My Weight Loss Diary

I had never heard about PCOS until i had started trying for my second child, and when i realised that my menstrual cycle had become erratic, i thought it was due to the weight i had piled on in a short amount of time. So instead of worrying about it, i decided to exercise more and eat less. However after four months of training every day for an hour and cutting my calories to 1200 a day i realised my weight was not moving and my cycle had stopped all together. So i took myself of to the doctors, who suggested my cycle might have stopped due to the stress i was under as i was moving house, he suggested i take time out and relax book myself a holiday and we would start test in a couple of months if things had not settled down, because it might be that i had PCOS.

I left the doctors and luckily was able to book a holiday, so off we went on a little family holiday, to be honest it did relax me, and when i got back we found out that i was pregnant so never gave PCOS another thought. My Pregnancy was terrible and i put it down to me being older, and be overweight, i also asked the midwife it it was normal to become more hairy while pregnant as i had not experience in my first but now my stomach looked like a rug, luckily for me the hairs are very fine and blonde, the midwife and doctors just laughed at me and thought i was seeing things, but my husband had noticed them too.

After having my son, i started getting allsorts of things wrong with me, my menstrual cycle was constant so i kept getting awful mood swings, the doctor suggested i have the coil filled as this would regulate my period and also help my hormones balance therefor stopping my mood swings. Yes the coil helped regulate my periods but it did not stop my erratic mood swings, nor did it stop my hair from falling out, my chin having a layer of blonde fine hairs, or my constant battle with my weight. Then last year i decided enough was enough, i am not one to moan about my life i just get on with it and look to the positive, and as far as i was concerned if i was like this because i had another child then so be it because my children are fantastic and i would rather stuffer than not have them.

However one day i woke up and realised i had no fight left in me and i needed to see a doctor just to get my worries of my chest, so i made an appointment, told him about my excess hair and then me loosing it, about my hairy chin and acne like spots, my rapid weight gain, but constant struggle to get it off again, and that my periods had stopped all together i felt like a constant moaner as though  was a hypochondriac, but thankfully the doctor put me at ease, he was great and did a series of test, and a week later i was diagnose with PCOS. That was just six months ago.

Since being diagnosed i have research PCOS constantly and i have been prescribed Metformin, which makes my life a lot easier, however it took a few months to get the dose right and also for my body to accept it. It’s only recently that i have felt 100% better, hence why i have started my weight loss journey in hope that it will help clear up the symptoms that i have. I know through research that if i loose weight it will help my PCOS and if i don’t i am on the verge of becoming a diabetic so i know i only have one chance to get it right and that is now.

Fact On PCOS:

• PCOS is the most common endocrine disturbance in women of reproductive age, affecting about 10% of all women.
• 40-50% of women with PCOS have abnormal results from their glucose intolerance test. This puts them at risk for diabetes and pre-diabetes conditions.
• If left untreated PCOS can lead to life-threatening conditions: cancer, diabetes, Heart attack and strokes.
• The name PCOS is a bit misleading – not every woman with PCOS has cysts, and many women who have cysts don’t have PCOS.
• Infertility is an issue for about 75% of those with PCOS, and those with PCOS are at an increased risk of miscarriage.
• About 50% of women with PCOS are obese, and in many cases the extra body weight is centred around the abdomen.
• PCOS is one of the most under-diagnosed reproductive syndromes in women.
• Because there is no cure for PCOS, it needs to be managed to prevent problems.

Symptoms:

• Few or no periods
• Irregular Bleeding
• Infrequent or no Ovulation
• Cysts on Ovaries
• Increased level of male hormones
• Infertility
• Chronic pelvic pain for 6 months plus
• Gaining weight and difficulty loosing it
• Diabetes
• Liquid abnormality (high/low cholesterol, high/low triglycerides)
• High blood pressure
• Excess facial hair & body hair growth
• Male pattern baldness or thinning
• Acne, oily skin, or dandruff
• Dark-patches of thick skin on neck, groin, underarms or skin folds
• Skin tags in the armpits or neck

Diagnosis:

There is no single test to diagnose PCOS. Your doctor will take a medical history, perform a physical exam (including ultrasound), check hormone levels and measure glucose, or sugar level in the blood. At the physical exam the doctor will want to evaluate the areas of increased hair growth, so try to allow the natural hair growth for a few days before the visit. During a pelvic exam, the ovaries may be enlarged or swollen by the increased number of small cysts. This can be seen more easier by having a vaginal ultrasound or screening, to examine the ovaries for cysts and the endometrium.

Treatment:

Hair & skin problems:

• Birth Control Pills
• Spironolactone
• Topical &/or oral antibiotics
• Electrolysis or laser treatment

 Menstrual Irregularities:

• Birth Control pill: regulate cycle
• Progesterone: start your periods
• Metformin: Stimulate ovulation & regulate cycles
• Diet: regulates cycle. 5 – 10%of body weight. Low carb works best
• Exercise

 Infertility:

• Clomiphene: helps the ovaries release one or more eggs
• Clomiphene with metformin: Helps in producing ovulation.
• Gonadotropin therapy: stronger treatment for infertility (injections)
• Diet & Exercise

 Weight & Insulin related concerns:

• Metformin: reduces the amount of sugar the body produces & helps with some weight loss
• Losing weight.

As told by the PCOS campaign
 

 

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