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Re: Am I just imagining it?
From: Sonnet (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Tue, 9 Apr 2002 00:56:48 -0500 (CDT)
Sorry Valerie but I disagree with you there.... well not really, I
agree that it wouldn't be a wonderful thing if mom found bcp's and
flipped. But that being said, I think this suggestion is FAR better
than leaving it untreated! Seeing a gyn at that age is really important,
PCOS or not. And I know a lot of us feel like we'd have been better off
if we had seen someone as teenagers instead of having to wait 5,10, 20+
years to get a diagnosis to be taken seriously! Better to know and at
least have something than not, right?
Hope you're well, either way. I know I owe you email! Man I am still
trying to catch up from that lost hour, ugh!!
At Mon, 8 Apr 2002, Valerie wrote:
>
>Just a note regarding Jodi's recommendation to get BCP's from planned
>parenthood...I would have to step forward and say that this may not be
>the best idea because if the young lady has a mother who already seems
>repressed to some angle (restricting gyno visit) then something must be
>remembered... IF BCP's ARE FOUND BY MOM this would probably be a
>disaster and very hard to explain to an upset parent who already does
>not take the health issues of PCOS seriously... Good Luck little Cyster
>
>--
>ValerieC
>
>At Mon, 8 Apr 2002, jodi wrote:
>>
>>Hey Angie
>>
>>First... WHY won't your mother let you see an ob/gyn??? Current
>>concerns aside, you're supposed to see one when you become sexually
>>active or when you turn 18. I know nothing about your sex life, but
>>you're close enough to 18 in my opinion to become concerned about the
>>health of your womanly parts. If you are sexually active and you're
>>comfortable sharing this with your mother, you might want to bring that
>>up as a push to let her let you go. (If you're not comfortable with it,
>>though, that's understandable... try pushing the "I'm almost 18" thing
>>instead.)
>>
>>OK, all that said... you TOTALLY sound like you have PCOS, or something
>>else very similar, and equally wrong. It is NOT normal to have periods
>>14 months apart. It is NOT normal to have skin tags. Hairiness might
>>or might not be normal for you... I don't know anything about your
>>family and genetic background. If you feel you are hairier than your
>>female relatives, then it is possibly a problem.
>>
>>Being overweight can certainly worsen some of our symptoms... but it
>>does NOT provide the sole explanation for them. I have seen an awful
>>lot of obese women who did not have body hair issues. I have known an
>>awful lot of overweight girls who had regular periods (my best friend in
>>college was an inch or so shorter than me, outweighed me by a good 15
>>pounds, and had clockwork periods). The insulin problems behind PCOS
>>can make weight gain easier... and the excess weight can make PCOS
>>symptoms worse... but "You're just overweight" does NOT explain PCOS.
>>
>>Neither does being young!!! I wish I could have back those years when
>>ignorant doctors told me my periods were irregular because I was "still
>>growing." I started having periods at age 11. For doctors to not be
>>alarmed when they were still wildly irregular at 16 was, in retrospect,
>>a darn shame.
>>
>>Bottom line, do not think that your weight or your age are causing your
>>problems. Also, though, do not think a gyn is the solution here... the
>>first gyn I saw was a complete moron when it came to PCOS. She's fine
>>as a gyn... but even after my diagnosis, when I knew bloody well I had
>>PCOS, she was a moron when it came to that. She told me I wasn't
>>overweight enough to have PCOS, and she told me that even if I did, PCOS
>>does not result in infertility. I'm not saying all gyns are morons,
>>just not to hang your hopes on a gyn being the only person who can help
>>you. PCOS is en endocrine problem that manifests itself in a bunch of
>>ways... as a skin problem, as a menstrual problem, as a weight
>>problem... it's a very puzzling disorder. That's why not all gyns are
>>knowledgable about it. You wouldn't expect your dentist to treat your
>>ingrown tonails, right? So you shouldn't expect your gyn to treat your
>>endocrine problems. HOWEVER... your dentist being a dentist doesn't
>>mean he just might have some experience with ingrown tonails. Maybe he
>>has a foot fetish. Maybe he failed out of podiatry school before he
>>became a dentist. What i'm saying is... well, it's not certain you gyn
>>won't know about PCOS.
>>
>>Do you have a trusted family doc you could bring this up with? Maybe
>>he/she could make some referrals, and then your mom would have to listen
>>(in theory...)
>>If you can't get your mom to take you to the doc... well, if I were in
>>your situation I would write to him and say, ehy, I'm having these weird
>>problems, and my mom won't take me seriously. Do you think these are
>>cause for concern? I'm wondering if I could have PCOS. I've done some
>>reading and...
>>
>>Two other possibilities... to be used alone or in cojnuntion with each
>>other...
>>
>>Planned parenthood. All they could do is do a gyn exam and give you
>>birth control pills. BCPs are by no means the best treatment for
>>PCOS... nor are they even really a treatment... they put the symptoms
>>on hold. Think of it as hitting Pause on your VCR. As soon as you hit
>>play, the movie will still be there... but for the time being, it's
>>stopped. some argue that BCPs might even make things worse. i
>>personally do not take BCPs because i suffered too much with side
>>effects... but there are a lot of BCPs out there, and if you really are
>>unable to do nothing else about this problem... well, you can at least
>>control it with BCPs for a short while. When you're older and have your
>>own health insurance, you can take more aggressive treatment. You might
>>want to try some research on which BCPs are best for PCOS, too... stay
>>away from those that aren't monophasic. (I could go on forever about
>>the pros and cons of BCPs... I have not, to be honest, decided that
>>they are all good or all bad. i personally cannot handle them - I
>>become completely suicidal on them, and i have tried > 10 kinds... but
>>I do see a lot of good in them, albeit as a less-than-number-one
>>treatment option...)
>>
>>Natural remedies. A very good very motivating book is something like
>>"PCOS: A woman's guide to living with polycystic ovarian syndrome" by
>>Claudette Harris (I think...) Do a search on Amazon under PCOS and see
>>what comes up. I have seen this book at barnes and noble, so you can
>>buy it there if ordering on line is a prob for you (i know i certainly
>>did have a credit card at 17!). Most bookstores will special order,
>>too, so if you can get to a book store, you can get this book. PCOS:
>>the hidden epidemic is also required reading... it provides information
>>on the causes and treatments more than it provides an empowering
>>do-it-yourself approach. both good books, just diffeent angles here...
>>ANYWAY... on your own, without a doctor, you can:
>>- reduce your carb (especially refined carbs and sugar) intake and
>>increase your protein intake
>>- exercise more - even just walking 2 miles a day has been shown to help
>>- research vitamins & minerals that have helped people. chromium
>>(200mcg/day) has been said to have helped a LOT of women. I have seen
>>studies where increasing vitamin d & calcium have helped (dunno if I buy
>>this...)... and there are others, as well...
>>- reduce/eliminate caffeine
>>
>>any other tips, anyone? i know how awful it is to not be able to get a
>>doctor or parent to take you seriously... i suffered for years,
>>thinking i was the only woman in the country with this problem... i was
>>23 when I finally got a diagnosis. i played doctor roulette for more
>>than 6 years... the fact is, though, that as nice as it would be to get
>>medical treatment when you know you need it... there are still measures
>>you can take yourself to control this. good luck, and i hope this
>>helped a little.
>>
>>- jodi
>>
>>At Sun, 7 Apr 2002, Angie wrote:
>>>
>>>Lately I have been doing a lot of research online to try and figure out
>>>why I am having problems with my menstrual cycle, etc. I came across a
>>>lot of PCOS websites and I was shocked to find that I have a lot of the
>>>signs related to it. By the way, I am only 17 (well I will be in a
>>>couple of weeks). I am overweight, have been since I was younger,
>>>though. I have excess hair on my body and face. For the most part it
>>>is blonde hairs, but they have been getting darker in areas. I have
>>>acne, my menstrual cycle is not a monthly thing...they ranges anywhere
>>>from 3-14 months apart without having one. I have also read skin
>>>discoloration and skin tags are also a sign. I have discoloration
>>>everywhere on my body (neck, armpits, between thighs, and other place).
>>>I have skin tags in my arm pits and on my elbows. I have been tested
>>>for diabetes, but was told I do not have it. Oh, and also, I lose a
>>>huge, not normal, amount of hair off my head everyday. I dye my hair
>>>quite a bit though, so I am not sure if that has anything to do with it.
>>>It is extremely thin. The reason I came here is to ask if it IS a
>>>definate possibility that I might have this disease or if my symptoms
>>>are so common...that they can't necessarily be linked to PCOS. My
>>>mother refuses to take me to see a gynocologist, so I am basically in a
>>>bind and I don't know what to do. She says it's only because I am a
>>>teenager and I am overweight. It still worries me, so any advice would
>>>be very much appreciated! Thanks a lot!
>
--
Email always welcome: sonnet_fitz@hotmail.com
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