PCOS Info?

cateyes543 · December 2014

So this week I received the PCOS diagnosis and while I know a tiny bit about it (affects cycles, can make losing weight harder), I want to know more. I know there are quite a few ladies with this on here and I am wondering if any of you have good books or websites with more information. I want to look at some lifestyle changes to possibly help in this and also just educate myself, but an Amazon search gave me eleventy million results. What do you recommend? TIA!!

deelopi9 · December 2014

Hi there...I just just diagnosed with PCOS due to Insulin Resistant & Inflammation. I have hypothyroidism as well and recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's. It's been an insightful last 2 months to say the least.

My RE wanted me to switch to a Gluten-free and more of an alkaline diet to reduce the inflammation. Have you checked your anti-bodies level and glucose? My glucose levels came back abnormal but nothing that would cause concern with my regular PCP who is monitoring the Hypothyroidism. RE then checked for the thyroid antibody levels and the combination of both is what connected the dots as to why I respond to the oral meds but have never seen a positive = insulin resistant. My new RE would have recommended a different protocol and started directly w/ Injectibles since it took 2 years with the last RE for them to figure out what was going on.

Do you know which form of PCOS you were diagnosed with? High levels of testosterone or cysts on ovaries. Good luck!

cateyes543 · December 2014

@deelopi9-The PCOS was based off longer cycles and cysts on ovaries. I also have hypothyroidism (just confirmed this week as well by blood test). Thanks for sharing your journey and insight!

deelopi9 · December 2014

@cateyes543 Anytime! I wish I had more insight to offer but I'm almost positive there are ladies here who have irregular cycles.

LindseyM2012 · December 2014

I'm sorry you have the diagnosis, but hopefully that diagnosis can start providing answers and solutions. Here are two books that came highly recommended to me (disclaimer: I haven't had time to read either):

1) PCOS: A Woman's Guide to Dealing with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome by Colette Harris & Adam Carey

2) Living with PCOS: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome by Richard S. Legro MD, Angela Boss, Evelina Weidman Sterling

If you're thinking about trying to manage things with diet (many doctors recommend this for insulin resistant type and those who have trouble with weight management), there is this: PCOS Diet Book: How You Can Use The Nutritional Approach To Deal With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome by Colette Harris.

The tricky thing with PCOS is that it is a syndrome that can be comprised of a bunch of different combinations of symptoms and causes, so every woman can have a different presentation and different laboratory levels but still fall under the PCOS category. I'd suggest writing down your laboratory results after every blood draw so you can reference which levels are out of whack. Ask your doctor or nurse to explain what levels are likely causing the problem and go from there.

cateyes543 · December 2014

@lindseyM2012 and @bluefairy5-Thanks for the resources and info. I don't know what "type" of PCOS I have, it was just confirmed with t/v u/s and the fact that my cycles were around 32-35 days (the last one went MIA and needed provera to remind it to restart). So I am just gathering some ideas of what lifestyle changes I could make that *might* help. I do have adult acne so maybe the gluten free idea will help there. I have also always been overweight (hence the siggy ticker), but I blame that on too many times through the drive-thru personally as I was a healthy weight in the Army (although I do not think you should need to work out for 3-5 hours a day to get healthy)!

LindseyM2012 · December 2014

The acne can also be a sign of high testosterone levels, which is a very common thing with PCOSers. Are you still in your testing phase? The blood draws will look at testosterone level, estrogen level, follicle stimulating hormone & thyroid stimulating hormone (someone add others that I'm missing!!!) in the blood draws and then probably a glucose test to check for insulin resistance. Those results along with the cycle irregularity and "string of pearl" ovaries will let you know what "type" you have. In the meantime you can experiment with the diet and other suggestions the books make to see if you feel better/different.

cateyes543 · December 2014

@LindseyM2012‌-yes I had my cycle day three testing on Monday and I have my HSG planned for Friday. I know that they checked FSH, LH, and one other that I can't remember off the top of my head. They called and said I had high thyroid levels so I am taking a medication now to hopefully bring that down to the level he RE would like to see it. I don't know if they plan to do any other blood tests (besides thyroid follow up), is there any that you would recommend I ask for?

cateyes543 · December 2014

@rainbowbridge14-Not overwhelming at all! Thanks! Since I have some more results in I can look at your references and check what my tests say! My Lh is slightly higher than my FSH but neither seems out of normal range (6.51 to 5.48 so not 2:1). T4 was normal range (1.13). I have not had a DHEA test result come through but I will ask my RE about them. I have not done any glucose testing yet but may ask about that as well just to see. I know I have low "good" cholesterol from my physical back in October but not high "bad". My thyroid is the biggest test out of range at the moment so maybe I just have a bunch of crazy things going on.

Thanks so much for your responses, you ladies have much to offer and are great helps!

LindseyM2012 · December 2014

@rainbowbridge14 (wow, you really know your stuff!!!) covered pretty much everything, I think.

@cateyes543 - Good luck!! Hopefully the testing doesn't come back as PCOS.

cateyes543 · December 2014

@lindseyM2012-Based on the "string of pearls" from my t/v u/s and having longer cycles I already have the PCOS diagnosis

I guess now it is trying to figure out what type and how to move forward to try and get KU!

cateyes543 · December 2014

@rainbowbridge14-So far (tests keep showing up on my portal as they get the results) only my T3 has been tested.

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