Weird bloating/water retention issue

alaskaflygirl · 11-19-2007, 10:11 PM

I very rarely get a period naturally; usually it comes about thanks to a prescription medication by my GYN or I abuse my body (caffeine consumption, lack of sleep, etc). When I do finally get one, it's a relief, and here's why:

I've noticed something weird since early this summer. I'll bloat for weeks on end, going from my size 11 to a size 15 jeans in a short amount of time. I only gain about 10 pounds, but it looks like 25! It gets downright uncomfortable to sit down (my ribs get sore from some sort of weird pressure in my torso), my thighs get absolutely huge, and even my face gets puffy!

Then, all of a sudden, I'll wake up one day and look totally normal. Usually 1-3 days later I'll start to bleed. Then, a couple of days after I finish bleeding, the process will start all over again.

My GYN says it's what would be considered "normal" for a PCOS cycle, but it's really started to drive me nuts!

Anyone else have this problem?

calmwaters · 11-20-2007, 03:05 AM

I've been getting this too since my PCOS symptoms began!!! Like, right now my period is 11 days late. I have gained 8 or 10 pounds sicne my last period. I get the bloated rib pressure thing too, I also get bloated fingers. Not ankles just fingers.

On another note, hard as it is to lose weight with PCOS it is way too easy to pack on the poundage. Not like conventional calorie defecit is supposed to work, burn 1500 cals = lose one pound. With PCOS it's like, burn 1500 calories, lose 1/2 pound now and gain 2 pounds in a week when you're more hormonal than this moment or that, then burn 4000 calories to lose 1/2 pound.

BTW, your ticker looks just like mine would be if I hade one.

reignstayr · 11-20-2007, 01:13 PM

Wow, that's a lot of water retention. Have you tried reducing your sodium intake to see if that helps at least a little? I know I will go up about 3-5 lbs during my cycle, but I feel for you girl. That seems like a horrible 'normal' cycle response.

alaskaflygirl · 11-20-2007, 02:29 PM

I've always been overly sensitive to salt, so I always avoid sodium. I'm an avid cook and make nearly everything from scratch, so I have a lot of control over how much salt is in my food.

I've had the water retention problem long enough to be able to "experiment" to figure out what makes it worse. Salt/sodium consumption doesn't seem to affect it that much. In fact, the rare times I have fast food, I actually seem to LOSE some water weight for a day or so.