PCOS, anyone else?

[punk-a-doodle]

Been experiencing auto-immune type issues since birth. Recently was finally diagnosed with PCOS. Some things, like diet, have helped so much already. I am completely rid of two huge lipomas since cutting out carbs and sugar, am back at my ideal weight and haven't climbed back up in a year, no longer almost pass out and go numb if I don't eat every few hours, have had my gross yellow and brittle nails grow back healthy and pink, have improved my chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, and am getting sick less often. I was feeling pretty optimistic and happy there for a while. But, since winter has hit, I've had depression and anxiety hike back up, am having HUGE problems with chronic fatigue again, and my hair is falling out in clumps really badly. I know part of the problem is that with the holidays, carbs and sugar have been sneaking back into my diet, and I figure Vit D deficiency is at play due to the shorter days. The other PCOS threads are a bit dated, so posting a new shout out. Would love to hear how others are coping and any tricks for the winter months especially.

 

[sourland]

No PCOS here, but have you ever been checked for vit B 12 levels? A lot of the symptoms that you describe can be indicative of low B 12.

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome; Yes, it can be ruthless. I deal with it also. I too have dealt with some of the same symptoms.
Did the lipomas resolve on their own? The one I had, I had it removed in 2000. It had just kept growing.
I also deal with the hypoglycemia issues, amongst other things.
Now, at this point in my life, it is peri-menopause time. It may have a positive effect on my ovaries. Only time will tell.

I have found diet is one way to treat symptoms. But not all dietary changes work.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Haha, it'd be hard for you to have it Sour! PCOS and poor gut health seem to go hand in hand to me, including poor handling of nutrients from food. Need to get with an endo next and hopefully they will be helpful about looking at exactly what is out of whack. Besides my 16 year-old boy androgen levels I mean.

Moxies, ugh! So sorry you are dealing with PCOS too. It is a beast. Yes, the lipomas resolved on there own with the diet change...I had no idea that was even possible. It makes sense if I think about it though as lipomas are adipose/fat tumors, and PCOS causes abnormal fat storage. Low carb/low sugar forced my body to change the way it has been handling glucose and fat, and my body started burning fat with the change. I guess that included the lipomas!

Like you, I find diet and exercise helps many things, but is not enough on its own.

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

An interesting note though. On my lipoma, I had it when I was at my best health. Height/weight proportionate. Lots of exercise. 39 years old. Excellent diet. But it decided to grow, and became uncomfortable. I was told not to worry about it unless it became an issue for me.
Well, I had to outpatient surgery to remove it. It hasn't come back, but it has a very tiny one where the bud was. I guess. And now I am in peri-menopause, overweight, not getting any exercise, not the best diet. Interesting how our bodies work.

 

[Kyzmette]

PCOS... what a lifetime of misery that was. I don't miss my ovaries at all.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Huh, that is weird. I haven't found my weight or exercise levels to help with PCOS either though. Changing what I eat has helped, and as other women have found, too much exercise can actually exasperate many of my issues. I try for long duration and low impact activity these days.

Kyzmette, how much did it help? I'm don't want to have kids, so it is something I'm considering. I hear it helps some women, but those who say it made things worse and isn't reversible make me nervous about it.

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

My 3 pregnancies actually helped my PCOS. Just didn't know at the time that was what was going on.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Yeah, pregnancy can offer temporary or lasting PCOS relief for some women from what I hear. Can make it worse for others, like my mother. It is startling to me how much hormones and such effect our lives and health.

 

[Kyzmette]

I had the total removal last year when they discovered a mass in my uterus, at the age of 46. I didn't want to take chances considering my family history, and after the misery of dealing with PCOS for so many years, it was an easy decision. Seriously. It went like this...

Dr - Well, there's an unidentified mass in your uterus. We don't know...
Me - Take it all out!

Then I did a happydance.

I did have some sudden onset menopause issues right after the surgery, but they were really mild. I look back on it now and realize that my hormones were already so totally out of whack due to the PCOS that losing my ovaries didn't really phase me all that much. I took a hormone supplement for a couple of months, but a couple of weeks after stopping it, I haven't had any problems. Certainly not more problems than I had dealing with the PCOS.

Since the surgery I haven't had the constant abdominal pains, the mood swings, the reoccurring bladder infections, the periods that lasted a month or longer, the agonizing pain that felt like being violated with a baseball bat studded with broken glass every time a cyst ruptured... you guys know the list. I guess whether or not removal of your ovaries would help you would depend on how severe your PCOS is.

One thing I've found that I don't miss, which really surprised me, is that I really don't miss that constant need for gratification. I hate to bring up something so personal on a BBS, and I hope I don't offend people, but seriously, people don't discuss that and there's a lot of women out there who feel freakish or abnormal because of it. It reminded me of this cat I used to have who was constantly in heat... annoying, embarrassing, infuriating cat. We had her fixed and the vet found a tumor on one of her ovaries which was causing the constant flow of hormones telling her that she was in heat. I was afraid that the loss of that aspect of my sexuality would change me so much and that I would hate it. In fact, it's a relief. I find myself able to make more friends among men without viewing them all as potential partners, able to focus more on my family, my home, my work, my hobbies, able to normalize my own perceptions of self without that constant grating need driving some of my emotions and psychology. Looking back at that part of it, that aspect is rather like velvet handcuffs... some people feel like they have to have it and they build much of their sense of self around it, wearing their hypersexuality like a badge of honor, but you don't realize how much it limits your life until it's removed.