New thin cyster -- does this sound like PCOS to you??
Hi Thin Cysters,
Ugh, I am feeling so overwhelmed. I would so, so appreciate some feedback! Reading your posts has been wonderful so far -- thank you ALL for your amazing contributions.
I was diagnosed by my gyno a few months ago with PCOS. I had gone off the pill after 7 years (on Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo for most of that) in April; come September, I had still not gotten a period. On top of that, I had lost 2/3 of my hair, and had started growing a ridiculous amount of hair on my face and chest.
My gyno "felt around" and said that I don't have any cysts on my ovaries. But she diagnosed me with PCOS due to my symptoms, and the fact that before I started the pill, when I was a teenager, my periods were heavy, painful, and usually 5-10 days later every cycle. I got bloodtests done; my fasting glucose is normal, so no IR, and my thyroid is normal. She said even my hormones were normal, though my testosterone was slightly elevated (and she emphasized slightly, saying it was so small, it wasn't really even "clincally significant.")
Would you all call this PCOS? I feel like my body forgot how to induce its own period, how to regulate my hormones naturally. I'm dismayed, because I felt SO GREAT off bc -- my energy, sex drive and happy moods came back. But my gyno said my only option was to go back on bc. I did, and 6 weeks later my hair is looking a lot better, thankfully. But I can't stay on this for long -- my moods are all over the place, I've gained 5 lbs in a month, and I'm exhausted all the time. I hate the Pill. I went to a GP last week and she prescribed metformin. But I don't WANT to take any more synthetic drugs if I don't NEED to! It's scary how easily doctors write presctiptions, and how capriciously they diagnose PCOS. My mom wants me to see an endocrinologist, but why would I pay another copay? To have just one more doctor listen to my problems for all of 3 minutes and tell me to go back on the Pill?
I'm going to try and go off the Pill again. And I am going to try to regulate my hormones herbally, with licorice and peony, and saw palmetto. But who knows if it will work. I exercize regularly and am a very healthy eater, and am smack dab in the middle of my normal BMI range -- I weigh 145 and am 5'8".
So I guess my questions for you all are...is this really PCOS? Is there anyone out there with symptoms like mine? Any suggestions on how to get a freaking period???
Again, thank you ALL for your wisdom and sharing your experiences! And a special thank you to Kat. Your time and support for all the women on this site is amazing!
I've just been through all of this. First of all, many cysts associated with PCOS are measured in millimeters, so they are not all palpable. The only way to rule out cysts would be a transvag ultrasound which probably should have been done. She would have been able to feel if they were enlarged (which they often are but not always). As far as your hormones go, did you get a full list of which tests they did and what your levels were? If not, I would. Doctors tend to generalize lab results (good, bad, not too bad) to keep it simple instead of breaking it all down for you to truly understand your condition. Testosterone is one thing to look at, but so is LS FSH ratios, DHEA. Another thing to keep in mind is that although this is called polycystic ovarian syndrome, cysts on the ovaries are not the root problem. They are more of a symptom which some PCOSers don't have. Basically they go by irregular menses, cysts, and altered hormones to diagnose, and if you have any 2 of these 3 then they go ahead and diagnose it. I will say your symptoms really do support the PCOS diagnosis. As far as birth control goes, it is speculated that it may hide the symptoms but exacerbate the underlying condition of PCOS. I had no problems until I came off a 5 year stint on Yasmin, but like I said that is still speculation. As far at the Metformin, I would research that a little more before you rule it out. I am not IR, but Met has helped me so far. I have been on it for about 3 weeks and my acne is 90% better and no more deep cysts! It hasn't restored my ovulation yet, but it may take a few months to level out or a slightly increase in my doseage. Also, it had show to be especially effective with us thin cysters. Often in cysters who aren't eating well do have lessened symptoms when they eat better, but, like you, I already eat healthy and exercise. If you wish to try natural alternatives I wish you the best of luck, and if you find anything that works please share!! For me, I feel much better on Met, and I felt like that's what was best for me. I'm sure I've left things out, but this is what is fresh in my mind so I hope it helps. This website has definitely helped me since I have been diagnosed (much more than any of my doctors). Utilize it often!! Welcome to the process and good luck!!
I know how you feel! I was diagonosed about 8 years ago after missing periods and have pretty much been on BCP to manage my symptoms ever since. I recently decided that I wanted to get control of my symptoms naturally and stopped taking BC, I've been taking supplements and low-gi diet and have been feeling so much better, lots of energy, great moods, no more insomnia, I'm motivated to stay on my diet and exercise (I'm a thin cyster, but still have room to be healthier), before I would struggle with sticking with it. I haven't felt like "myself" in a long time and I now realize my overall feeling of malaise and irratibility have been due to the BCP! I feel so much better without taking it! But... since stopping the pill, I too have suffered terrible hair loss, my hair had been gradually thinning through the years, but nothing that ever concerned me, but for the past couple of months it has been falling out dramatically. I also started breaking out pretty bad. I couldn't deal with it, so I am about three weeks back into taking the pill unfortunately. My hair is still falling out though at this point and I feel back to my miserable self, I fallen off the diet and exercise wagon too. I know I could try a different pill, I currently take YASMIN, but I was really trying to get my cycles and symptoms under control without BCP... my husband and I want kids someday and figure it is better to deal with this now rather than then. I don't like to take prescriptions or medications, I feel the same way you do about that. But I feel stuck at this point.
I probably will finish my BCP through the end of the year, and then give it another try without them. I'll continue with my supplements and natural remedies in the meantime and hopefully I will fare better the second time around!
Good luck!
Last edited by kimberlynaturally; 11-06-2009 at 10:38 PM.
Ohmygosh, thank you both so much for your reply. I am so sorry to hear that you all are going through all this same miserable stuff, but it is really nice to know I'm not alone!
Kimberly, it def seems like we're on the same wavelength!! I pray your hair loss slows soon. I've only been back on the pill ~6 weeks, but about 3 weeks ago it really slowed to losing less than 100 hairs/shower (which is normal). Plus I've gotten new baby hairs on my crown, so that's such a relief too. Of course, they may fall out the second I stop the pill again...but with these moods, I think it's a risk I need to take. I pray your hair loss regulates soon.
And I so know what you mean about falling off the diet wagon...gaining back that baby belly after starting back on the Pill depressed me so much, so what did I do? Emotion eat!! BAD idea, lol. It's amazing how much it can affect your moods and energy levels, and yet docs have no problem handing 'em out like candy. It's pretty scary.
Thank you so much for the perspective re: the cysts, Nikki. My doc said she wasn't going to bother w/ the ultrasound because it would cost $$ and i had 2 of the pcos symptoms, like you said, so she was just going to call it pcos and that's that. And I probably do have pcos. But throughout this whole process, I have just felt so ... unempowered! I feel like doctors are in bed with teh insurance companies and big pharma, and it really scares me that in less than 5 mins a doc could diagnose me with such a serious condition, write me some prescriptions (she literally gave me a Rx for bcp and one for metformin, and told me to let her know which one i chose to fill!) and send me on my way. Thank you girls for making me feel less alone ANyhoo, I will get my hands on my lab results and have to interpret them myself. Thank goodness for this site; us gals, sadly, need to just take matters in our own hands!!!
Accupuncture starts tomorrow, and serious herb regimine in 2 weeks after this cycle of bcp ends. If I have success, I'll be sure to let you know. Thanks again
Ever since I've posted a response I have been reading up on natural progesterone cream. I don't want to say to much about it since I don't know much yet, but it sounds promising. I think I am going to try it. There is a great info on this and other natural treatments in the alternative treatment section so I thought I would throw that out there, too.
Thanks for the great link!! So helpful! May I ask what brand of cream you decided to purchase? I found one online called Oasis Serene that looks good; the ingredients look very pure...
I guess the key is USP bio identical progesterone (no wild yam). Also, be careful of the size of application. Some creams have a higher content of progesterone, and you want about 20 mg per day (so that might be 1/8-1/4 teaspoon depending on brand). I'm still trying to decide which brand is the most cost effective yet high quality.
Hi Nikki! Well I've been searching all over, and I can't seem to find why creams with wild yam root should be avoided. Would you mind sharing your reasoning / info?
Thanks!
I guess my language was a little misleading.... here is an excerpt from Dr Lee's page:
"USP vs. Wild Yam Extract - BIG Difference!
Wild yam or wild yam extract that has not been processed in a lab is not progesterone, is ineffective and can create unwanted side effects. Even though wild yam contains diosgenin, the base molecule for
progesterone, there are no enzymes in the human body that will convert diosgenin into progesterone.
Dr. John Lee, the leading authority on progesterone cream, states in his book "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" that "there is no evidence that the human body converts diosgenin to hormones."
Here’s the confusing part; Almost every USP progesterone cream gets its start from soy or yam. However, in the laboratory some parts of the diosgenin are cleaved and progesterone is the result.
Creams marketed as "wild yam extract" progesterone creams missed the crucial laboratory processing step that allows the transformation of diosgenin into progesterone.
Yam extract IS NOT natural progesterone. Insist on USP natural progesterone. Just remember to buy only USP grade progesterone cream. Women who use a properly formulated USP progesterone cream almost
always experience benefits.
You get what you pay for and cheaper is not always better. Unconverted diosgenin is a cheap way to produce a progesterone cream so a markedly low price is usually a good clue that the cream has not been converted.
In general, a $10 jar of progesterone cream is not going to do you much good. A $50 jar of progesterone cream may provide the same benefits as a $30 jar of progesterone cream. Be a smart shopper and
take a good look at the ingredient list. Using the criteria above to select a couple of *quality* progesterone creams. Then you can let price decide between quality progesterone creams."
I guess the key is to make sure it is USP progesterone- because that process makes wild yam into the progesterone our bodies can actually utilize. Some lotions are just wild yam extract and it can be converted into progesterone for our use, but they skipped that step. Hope this clears it up. I was a little confused about it at first too.
New thin cyster -- does this sound like PCOS to you?? 
ANyhoo, I will get my hands on my lab results and have to interpret them myself. Thank goodness for this site; us gals, sadly, need to just take matters in our own hands!!!
