Hi all. I've had a very frustrating time of it. I've decided to share my story and something new I'm starting this week....so people can do the same or Avoid the same Pitfalls.
Here is my brief history.... I was diagnosed with Severe Stein Leventhal/PCOS in May of 2005. My doctors still use the term Stein Leventhal so I do as well. I was told at the time it had gone unmanaged and unchecked for so long that I was really in a bad state.
I struggled with my weight most of my childhood but esp after beginning to menstruate. I rarely had periods and gained weight without eating a high calorie diet. I had gone to many many doctors during my teens and was always told to workout more and cut down and that I needed to manage my stress better. By 2nd year of University I weighed 247. That was 1986. My room mates INSISTED I find out what was wrong because they never saw me eat very much and they were right. I had always had a very healthy and never overly caloric diet. It took a few months of tests but I was diagnosed with what they called "Food Allergies'. The doctors told me that I could not properly digest certain foods and should therefore never eat them again. Wanting to be thin I gave up the following 7 foods immediately 1. Pasta 2. Potatoes 3 All Breads 4 Beef and any form of Meat 5 Chicken 6 Celery 7 they put Bananas and Peaches in a 'sometimes' category.
I gave up those foods for 21 years and only recently began eating chicken again.
I lost about 50 pounds within a few months and then reached a plateau that lasted for months. At around the same time I began being treated for my lack of a normal menstrual cycle and began Provera and a Duretic. My weight began to drop again and I got down to 137lb (loss of 110 pounds). That was a perfect weight for me...I tried a little lower and looked sickly. I kept the weight off until 2000. (just over 12 yrs) It was hard work but I LOVED being the 'girl who used to be pudgy'.
I was really happy and incredibly successful in my life.
My periods still were rarely regular but better than they had been. No one could ever explain this to me. In 1998 I was taken off of Provera because my doctor moved away. My new Gyno would not represcribe. My weight began to really be a problem. I increased my exercise levels dramatically thinking it was just part of being in my early 30's. I asked my G.P. for assistance and was constantly told to exercise more, eat less and work harder at keeping the weight off. I was able to keep my weight in check although it was a NIGHTMARE until the New Years Millenium. What began to happen was my weight would go down a few pounds whenever I really concentrated on things and then would slowly creep up no matter what diet I followed or how active I was.
I had an emotional low at the beginning of this century. I'm told now by a Naturopath that being taken off of Provera caused the first increase in my SL/PCOS symptoms and then my increased stress levels in early 2000 caused everything to go nuts. I began gaining weight at a good pace. Usually 20 pounds a year...sometimes only 5...sometimes 30. My doctors kept brushing me off...told me to join a club...."you mean a nicer workout club than I already attend"...and always I was to cut down. They never believed how hard I was working on things.
I tried nearly everything!!! I followed Weight Watchers for two months and gained 14 pounds. I followed Nutrisystem for 30 days and gained 3.5 pounds. I followed Jenny Craig for one month and gained 5 or 6 pounds. I followed the 'Hospital Cabbage Soup Diet' that was all the rage a few years ago and gained 2.5 pounds in one week. I Sommersized....and gained. I Atkin's...and lost about 8 pounds in the first week and then watched as I continued to follow the program exactly and gained every pound back over the next 3 weeks. I ended up neither gaining or losing at the end of 30 days.
PLEASE trust you own instincts with doctors...if you know you are doing things correctly NEVER let them make it your fault.
By 2005 I was 221 lb and was finally diagnosed with Stein Leventhal /Poly Cystic Ovarian Disease by a well trained OBGYN. I began Yazmin and he said the weight would just 'fall off of me'. RIGHT. He also said that I was never diagnosed correctly because I have great skin.
Ladies...please know that you do not have to have every symptom to have a serious case of this...I have NO skin blotches and had only 7 light chin hairs...and all the hairs diasppeared as soon as I started Yazmin.
The weight did not fall off AT ALL. My OBGYN said after three appointments that I had a 'tough' case and should begin seeing an Endocrinologist.
The first told me I could NEVER be exercising as much or eating as restrictive diet as I am...and told me that he "would teach me of the power of Fruit'. He was no help.
My second Endo put me on more pills than I care to list....sometimes as many as 17 in a day. She called it a 'chemo-therapy' cocktail for my disease and said this would help. I did lose some weight (10 pounds) when starting on Metformin but now have been told that is what doctors refer to as the 'Met Bump.' When I had lost only 3 pounds more in ONE year and she was Ecstatic I knew I needed to look in other places. She admitted she had not thought I would even lose that much.
My advice to other people is to ask up front to your ENDO what they expect will happen to you under their care. I was expecting to lose 30 pounds and she thought it was wonderful when I lost 3....clearly not a good match.
Chief of Endocrinology at the biggest Toronto Hospital told me she never has any luck getting weight off of SL/PCOS patients and that I needed to 'get my head around that'. She told me I was very pretty for weighing nearly 215 lbs...and that I should just go out and live my life. She told me to enjoy my summer...have some wine...eat a bit of chocolate even and it was really my own 'deep concern' over all of this that was the problem. I was also to go on a 1250 cal diet supervised by her RD. Within less than 2 months my weight had skyrocketed to 236 and my bp was thru the roof.
UGH!
After more tests I was finally diagnosed with a concurrent case of Metobolic Syndrome X....basically my Metabolism is busted...doesn't work...turned off.
Ugh again!!!
My cousin (an RD) knew I was really suffering so sent me an article that shows that one of the best things for severe SL/PCOS patients is to follow for the rest of their lives a low carb HYPO-caloric diet. I again cut down. From about 800 cal per day to 500. I could only last for about 10 days though and then increased my cal count to about 800-900 again.
My weight didn't budge. I seriously considered suicide. No one seemed to be taking my case very seriously. I really feel this disease is a nightmare.
My family doctor, who now admits he did not handle the situation correctly encouraged me to realize that many doctors are making a small fortune from desperate women willing to pay nearly anything and/or come into their offices as often as they request. He told me to 'invest' in going on the Dr. Bernstein diet. He said he has seen really great results and he also told me Insurance plans would cover it.
I called every Insurance company out there and was told Diet plans are Never covered. So I’m going to do this on my own. Dr. B clinic's are located all over Ontario and BC, Alberta, Florida and now in Virginia. They eventually want to be world wide… www.drbdiet.com
Here is the Breakdown………… The cost is $315 for a consultation…where they explain the diet to you. Then you pay $600 for one month...slightly less if I sign up for more weeks upfront + $40 for the cost of some supplements such as Cal K (a calcium and Potassium mix and a super powerful multi vitamin). That covers you for ONE month. I will pay $600 every month until I reach goal. They put my Goal at 120 btw. They also want you to buy there own food scales and other add-ons but I said no. There is NO tax involved and what the money gets you is a three day a week weigh in…..and six shots per week of a super powerful B12, B6 supplement that also contains other secret ingredients. The shot apparently puts you into a fast fat burn. I opted for 3 dble shots.
They offer a complete guarantee of all but $100 back if I do not lose weight….or the option of not paying any extra until I lose 10 pounds ….so If my body does what it usually does and starts to gain after a few days, they will guarantee me a loss of 10 pounds before I have to put out any more money. They will test my sugars and take blood every week or two. They claim that if something bigger is going on with your body, they will get to the bottom of the problem. You also get to see a Doctor every 2 weeks if there are problems or 8 weeks if all if going well. They claim also that the tests they give you will reveal if a person is cheating.
The Diet is very simple. I have often followed the plan already but without signing up for the shots. I have never lost weight so am paying a small fortune for the supplement shots. I actually can only maintain my weight if I eat Half of what they suggest, Since this is my final straw I figured I had to be totally committed to the Plan and see if it really works.
A. 2 Vegetable servings per day. Each one of 8 ounces in size. They can on occasion be eaten in one sitting. B. 2 Fruits per day. Each one the size of a medium apple or 8 strawberries or ¼ of a cantaloupe. C. 2 Proteins per day. Each 3.5 ounces in size. They can never be eaten at the same time. D. 2 Breads per day. They tend to be 5 Triscuits per serving or ½ slice of Hollywood Whole Wheat Bread or 1 slice of Bodywise 7 gr Bread. They also can be eaten together. No sauces or milks or sugars are allowed. One caffeinated drink per day. 8 glasses of water minimum. Sweetener is allowed as long as it is not in powdered form….they claim that packets of substitute sugars regularly have sugar incorporated into them. The entire food list is on their website. I’m trying to keep it very simple for now…No bells or whistles. They claim that I will go into Ketosis and stay there for months at time. This happens on Day three.
They also have been fairly clear with me that I should expect to have some of these foods taken off of my list within a few weeks if my case of SL/PCOS is as severe as I have been diagnosed. IE. I will soon only have one bread and one Fruit and eventually only one vegetable.
No one has answered my question regarding what will happen if I don’t go into Ketosis….since I check all the time and never go into that mode. They did say that if I never go into Ketosis they will insist that I take the Fruit servings out of the Plan. I think I can expect that by next week. I started on Tuesday and currently am down 2 pounds. (235.4 - 233) I did ask at the clinic whether I could have a nurse assigned to me that was at least familiar with my condition and they guaranteed me that but so far no one at the clinic has ever heard of Stein Leventhal. A few have heard of PCOS but have no idea why PCOS would lead to weight gain……let alone enormous weight gain.
again...us girls have to teach everyone else about this. I asked whether I would experience stomach or Pancreatic pain on this plan. In the past years my Pancreas starts to over work whenever I try to make my body go into a diet mode. It is appartently the SL/PCOS trying desperately to keep the weight on me.
Whatever my Pancreas does to sabotage the diet is incredibly painful. Dieting used to feel great….you know that wonderful euphoric feeling of losing weight….but now it always feels like knives all over my stomach. They said that would not happen but the pain started within a few hours. Now I can barely stand up properly. According to the wizards at Bernstein I will be less than 140 pounds (my goal ..not theirs...they say I should weigh 120 pounds.) by next May 24th weekend. At a cost of just a few dollars under $5000....I think I can safely assume it will take my body much longer and cost me significantly more than the original quote.
I'm not sure if this 'report' will be helpful to anyone. I'm clearly at my wits end and perhaps 'journalling' about my expereince will help me as well. I also wanted people to have up to date numbers on Bernstein. I also wanted to share my (fingers crossed) SUCCESS.
The ladies at the Bernstein clinic I am attending told me this would work as long as I had a good attitude. I tried to share some of my history with them but got no where. I know my nerves are strained....I know my attitude needs improvement. If I see some headway I think I'll feel more hopeful about everything.
Let me know if this is helpful r
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Starting Weight 235.4. Start Date Oct 23, 2007 Goal Weight 138. Current weight 204.
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Last edited by redheadedrobyne; 03-19-2008 at 12:15 AM.
Reason: spell check
Quick update.
As promised I went into Ketosis late tonight. All of my stomach pain from the past few days has disappeared.
They encourage you to drink TONS of water once in Ketosis so the weight will Fall Off....so I'm filling my Brita and then filling myself.
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Starting Weight 235.4. Start Date Oct 23, 2007 Goal Weight 138. Current weight 204.
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I was down another pound at this mornings weigh in.
(Day 4 = 232 = loss of 3)
The nurses were also nicer and more informed than the past few days. Either I started to really bug them or they had some sort of group meeting and decided to learn more about SL/PCOS.
I really have had it up to here with people saying tht they know about what we are going thru but indeed they know next to nothing!!
One nurse took the time to explain a bit more in depth about what my Pancreas does to try to override any potential weight loss. She said it feels like your passing a Kidney stone and I finally thought..."someone is getting this".
I'll keep everyone posted.
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Starting Weight 235.4. Start Date Oct 23, 2007 Goal Weight 138. Current weight 204.
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WOW!!! You are sooo much more dedicated then I am. Congrats on the weight loss you have already achieved! I really hope this works for you Yes let this be your success story!! My fingers are crossed for you
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Someone just requested information about the supplements the Bernstein plan requires you to take.
They want you to take a very enriched B12 and B6 multi vitamin. They share tons of medical research that states that B6 can help regulate your hormones. They claim women especially start to have a problem with B6 once they are in their 20's.
They sell Swiss Formula B + to you or they advice you to take double the amount of Jamieson STRESS-EASE. (That is what I am doing as I had already purchased a ton of that)
They also require you to buy CAL K from them. It is a Calcium enriched Potassium supplement.
They say that it is not adviseable to take that supplement unless you are really wanting to stick to a hypo-caloric diet plan. I take 2 sets of 2 every day....always before 2 in the afternoon because apparently it can keep you awake at night.
The vitamin shots they give you three times a week are secretive and they won't divulge what is in them. They are high in B12 and B6 and other stuff. They claim Dr. B invented the concoction about 30 years ago and found it VERY helpful for weight loss and weight management.
So far I feel wonderful....no cravings....no hunger....and my hair and skin look incredible. The B12 and B6 stuff is having a great reaction on my body.
Feel free to ask any other questions.
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Starting Weight 235.4. Start Date Oct 23, 2007 Goal Weight 138. Current weight 204.
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hi sbcwpcos,
I got your email and tried to write you back. It said I have not made enough posts to participate in private emails.
Thank you for you links and information.
I had read them all already. I know there has been tons of bad press over the years about the dr. b diet. That is why I wanted to blog about my own experience....so others can either avoid or decide it might be right for them.
It was voted the best overall diet in Toronto for the past 6 years. So it has had some good press too.
I plan on sharing my story for a while here.
If the nurses are horrible to me at the clinic....you guys will hear about it.
If I lose 25 pounds and then stop....you'll hear about it.
If I get down to 138 and decide to model swim wear for Versace next summer...you'll hear about it.
.....and if I gain it all back...I will be terrible frustrated...but I will post that as well.
Remember I GAINED weight on every other diet.
Thanks for your input.
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Starting Weight 235.4. Start Date Oct 23, 2007 Goal Weight 138. Current weight 204.
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Hello R...I forgot about the "so many post" for PM! I figured you had probably done more than you fair share of research. I just like to look out for my cysters and wanted to pass along information!
I am learning that it is a slow process, but hopefully this class I am taking will give me the insight I need! I have already lost 7.8...not a lot but it is something!! i wish you best of luck and look forwarded to reading your updates!
__________________ SARA(33) BARRY (36) To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Married 09/17/05
Praying for baby #1
Trying to get control over the weight! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Exercise goal: Exercise!
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My weight stayed the same today.
I'm still feeling great and sleeping better than I have in a long time. Usually when I really concentrate on dieting I just lay in bed all night waiting for breakfast to arrive. Not this time.
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Starting Weight 235.4. Start Date Oct 23, 2007 Goal Weight 138. Current weight 204.
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My Story.... 
Yes let this be your success story!!
My fingers are crossed for you
