I have suspected I had PCOS for years now - I've never had a regular period, my female relatives all have it, and at my lightest I was exercising excessively and eating next to nothing! But no doctor had diagnosed me.
In May, I had severe lower left abdominal pain and went to the doctor. He ordered an ultrasound, said I had an 8 cm cyst, and sent me to a gyno. My gyno looked at the ultrasound, took my medical history, and diagnosed me with PCOS. He prescribed birth control (lo-ortho or something like that) and gave me a referral to a nutritionist.
I started the pill, which makes me crazy. I've been depressed, argumentative, and fatigued. I spot mid-cycle and have horrible cramps two weeks out of the four. I have had diarrhea. I called my gyno, four times. He never got back to me. I called my family doc. He never got back to me. So I called a specialist, and after two months, I finally get to see him tomorrow.
I used to view diagnosis as this grand wonderful thing. A bright, happy starting point for me to finally be fixed. And now I'm so drained, exhausted, and frustrated that I'm afraid it's really just the start of a long journey full of tests, meds, and heartache.
I don't know what to expect tomorrow. I'm glad to go, I'm hopeful for answers, but I'm also afraid of what those answers might be.
Well, I was hoping for some words of encouragement or some support. Thought that's what this was about. Guess I'll go back to just reading the other posts and seeing other people get support. Awesome.
welcome to soul cysters! i hope that your appointment goes well. Feel free to email me or talk to me on aim. You can find my info in my signature below
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welcome to sc, all the best for your dr appointment. what i always do is write down everything that you want to ask/say so you dont forget. just a thought.
eva
Like you I am new to pcos. I've been reading a thread where a large number of ladies dx with pcos have been perscribed Metformin and had success with regulating insulin levels ( elevated levels cause us not to ovu.) I have been on 1000 mgs since 7/18/09 and feel pretty good. My DH and I have been married since 2003 and he is 30 and I am 31. Be 32 in few months. There were many success stories and I hope you and I have one too.
I went to the doctor yesterday and he was such a great guy. I'm going to the University of Chicago Medical Center in their Endocrinology group. He took my history but wants to confirm I have PCOS with bloodwork because he didn't trust my last doctor (I didn't trust him either, which is why I moved doctors!).
To have the bloodwork done, the pill the old doctor put me on needs to be out of my system, so I'm waiting 6-8 weeks. And so that I can get everything for free, he is putting me in a clinical study, at least for the initial testing. They are going to test for sleep apne (sp?) and a barrage of blood tests - the glucose tolerance test, a prolactin test, thyroid, cbc, etc.
Once we get all the results, we will discuss whether I qualify for the clinical study and whether I want to try it. The study includes a five day hospitalization where they would do all kinds of testings on me - including hormonal testings, insulin testing, glucose testing, genetic testing, a fat biopsy (think they could accidently suck out more than needed???) and sleep studies each night. It would be free, in fact, I'd get paid $500 to participate. So we'll see what happens. I really hope I can get included in the study, and if I can't, then at least my initial testing will all be free. After four full days of testing I'll either be given a drug or a CPAP and testing one final night in a sleep study.
I guess this doctor thinks there is a link between apnae and pcos, and is going to try testing it. He said that even after adjusting the numbers for the amount of over weight people having apnae, there still was a statistical link. He thinks that if you're tired all the time, of course, it will be harder for you to lose weight. So maybe treating sleep apnae in people with pcos will help alleviate some symptoms.
Thanks for welcoming me, girls. This has been a really tough time for me and I've been on an emotional rollercoaster. I'm terrified I won't be able to have kids, and my boyfriend and I have been putting it off and now I'm worried I'll never get to have them.
I know all about prolonging things :S About 2 yrs I think. Realizing you said your getting your test and stuff for free, I keep forgetting folks in the US pay for all that. I honestly believe if I didn't live in Canada I wouldn't of been able to afford anything and I'm so grateful. Good luck on your testing and I hope everything works out for you
I know all about prolonging things :S About 2 yrs I think. Realizing you said your getting your test and stuff for free, I keep forgetting folks in the US pay for all that. I honestly believe if I didn't live in Canada I wouldn't of been able to afford anything and I'm so grateful. Good luck on your testing and I hope everything works out for you
Yeah, the American health "care" system suuuuucks. And I'm insured, and upper-middle class. And I'm swimming (not yet drowning, but I am struggling) in medical bills. It's quite frustrating.
Interesting about the apnea, my dh worries about that with me sometimes... I guess that would explain me being tired and wanting to sleep so much, but the idiot doctors up here seem to think telling me I need to be on anti-depressants, lose weight, take bcp and it will be fine will make me feel better and never look any further!
New to all of this and feeling quite nervous 
all the best for your dr appointment. what i always do is write down everything that you want to ask/say so you dont forget. just a thought.
