I need advice

[AmberRN86]

Okay, so I am having some trouble getting diagnosed with PCOS. I am 23 years old andI have extremely irregular periods... sometimes I will bleed for 3 weeks straight and sometimes I won't have a period for 3 months. I am overweight and carry all of my weight in the midsection. In a matter of 3 months, I gained 50 lbs with no change in diet or exercise. In the last 3 years, I have begun growing a lot of thick, black hairs on my chin and upper lip. In the last few months, I have begun loosing clumps of hair from my head. I also have skin tags all over my neck and shoulders. My husband and I have been TTC for 10 months and have not been succesful. I don't think I have ever ovulated in my life. TTC is very difficult when your period is SSSOOO irregular. I went to an OBGYN who I actually heard about on this site, but the doctor was not available so I had to see the nurse practitioner. I told her my concerns about having PCOS and she said that there is no treatment for it anway and people with PCOS don't have infertility problems. She did all of all of the lab work for PCOS... LH, FSH, testoterone, TSH, fasting insulin, glucose, etc. Everything came back within normal limits, so she basically just told me that I am crazy and I don't have PCOS. I had been low carb dieting for 6 months prior to the lab tests and told her that... and she said that wouldn't affect my lab results. She then offered me birth control pills... and I was like "WHAT?! I just told you that I want to have a baby." So now, I don't know what to do because they refuse to write a refferal to a reproductive endocrinologist and won't do anything else for me! What should I do?

[katt_:)]

OMG...DO NOT EVER GO BACK TO THAT IGNORANT NURSE!! Holy crap...that is awful. Try to see the other dr who wasn't there or go back on the internet and find a specialist. Lab values for PCOSers don't always show anything. I know mine never did and I definitely have PCOS. Always have. If you've been on bcp's within the last 6 months they will affect those labs. I am so sorry you had to meet a medical practitioner like that. That's just ridiculas! There's no excuse and if you ever see that person again she needs to know it too. Scary!

[KatCarney]

the information here might help:

http://www.soulcysters.net/guide-und...-normal-63885/

http://www.soulcysters.net/quick-lin...esults-282115/

[kristen09]

Sadly, it can take time to find the right doctor. Wow, that was a bad experience! I would try to see the doctor at that facility, or at least complain about the nurse practitioner, and then I would find another doctor. Even if it's just your GP to start so that he/she can refer you to a good endo. I wish you luck.

[winnie0366]

WELCOME!! Sounds like one of the good things that came from your appointment is you getting the information to find this site. I would venture to say that the next good thing to come from your experience is that you are in tune with your body ~ go with your instincts!

Assuming that you have insurance, you need to find out if you have to have a referral to see a specialist. If so (and no matter what) you need to find another OB/GYN who will refer you to one. If you don't need one then try to make an apppintment with an RE or at least an endocrinologist. My tests are always borderline so one of the ways it was confirmed was through an ultrasound. It would also behoove you to ask to have your B-12 and Vitamin D levels checked. I'm not trying to scare you, but unfortunately there are some autoimmune issues that may mimic PCOS symptoms.

The other thing you may want to consider until you can work with a trusted doctor is pursue some diet changes. For example, overweight people tend to have too much estrogen (it's stored in the fat) and products, like soy for example mimic estrogen and thus make it more difficult to lose weight. Following the Mediterranean diet is an excellent start.

PCOS is a syndrome, not a disease, so what works for one woman will not always work for another. That being said, there are universal steps that you can take. The first would be to find a doctor that will truly help you. Part of the treatment to help you conceive just may involve a short-term use of birth control pills to help regulate your cycle a bit, though you and your doctor will need to decide that together. (Yikes! I'm starting to sound like a commercial!) You will also need to start taking a good prenatal vitamin, if you're not doing so already.

Continue to search for answers ~ there is hope ~ and you are NOT alone!

Good luck and best wishes