Re: I'm so confused...please help!
From: =?iso-8859-2?q?Zalányi Sámuel?= (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Wed, 25 Apr 2001 19:10:44 +0100 (MET DST)
Hi Nicole,
I thought I answered your questions, but let me try again. Many gynecologists still think, pill can cure PCOS, but it can't. It only masks some of the symptoms (regulates your cycle) but you gain more weight and the androgen excess isn't addressed properly either. From this Diane is an exception.
To regulate your cycle you can take courses of Provera or natural progesterone for 10-12 days a month. You can also have longer cycles with this regimen. This also prevents you from developing endometrial cancer later.
The root of the problem is insulin resistance (as written earlier) which causes your sleepiness, fatigue etc. To cure this, you should have some lab work and insulin sensitizers prescribed.
Sam
> Hi Sam (and everyone else)
> Thank you for helping to clear things up a bit for me. I now have
> another issue. I'm not interested in contraception (I'm not having
> sex), and I'd rather not take any medicine unless it is absolutely
> necessary. I thought the Pill was doing something for PCOS. If it
> isn't, what am I on it for? For the exception of never having a period
> (well...5 times in two years is almost never to me), I "felt" much
> healthier without the stupid thing anyway. Can't something happen if
> the lining of the uterus doesn't shed once a month....like cancer or
> something? I have heard this. Is it incorrect? If the Pill isn't doing
> anything for my but preventing pregnancy....then I don't want to be on
> it. I think I asked this before, and I'm certainly not going to test it
> out, but I thought the whole thing with PCOS was that I can't get
> pregnant. Can I or not? Why did my Endo. give me a pregnancy test
> before giving me Provera if PCOS causes infertility? I'm just beginning
> to do PCOS research now, but it seems like so much of the information
> I'm reading is conflicting. I don't want to keep bothering you or the
> people on this forum with my confusion either....but it seems you guys
> know what's going on. I appreciate your help....but I think I will
> continute to have questions until I get it all figured out in my head.
> Is there a RELIABLE and ACCURATE place I can go to get more information?
> I like to be as educated as possible on every aspect of my life,
> especially my health, and the vagueness concerning the information I'm
> reading about PCOS is driving me insane. Once again, thank you for your
> help. I really do appreciate it.
>
> Nicole
>
> At Mon, 23 Apr 2001, =?iso-8859-2?q?Zalányi wrote:
> >
> >Hi Nicole,
> >
> >Here is my standard answer for the BCP question
> >
> >> The problem of selecting THE BEST CONTRACEPTIVE PILL
> >> surfaces now and again on this board.
> >> It has to be emphasised THERE IS NO PILL to treat
> >> PCOS (with the partial exception of Diane, which is
> >> able to counter the excess androgens produced by the
> >> polycystic ovaries, but unavailable in the US).
> >> The problem of selecting an appropriate pill for any
> >> women is as old as the pill itself (more than 40
> >> years) and no way of predicting the reaction of a
> >> certain women exists. The only way is the trial and
> >> error method, but again: the pill is no treatment
> >> for PCOS. Thus it seems to be futile to suggest any
> >> particular brand of pill to each other. For cycle
> >> regulation the administration of gestagens is much
> >> better than taking any contraceptive, and there is
> >> room for estragen treatment as well in cases of
> >> prolonged bleeding.
> >
> >Sam
> >
> >> I am 20 years old and was recently diagnosed with PCOS. My doctor has
> >> been very helpful in answering my questions, but I feel that some of the
> >> side effects that I am having to the hormones in Ortho-tri cyclin CAN'T
> >> be normal! I have only gone through one cycle, but.....
> >> Instead of my face clearing up, it actually got worse. I cannot CONTROL
> >> my body's thirst for sleep. I literally sleep every second I can, out
> >> of a 24 hour day, I sleep through about 18 hours of it. I wake up to go
> >> to class, and to eat, and then I go back to sleep. This is really
> >> getting rediculous. I was trying to work, but my eyes got so blurry
> >> from them closing that I couldn't see my computer screen anyway. I
> >> found myself putting my head down at my desk in the middle of the
> >> day....it got to the point where I decided to stop working for a bit.
> >
> >Hypoglycaemia may cause your sleepiness and being hungry.
> >S.
> >
> >> can do this because I live with my parents and I have no bills or
> >> anything...) I called my Dr and she said to wait and see if my body
> >> adjusts, but I can't take this anymore. In addition, I am SO MEAN (and
> >> emotional!!!!)! It's almost like mean things are involuntarily coming
> >> out of my mouth, to the point where sometimes I just don't open my mouth
> >> for fear of what is going to come out. I've been so
> >> moody....and...hungry!! I'm NOT giving into my body's hunger pangs,
> >> because I know I wasn't eating that frequently before I began BCP.
> >> In addition, I was also informed that I have levels of insulin
> >> resistance. I don't know what this means exactly. When I was younger,
> >> I was diagnosed as being hypoglycemic, but I was under the impression
> >> that if you are insulin resistant you have HIGH blood sugar?
> >
> >No, at first your pancreas tries to adjust (increase) insulin levels to
> the decreased penetrability into your cells. This is the so called insulin
> resistence.
> >S.
> > Did my
> >> blood sugar level change, or can it go either way? I think my doctor
> >> said that right now I am the opposite of a diabetic, but it was more
> >> likely for me to BECOME a diabetic later in life. I'm very confused
> >> about that. She didn't put me on any medication for it, just told me to
> >> cut carbs and exercise more...but I'm too tired to exercise! I have no
> >> energy. This I know is uncharacteristic of me, because I work in a gym,
> >> where I was working out once or sometimes twice a day, until I began
> >> sleeping my days away. I miss the gym, I miss my friends, I miss being
> >> "normal". I feel like a train wreck. Is is really going to get better,
> >> or is this just the beginning for me?
> >> Oh, one more question. I don't plan on starting a family for 8-10
> >> years. What effect will this have on my fertility? I don't understand
> >> any of this very well. I know PCOS is a disease that affects fertility,
> >> but since it was diagnosed relatively early, will I be okay by then? Or
> >> should I start saving now for IVF or something?
> >
> >It decreases your chances of fertility, but the condition is treatable
> (insulin sensitizers)
> >Sam (Ob/Gyn,RE)
> >>
> >> Thanks for reading my looooong post!
> >>
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