Hello everyone. I’m new to these boards and first want to say that I’ve learned a lot here.
I have had symptoms of PCOS for all of my adult life (irregular periods, facial hair, depression). I’m going to be 40 this year. I remember when I was in my early 20s I went to an ob/gyn. I cannot even begin to tell you how rude he was. He told me I was very overweight and if I didn’t lose weight soon I would look like “this” (at which point he opened up a book and there was a woman, naked, all covered in hair – I kid you not). Needless to say, I switched doctors.
Anyway, at some point a doctor (I don’t remember which one) told me I had polycystic ovaries but they gave no explanation as to what they were. They made no big deal of it, so neither did I.
I was married when I was 21 and all during the beginning of my marriage, I could not get pregnant. We weren’t really trying, but we weren’t really not trying either. I went to my then ob/gyn and he put me on clomid, explaining that because of the PCOS I didn’t ovulate on my own. I was very lucky and conceived the first time. My son was born in 1989.
I had switched ob/gyn docs again because I was not thrilled with the practice. This doctor talked with me about the PCOS, telling me what can come from it, but at that time, I don’t think many doctors were really that “into” how serious it can be.
To make a very long story short, it wasn’t really until this year that I was officially diagnosed with PCOS. I’m now on Glucophage XR for the insulin resistance (I’m having a real hard time getting past 500 mg). I’m also taking 100 mg twice a day of Spirnolactone (my regular doc put me on this when I complained about the facial hair – it helps some, but not a lot, but it does help with the high blood pressure). I’m on 80 mg of Diovan once a day for the blood pressure and I’m on 25 mg of Sarafem for the very bad PMS I was having.
This year has been an interesting one for me. Not only will I be 40 soon, not only have i been diagnosed with the PCOS, but I have also begun having very irregular periods again (after my daughter was born in 1996, I began to have them every 30 days), only this time I’m only getting 5 days between the end of one period to the beginning of the next one.
I mentioned it to the doctor and she kept telling me that once the Glucophage kicks in, I will get better. I’m not waiting. I have an appointment with my ob/gyn on Saturday. I want him to do ultrasounds and whatever else he can to figure this out. I also had my regular doctor run tests to check my iron and a complete thyroid scan. I’m trying to do some research to find a good endo locally (the only one in my area has a habit of telling women that all they have to do is lose weight and exercise).
It is only this year that I’ve decided to take my health more seriously and to learn as much as I can about the PCOS as well as other things that may be causing problems. I had been on the Carb Addicts Diet a few years ago and was very successful, but when things began to get very stressful and busy, it was just easier to eat whatever was available. I put back most of the 56 lbs. I had lost on that plan.
After I was diagnosed with the IR, I decided that I needed to do lower carbs and to really concentrate on what I was eating. Also, I have signed up for a 10 week course…on Monday, Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings I do kickboxing and on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings I do resistance training, upper and lower body alternating days. On Friday I do some kind of cardio on my own. Sunday is supposed to be my free day, but I try to do something, even if it is not too strenuous. I have so far lost 11.5 lbs and several inches…yeah!!!
So anyway, that’s my story. Thanks all for listening to me babble for so long
Allison
Want to connect with me? My name is ailie on the SoulCysters Message Board.