Hi Lynne.
I have PCOS too. I was just diagnosed last year. Here’s my story and what worked for me:
I have been overweight my whole life—and could never lose weight no matter what I tried—and I never had regular periods. I went to doctor after doctor trying to figure out just what was wrong with me, but no one ever gave me any real solutions, although they did try to give me Fen-Phen. When I was 16 and missing my periods doctors would tell me that my period could be irregular until I was 18. When I was 18 and missing my periods they said I could be irregular until I was 21. When I was 21 and missing my periods they said I could be irregular until I was 25. When I was 25 and still missing my periods, I just stopped going to doctors. No one ever seemed to understand why an obese girl would have amenorrhea since it is a problem that very athletic women experience when their body fat levels fall too low.
I just gave up worrying about my period. I was healthy otherwise and I just figured I was infertile. But my weight really bothered me. I earnestly tried to lose weight many, many times. I tried Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Richard Simmons, and Lindora, to name a few. I always believed that going low calorie, low fat was the key, so I never wanted to try the Zone or Atkins. But then my mom’s cousin who was over 300 lbs lost about 50 lbs in 6 months on Atkins (she’s 60 and I think she had/has PCOS but was never diagnosed). She sent me an Atkins kit and in May of 2002 I started the diet. I weighed 270 at the time. By August I was down to about 225-230 without even really trying. I wanted to figure out why Atkins worked for me when other diets hadn’t, so I did a lot of reading about Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, etc. In my research I found out about PCOS and I knew that’s what I had. I called an endocrinologist, made an appointment, had the tests, and, sure enough, was diagnosed. This was last November.
My doctor didn’t want to put me on Metformin, but she did put me on birth control to regulate my periods and to “give my ovaries a rest.” The pill really affected my emotions and a few months ago I stopped taking it. I figured the pill was just a band-aid anyway, since it doesn’t cure PCOS, it just masks/alleviates the symptoms. To my surprise, my period is totally regular now, even without the pill. I can actually predict the day it will come now. I know that’s not a big deal for most women, but I have always been “surprised” by my period.
I know that Atkins and exercise is responsible for the changes in my body. I’ve lost 95lbs and my other PCOS symptoms have disappeared or diminished. My body doesn’t just look better, it works better. I talked to my doctor when I decided to go off the pill and she said that it was possible to control PCOS through diet and exercise…apparently I have been able to just that. I have a doctor’s appointment in January so I will see what my test results show then.
I hope this helps...sorry I tend to go on and on...
XOXO
Frankie
