I have PCOS and autoimmune thyroid disease (hypothyroidism). It took years to get the hypothyroidism diagnosis, I was diagnosed with PCOS very young. I was just told that the two diseases are feeding off of eachother and that I need to get under the care of a specialist to get things under control. I currently don't have insurance and walked away with nothing but bad news and being told that I may never get pregnant. So, now I'm doing as much research as I can on my own...I feel like I've been so uninformed all these years...the insulin-resistence thing is brand new info to me...years of always being sick and going to doctors and specialists and taking countless prescriptions and I'm just now starting to figure this out. I'm hopeful that lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, etc) will allow me to handle this naturally. Knowledge is power! Over the past few days I've done tons of research and started making changes. Right now I'm trying to sift through it all and find helpful books addressing natural ways to deal with: fertility (I was on birth control for years and didn't function without it, I've been off it for a couple years now and had been doing fine, a couple of months ago my period stopped coming all together), weight loss, FATIGUE, unwanted hair, emotional well-being, acne...I'd love a diet plan, recipes, natural alternatives/supplements...
I also have hypothroid, PCOS and no insurance. I was diagnosed with both conditions about 1 1/2 months ago by a "natural" doctor. I am currently taking Armour thyroid, which is a natural thyroid replacement rather than the synthetic Synthroid and using Progestorone cream to try to bring up my hormone levels. They also have me taking Saw Palmetto to try to decrease the testosterone levels, just started taking that so I haven't noticed anything yet. My worst symptoms were daily headaches and never realized that was from the thyroid and low hormones, but they have gotten much better with the Armour, still get them, but hopefully they will continue to get better. I also have the "hair" problem, weight and low energy. I am supposed to be on a no/low carb diet, no sugar, no dairy. Basically fruits, veggies, lean meats, etc. I am pretty new at this whole PCOS and thyroid thing, but let me know if I can give you anymore information.
Thanks! That is really helpful. I was on levothyroxin for a while but they suspected I was on the wrong dosage which could make things worse so I stopped taking it. The tests to figure out the right dosage would have resulted in another $1000 bill every 4-6wks. I also have headaches all the time...I remember when I was younger the doctor actually didn't believe me that I had headaches every day. I'll pick up some saw palmetto next time I get to GNC or a health food store. Where do you get armour thyroid? Let me know how you feel about the progesterone cream too. I hadn't heard anything about cutting out dairy...I feel like between the two I basically have to cut out everything. There are lists of fruits and veg that are bad for thyroid, no carbs, no sugar, no meat, no dairy,...what's left?! I just can't figure out the diet thing. Anyway, thanks again! Keep me updated.
I used to have IR, but that's gone now... for almost a year. I'm mostly vegan at home and vegetarian going out. I has started non-vegetarian low fat, but evolved to where I'm at fending off type II for over 10 years. Endoc. said it was up to me to carry on with the Glucophage or not. I've opted to switch to Glumetza and carry on to see if it helps further with weight.
I just weaned 6 months ago, so I went back on BCP. BIG improvement in how I feel there with hormones.
So my problems now are about getting the thyroid levels under better control.
I still feel a lot of fatigue, so getting out to exericse doesn't always happen. I don't always feel like my sleep is refreshing so that adds to the tiredness problem.
Very new to this. I've been told I have PCOS by the doctor after 7 months of trying to figure it out and me knowing this had to be it all along. But my thyroid is off as well. The TSH is normal but the Free T4 is low showing hypothyroid. Well, I've been taking Levo for 2 months and it didn't change the Free T4 one bit. It's a very low dose. The Dr. didn't prescribe the Met but instead an appetitte surpressant drug that's very expensive. I think this is the wrong way to go because I don't have a big appetitte problem. Not sure which way to go with this.
Adis, I just followed the same dosing as the bottle says, 2 a day. I believe you have to get a prescription for Armour Thyroid, my DO prescribed it for me. I am only taking it once a day and will have my blood work tested in May since I feel like I may need a higher dose. I felt really good for about a week and then kind of went back to the normal sluggish feeling. The progesterone cream hasn't made a difference yet, I was told it usually takes about 3 months to notice anything, I've been on it about 6 weeks and haven't noticed a thing. Now to just lose some weight and I'm sure that will help everything along too! Good luck, let me know if you find out any news.
I went back on the levothyroxine...I didn't know what else to do. I'm taking vitamins and all that stuff, trying to eat right and be active...still, I can't drag myself out of bed in the morning and struggle through the day. I hate being late and have been late for work just about every day lately. I think levo just makes me hungry. I'm officially frustrated again. I'm making all these changes and I'm not sure if any of them are the right changes :-(
Adis When I started my treatment, I started on levothyroxine and I was told to only use the brand, the reason to this is that the pharmacy does not always get their meds from the same place, and different places use different chemicals or the powder that makes the pill a certain color, and sometimes you could be allergic. the good thing about choosing the brand is that you will always be getting the same chemicals, I was also told to take vitamins, and flax seeds to help regulate my insulin resistance, I also started taking chromiun to regulate my sugar levels, and i noticed that as soon as i started following a diabetic diet i would not crave food that much... I was told that a good percentage of females with pcos tend to be insulin resistent... hope this helps.
PCOS/Hypothyroidism Help (new here) 
