I'm very GRATEFUL to have all that extra male hormones. I went into the Army in 1979, and back then there was no "sexual harrasment". You had to fight the guys off. Sometimes, having a little more male hormones is a good thing.
Interesting perspective. I'm glad you've found some "use" for PCOS! For my wife, the extra male hormones are just plain depressing. And I don't want her fighting me off!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cemomster
I would love it if my dh took over some of the cooking . And if he cooked healthy on top of it, I would be ecstatic and he would be a happy man in return!
Thanks for the advice. Do you want your dh to cook because (1) it takes some responsibility off your shoulders, or (2) you lack the discipline to cook healthy things? I'm not sure which it is with my dw, if (#1) I think I'd rather wash the dishes to help her out, but if it's (#2) then I could try to cook. She'll need to give me some extra grace at the beginning because I'm an idiot in the kitchen!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rachz
I also back the idea of you doing stuff, that u want her to do. I also tend to eat what my hubby eats, or i m regular to gym if he's. It's like partners in crime or good deal
I'm going to try to eat healthier, and that should impact her. We've also begun taking long walks on Sunday evenings. It's a start!
Today is my last day in the office. Tomorrow, I start putting together a plan for my wife & I to follow to beat this thing. I'll post regular updates here.
I wish you the best of luck on putting together a plan. I hope she is as receptive to it as you want her to be. It takes a lot of love and dedication to help your DW as you are. Have a wonderful holiday!
__________________ Me
DSS 5/30/04 (always will be mine)
I wish you the best of luck on putting together a plan. I hope she is as receptive to it as you want her to be. It takes a lot of love and dedication to help your DW as you are. Have a wonderful holiday!
Thanks for your encouragement SandV... stay tuned because if I can get my dw to come on this site, you may be a resource for her (being a cyster that lives where there are limited resources).
The plan is slowly but surely coming together. I'm looking at the meds available. My wife has taken Metformin before, and we have access to it here in Mexico. In the past, she's been reluctant to take the full dosage that is recommended (she's only taken 1000 mg / day), and so a couple of questions came to mind:
(1) does taking the full dosage of Metformin get easier over time?
(2) are the benefits of Metformin worth the nausea / diarrhea?
I understand that it is uncomfortable to feel nauseous, but when I read all the bad things that PCOS does to you I would think it is worth it. But I don't know from personal experience.
Anybody with experience with Metformin please respond! Thanks.
(1) does taking the full dosage of Metformin get easier over time?
It can, depending on what's causing the side effects. One of the big things is to be sure you're eating a Metformin-friendly diet. As your wife takes the Metformin, even if she's following a Met-friendly diet, she may find certain foods that don't agree with it. While I was taking Met, I discovered that while I could handle lettuce with no problem (many women find this is hard on their stomachs), oatmeal would send me running for the restroom within hours, even though it's supposed to be Met-friendly. If after making dietary adjustments your wife is still having bad stomach problems, you may want to see if you have access to the Extended Release formula (XR, I believe). Many people have said it made their stomach issues disappear unless they were 'bad' and had too many carbs or sugars.
Quote:
(2) are the benefits of Metformin worth the nausea / diarrhea?
If it works for her, then yes. The Met, for many, can be like a miracle drug. You still have to work at the exercise and healthy eating, but all of the sudden the Met can make all the work seem WORTH it because you start seeing and feeling a difference.
One more thing I wanted to mention is the dosage. When I was taking Met, I felt the best when I was at 1500mg, taking 500mg at every meal. When the doctor upped my dosage so that I was only taking it twice a day, but at a higher dose (850mg) I actually felt *worse*. I don't know if it was the amount or the fact that it wasn't spread out evenly over the course of the day. Your wife may find her 'sweet spot' at a dosage that's either lower or slightly higher than the ideal dosage.
Another thing, and this comes from personal experience - because you're going to be self-medicating, you MUST find a way to have your wife's liver functions tested regularly while she's on the medication. The reason is because Metformin can adversely effect the liver and cause liver damage if allowed to go on too long. This is the reason I'm no longer on it and why I cringe at the idea of taking it without medical monitoring. When the doctor tested me after 6 months on it, my liver enzymes were all extremely high (in one case, I believe it was 3x's the highest end of the 'normal' range). If you're going to encourage her to take it, please be sure she can get blood work done to monitor this, because unfortunately it's the only way to catch the effects before they get too bad. If I hadn't had blood work done, I would've never known what my levels were and could have possibly caused long-lasting, severe damage.
An alternative option to the Metformin if you're not able to get her the blood work, may be herbal remedies such as Hyponidd, Cinnamon, Chromium, D-Chiro Inositol or Choline-Insotiol, which are all herbs or natural compounds that have been shown to have insulin regulating properties. If you browse the Alternative Remedies board you can find multiple threads about these types of treatments.
Good luck and just wanted to add another "Thank you" from a wife who wished her husband would take such an active role in helping her fight her PCOS.
__________________
Me & DH
Married 1/07
TTC Since 9/2007 BFP: 8/30/09
1st u/s 9/30/09 - Heart-rate 178bpm
2nd u/s 11/03/09 - Heart-rate 144bmp ... possibly team BLUE!
Currently taking: Pre-Natal Vitamins
Metformin ER - 500mg 2x's a day
Labetalol - 100mg 2x's a day
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I would love to be a contact for her. I hope you can convince her to come to this site. It has helped me tremendously with developing a plan for myself.
As far as the Metformin goes, I took it for two months. I have access to that as well. However, I was only taking 500 mg and it was giving awful menstrual pains plus increased flow to the point of excessive. I am not IR or D2 so I opted not to use that as part of my treatment plan.
I had several concerns with liver and kidney functioning/testing on a regular basis. I also was concerned about the effect on my sugar levels if I took too much.
__________________ Me
DSS 5/30/04 (always will be mine)
Sorry I have been MIA lately--busy during the holidays! To answer a previous question, BMI is Body Mass Index. There are some scales and machines that measure this. It basically tells you how much of your body mass is Fat.
The point I was really trying to make was not to focus on #'s so much.....this includes weight and body mass. If she goes to the doctor routinely (and she will for lab work if she starts taking metformin again), they will weigh her during her appointments. This is enough to measure progress--those people who take daily weights are creating more self-esteem problems that good, IMO.
The daily focus should be on positive things: how to eat well, and getting in some exercise.
Looks like you're getting a lot of good advice here. Just curious if you're planning on talking to your wife about this site?
Mr. NorthSouth... I started reading through your thread and thought I would just pop my two cents in. I commend you for wanting to help your wife. It shows that you are in it for the long haul...congrats on your son. (forgive me in advance, this is going to be long)
For me living with PCOS is sad...I get in the "why me" moment and get depressed then I slap myself and come back to reality.... I was diagnosed 8-10 yrs ago. I met my DH 15 yrs ago and we started to talk about children early on, but I was REALLY ready 12 yrs ago....I took clomid as many times as I could with no luck. I went back and forth to MANY specialists and Dr.s and they all said the same thing... LOSE WEIGHT. If I had $1 everytime I heard that, DH and I would be rich...I am a stubborn woman and NO ONE was going to tell me what to do...so what did I do...yup, ate...yrs later, I came to the realization that I wasn't going to be a mom, if it was in my playing cards then it would happen, if not, i accepted the reality of this disease. Weeks after being diagnosed with PCOS, DH and I put our name in for adoption, we figured we better get our names in now, b/c it might never happen for us to have children and atleast we would have a chance through adoption.... Well 2 yrs ago, we got a phone call form the adoption agency saying that we were picked to be parents... I couldn't believe it....we were REALLY thrilled...I was in the room while she was born. Nov. 29th 06 actually... 7 weeks later we got a phone call saying the mom had changed her mind and we lost our DD on Jan. 15th 07. That was the hardest thing I have EVER went through, I was depressed for months....Then one day I just snapped out of it...I had made up my mind that if I was to ever have a child, that I had to do it myself, and I couldn't count on ANYONE to give me their baby. In Jun 07, I started back on metformin... I darn near quit b/c the s/e were so bad... I ended up cutting one pill into 4ths and upped my dosage that way. I got up to 2000mg and saw changes almost immediately.. I never did stop eating carbs I just cut most of them out. I drank only water and milk.... and I never ate past 5:30 pm... I wanted a baby badly and I was determined to do ANYTHING to get pregnant...I dropped 55lbs in 5 months, and started to ovulate...I FINALLY got pregnant on my own after an HSG to clear my tubes and I am due in 2 weeks. (2 yrs to the day we lost our adoptive DD)
You need to someone how get your wife on this board...It is so inspiring, sure there are hard times, but EVERYONE supports EVERYONE here. If you could get her on to even just spill her mind, I am positive people will flock to her and help her out in ways that you can't. Ladies in here are in her shoes and she is not alone.
As for the met, If you can, get her on it..start slowly and work her way up to 2000mg IF her body can handle the s/e. Sure the s/e's r horrible, but in my eyes, so well worth it. Start walking, from the sounds of it, you live in a beautiful area... if she can only walk a block, hey, that's great!! it's a BLOCK!! one more than she walked yesterday... (that is how I was when I started) I'm a big girl...332lbs b4 I lost the weight so walking was very difficult for me... my DH even would walk with me some days, he would rather bike but I would rather walk so that's what I did..
I truly hope things will work out for her... PCOS is so hard to live with and we r here for her and YOU. sorry for the rambling, I just wanted to say, it can happen for you, she just needs to beat PCOS, and not let PCOS beat her. I beat it and I am the worst procrastinator, and VERY stubborn. Just for me it took losing Emma to get the ball rolling.
__________________ EDD: Jan. 15th 2009
2yrs to the day we lost our adoptive DD back to her birth mom
Bridjette Kathleen is HERE!!!
born Jan. 19th/09 10:18pm
9lbs 12.5oz 21.5inches long
via C-Section
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But how much should I do? Ladies, if your man took matters into his own hands, would that be helpful or harmful?
It would be HELPFUL. It is so hard for a woman to fight this on her own, because she needs the will to do it--- depression and poor self-image make motivation such an immense challenge. I am married, but my husband honestly, has no clue what I need (I suppose part of that is my fault). I would LOVE for him to take the reigns, just get me going. At first, I would probably fight him, but eventually I would get my game on. If I saw that my husband was serious about changing our diet, even cooking "the right stuff" FOR ME, doing research on PCOS FOR ME, willing to coax me out of the house with running shoes FOR ME... I think I would find the motivation pretty fast. I would also acquire an immense respect for him, and really believe he is looking out for my best interest. Right now, it feels like his words "You are beautiful/sexy" is all fluff. It doesn't mean anything, and I frankly feel helpless... like I have an Everest to climb alone. It is scary, daunting, and depressing.
Kudos to you sir!!
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Stephen (26) To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Meghan (25)
Married 7/3/04 Stopped preventing '05 PCOS & Hypothyroidism Metformin, Levothyroxine, Raspberry Leaf Tea, & Prenatals
*~*~*~Clomid cycle #1 in progress~*~*~*
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Hello, first of all like some posters have said... that's so great of you to seek out the best way of approaching this.
I am going to do the best I can do to answer your questions, but I am in a different scenerio. The second, I really mean the moment I walked out of the doctors office.. my life changed forever, after being dx with PCOS. I didn't cry, I didn't feel bad for myself, I made changes immediately. I was very concerned about many things that were going on in my body, and now I finally had an explaination as to why my body was doing all of these things. I felt it was a blessing then, and I still do. I have found out so much about my body just due to an awareness, which came with much research! Even though I didn't know exactly what to do, I knew I was going to do something and I was going to do it naturally if at all possible.
Now.. here's what I did. I research all night, I really mean all night. It was hours and hours of finding out with PCOS was all about. All I could think about was diabetes, maybe never being able to have children, heart disease, etc... It was overwelming, yet I so badly wanted to fix it. I started to read about a low-glycemic diet. I heard some results from other PCOS women, and it seemed logical to me. I didn't want to go on medication, however I wasn't sure I could do it. Well, a little over a year later by just changing my lifestyle, no medication, I have lost 75 lbs and counting. Now, I really always thought I would be a bigger girl. I thought I would never loose the weight. I knew something was wrong, but didn't know what or what to do about it. Since I've lost the weight I have nearly every symptom of PCOS gone! I am no longer insulin resistant (which is what causes the dark skin patches and skin tags) I have had a regular menstral cycle for 15 months, I am ovulating every month, my acne is gone, and because of the weight loss I have tons of energy. I feel so much better. I am actually very passionate about helping others and have a support group I head up(nothing formal yet) but would love to help you out with anything that you need.
It must start with her wanting to change, and if she knew you were willing and ready to help.. I think that would give her some motivation to move forward. Read about Low Glycemic Diets and I would be willing to chat with you a little more and give you my blog with lots of GREAT recipes on the Low GI (Glycemic Index) diet.
I am unfortuntely out of time, and cannot proof read my reply.. sorry about that But have a great night.
To answer you question about what would I do if my man approached me about PCOS.
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Doing Low GI diet as of Sept. 07. DX with PCOS in Sept 07' as well.
Started at a size 24, now a size 14. My waist was 44", now it's 32".
I am on no medication, just diet and exercise.
Thank you all for your support and information! I encourage all of you to do a Low Glycemic diet!
hello
If she does not want to take Metformin maybe cinnamon you could added to your coffee our make a tea or with a smoothie just sprinkle some cinnamon on top, with cereal. Try to have at least one kind of vegetables in every meal. maybe flax seed (linaza En espanol) you could also added in cereal, smoothies, salad. I wish you and your wife the best of luck. And if I find other things that you could find in mexico I will let you know.
I was dx with PCOS in summer 2007. I swear by metformin, but unless you take it every day, regularlly for 6mo - year, you will probably not see the benefits. Also, she truely needs a real, live buddy. Good or bad, worse or better symptoms, you need someone you can physically see and talk to that can realate with what you are going through. My sis has PCOS too and was dx shortly after I was, but it was different to meet a lady through work who has the condition to. We get together and talk at least twice a month. As helpful as it is to talk to my husband, it has made a difference for me to meet this women.
__________________ Lauren ------------------------------------ Diagnosed 10/2006 Metformin since 7/2007
Actively TTC since 12/2008
BC since 1/2009
You saying that low carb is hard to do in Mexico reminded me of a reply to a post that I posted a while back. It is from a cyster who lives in Mexico as well. Since it applies I will quote/post it here.
From: Future Doc Cyster Hey! Mlinn, I saw your post in the LC forum, and you mentioned not wanting to heat up the house. I study in Mexico, and as the temp rises here, I totally hear you! My Crock-pot is my best friend! Not only does my house stay cool from not having to use the oven, my food literally cooks itself!
Sometimes I cook chicken in the crock pot until it is so soft that I can break it apart with a fork. Then I drain the chicken in a strainer, let it cool, and mix it with mayo, salt and pepper. Chicken-salad!
Another quickie is "fajitas." I cut up chicken breast and cook it in water on the stove. I add McCormick Cajun powder (to taste) and throw in chopped onions and bell peppers toward the end. I've made these in the Crock-pot too, especially when I've got a lot going on. It's good alone, on a low-carb tortilla, or on a salad too!
What about grilled skirts steaks on the grill kind of like arrachera? You can marinate skirt steaks in olive oil and garlic overnight and grill them. As a side dish, you can cut up some onions and bell peppers, place them in a foil packet with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and throw them on the grill too.
What about chicken and/or beef terryaki ka-bobs? Throw the marinated meat and veggies on skewers and toss on the grill. If you use wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for 30minutes before putting them on the grill so they don't burn.
Hmmm. . .that's what I can think of off the top of my head. . .I'll try to post again later [/quote]
I spent time living in Mexico doing low carb and I will agree it was by no means easy. The main problem is that she needs to stay away from rice. You guys are lucky to be blessed with an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables,though. Add veggies to her diet. There are actually very few veggies that are actually high in carbs. Avacados and Tomatoes should be great for your wife.
Also about the Metformin. I started mine and had a really really really rough time with the nausea and vomiting and diarrhea. However after I went and talked to my PCP about it,he told me about something called Met CR...it is a time released form of Metformin. It changed my life. He also told me to try taking it at night. When I started taking the Metformin at night it helped alot. I would/do still wake up nauseous but only until I eat something (low carb) to even my blood sugar back out,I guess.
Hope that helps some and gives you some ideas.
Be patient and kind while being proactive. That is the best thing you can do. I love the idea about you going for walks and leaving her behind if she doesn't go. Just a few times and I bet she will start following you out of that door.
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(1) does taking the full dosage of Metformin get easier over time?
(2) are the benefits of Metformin worth the nausea / diarrhea? quote]
when is she taking her metformin is it during a meal or after, i take metformin inbetween meal for example i have a few spoonfulls then have my metformin, i was taking it after meals before and i had really bad diarrohea and sickness, so just explain to her that could be what is making her nauseated and going to the loo.It may help her.
__________________
Leeanne(24) Michael (26)
Metformin 500mg(SR)
Pregnacare Vitamins
Clomid 50mg 5th Round.BFP = 17/10/2009
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But have a great night. 
