PCOS Messages for December, 2000: Re: newly diagnosed

Re: newly diagnosed - questions

From: jodi (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Fri, 8 Dec 2000 11:38:07 -0600 (CST)

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i think that rather than asking which bcp is best for you you should be conbsidering if BCP and aldactone are really even the treatment you want to go with. i'll admit flat out i am dead set against the two due to my own experiences so take what i say with a grain of salt, if you will...

one of aldactones side effects is "irregular menstrual bleeding" which in my case amounted to a 3 week very heavy period which may or may not be what made me dizzy and exhausted and tired all the time. i quit the medicine because of this. most people who choose to stay on it, however, agree that bcp should ALWAYS be taken with it due to the above side effect and the fact that it can cause birth defects, especially in male fetuses. since it blocks the effects of androgens it keeps them from developoing properly. there is speculation that since females also need a certain amount of androgens it is bad for female fetuses, too. those are the facts about aldactone. or at least i hope they are facts - like i said, i hate the stuff, but i tried to be objective. :)

as for the pill... keep in mind that it masks symptoms, it doesn't correct anything. what the pill does is shut down your ovaries. in the case of PCOS this is thought to be good... since it is our ovaries that are pumping out all these weird hormones... it also gives your periods every 28 days making it appear as if your cycles have been "regulated". i've already said on this message board how i loathe that term... under the surface, it fixes NOTHING. supposedly, for some women, this shutting down helps get things under control that once they stop the pill the continue having regular periods and are super fertile for a few months. there lie the rationale of bcps for pcos'ers. the ovarian shut down supposedly helps with the hormonal hair problems, both loss and abundance... and acne... for me i found it did little for the hair- the aldactone did far more, but as i said i had side effects and i will not take the pill at this point because of previous bad experience with them. also due to the fact that it doesn't correct the root of the problems. it's kind of like painting the leaves on a dying plant green again rather than just giving it some water.

there are a lot of women who are perfectly happy to take aldactone and BCPs. the combination DOES work. however i personally feel that it is not addressing the real problem and that's why i am still playing doctor roulette trying to get someone to treat me otherwise.

it is good that your ob/gyn ordered the tests for you. however most ob/gyns don't seem very good at treating pcos. their interest lies mainly in the period part of the disorder... you might want to find an endocrinologist to follow you, even if the bcp/aldacatone combo is what you decide to stay with. here are a bunch of links you might find helpful:

http://blues.fd1.uc.edu/~gartsips/polycyst.htm

http://www.inciid.org/faq/pcos.html (this is a FAQ and pretty long... has a bunch of categories and subcategories... you have to click on thecategories to get all the info, it's not all on this first page)

http://www.drkoop.com/conditions/alternative_medicine/icp/pcos.html

http:/www.infertilityphysician.com/androgen/pcos.html

http://www.ivf.com/pcostreat.html

http://www.nejm.org/content/1996/0335/0009/0657.asp

good luck!

- jodi

At Fri, 8 Dec 2000, k wrote: >
>Hi all - I just found out last night that I have pcos.
>
>My bloodwork came back and my testotorone was extremely high and my dhea
>(?) was high in the normal range. Don't remember the numbers. I was
>just so alarmed that it was that bad.
>
>Extreme hairloss from going on and then switching pills is what got me
>into a new obg who agreed to test me. (Ortho try Cyclene to Levlite)
>
>I have the facial hair and some body hair (yuck). My periods are
>regular but short and light. My weight is okay but only after a long
>struggle through my teen and early 20 years (27 now). I also noticed
>that I develop muscle extremely quick. (been asked if i'm a body
>builder before!)
>
>The doctor put me on 100mgs of Aldactone a day and wants me to start a
>bcp again (i freaked out and went off of everything) Ovcon-35
>
>While I've already started the Aldactone. I'm afraid to start a new
>bcp. I don't know if my hair loss is from switching pills in the first
>place or if it is now from the pcos. (make sense? not writing well
>here)
>
>I'm afraid that another shock to my system will make matters worse.
>While I am worried about everything else associated with pcos (i think
>my mom had it and she ended up with endometrial cancer) My primary worry
>right now is the hair loss!! It's been eating me alive! I'm not the same
>person anymore. It's made me extremely depressed too.
>
>I don't want to be bald a 27. My sister's getting married this summer
>and I'm the maid of honor. I think I'll end up wearing a wig if it gets
>bad again.
>
>Any advice? Also, has anyone been through anything remotely similar to
>this and had luck with Ovcon - 35? Is it a low dose pill? I asked my
>doctor for the lowest dose possible but don't remember where we ended
>up.
>
>Also, I noticed that when I was on and even off the pill, the shedding
>is worse around my period. Would skipping the inactive pills and going
>right to the next month solve this?
>
>A question for my doctor I know, but I almost trust personal experience
>more. A doctor putting me on birth controll gave me this hairloss
>problem in the first place!
>
>Thanks in advance all! - Kim
>
>--
>k
>

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