, but try to limit it or replace with fruit or something that is at least packed with vitamins etc. If you weight is still sticking, talk to your doctor about your meds - they might need upping or changing.
wow i cant believe how much advice i have just got! Kat thats really interesting about Yas, i have only put weight on with it, i havnt had any other probs with it apart from REALLY BAD fluid retention when i went off it for a month cos i couldnt get hold of a new pack. so a little scared to go off it this time cos i dont want water retention (like i thought my skin was going to split in my legs!) and you have done really well to lose the weight you have congrats! any more tips throw them my way. what kind of excercise do you do by the way?
thanks Februarystar for the links they look helpful cant wait to check them out!
SnowPea, thats crazy about the STD i would be horrified too! i have been to see an endocronologist and found her not very helpful at all, she pretty much told me what i could read in the pcos book and cost the earth like $300 an hour! my doc is just a gp but seems to understand pcos. she doesnt know too much about the herbal, vitamin side though just metformin and other simillar drugs.
thats also interesting that you say you have a low vit d count. i read today that many pcos patients have low vit d and i was thinking of going to get some d pinitol this week to take and see how i go.
i'm swimming everymorning and do fitness class once a week but i dont know if this is enough. i really dont enjoy excercise but i push myself to do it. thats why i swim because its something that i kind of enjoy and dont totally hate it. i really would love to be able to run though i tried the other day and ran 1km and almost died! its scary how unfit you can get. plus with the extra weight its very uncomfortable.
so any advice is soooo much appreciated and i love hearing your success stories its very modivating.
My work outs consist of 45mins on the elliptical atleast three days a week along with 30mins of strenght trainging on the same days. I feel sooooo much better, Thank you!
I had the same water retention problem. What I did to help mine and It really did. I would eat alot of fruit in the AM right before my work out. Mainly melons of all kinds there full of water. I felt like I sweat more when I have that for breakfest during my workout. So in other words during my workout I'd let out alot of the excess water.
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:-) So guess what - I had the crazy fluid rentention too! Which turned out to be easier to fix than I thought. First, you might need to change the bcp youre on. Drs say they are pretty much all the same, but some will seem to make you retain more than others. My gp's fix: Magnesium! She put me on magnesium for heart patients (a reasonably high dose). It gets the fluid out of your legs in no time (but lots of visits to the loo) ;-))
Try not to go to hard core on the magnesium to start with though - get regulay 100% recommended daily allowance and work up. If you take too much to start with - it will scour your insides!
Re the vitamin d - get it checked before you start taking supplements - you dont want to be getting too much of the stuff either. Ask you gp to check your d3 levels specifically otherwise they will just check for vitamin d1 or a total vitamin d count (there are lots of different types). The test takes about 2-3 weeks to come back. My specialist said most other doctors would not have found it in me because usually they only see it in women who have had lots of kids (lol) - because they (and I quote) "get their vitamins and minerals sucked out them (by the fetus))".
So like I said, my vitamin d3 was very low and the doctor put me on 2000iu a day (500% the rda). It takes months and months to build up in your system. How did I know it was working: the first two weeks I took it (in combination with multivitamins) my hip bones ached like theyd never ached before!!! And...I have had actual real periods since then (still somewhat irregular, but at least Im getting them!). It took about a month or so til that started kicking in.
Interesting fact: I asked my dr what I would have to eat to get vitamin D...he said its the equivalent of eating two zuchinis (a.k.a. courgettes) a day. just fyi for those who dont like popping pills more than they have to. ;-)
Take care _ and keep us posted!
HI Aimee! Welcome to the board. I'm from Aucks, but live overseas at the mo. Im sorry that the endocronologist wasn't too helpful. Did you have any tests done? Part of my diagnosis included them checking my hormone levels, and through some kind of insulin and glucose tests.
Good luck with the weight loss too. I asked Coolpinkgirl for her advice (have you seen her pics! wow!), she's pretty inspirational, I mean she lost 30kgs. I want to shed around 7kgs and it feels impossible, although I keep trying and trying. Being on Met has cut so many of the cravings that I used to have and evened out my mood, so I'm at least thankful for that.
All the best.
__________________
31 yrs, 173 cms, cw 66 kgs, gw 59 kgs.
Metformin (Glucophage), 1700 mg, Folic Acid 800mg, Zinc 30mg, tbsp apple cider vinegar w/water 1-2 times daily
OH yay thats all really good advice! i weighed myself this morning and i've lost 700 grams this week. yay not a huge loss but its better than gaining!!! the supplements are all going well. i'm taking magnesium at the moment but i will look into increasing it to see if it helps the fluid retention. the big "whats going to happen" will be when i go off yasmin and go onto Estelle..i think i have about 2 weeks left on yasmin so fingers crossed it doesnt cause too many dramas. my head space feels alot better but i need to increase my exercise.. i dont know if the yasmin has been the cause of the weight gain but i'll deff find out soon when i come off it and go on to the other BCP.
also has anyone heard of the gastric bypass band. my doc told me that it may be the only other option i have if the whole diet exercise routine doesnt work. i'm confident it will over time but just thought i would ask anyway?
thanks so much for all the great advice you ladies really are helping a huge amount!!
p.s i've had all tests done, but it was a while ago. i'm going to get more tests done tomorrow to see where my body is at.
Hi Aimee85. It's odd - although I've heard that many doctors in New Zealand have issues diagnosing PCOS, I was lucky. My GP diagnosed it straight-off and referred me to a very good endocrinologist at the Fertility Clinic in Greenlane, Auckland, who has done wonders for treating my PCOS (I'm on 200mg of spironolactone a day plus BCP Estelle. Yasmin wasn't recommended for me for some reason, too mild perhaps?).
I've heard of the gastric bypass band - I think that it's very drastic measures, but in some cases it's necessary. I would probably only consider it if I was severely obese and exercise/diet changes were doing absolutely nothing to shift the weight. I think a lot of people expect weight to 'melt' off, but when you think about how long it took to put the weight on in the first place, we have quite high expectations of our bodies to lose it again quickly! (I know I did!)
Sorry I can't help you about coming off the BCP, but perhaps you could consult a fertility specialist? Stella Milsom at Fertility Clinic in Greenlane is a fertility specialist and encocrinologist with a special interest in PCOS cases.
As an aside, I've started up a small online magazine for young Kiwi women recently called Indigo (www.indigomag.co.nz) and I'm currently working on an article about PCOS. Is there anyone here who would mind if I asked one or two questions and used their quotes using just their first names?
__________________ Age: 23
DX: 2004
Medication: Estelle (BCP), Vit. B, Spiro
Symptoms: High cholesterol, Hirsutism, Cysts, Weight probs
Height: 167 cm
Exercise: 40-60 mins a day 4-6 days a week
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locagirl - your website is awesome! I am more than happy to answer some questions - anything to get the PCOS word out there!!!!
(Also I'd love to write some articles for your website too - I've just graduated with a BSc(Nutrition) and its not exactly being used at the moment haha)
__________________
Diagnosed Aug 2005. Symptoms: No periods, obese, excessive hair
Fit Cyster! -Loving To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. !
Currently doing To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. + extra cardio & core work.
Finished my BSc (Nutrition),
Almost finished BCom (Economics)
Last edited by februarystar; 01-21-2009 at 10:51 PM.
Hi februarystar - that's fantastic! Thanks for putting your hand up. I know, I think PCOS needs more publicity as well. I believe that support and information are so important when it comes to PCOS so I've tried to make it my own wee project to get more info out there (I'm a journalism grad).
Nutrition articles would be really useful! Please flick me an email on angela.norton@indigomag.co.nz when you have some time :-)
__________________ Age: 23
DX: 2004
Medication: Estelle (BCP), Vit. B, Spiro
Symptoms: High cholesterol, Hirsutism, Cysts, Weight probs
Height: 167 cm
Exercise: 40-60 mins a day 4-6 days a week
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I'm a Newbie from NZ 
