Hey y'all, I've been around a little bit and have had PCOS for 8 years but I have been researching and finding out lots of new things that I want to talk to my Dr. about. He is my PCP but have never talked to him MUCH about PCOS because I was always just on BCP and always just got it refilled with him. However, I want to ask him about Met and possible IR. What kind of questions should I ask him and what kind of lab work do I need done? I am not completely sure he knows lots about it, so I want to be prepared. It's tomorrow! (FINALLY got insurance!!!)
So far I am going to ask to get Fasting Insulin and showing him some info I have on AN (I have had "psoriasis" for a couple years and that may be more accurate) and also ask him to start me on Metformin to see if that will help things (weight gain, hair, etc) and of course refill BCP so I don't get prego yet!
If you want to get lab testing done to determine if you're IR, all you really need is your fasting glucose and insulin (which if you're on BCP, would be ordered for the 3rd day of your off week). Have you ever had bloodwork done before? If not, I would assume he might order several other PCOS related tests along with the insulin and glucose.
I don't know about Metformin but generally if you take medications along with BCP, it can decrease the effectiveness of the latter. So if you still want to prevent pregnancy, definitely have your doctor weigh the pros and cons for you. Also if you are found to be IR, there are articles - some on this site - about how women with PCOS/IR shouldn't be treated long term with BCP.
So in short, ask your doctor what he thinks and get a second opinion if necessary.
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Thanks for the info. I have been on BCP for 8 years for PCOS which is what brought me here. I heard recently that it was terrible with IR and I do beleive I have the IR so I wanted to get it checked. I've had blood work done before but don't recall anything done about insulin, only the testosterone etc. at the endo about 5 years ago. I always told my doctors (moved a lot and had many PCP's since Diagnosed) that I have PCOS and that I have taken BCP's for it so they would just refill the RX and not ask any other questions...
I want to be treated completely though, not based on something I was told 8 years ago! That's like a million years in medical knowledge!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Navi
If you want to get lab testing done to determine if you're IR, all you really need is your fasting glucose and insulin (which if you're on BCP, would be ordered for the 3rd day of your off week). Have you ever had bloodwork done before? If not, I would assume he might order several other PCOS related tests along with the insulin and glucose.
I don't know about Metformin but generally if you take medications along with BCP, it can decrease the effectiveness of the latter. So if you still want to prevent pregnancy, definitely have your doctor weigh the pros and cons for you. Also if you are found to be IR, there are articles - some on this site - about how women with PCOS/IR shouldn't be treated long term with BCP.
So in short, ask your doctor what he thinks and get a second opinion if necessary.
Just wanted to say hello and welcome. I also was on birth control for several years, which kept my symptoms of pcos manageable, but i now believe, also disguised them and helped me not get diagnosed for so long. Like others have said, there is lots of info here for newly diagnosed women, hope your appointment goes well and keep us updated. I also have bad psoriasis, but they never knew what type it was, it's not as bad now, but i recently read some articles, and think it was part of the AN as well.
Not completely new...but have questions 
