PCOS Messages for June, 2001: Re: not sure if my dx is correct--please help

Re: not sure if my dx is correct--please help

From: jodi (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu, 28 Jun 2001 10:01:31 -0500 (CDT)

Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
Next message: Jennifer: "I AM SOOOO EXCITED!!!"
Previous message: Anne: "Re: Spironolactone vs. Aldactone?"
In reply to: JaneHG: "not sure if my dx is correct--please help"

My take on this is...

If you DO have PCOS, your symptoms started when your pariods stopped. Since you went on the pill right away, and have been on it ever since, your ovaries - and their crazy mad overproduction of testosterone - have been shut down. You would have stopped the hairiness in its tracks, before it even started... if you were going to get it. Does that make sense?

It is not necassary to have all of the symptoms of PCOS to have a PCOS diagnosis. I have the infrequent periods, and the excess hair... but I don't have acne (no more than I think is normal) and I don't have skin tags (well, I once had a small one...) and I don't have AN... and I don't gain weight easily, and I was not TERRIBLY overweight to begin with... I don't lose weight easily, but I don't gain it easily either. It is possible that, for you, PCOS would manifest itself only in periods missing and skin manifestations, which you addressed early on by ovarian supression (birth control pills).

What pill are you are? Or have you been on many? It's possible that you have been on a pill (pills) that are "good" for PCOS... allegedly, there are a few out there!!! We even had a post the other day, by Cat, about a study finding ortho-cept & desogen being two pills that inmprove insulin resistance!!!! The BCP will normalize your hormone levels - that's why we take it. If you were on 'cept or desogen or a similar pill, that COULD be why your insulin probs aren't showing. It could be that your insulin probs just aren't lab testable - some women's aren't. It could be that you just don't have the insulin probs...

But yes, it could be that you don't have PCOS. It really is hard to say with you, as you have been on the pill so long without really giving symptoms a chance to start, you know? If you had an ultrasound, you probably wouldn't have cysts, since the pill has kept your ovaries from forming them now for 14 years. Your hormones will test normal... etc. I really don't know if it is possible to test for PCOS in your case, unless you go off the pill for a few months, and see what happens, both things you can observe and lab tests your doc can run.

It is certainly possible for menstrual problems to be the only sign of PCOS - not all women have all symptoms of PCOS. In your case, though... it's really very hard to tell.

- jodi

At Wed, 27 Jun 2001, JaneHG wrote: >
>I was just diagnosed with PCOS by my OB/Gyn. I stopped having periods
>at about 16 years, about one year after they started. I have been on
>the pill since then, and I am 30 now. I have always had very sparse
>body hair, and I am relatively thin (5'9'' and about 140 lbs). I don't
>have an acne problem except before my period (pill-induced), and I don't
>have any of the other symptoms that I know of. My doctor did some blood
>tests and told me even though my hormone levels and insulin/cholesterol
>were normal, he is confident that I have PCOS based on my menstrual
>history. Do any of you just have the irregular/absent periods and no
>other symptoms?

Next message: Jennifer: "I AM SOOOO EXCITED!!!"
Previous message: Anne: "Re: Spironolactone vs. Aldactone?"
In reply to: JaneHG: "not sure if my dx is correct--please help"

Women's Insurance Checklist from Auto Insurance Quote

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