PCOS-MEDICATION Messages for December, 2001: Re: New to PCOS and got some questions...please help

Re: New to PCOS and got some questions...please help

From: Kimberly (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu, 13 Dec 2001 00:33:51 -0600 (CST)

Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
Next message: annie: "Website suggestion anyone?"
Previous message: monkeygirl: "Re: PCOS and trying to conceive w/Glucophage"
In reply to: annie: "New to PCOS and got some questions...please help"

Hi Annie and welcome. Well you have a lot of questions and I don't know if I can answer them all - but hopefully I can give you a starting point so you can do more in depth investigating...It sounds as if you have PCOS and I would not see any need for further tests unless you were wanting to get treated for infertility, which you are obviously not. Anyway - if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. You have all the basic symptoms of PCOS and further tests will probably not tell you anything else. Diane 35 is a fair starting point for controlling the outward symptoms of PCOS, but it is not appropriate TREATMENT for this disease. The only proven treatment is an insulin sensitizing drug (Glucophage, Actos or Avandia). An insulin sensitizing drug can not only help with the outward symptoms, but also the more dangerous symptoms that one cannot see. (abnormal cholesterol/triglycerides, high blood pressure, weight gain etc.) The diane 35 just blocks some of the excess androgens that your body is making because of the pcos. This is nice, but you should still seek further treatment with insulin sensitizing drugs. Your other option is a strict low-carb diet and fairly strong excercise regime, and this might be enough so that at this point you do not need further medication. When I first discovered PCOS I went on the low-carb diet and found that I lost weight easily, my cravings went away and I felt great. However a couple years later after having my son, a low carb diet did little or nothing for me. I think it must depend on your circumstances, but if you do not want medication, lifestyle can be just as life-changing.

Yes, many women with PCOS have cravings. Why? I'll try to simplify. The cells in your body do not function with normal levels of insulin (insulin resistance) so whenever you eat your pancreas has to produce unusually high amounts of insulin. Your cells finally accept the insulin and they are happy. However, now you have excessive amounts of insulin floating around your blood stream and your body begs for more food to balance it out and get rid of it. Of course the whole process just starts all over again and can lead to a continual state of hunger which is essentially not your fault. Now, if you eat only lower carb foods, your cells do not need the insulin to process it and you therefore circumvent the problem all together. A low carb diet can really help limit the cravings. I have also had a wonderful experience with Glucophage (aka Metformin) and find that I now have almost no cravings at all, ever. It is truly life changing for me - as cravings can get in the way of normal life and make one feel really bad about oneself. Exercise is also great because it makes the cells more likely to accept the insulin the first time around. I don't know why - but it works!

Seeing that you are 21, it sounds as if you are just starting to get the major effects of PCOS. I started gaining weight at around 20 and my mild acne just never went away. Anyway, besides irregular periods, I had few if any symptoms before I was 20. I know it's frustrating and scary, but the good news is that if you seek treatment now, before you put on another 50 or 100 lbs., you can prevent so many future problems (as excess weight makes insulin resistance worse). I wish I had known at 21 why I was gaining weight and feeling so bad sometimes! I don't have a hair problem, but I do know there are some drugs out there for that too. I also know the Diane 35 can help, but I've heard it can actually take up to 3 years to work at it's fullest! It's worth the wait I suppose, but there are also other drugs that can help you a bit sooner.

I would guess you are gaining weight in your mid-section because you are getting older and your symptoms are becoming more clear. Excess stomach weight is one of the most basic symptoms for PCOS. (we have excess testosterone, so just as a man gains weight in his "beer belly", so do we. This also increases your risk of heart disease in the future, as the fat can directly surround the heart) Scary, but once again treatable. I take Diane 35 and have had no problems so far. I am also on Glucophage however and don't know how I would have reacted to Diane alone. Yes, birth control pills can cause depression, but it usually eases up after a few months. Your options are to try a diffent pill and see if the depression goes away (although Diane is one of the better pills for PCOS, and you might not have as much hair lightening with another pill) - treat your insulin resistance with diet/drugs - or take an antidepressent until your depression seems to have cleared up. I don't think there is anyway a dr. or anyone else would be able to know what is specifically CAUSING your depression - they can only try different things to help it go away. Whatever is causing it, there is no need to suffer. There are things that can help - even slowing the hair growth might be enough to make you feel better. You will have to experiment, but don't give up and expect you will always feel this way.

Well, I hope I have given you a starting point. It's really overwhelming to be told you have a condition that will affect so many areas of your life for the rest of your life. However, there is hope, especially with information - which you are seeking. Most women can get this condition under control so that it isn't really the focal point of their lives. You have a good chance to do that because you are young and your body has not been damaged by it much yet. My understanding is that the longer this goes untreated, the longer it takes for treatment to work. Your pancreas also has not been overworked for too many years, and you can easily prevent diabetes by making sure it never has to work too much overtime. Please seek a dr. that will help you with the insulin resistance, do your research, and follow a good treatment plan. Best of luck!

At Wed, 12 Dec 2001, annie wrote: >
>Hello
>I'm a 21 year old female from the Caribbean, who has within the last 6
>months been diagnosed with PCOS. I had irregular periods, suffer with
>moderate hirsutism and had only gone to the obgyn to deal with an
>infection. He noticed my symptoms and did an ultrasound and found that
>I had several small cysts on both ovaries, and that one was actually a
>bit larger than the next. He told me about PCOS and it's symptoms, and
>I have been reading further on the subject. I have not done any other
>tests to determine abnormal levels of other hormones etc associated with
>PCOS. My obgyn put me on Diane 35 for contraceptive purposes as well as
>to help control the hair growth, and also to reduce the size of the
>larger ovary. I've been on it for 6 months now & I am noticing a slight
>imporvement with regards to the excess of hair, in that it's been
>growing back a little lighter (hair removal methods being waxing and
>tweezing), but I was wondering if there was anything else I could be
>taking to help control it more. My hair growth is on my face, around my
>nipples, stomach & bikini line. I sometimes feel like I live my life
>around my hair, and don't always do things I may want to because of it.
>I have also noticed some weight gain in my tummy/thigh area, which I
>never had a problem with before, and was wondering if this is associated
>with the birth control or the PCOS. Within the last two months, I have
>been experiencing very strong cravings for sweet foods like chocolate,
>jam, cake etc and also for breads. Usually when I'm about to get my
>period (before I went on Diane 35) I used to get cravings for chocolate
>etc. but this is ridiculous. I'm a university student, so I'm up at
>irregular hours, during exam time especially, and I find myself
>constantly snacking, especially in the early morning hours. Another
>thing I wanted to know was that I know that several factors may cause
>depression and such, but are birth control pills, specifically Diane 35,
>more likely to cause this? I'd love to get anyone's opinions on the
>matter. Thanks so much for your help. And I love this website, it's
>been very informative.
>
>--
>Annie
>

--
Kimberly

Next message: annie: "Website suggestion anyone?"
Previous message: monkeygirl: "Re: PCOS and trying to conceive w/Glucophage"
In reply to: annie: "New to PCOS and got some questions...please help"

Women's Insurance Checklist from Auto Insurance Quote

use when must restrict search to only the pcos medication forum...
Enter search keywords:
	Returns per screen: Require all keywords: