Thread: PCOS and the pill

Hey Julia

I'm 22 at the moment and the pill is the only medication my GP and endocrinologist have me on at the moment. I'm not really in the same situation cos I never had any period irregularities or probs with acne, though I have a hormone imbalance and excess hair probs (which is what the pill is supposed to correct and I don't seem to see much difference when I go off it). Have you thought about going to a doctor to find out if there is an alternative medicine you can take?

I guess you could try going off it for a while to see what happens. My friend has had acne probs with PCOS and found that a doctor could prescribe some sort of cream for it (she has since been put on the pill as well to regulate her irregular /heavy periods, but the cream fixed the acne problem before she started taking the pill). Have you had any blood tests done to determine whether the acne is a result of a hormonal imbalance?

Hi Julia,
I was diagnosed with PCOS many years ago, when I was around 18 years old. The solution at the time was to go on birth control to control the symptoms, which I did. Several times over the years I asked if anything needed to be done to recheck the PCOS, etc and was told that if I wasn't having any additional problems and as long as I didn't want to try to get pregnant, the best solution was to stay on the BCP.

It wasn't until just over a year ago ( 15 or so years since I went on the BCP) when my DH and I decided we wanted to try to have a baby that I even attempted to come off the BCP. Within a few months the signs of PCOS started to come back, and as you might have figured out from my signature, we are still struggling with infertility.

While I still feel that to a certain extent BCP were a good treatment for me, in retrospect there are a few things that I would have done differently.
I would have learned about PCOS in the way that I started doing a year ago. When I was first diagnosed I was told I had a "testosterone imbalance" and at 18 years old I don't think I every fully understand what this whole thing was about. When I asked the doctors over the years, they didn't seem worried, so I didn't worry. I wish I understood the implication on fertility most of all, but also about the whole insulin connection and alternatives for treating the disease.

There is SO much more known about PCOS now as compared to then. I definitely would say educate yourself about everything related to the disease and then discuss treatment options with your doctors based on your individual situation.

Hope that's the kind of insight you were looking for.

Sorry - no experience with what you've described, but thanks for those thoughts - *drools* ice cream....no! bad! bananas good!

Don't apologise for being 'self-focused'!! These are things you want to ask about and that's what this site is for! Good luck with finding more answers

Hi Julia in NY,

I think it might be worth going to see an endocrinologist. Gynocologists like to hand out birth control pills because it's often a simple solution.....but it's not always the best solution for everyone.

You might talk to the endocrinologist about trying Metformin, which is an insulin-sensitizer that has been shown to help restore a normal hormonal balance for women with PCOS -- even for women who don't seem to have an insulin imbalance (used particularly when fertility is desired.) Depending on your PCOS symptoms, that might be something to try.

You might also try a different brand of birth control pill -- the amount of estrogen and progestin in these things can vary enormously from brand to brand....and there are also a whole bunch of different progestins that have different effects....

A good endocrinologist is probably the right person to discuss all the pros and cons with. I'd say that the typical GP/primary care doctor/obgyn/etc would not be sufficiently knowledgeable to provide you with any real help.

Good luck!

Julia, I totally agree with what Nicole wrote - a good endocrinologist is key.

With regard to you leaving for 3 months, I think I would postpone any changes to your medications / treatments until you return. It would probably be a good idea to start searching out the doctor you would like to see now and maybe even meet to come up with a plan of action for when you return.

Best of luck to you.

(BTW...yes, as PCOSers my understanding is that we are more prone to diabetes)