estherhead

I went to a new OB/GYN this week to talk about getting Mirena as I have 3 kids and I'm done. My youngest is 2 and I was on progestin only while I was bfing her and then on Nuvaring for the past year.

So she looks at my new patient survey & I had written "irregular periods when not on b.c." She asked me why and I shrugged. She then asks me if any doctor has ever diagnosed me with PCOS?

"Well," says I, "It's a long story." Evidently she had time because she wanted to here the story.

So I told her that when I was 20 I went on b.c. but got it at Planned Parenthood & never told them about my irregular periods. At 21 I went to a family doctor to get it refilled and did confess to him the whole period thing. He told me (this is is like 1995) that he thought I had something called PCOS which is a high level of testosterone and was why I had a "zipper." He told me to go off bc for 6 months and if my periods went back to irregular to get tested and get treated.

Well, he was leaving which is why he couldn't follow through & I was moving and so I did go off bc & did have really weird periods. But I never followed up.

At 26 I decided to get pregnant & read "Taking Charge of Your Fertility." I hadn't had a period in 9 months. I self-diagnosed myself with PCOS & promptly went 100% off sugar & white flour & carrots & corn. I charted my temps from Aug to January. I started ovulating in October and got pregnant in January.

I got pregnant with baby #2 8 months after having baby #1. Talk about a surprise!

Then I went on bc again as I thought I didn't want anymore babies. 4 years later we decided to try again & went off bc & got pregnant 1st month trying.

So I decided in my own head that the pregnancies had "cured" me of PCOS and I didn't need to deal with it.

I'm not overweight as I'm a WW leader for 7 years & work my butt off to stay thin.

Anyhow, this is the story I told my OB/GYN. She then did an exam and said,

"I think Mirena is a terrible choice for you. I think you'll gain weight and be moody and overall hate it. It's my opinion that you should go off Nuvaring for 4 weeks & get 2 dif. testostorone tests, thyroid test, cholesterol test, insulin test, and a few others. I'm almost 100% positive you've still got PCOS. You have a zipper and facial hair. And weird periods. And then I think you should go on Metformin and get Essure."

Let me tell you, and you all may be laughing at me, but this truly surprised me. I told her that I wasn't fat and felt happy with my periods being regulated by bc. She said that she bets I'm starting to really struggle with my weight now that I'm over 30 (this is true) and said she thinks it's a battle I'll eventually lose. And that Mirena won't regulate my periods like Nuvaring has.

I then asked about Metformin's side effects. She laughed outloud and said, "To be honest, the side effects are horrific, diarehea, nausea, just awful. But we know what you can do to help and they go away and you'll be so happy. Wouldn't you like to do WW and lose more than 1 lb every month? Wouldn't you like to be one of the women who doesn't have to starve to stay thing?"

So that's my newbie story. I don't have hairloss. And I don't have acne very often. The only other health issues I have is I am VERY receptive to cold viruses which immediately turn into Pharyngitis but this might not be related at all.

Anyone have Essure? Anyone done Metformin and Nuvaring? How can I take Metformin and not puke? Will Metoformin give me more energy, help with my immune system (I've had it tested and supposedly have a good white blood count) and help me lose weight?

Do I have to do a low GI diet with Metformin or can I just continue my low cal/low fat diet that I already am used to?

Thanks for a great site & for hearing me out!

Eva37

welcome to sc. ive had a mirena for 4 half years and it did help with my periods. Then that one was changed for my 2nd which i only had for 6 months. Caused lots of back pain,

i have met which- but the side effects arent always there. I find that as long as i avoid greasy/fatty/sugar food as much as poss and always eat with the met i am ok with it.
eva

__________________
PCOS, LOCAH, Endo, Lichen Planus, IBS, HS,alopecia - raised bp/ cholesteral. Wheat and dairy intollerance Meds: Spiro, Bendrofluazide, Amlodopine, Simvastatin, Met, Prednisolone, Colefac, multi vits,

Me - 42, hubby 37 son 12. Married 15 years

She is buffeted by the wind, but she does not sink.



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estherhead

Thanks for your reply. Have you lost weight? What are you using for birth control now?