I was diagnosed about 2 months ago by my OBGYN. She has not put me on any kind of meds. She says that I do not have IR but how is that possible? I have not changed my eating habbits ( all I eat is carbs and sugar ) and have only gained about 2 pounds. Should I ask my Dr. to put me on MET? or Spiro? I have never even been tested for hormone levels. I know I need to see an Endo, but I don't know how to pick one. Is there anyone else that is not taking meds? Is my Dr. a total moron? Symptoms include hairloss, acne, hair on arms & legs starting to get darker. I was on BCP for 5 years and never had a problem. as soon as stoped, the PCOS started. Now when I take BCP my hairloss gets worse. Weird. Do you think I never had symptoms before because of the BCP? I was always reegular with my cycles too. Not now
Well, to start, I would try to cut down on refined carbs. Thats the thing that can really effect your symptoms. You may be able to control it with only that. My doctor doesn't test for IR because he says that the test results can be unreliable anyway and he recommends low/good carbs and metformin regardless of IR. Different doctors say different things though. I used to eat almost purely junk food too and didn't gain much weight, for some of us its just not an issue, but eating healthier can still help tremendously no matter what weight we are. Good luck!
hi Skinnypcos
We sound very similar - I was on BCP for years (was irregular before I went on them and then was fine for the 8 or so years I was on them) and after going off them I slowly starting showing PCOS symptoms and they seem to continually get worse. I've been off BCP for about 4 years now and I see more and more symptoms. It seems to me the BCP froze my PCOS at the stage it was at and then when I went off them it continued on with it's progression.
I'm also not on any meds. I was on Met for about 4 months but when my OBGYN finally understood that we were not going to do any fertility treatments at that time (I don't know how many ways I said "we're not TTC right now") he took me off them and said not to make another appointment until we wanted to start fertility treatments. I'm currently waiting for a referral to an endo who treats PCOS patients that are not wanting to do fertility treatments. So all I'm doing in the mean time is watching my diet (I'm not trying to lose any weight either) and taking vitamins. I would suggest seeing an endo - I feel like I'm walking around with this disorder and no one (including myself) is doing anything about it. It's a little disconcerting and hopefully I'll feel better when I at least have someone who knows about PCOS monitoring me and giving me advice, even if she doesn't put me on any meds. So you're not alone!!!
I don't know about finding a good doctor - there are other threads on this site about finding good doctors. Maybe you can check them out?
Thanks daysinbetween. The weird thing is that before i was on BCP I was regular. As soon as I stopped the symptoms started. I read something that said BCP can cause pcos. It said that sometimes after you stop the BCP your body just dosn't start up again. I beleive that is what happend to me because I was always regular, never a day late. I just feel like I want to crawl into a hole and never come out. Nobody that I know understands. Thank you for telling me about yourself. I hope things get better for you.
Thanks SkinnyPCOS
There's tons of women on this site who know how you feel!!
I've never heard about the BCP causing PCOS - I don't think that's what happened with me since I showed a few minor symptoms before I went on it. But if that's a real possibility then they should certainly do more research about it so that they can warn women and allow us to make an informed choice! I don't know of anyone who would choose to have PCOS and I certainly wouldn't wish it on anyone!
Hope you're feeling better today
I am on no meds. I am PCOS without insulin resistance, but my doc put me on Metformin anyway--big mistake. Not only did I have horrible reactions to it, it did absolutely nothing for me. I finally quit taking it. I eat healthy anyway and have always followed a low carb diet. Nobody seems to know how to treat those of us without insulin resistance.
THERE IS A WEBSITE BY DR. JOHN LEE WHO DISCOVERED PCOS. HE IS NO LONGER ALIVE, BUT ITS A VERY GOOD AND INFORMITIVE WEBSITE. THAT IS WHERE I GOT THE INFO ON THE BCP. I AM NOT EXACTLY SURE OF THE WEB ADDRESS BUT YOU CAN GOOGLE DR. JOHN LEE/PCOS AND IT WILL COME UP. FOR TIRED: I ALSO DO NOT HAVE INSULIN RESISTANCE, BUT I DONT EAT SO HEATHY. I SHOULD TRY A LITTLE HARDER I GUESS. I STOPPED DRINKING SODA THOUGH. I FEEL A LITTLE BETTER TODAY BUT IAM STILL VERY VERY MOODY. IT DOESNT TAKE MUCH TO PISS ME OFF THESE DAYS. I SCREAM AT PEOPLE FOR LOOKING AT ME WRONG. DOES ANYONE KNOW OF ANYTHING TO HELP OUT MOOD? HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE.
I went to a website that had an article from him and I didn't see where it said BCPs caused PCOS. It said that BCPs often masked the symptoms or traded one for another.
It also said "It is triggered by the usual diet of the teenager: refined sugar and carbs, animal fat, and generally low nutrition, along with excess body fat" which is not true, at least for me, as I am thin and have always been athletic and ate a very good diet as a teenager.
skinnypcos, I have the same problem with moodiness, especially lately and it isn't always related to AF either. If I find anything that works, I'll let you know. I need to get a handle on it because I'm not good at keeping my mouth shut as it is.
sheepiegirl, I would have to agree. I always ate healthy as a child and a teen so that had nothing to do with it for me. I have also never been able to take BCPs so that could not have caused it either. The bottom line is, they don't know what causes it or how to cure it. The same is true for endometriosis--they have no clue what causes it and why it's so different in everyone who has it.
I don't know what is going on but I was never irregular with my periods, and out of know where my period stopped for 5 months. I knew that something was wrong right away, but everyone thought taht I was crazy. After many OBGYN visits my Dr. finally gave in and gave me an ultrasound. Only to reveal PCOS. This all started immeadetly after I stopped taking BCP after 5 years. I was never a day late with my period until I stopped the BCP. Also I got pregnant about 3 years ago on accident, and now all of a sudden I have PCOS and can't conceve? You all tell me, am I crazy? I also do not have IR. And I did see something that said BCP can cause PCOS. Maybe you should read it again. Anyway the whole reason for my history here is all of a sudden, the past 2 months my period has came on its own. Dose that mean that I ovulated? Can you get your period reggularly and no IR still have PCOS? I am confused. All I know is that I have been TTC for over a year and it's not happening. How come I got pergnant 3 years ago on accident? I give up.
I've read that PCOS often starts to appear at late teens or early 20s, so if you had regular periods before but then took BCPs starting at say, 19 or 20, you probably just jumped right over being able to see any symptoms beginning. Fast forward until your mid to late 20s (I have no idea how old you are!) and stop taking the BCPs and the symptoms that would have appeared earlier if you hadn't been on BCPs now show up. At least that's what I've read. And since BCPs make your periods super regular, it's hard to know if there's a problem with irregularity until you stop.
I've read that you can get your period regularly and still have PCOS and that you can have your period and not ovulate. I also have a friend who has PCOS and was told she'd need help to have babies...so she took fertility drugs and got pregnant with twins and then when they were about 3 or 4 months old she accidentally got pregnant again. So PCOS doesn't play by the rules!
I too am thin. This made it hard for me to be dx with PCOS. The third Dr. finally did ultrasounds and now they see that I do not ovulate. I was told that IR was not a problem for me but I don't believe that. I checked out a book called the Insulin Resistance Diet and love it. I may ask to be tested for IR. When on BC I too had no problems. After a miscarriage I started to have many symptoms of PCOS. I am not on meds, well except for Zoloft, trying to control mood swings that are probably from IR is my guess. My Dr. is worried about and drugs because I don't need to lose weight. I am 5'9 and 125lbs.
I agree. My moods are crazy. This is one of the hardest things for me to deal with with the PCO. I am on zoloft but that has only helped some. I am trying to follow a diet for someone with IR even though I was told that I most likely don't have it. I will let post more after a few more weeks of the diet.
I am hoping that this diet thing works for me. I was used to eating whatever I wanted at 5'9 125lbs. My Dr. is not pushing for metformin. Should I request it? We have been trying for number 2 for 2.5 years.
Thin Cyster No Meds? 
Is my Dr. a total moron? Symptoms include hairloss, acne, hair on arms & legs starting to get darker. I was on BCP for 5 years and never had a problem. as soon as stoped, the PCOS started. Now when I take BCP my hairloss gets worse. Weird. Do you think I never had symptoms before because of the BCP? I was always reegular with my cycles too. Not now
I don't know what is going on but I was never irregular with my periods, and out of know where my period stopped for 5 months. I knew that something was wrong right away, but everyone thought taht I was crazy. After many OBGYN visits my Dr. finally gave in and gave me an ultrasound. Only to reveal PCOS. This all started immeadetly after I stopped taking BCP after 5 years. I was never a day late with my period until I stopped the BCP. Also I got pregnant about 3 years ago on accident, and now all of a sudden I have PCOS and can't conceve? You all tell me, am I crazy? I also do not have IR. And I did see something that said BCP can cause PCOS. Maybe you should read it again. Anyway the whole reason for my history here is all of a sudden, the past 2 months my period has came on its own. Dose that mean that I ovulated? Can you get your period reggularly and no IR still have PCOS? I am confused. All I know is that I have been TTC for over a year and it's not happening. How come I got pergnant 3 years ago on accident? I give up.
Thin can fool them 
