Re: 18 with pcos? needing some info...
From: Sonnet (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Wed, 19 Dec 2001 19:31:39 -0600 (CST)
I'm sure Belle has already answered everything better than I can, but
I'm butting in! :)
Your symptoms definitely sound like they warrant treatment of some sort.
Obviously there is something going on in your endocrine system with the
hair and period issues. How sad that your doctor would just dismiss you
that way! This experience is all too common for so many of us! If (s)he
won't take you seriously on this, ditch that doctor ASAP and find one
who has a clue and is willing to treat you. Many women here say that
PCOS is much more manageable is caught and treated early.
As far as bloodwork goes, TSH is Thyroid Stimulating hormone (it just
checks for thryoid problems, which many of us have) and LH / FSH and
Leutenizing hormone and Follicle Stimulating Hormone. Thee two are
responsible for ovulation and the ratio between the two is a key marker
for PCOS. Not the numbers themselves now, the ratio. In healthy women
it is usually 1:1, with PCOS it is closer to 1:3.
If your doctor hasn't checked it, it would be very very helpful to you
to have a insulin-glucose tolerance test as well. This measures your
body's response to glucose by insulin production, and it can be a real
key in showing if your body has trouble processing insulin effectively.
(This is sort of the basis behind PCOS.)
I hope you get some good medical treatment and find some answers! And
don't let anyone just blame it on weight - that's a load of rubbish
plain and simple! :)
At Wed, 19 Dec 2001, jessica wrote:
>
>I went to a NP a few weeks ago because I hadn't had my period since
>july. My mother had mentioned to her that she had read an article about
>PCOS and asked if that could be whats wrong with me. The NP agreed that
>I did seem to have some of the symptoms, but doubted that could be whats
>wrong with me and said my symptoms are probably just due to my weight.
>
>I first got my period at 12. The first few year or two I would get
>horrible cramps, then it turned into being really light and barely
>there. The past three years, my period has been really light but not
>regular. It would skip anywhere to a week to a few months.
>
>Two years ago, I noticed I was starting to grow facial hair. Luckily,
>most of it is a really light blonde and not that noticible, but I do
>have a few really thick red hairs that bother me alot. It feels just
>like the stubble of a beard. I have also started getting really long
>blonde hairs on my chest. I also have black hairs that are starting to
>grow on my lower abdomin. What bothers me about those, is that even
>though I am a strawberry blonde, those hairs are black. Just the hair
>right between my belly button and pubic hair.
>
>I am also overweight. The NP would "like to see me lose 60-70lbs." How
>easy for her to say. I have noticed alot that in my younger pictures, I
>look thin and health. Most of my weight did seem to come on during my
>middle school years.
>
>Some of the other symptoms seem harder for me to tell if I have or not,
>such as acne and infertility. Is it usual teenage acne? I haven't been
>pregnant, but then again I haven't been practicing or trying either.
>
>I do have high blood pressure. I have had it for a while but I have
>been told its because of my weight. Both of my grandmothers have high
>blood pressure and diabetes also.
>
>I had an ultrasound last night. I don't have any cysts. I still need
>to go sometime this week and get blood work done. The NP wanted all of
>these things to get tested: Bun/Creat, TSH, CBC DIFF & Platelet,
>Glucose, Liver Function, T/D Bile, FSH/LH, testosterone, DHEA, and
>something else in her handwriting I can't read. What are all of these?
>I know about glucose and testosterone, but what is TSH, FSH/LH? How do
>they factor in to PCOS?
>
>The last time I got my period was in July. It decided to show up the
>morning of my ultrasound 5months later. Doesn't it figure? It seems to
>be the heaviest I have ever had and I have horrible cramps.
>
>ugh. It sucks being a girl.
>
>-jess
--
Sonnet Fitzgerald, PCOS Association, Online Community Liaison. Email: sonnet@pcosupport.org
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