Auntlee

zeozot --

I was reading in the Atkins Vita-Nutrient book, and he said that if you have nausea, fullness, flatulence after taking vitamins, it can be a sign of problems with stomach acids.

He recommends taking betaine HCI for that -- actually, I'm planning to try that myself, but I'm having a hard time finding the betaine stuff.

Alternatively, have you tried time-release B vitamins? Maybe those would be easier on your stomach.

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Aunt Lee


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hopeless

My Success: finding a doctor who provides treatments based on how my body responds, not just lab results.

As a result, my depression is gone, gone, gone! I've come to accept that my hair is thin. It will probably never be as thick as it was before. I've accepted that. I don't just understand it but still hope for it....I've *accepted* it, and do what I can with what I've got. That's my biggest success. My hair loss was really traumatic for me, and now I'm able to get past it. Yeah, I would love to have thick hair....but I no longer stare at my scalp and cry. It's totally liberating to not be controlled by my hair anymore.

And, of course, after I stopped obsessing I noticed that my hair was starting to grow back in a bit. Not enough to look "normal" yet, but still an improvement! (I think it's the cytomel at work.)

__________________
-diagnosed October 2002
-Meds: Alesse, metformin, Cytomel, Wellbutrin
-light therapy with a goLITE for seasonal depression
-yoga & meditation almost daily, because it makes me feel good

Dreaming Wolf

I've only been diagnosed recently, so I'm still working on my success stories.

But I do have one about hair removal: Although I've still got some unwanted hair in some places, I managed to get rid of alot of the most prominent hair -- sideburns -- with extensive laser therapy. Very expensive, but worth it to look normal!

brenzg

Hi everyone...
I am enjoying this post too. My sister and i had a long talk about this last month, she is minor sufferer, I am a major sufferer.
I have found nothing yet, that can really eliminate my facial hair. I am not sure if vaniqua has been approved yet in Canada, but i will find out soon. I had heard that laser therapy for someone with severe hairgrowth like me is never terribly effective, but i am going to have it done anyway.

I have found that when i consistently take my Diane with my aldactone (or spiro as some of you like to call it) the hair on my head regrows, though only 50 - 75% of the loss) Rogaine also helped when i was using it, and I'm sure if all three were used consistently I would regrow 75 - 100% back in the front of my scalp. There doesn't seem to be much i can do about the overall thickness, though i am trying different shampoos and trying to cut back on my usual stick styling products.

as far as the period goes, The last month i was taking BCP was November, 2003. I was at that time exercising 2-4 times per week, and in Jan/Feb tried South Beach Diet, I lost 8 pounds but gained everything back on phase 2. Somehow i managed to menstruate straight from November 2003 right up to Feb 2004, when i cut back on the diet and exercise i stopped. coincidence? i think not. though i'm not sure if i continued to menstruate because of remaining horomonal effect of the BCP. I'm sure it was more the exercise and diet.

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pobody's nerfect


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Annrie

Hi!

I'm new here, but thought I would mention something I have had success with. I had a terrible problem with acne around my chin area and had some improvement with being sure to cleanse my face 2 X's a day, but I still kept breaking out. I was to the point of going to a dermatologist because it was so embarrassing. I had dark spots all over that area after the acne would go away. My cousin told me about this supplement she was taking and told me to try it. It's great! It's called Juice Plus and is all natural. It's made from fruits and veggies.
It took about 2 months before I really saw an improvement, but one day I realized I hadn't had a breakout in a while. After about 3 months I noticed I wasn't craving junk food or sweets as much, which for me has always been a serious problem. I saw an article not long ago about acne in adults
which said it could be from a shortage of zinc. Just thought I'd pass that along in case it could help someone else.

Good luck to everyone!

zeozot

Thank you Auntlee for your suggestion. I haven't tried betaine, but I have heard of it. If you find a place to buy it would you please let me know? I sure would appreciate it. As to the time-release b's I wasn't aware that they made them. I use time release melatonin and it works well. I think a time release vitamin would be more readily used by the body anyway. Thanks for making me aware of them!

Oh, I just bought an electrolysis hair removal device from Sharper Image. I'll be sure to let you folks know if the little beggar works or not...
Zeo

waterlily26_2001

Hi,

I'm a newbie here, but wanted to say my success. I have taken Glucophage XR for 4 consecutive months after 2 months off, and I have noticed good results. I lost 13 lbs and am seeing less facial and chest hair. I usually shave each day in the morning, but I can skip shaving to every other day now! I also can count, whereas before I couldn't, how many chest hairs I do have. I have 14!!! haahaa I know this seems weird and all, but this is a huge success in my eyes. I use to be one hairy woman and now its slowly all going away. I love Glucophage XR. The biggest success is that I have ovulated 3 times on my own in these past 4 months!!! This is really good cause I am trying to conceive with my dear David. We've been together for almost 7 years in December, but trying to have a baby with 19 cycles (including this current cycle). I see a RE on the 26th about ovulation this month and to see where we go from here. I hope to see about getting an HSG and see if she will closely watch me much more these cycles since I am indeed ovulating. Woohoo me!

Hope to message more!

__________________
Melissa 29
Diagnosed with PCOS 11/2003
Losing 53 lbs in 2004
http://www.fertilityfriend.com/melissd1

MrsVedas

I was DXed in Jan 2000 becuase I was constanly getting yeast infections due to diabetes, my body just didn't know what to do with the extra sugar

* Sugar levels have gone from 300 to 80-100 (when I'm good- so technically I'm not a Diabetic anymore)

* Finding a GREAT Doctor (my last dr just gave me met and said don't eat anything white!)

* Have lost almost 100lbs in two years

* I have had most of the facial hair taken off with laser treatment, what I have left is very thin fuzz, but because the hair is dark, it casts a dark shadow if I don't go for treatments. I usually go every other month

* Have learned how to cook healthier (I didn't realize how good veggies are!)

* Work out 3-4 x's a week ( I do it in the AM before work, 'cause if I don't then it gives me time to make excuses not to go)


Those are my milestones. We are seriously TTC now. Not that is was a joke before, but I feel more confident that it will be easier and safer.

I binge once in a while... but...I don't feel soooo bad I try to make it up at the gym.

Keep up the good work!!!

__________________
Shay
Spelling doesn't count!
Moi 34 DearestH 30
Married since 11/01
11/05 IVF
Triplets born Via CS on 6/17/06


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saniteeis

Hello to all! I have been lurking about for a week or so. I have been reading your posts and they have brought about so many responses in me. I have smiled and laughed. I have cried becauses of the similarities that we share and I know how much pain these symptoms cause. I have been jealous of some of the successes and the support networks that people have written about. I have then realized that these victories can be attained by me as well and then kicked myself for being so silly.

So I figured that this would be the best place for me to introduce myself. See, I have been feeling down for a while and the best way to get out of this funk is a little patting myself on the back!

I guess that I should start by telling you why I have been down. The year that I was diagnosed was the same year that I heard about the whole low carb craze. I guess that was about five years ago or so. I started losing weight and I had no idea why this worked and nothing else did. Since I was a teen I had problems with my cycle. The first time that I sought help I was nineteen ... he told me I was fat and if I lost weight I would get my period ... okay repeat this same scenerio at least once a year for the next few years with several different doctors.

Well, after this considerable weight loss (and still no period) I made an appointment with yet another doctor. Months later, the week of the appointment, I got my period ... all by myself ... I had never felt such rage ... in my mind those doctors had been right ... I felt so much anger. I couldn't believe that they had been right all of those years. I almost cancelled my appointment. But I didn't because, even though I had started, I knew something was wrong with me. I went into that poor womans office with a chip on my shoulder and this time I wasn't just going to pay someone to dismiss my concerns by calling me fat. To my surprise when I told her my symptoms she told me that although she had to run some tests that she was pretty sure that I has PCOS. I cried. I didn't cry because I felt bad about having something ... I felt good about it ... after all those years of being tossed aside this doctor cared enough to really find out what was wrong! There really was something wrong. It truly was a legitimate thing. I have never been as grateful to a person as I am to her. She let me know that the reason that low carbs allowed me to lose the weight and exactly how it triggered menses. A success

I continued with the low carb diet for a few more months until my life kind of fell apart. I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say it involved a man. Slowly I began to gain the weight back.

Forward to the present ... lately I have been feeling like I have swallowed a basketball. I use the excuse that I don't have time to eat right with going to school full time and working 25 to 30 hours a week. I have been gobbling up convienence food right and left lately. I feel every bit of it. I am now in a size 26/28 when a couple of years ago I was down to a size 9.

But the success is that right this minute I am on a cooking spree! I am starting over. I have thawed every piece of meat in the freezer and I have the grill going strong. I am going to freeze my meals for the week and start taking them with me to work/school. Not only will I lose weight but I will save money too!

I have an amazing amount of excess hair. I used to pluck for a couple of hours a day but I stopped when I learned of laser hair removal. I began to shave instead so that I could be prepared for the day that I could afford to have it done. Even though it has been a couple of years and I still don't have the extra money I haven't given up hope ... for me ... that is a success!

The biggest success of all is that I am back in school. In a year I will be a nurse. Well, a year and a couple of months. But I am doing it. I am 33 years old and finally getting control of my own life. I have never been more proud!

Ah, I feel better and you all must be tired of my rambling so I will close by letting you all know that I appreciate the forum and all of you.

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insert inspirational words here ...

laurenliza

I've been reading most of the posts on this site for about 3 years now. I was diagnosed about 4 years ago. I always feel so much better knowing that there are other gals out there with the same problems.

I have been overweight since my early teens. About two years before I was diagnosed, I put on an additional 50 lbs and started having the typical PCOS symptoms : acne, missed periods, hair loss.

I suspected that I knew what was going on. I went into the doc and had all the tests. She confirmed that I was border-line diabetic and had PCOS. She put me on ortho tri-cyclen, and it did help with having a normal menstrual cycle. On the other hand, it actually aggravated the acne even more. After deciding that enough was enough, I dropped off the ortho and started doing Atkins. I managed to lose 40 lbs in about 45 days. I am starting to feel a little better every day. Unfortunately, the hair loss is still a major issue.

The best advice that I can give anyone is this: eat right! Sometimes it's a little expensive to go the Atkins route (believe me, as a college student I know), but the results are worth it.

Good Luck to All!!

asenith

Hey there ladies! I guess you could say I have a success story. A couple of hair cuts ago I was telling my hairdresser about the pcos and when we were done she suggested Nioxin and I would have to say that it has improved my hair. I noticed less hair coming out in the shower or when I am styling my hair and this is great. Funny thing, she was saying that a stylist who works in her salon also has pcos; small world.

As for the hair on my face I just delipatory it. I believe Sally Hansen makes it and it is for your face. It lasts for a couple of weeks and I am plucking otherwise. It is really bad on my chin and upper lip and I hate it but dh is so great about it all and he could care less.

__________________
diagnose January 2004
trying to conceive for 1year before this came out of the bag

mistycabal

I have mostly been lurking on the boards here, but I wanted to share one thing that has been a large sucess for me. Having children after an infertile diagnosis.

I have pcos, and have for many years (probably since around 12-14). For all of my life I had had maybe 4 periods a year (tops). At 17, a obgyn told me that I would not be able to have children, even with fertility assistance without a miracle (as you can tell, this doc was oh so sensitive, eh.). That news very quickly launched me into a severe depression. Although I was young, I had (as I think many women do) taken for granted that I would be able to have children when I was older. I was put on anti-depressants for a bit, and was able to pull back out of the depression in about 5 months (but not before I was forced to drop out of high school due to excessive medical absences).

I returned and finished high school the next year. By age 19, I had undergone two lap. surgeries to remove ovarian cysts. During my first semester of college I found out I was already 5 months pregnant. *Gasp!* I don't know how many people asked me, 'how could you not know after that long?' Well, simple. I'm overweight, my weight fluctuates, and I don't have periods regularly.

I had my daughter in March of 2000, when I was 20. She was the first miracle of my life. The second one came two years later. My son was born in December of 2002. After having my first child, my periods returned to having most of the same problems again, but no more cysts! (Of course, since my periods were abnormal again I didn't know I was preg with my son for 4 months.) Now, almost 2 years after having my son, I have regular monthly periods... For the First Time in My Life.

During my first preg I gained WAY too much weight in too little time, about 60 lbs. Taking me up to about 240. I dropped down to 170 the next year. I gained only 15lbs with my second pregnancy, and am currently at 180, and fairly comfortable at that weight for now. I would like to lose another 20-25 pounds, but I'm in no big rush.

I do have some other major problems that I'm working on, such as Severe Hirutism. All over my body, but getting the hair on my face (mostly terminal) lasered off is my first priority. I want to try to do that in the next month. Also, I had some major dental problems pop out of the blue right after having my daughter, and I simply haven't had the money to take care of it.

I still have a lot of anxiety going out of the house (due to the facial hair), but I have to do it so I can get the money to get rid of it! Will keep you updated on how the laser works out.

-Nicole

smallpeanutbutter

I am nowhere near "cured" but, since June 2004, I am getting a regulay monthly AF (after years of only getting it 1-2 times a year).

The only thing I started doing (the month I got it for the first time) was EXERCISE. Since June, I've been exercising 5 days a week for one hour. (Cardio only because I build muscle so fast, I look like a man!)

Since June, I have lost 15 pounds. I don't know if I O every month or if at all, but just getting AF on my own is a big deal. I feel very encouraged about AF and finally feel like I might be able to concieve on my own someday soon. It's very exciting to have hope.

For hair removal, I just had my first laser treatment on 10/19 - I will let you know how it goes!

__________________
Me: 30
DH: 32

*married 09/00 (but together since 08/95)

*ttc seriously last 2 years
*self-diagnosed PCOS after lap came up neg for endometriosis.

*symptoms: irregular cycle (became regular starting 06/04. I believe it was due to exercise), excess hair growth EVERYWHERE (getting laser to get rid of hair on upper lip, chin, neck). headaches, fatty belly (got lipo to shed it 2 years ago, soit's not so bad anymore).

*working on weight loss through exercise.

SW: 160
CW: 145
GW: 130

*Metformin 1500/1x a day (yeah, I take em all at once)

*Clomid 100 CD 3-7

ChloeM

Hello All my Systers~~
By the grace of God,I have had my cycles since Aug 03 BY MYSELF.Ladies this is truly a miracle because I hadn't been able to menstarte on my own without the help of meds for over 7 years.I also have lost 30lbs on Atkins(Low-Carb).I was on Ortho-Tricyclen for 2 years to regulate my cycles and a Doc also told me that they would help shrink the cysts.I have tried Spirolactone,it was okay,but I don't think I want to deal with it because I didn't really benefit from it.I have ingrown hairs.Does anyone else have this problem.If so laser is the bomb.Oh God,thank you for this technology.I've had 4 treatments and see AMAZING results.I was told that women with Pcos require about 10-12 treatments to destroy those ugly follicules.I'm going to stay OFF all meds and trust God that HE will continue to heal me and that when it's time for me to bring forth a child,that he will bless me also.Losing Weight I believe have played a BIG part in allowing mt to menstrate on my own.When I was first Dw with Pcos,I weighed between 240-250lbs.I'm not at 210 and seeking to lose 30-40 more!!!Good luck and Good Bless you all~~~

__________________
SEEK God FIRST,and EVERYTHING else will fall into place!!!
Matthew 6:33
Chloe M.Murray
Current WT:205 goal 175lbs ,lost 70lbs on Atkins and put 20 bck on due to stress
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Recently Engaged and TTC
Current Meds:Sprinolactone 100,Multivitamin,Just starting Fortamet 500,going up to 2000 a day within a month.

SuzanneStar

This is a great thread it is nice to see so many people having good results:


1. My periods seemed to have sorted themselves out and i am now sort of having regular cycles.


2. My hair has stopped falling out and thats a massive thanks to Evening Primrose


3. I am sleeping alot better then i have been , i used to worry alot about things but i have been sleepinglike a baby.


love
Suzanne
xxxx

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