It is just all hitting at once!

[J Rae]

First off I want to say hi! First time poster to these forums though I have been reading for a few days.

I was DX with PCOS the first time in 1998 when I had to have emergency surgury to removed 26 cysts (some the size of apples) on my Ovaries, Fallopian Tubes, and Uterus. Thankfully I was in a Catholic Hospital and they would not do a Hysterectomy on a 20 year old. Shortly after that the Endo said to me in a followup that I did not have PCOS and he made a mistake in that DX.

Fast Forward 2 years July 2000

One fateful morning I was driving to work and got in a huge car accident which left me with seizures due to a head trauma. At the time of the accident I was a normal weight. Within 14 months of the accident I was 100 pounds overweight. During the time I was gaining the weight I had horrible acne flareups, hair started growing in odd spots (under chin, upper lip, belly button) and I was told this was just my body adjusting to all the meds. Once I got stabalized on the medication I could not lose weight. No matter what I did, the weight stayed on.

Fast Forward 5 years to this month

I got married in January and in May, my husband and I decided to start trying to have a child. We knew that it would be difficult because in the 1998 fiasco they had to rebuild my tubes which left them a scarred up mess. Nonetheless we knew that if we tried and prayed a lot and trusted God that we might be blessed with a child. In September, I went to have my annual well woman exam and I was showing my Gyn. the bald spots on my head. I had gotten 2 fairly large bald spots on my head about 3 months before the wedding so of course everyone thought it was stress. I was assured that the hair would grow back. A year later I am still bald in those spots. My Gyn. of course had my history and started putting two and two together. I expressed my desire to have a child and he suggested that I go ahead and go see an infertility specialist.

I found a wonderful Inf. Spec. who sat down and took a very thorough history from me. The first thing she did was order Blood tests and an ultrasound. So I gave blood that day and came back a week later for the US and visit with her. As she had suspected, I had PCOS. My isulin was shockingly high while my blood sugar was low. My Estrogen, progestren, and Testosterone were all screwed up as well. She told me that I had all the classic signs of PCOS and Diabetes to boot. She has now referred me to an Reproductive Endo to manage my case. I see him tomorrow.

The part that is hitting me so hard is, I am now trying to manage PCOS, Epilepsy, and Diabetes. Thankfully my seizures are well under control but the thought of adding in another medication which will invariably throw off my seizure threshold as well as trying to learn to manage my insulin, when I already eat a healthy diet and exercise, has thrown me for a loop.

I tend to like to take care of things naturally so my first stop was my local health food store/friendly herbalists who have never steered me wrong. They suggested some supplements that might help and I plan on talking to Dr. Gill tomorrow about them. I am also wondering if I have had PCOS all this time and this is why I have been unable to lose weight... Once I get the insulin and other hormones back to normal, will my weight come off a bit easier?

I'm sorry this is so long, I just feel lost.

[Jashobeam]

Welcome to SC!

[Eva37]

welcome

[Mustard Seed]

J Rae - I'm so sorry for all that you've had to go through the past few years. I'm glad that you have been dx and are going to have an appointment soon to find out how to balance your medications. I can't give you much advise or help on any herbs or the medications that you've been given, since I've only been on clomid, but I know there are plenty of cysters here to help you out. I'm glad you found SC!

[CathyWood]

Welcome to SC