PCOS-DIET Messages for November, 2001: Re: newly diagnosed and very confused

Re: newly diagnosed and very confused

From: Sonnet (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Sun, 4 Nov 2001 16:03:41 -0600 (CST)

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In reply to: lydia: "newly diagnosed and very confused"
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Reply: lydia: "Re: newly diagnosed and very confused"

Hi Lydia! Wow, it sounds like your doctors really haven't done a great job at keeping you up to date on what's going on! Let's see if we can fix that!

First of all let me send you to http://www.pcosupport.org - it's a GREAT website with just so much information. You can learn a great deal about PCOS and how to treat it there as well as finding a lot of support.

The basic version of the physiology behind PCOS is thought to be this: Insulin is the hormone that moves glucose from your blood into your cells. It also stores extra glucose as fat. With PCOS, our cells don't recognize a percentage of our insulin. So, in order to get energy into the cells and keep our blood sugar at a normal level, our bodies produce very high levels of insulin - like yours! The problem is that all of that insulin starts storing lots of glucose as fat, and it also interacts with the ovaries, adrenal glands, and other different parts of your body to overproduce testosterone. That's what causes the acne, facial hair, and so on.

Glucophage is a medicine to help your body use its insulin better. That means lower insulin levels, and thus less fat storage and less testosterone. It will also help to get plenty of excercise (which lets your body use your insulin better again) and eat a diet that is well balanced, without too many refined sugars and carbohydrates. When we eat those, they cause our blood sugar to spike up, which causes our pancreas to produce more insulin to deal with it - which makes things worse! Go for a lot of complex carbs balanced with plenty of protein and moderate fats, which also help.

The high insulin and PCOS are pretty close to the same thing. So, if they are treating one (hopefully!) they are treating them both. Usually in women with PCOS, if we can ower our insulin levels, we often start ovulating again on our own - allowing us to get pregnant!

High insulin levels are lcosely related to diabetes but are not. Insulin resistance, when your cells don't recognize your insulin, is very similar to Type II Diabetes; but it's not. With diabetes, your blood sugar goes high, say over 140mg/dl or so. With PCOS, your high insulin keeps the blood sugar in normal limits or even low.

This is long I know but I am hoping it helps. Please feel free to email me if I can help you further!

At Sat, 3 Nov 2001, lydia wrote: >
>I am very new to POS - I dont know how I can even begin to lose this
>weight! The entire reason I went to the Dr's (over and over and over)
>was the massive weight gain. I am on glucophage - is this supposed to
>help me lose weight? my dr told me to wait to get pregnant until they
>can "fix" me - are they treating pos or high insulin in me? what do my
>insulin levels mean? If 20 or below is normal, and im at 206, do I have
>diabetes? Please help!! I am so lost!!!

--
Sonnet Fitzgerald, PCOS Association, Online Community Liaison. Email: sonnet@pcosupport.org

Next message: Sarah-Jayne: "Re: Big Belly??"
Previous message: CJ: "Re: I would do anything I need to really loose 10 to 20 pounds in a month"
In reply to: lydia: "newly diagnosed and very confused"
Next in thread: lydia: "Re: newly diagnosed and very confused"
Reply: lydia: "Re: newly diagnosed and very confused"

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