SOOOOO frustrated I could cry....AGAIN!

Sullangirl · 03-30-2006, 10:58 PM

Ok, here is the scoop. I am 26, been PCOS pretty much since puberty and I have a feeling that I am hypo. I was never a thin girl. Not really fat, but def. solid/curvy my whole life. Aroun 17 I started to put on a TON of weight. Pcos started getting really bad around then and I went and got it treated for the first time ever. Around 21 yrs old I lost like 40 lbs on a l/c diet without metfomin or other meds. At that point all i had done is just lc and that ws it. Now, I have since had 2 kids, (ages 3 and 1), and have found that after baby #2 PCOS went OUT OF CONTROL. I was not on anything the 3 years I was having babies and breastfeeding. Now I am trying to get it all back under control and find that even with lc the weight comes off soooooooo slow. I exercise 5 days a week. Cardio4-5 days 30-45 min. and weight training 2-3 days a week with a personal trainer. Since December of 2005 I have lose like 20 lbs. Now, I know it sounds like I am complaining..(I am LOL) but that seems VERY slow to me. I eat low GI, and I am now on met 1500 mg a day. Since starting met over 2 months ago I have lost only 4lbs....dont forget everything I do on a daily basis. Actually for the past month now the scale just sits at 200 lbs and won't budge. Literally, it just sits there. That is what sucks the most, being RIGHT THERE almost able to break under 200 and nothing i do is helping. Don't get me wrong, the muscle tone under my FAT is amazing. I am in better shape than I have been since a kid. I can jog for 15 min on the treadmill without stopping....that is a big deal for the girl that would run 4 steps and then puke and pass out! I am in great shape...u just can't tell cause of all the $%&#(@$ fat!!

I feel like there must be a bigger problem here other than the PCOS. I mean, if the I/R was being taken care of, shouldn't my body start to respond to the weight loss better. It should have started to drop more weight. Also, just other strange things...my hands and feet are ALWAYS freezing. I get sooo cold sometimes I just can't stand it. Also, my eyebrows right on the edge of each are shedding a bit. Hair on eyebrows and head is course and dry, and again....WEIGHT WILL NOT COME OFF!!

I am just soooo frustrated. I went to my endo and had him do the thyroid testing. For my T4 the range he was testing was 0.8 to 1.8. I had 0.9. I said..."isn't that something to be looked into?" He flatly said..you are PCOS, all those symptoms copy each other. Your only problem is the pcos and that is all we should treat u for." Doesn't that sound kinda odd? If I was .1 away from being low...shouldn't he have tried doing something else to check me out??? I am just soo frustrated.

My personal trainer back in Dec took me on a client cause she could relate to my situation. She was a proffesional body builder, but after 2 kids she found that NOTHING she did was helping her get the weight off...and she was still training hardcore. She went to an endo and was put on Armour...and has lost 40 lbs in 4 months!! I almost burst into tears when she told me the total wt. loss. I mean, i was VERY happy for her...but I felt like NOBODY listens to me. I know there is something wrong and I am just feeling really blue about it. I don't know what else to do other than work my *ss off like I have been doing. I also take a butt load of herbs and fish oil pills. I try to eat natural/organic as much as our grocery budget allows and have fast food MAYBE once a month and still order within 4-500 calories per meal.

I have theories, like for instance. Could it be possible that I have PCOS and the metformin DOES help to control the I/R-acne-hair etc...but thats it?? I mean since starting the met, I immediatly noticed a reduction in the amount of hair that grows back (i get laser treatments on my face) and also the ACNE. I do not get huge breakouts anymore...face is a little dryer and clearer. An occasional 1 or 2 zits per cheek, but not like the monsters I had been getting. If the only aspect of the PCOS that the met is not helping is the weight...than isn't there probably a bigger issue? Like maybe that part is controled by my crappy thyroid? I mean , litteraly, except for my exterior, i have NEVER had problems with PCOS on the inside. Periods got a little irregular at one point in my life, but with lc they were right back on track and I get prego 2 times in 2 years for god sakes....with NO meds!

Can anyone offer any support or advice on where I should go from here. Another problem is anytime i think i find a doc that might listen and be able to help, my **%@!& insurance won't cover it.

Thanks ladies I know this is a lot to take in..but I just feel so hopeless. I always tell my hubby that I am the healthiest fat person I know. Healthier than most people on the streets...u just would never guess it cause of my extra padding.

Aliki

nobimbo · 03-31-2006, 01:18 PM

Aliki, you're not alone! Sorting out thyroid problems is one of the most confusing and complicated medical issues there is. A big problem is that most docs aren't trained properly in diagnosing and treating thyroid disorders. You have many symptoms for hypothyroidism (the eyebrow thing is a big red flag on top of everything else) and you are at a high risk for it (post-pregnancy combined with PCOS). You definitely need to have a free T3 test. With a free T4 that low I suspect that your free T3 will be even lower. You also need a TPO antibodies test to rule out Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (the most common form of hypothyroidism, and very common in those with PCOS).

Have you checked the "Top Thyroid Docs" list for Missouri yet? Here is the link:

http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic/...2Fmissouri.htm

There is one of the docs on that list for St. Louis that I want to warn you about (I went to him in 04). His name is E.J. Cunningham. He prescribes Cytomel ONLY for all of his thyroid patients, which is a big red flag right there. He also monitors progress on Cytomel by body temps and how the patient feels ALONE (he doesn't believe it's helpful to do blood tests to monitor). He wrote me a prescription for Cytomel before ever running blood tests just based on my history. He also told me my thyroid gland was enlarged, but when I had my PCP and my gyn examine me they both said it wasn't. I had to beg Cunningham to order a free T3 and a TPO test. I got my tests done but I would never go back to him!

There is an endo at Barnes West by the name of Robert Saltman (314-878-6008) who I've heard good things about and who is listed on the Armour Thyroid site as one of the docs in this area who will prescribe Armour, so he may be more willing to think out of the box and may be able to handle female hormone issues naturally as well. He requires a referral from a PCP, though.

Also, there is a doc that someone raved about on the about.com-thyroid site that is in south county. Here is her review of him (it's not on the top thyroid docs list). I found it in the message boards there; the post was from 2001). In another post she said that he accepts most insurance plans.:

Quote:

At last as promised, I am writing to tell you of my success in finally finding a doctor who thinks as we do. He treats with Armour Natural Thyroid starting out with 60mg twice a day. He says he treats people by how they feel, not just by their lab numbers. He says that many people don't feel best at the upper range of lab normals and even if your TSH is at the upper normal range he wll continue to adjust your medication until you are feeling good, even if that takes you down to the 1 to 2 range (which as a matter of fact he says he agrees that most people feel best there!).

He is a OB GYN and a D.O (not an M.D.) and DOES insist on seeing you as such in addition to treating the thyroid. He says that he is not comfortable treating just thyroid and not the whole woman. So if you don't mind switching GYNs then run, don't walk, to this doctor. He is still accepting new patients. His office is at:

Dr. David L. Super D.O
9701 Landmark Parkway Dr
Ste 207
Saint Louis, MO 63127-1665
(314) 842-4802

I walked out of his office on my first visit with a prescription for Armour Thyroid and a 'script to have my blood tested. He is going to check my T4, T3, TSH and will adjust my medication accordingly once he gets the results back. I just had my blood drawn today for the test.

Good luck!

SugarBane
http://lowcarb4life.sugarbane.com

http://forums.about.com/n/main.asp?...=relevance&be=0

HTH,
Linda

Sullangirl · 03-31-2006, 03:16 PM

Linda...OMG thank u so much for your advice. I actually have an appointment with a doc off of that site on the 7th of april. Dr. Joseph Glennon Fox. The way they opporate is u pay like 120 every 4 months, but u can go to him UNLIMITED!! he says by doing this he can focus on people one on one with no rush. the first appt. alone is 2 HOURS!! This is to test me in a series of ways..not just blood. He also does this the first time to get to know me inside and out!! I am truly hoping this will be a good thing. I hope, I am going to print some of this stuff off, others posts and such for the sake of showing him that I am not alone when it comes to PCOS and hypo.

Thank u so much and I will keep u posted!

Aliki