I am new to the whole PCOS thing. I have had regular periods most of my life, but when my husband and I started trying to conceive about a year ago things got all messed up. I had 4 good (28 day cycle) periods right after I stopped taking birth control, and then all of a sudden I quit having periods. I started seeing a fertility specialist (my Ob just happened to be a fertility specialist), and he started me on Provera to get me to start a period. I had one and then nothing again. My progeterone levels are really low so Dr. decided to do Provera again and start on Clomid (50mg). the first month of Clomid I ovulated, but we didn't get pregnant. I started my period and I started the Clomid (50mg) again. But that time nothing happened...no ovulation. Dr. increased Clomid to 100mg after giving Provera again to start my period. This time the Clomid didn't work either.
In between all of the Clomid stuff I went for more lab work to check Glucose and Insulin levels. Glocose (fasting) was a 92...Normal. I have the pearl like cysts on the ovaries, I have struggled with my weight for the last few years...I've easily gained 30+ pounds in 3-4 years. I have dandruff and can't get rid of it with any kind of shampoo. I have dark hair on my chin, and it's so yucky.
Anyway, this last week the doctor finally diagnosed me with PCOS, and even though I'm glad to finally know what's wrong...it's so frustrating because there doesn't seem to be this one thing that makes it go away.
I do want to get pregnant, but at this point I just want to get healthy. The doctor recommended a low carb diet and a lot of exercise. I am going to try one more round of Clomid (at 150mg) this next month.
If anyone is reading this who has been through a similar situation and had success getting symptoms under control please let me know what you have done. I do want to hear how you got pregnant too...if you did, but mainly just want to know what you are doing (other than BCP) to control PCOS.
Search the forums, there are countless stories and Q&A threads.
My only solid advice for reversing your symptoms (although they will never go away entirely), is to get to a healthy weight for your height. If you're even slightly overweight, your symptoms will be amplified. Access weight is the beast that women with PCOS fight on a regular basis and androgens (male hormones) are stored in fat. Before I knew that I had PCOS, I went from being a healthy, bouncy skinny kid to a fat miserable teenager. When I hit puberty, my PCOS flared up and wreaked havoc on my life. I was thin and had perfectly smooth skin until age 13.
I have successfully gone from 180 pounds at 5'8" to 125 pounds (my current weight) over the coarse of 10 years. When I was 180, my acne was intense, as well as my abnormal hair growth (Hirsutism). When I was in high school, I had to pluck my chin every morning (which took an hour at least) and by the end of the day I had a shadow. My skin was covered in acne and I was miserably overweight.
When I was 18 I was diagnosed with PCOS, and began to slowly understand the diesase from that point on. I can tell you that the only thing that has turly helped me is losing the weight and becoming a healthy person overall. I still have excess hair, and ocasionally a zit, but I don't have to pluck or shave constantly, I have lessened the PCOS blow ten fold by losing weight and becoming a "health nut."
As with ANY disease, being healthy, truly healthy, is the only way to help regulate your body.
__________________ -D-chiro-inositol
-Vegetarian / Organic Diet
-Morning Cardio / Two Hours
-Vitamins / A, B, C, D, E, K Books- Skinny B!tch(s), The Ultimate PCOS Handbook Treatments- Laser hair removal, Dermabrasion
Topical Prescriptions- Differin, Vaniqa
Thanks so much for sharing a little bit of your story with me, ReverseTheCurse. I really appreciate it. I have been all over the forums just reading (old and new posts). I am finding so much information.
ShannyGail - Your story is like mine, almost word for word. I was on bcp for 9 years to regulate my periods, and after stopping bcp, I had 3 months of "regular" AF, every 30-35 days. After that, nothing. Every time I want AF, I need to take Provera. We want to have kids (just turned 30 in March) but at this point, I'm with you, I just want to be somewhat normal.
I'm also having pretty constant pelvic pain, have gained about 15 pounds in my belly since coming off the pill a year ago, and am HAIRY. Especially my chin, that's the worst. I finally bit the bullet and started Laser Hair Removal yesterday and even though it was painful, I was practically beaming with happiness during the treatment.
As soon as my AF comes (finished Provera about a week ago) on day 3 I'm going to start my 2nd cycle of soy isoflavones to see if I can ovulate. Last month I did 80mg of soy and nothing happened except lots of painful cramping, but no O. This month I'm going to try 160mg of soy, days 3-7 of my cycle. Some women have had good luck with soy, and like I said, I want to Usually AF is here by now after taking Provera....the frustration never ends. I'm also taking handfuls of vitamins/supplements/herbs every morning. No idea if it's helping or not. I've been given a script for Clomid but am reluctant to try it without doing everything natural I can do first, including the dreaded diet and exercise....boo.
I'm in the middle of a great book called something like "The Ultimate PCOS Handbook" and it is really a tremendous resource. This website is also a huge source of support for me - I check it almost daily for different things that come to mind. If nothing else, just know you are definitely not alone. We are all here for the same reasons.
Oh my gosh. I am so glad to hear your story. For me we didn't know what was causing all of the infertility (or what was causing me not to ovulate) so we started Clomid right away and it wasn't until after my second round and more labwork that the doctor diagnosed the PCOS. If we would have known about the PCOS first I would have wanted to go the more natural route first too. Since the Clomid is not working for me at the moment, the doctor is going to try one more month at the highest dose and see....after that (if it doesn't work) I will most likely try soy. Where do you buy it? Also what vitamins are you currently taking? I have started on a low carb (no flour/refined sugar, etc) diet and feel like I should be taking some supplements? Are you also taking Prenatal Vitamins?
Thanks for the recommendation on the book...I will definietly be picking up a copy.
Agggghhhhh I just wrote this huge reply and accidentally deleted it. And now I have to leave for Easter Dinner.
Check out the TTC with soy thread on this site. I can't post the link. If you search for my name, it's probably the only other thread I'm participating in right now. Or just do a search for Soy Isoflavones on this website (can get at Walmart, got mine at Harmon Cosmetics). You should start pretty high since Clomid did not work for you, but you take it the same way as Clomid, either CD 3-7 or 5-9. I'm starting my 2nd try tomorrow at 160mg.
Looking for friends who have dealt with this. 
