New to pcos worried and little confused!

[Rachjo89]

Hi, im feeling a little confused! I'm 28 and have never really had a normal menstrual cycle. Although i was pretty normal from around 14 to 16 then they were very rare if at all. Then being on the pill until i was 22 obviously made this hard to notice and was sort of forgotten.

Since i came off the pill 5 years ago i rarely had a period. Maybe 2 a year and they were a few days barely any trouble. I put on alot of weight since the age of 20, maybe 6 or 7 stone. This past year or so i noticed dark hair on my face and neck etc. I went to the doctors recently as this year i had a very short but heavy period in January and nothing else until 7th July last month. Unfortunately i have been bleeding since then. When it had got to 3 weeks i went to the doctor. I decided to see what was going on as a nurse had previously said to see my GP about the abnormal periods etc. She suggested hormone bloods and a pelvic scan etc. She said she thought it may be pcos. The only thing i was worried about was the length of time bleeding. So i went away had blood tests. My scan is in a weeks time. But i returned after my bloods as it requested i seen a doctor as the results were abnormal. He explained my thyroid was slightly low but my sex hormone was very low and with the other symptoms this suggests pcos and the scan would confirm this. But i said i was worried as i was still bleeding. I have looked pcos up and i'm not sure if the constant bleeding is related to this. Now it's been around 37 days bleeding and i'm really worried. I know i will find out more next week at the scan but i wondered if anyone had this to with pcos. At the time of seeing my doc he did'nt really explain alot and said he would need to talk to a colleauge. But told me about diabetes and how i need to look at weight and diet (which i knew as i struggled for such a long time with weight) he gave me a diabetic diet to go by and i'm just worried now about diabetes and finding a balanced diet all at the same time. He said he was'nt sure of meds to give to give a regular bleed and so i went away hoping for some more info at my scan.

Sorry this is so long, just want it to make sense. Overall i'm mostly concerned about the length of time bleeding more than a anything at moment. I feel annoying going back again when my scan is very soon. Just wanted to know if this is normal with pcos.

[Ruby26]

Hi! I don't have the same symptoms as you but my friend had a similar problem and an ultrasound scan showed multiple polips. Hopefully the scan will show up what the problem is and you can get it sorted soon xx

[Rachjo89 in reply to Ruby26]

Awww thank you. I know i will know soon as i have the scan, but i do feel a bit better to know some people have had the same symptoms. The internets great but sometimes better to ask people who have it rather than what it says on the net. Thank you xx

[Rachjo89 in reply to Ruby26]

Aww thank you. Yeah i think i'm not going to worry too much until scan is done. Reading alot of these everyone is so different so i will wait and see. Thank you

[Hols969]

Are you trying to conceive, if not I would go on the combined contraceptive as this will control all the symptoms and can make weight loss easier too, generally low GI diet is the way to go, eat little and often. You can lose weight with pcos but it is SLOOOOOOW so you need to find the motivation as that is the tricky part. If we ate the RDA we would still gain 2lb a month so over a stone a year compared to non pcos ladies so we need to eat less just to maintain our weight. The combined pill should not make you put on weight so try another sort if you feel it does.

When I was TTC and came off the pill I put on almost a stone in two weeks (as over xmas so I was over eating as you do at that time of year) but it is easy to go on and impossibly slow to come back off ...

You can get tablets to stop the bleeding as well so go back to your GP or ask to be referred to an endocrinologist (not a gynae as it isn't a fanny problem or any ovary problem but is an endocrine disorder) which is why the name is so misleading as men can be carriers of pcos (my husband is one and my son will be too)

Weird periods is pcos - it varies hugely between us, some bleed constantly, some never, some rarely so it is very different for each lady.

Also look at the NICE guidelines on pcos as it advises what to expect from the NHS with regard to pcos.

[Rachjo89 in reply to Hols969]

Oh gosh i would never have known any of that! It's mad really you don't realise until speaking to people who actually have pcos. I'm not tryig to conceive at the moment, they mentioned the pill straight away but then asked about migraines and because i suffer from them quite alot my doc said it would be a no.

But i'm thinking once i have had the scan etc and go back to see my GP i will know a bit more about it. But as to weight loss gosh it is hard! Have got lots of info etc about the low gi diet but defo as you say motivation is the key but i lack that so i need to give myself a kick up the ass as i don't want to put anymore weight on!

I suffer with anxiety/depression anyway, have done seen i was really young and the weight makes me feel worse etc but maybe this will be a good thing that i know it will be hard but i can try and do as much as i can myself to help it.

But thank you so much for the reply and i will have a look. Reading lots of these on here as you said i guesss all women are different so it's really good to know.

[Hols969 in reply to Rachjo89]

You will learn a lot along the way, sadly not much from your GP. Motivation is the issue for weight loss really as it can be quite slow when you feel you have been really good and lose a lb it can feel quite depressing so the motivation is the key really.

The key in my opinion is to find a diet that suits your lifestyle, lots of ladies like Slimming World, I did the Norah Lane diet about 4 years ago and lost 3 stone and generally manage to keep it off, I do waver a bit with that one stone but do the 5:2 fasting diet when I need to lose any as I find it quite easy once you get your head around it and changes how you feel about hunger that is for sure. If Im bored or feeling a bit down, then I do struggle to control things a bit !! I nibble on bits of carrots all day which helps (as work can be dull).

[Emily1996]

Hi I just wanted to say I have experienced many of the same symptoms as you and I am also new to PCOS. I recently had a period that didn't stop for three months and I then had to take Norethisterone to stop it. As annoying, painful and upsetting as it is I would try not to worry too much about the bleeding the worst thing that can happen is your iron levels drop a bit (according to my doctor). My doctor actually said it's a good sign because at least your lining isn't building up. I completely resonate with your story and i hope your scan goes well xx

[Rachjo89 in reply to Emily1996]

Aww thank you. All the replies have put my mind at rest anyway! Much easier when you get info from people who have the same sort of thing. I think i will give it till i have had the scan and then see how the bleeding is. At first i said i was fine without tablets and i would put up with it but now it's becoming a bit much and i'm feeling rough so i will ask for something to stop it if it continues. Thank you for the reply xx

[Hols969 in reply to Rachjo89]

As Emily says up your iron if you are bleeding for too long otherwise you will feel too tired.

[Rachjo89 in reply to Emily1996]

Aww well thats good then. I'm not going to worry too much about the bleeding until i go back to the doctors. It has been 8 weeks now but still light. I had my scan today and still non the wiser. Maybe even more confused than the first time lol. But i have to see my GP on the 30th to discuss results then. So hopefully will get to the bottom of things then xx

[Aralyn]

If you'd bleeding is heavy and prolonged talk to your doc again. If it's normal or light, don't worry to much. PCOS causes both no periods and constant periods sometimes trading off in the same person. I went a significant time with no period after my youngest was born, they gave me pills to start it and then it didn't go away for almost a year. I was told not to worry as my blood levels were good. Same goes for you as long as you have a good amount of red blood cells you will be ok.

[Rachjo89 in reply to Aralyn]

Thank you for the reply. Been 8 weeks now and still light bleeding so i won't worry too much about that then. Thankyou

[Rachjo89 in reply to Aralyn]

Thankyou. Since then i did go back to the doc. The bleeding was very heavy. They gave me2 lots of tabs 11 a day for a week this pretty much stopped it straight away which was a relief but i don't think those tabs are for longer use so i have'nt had anymore. Not sure if the bleeding will start again. I have had my scan and they said i have some cysts but not a huge amount but as my bloods showed low sex hormone etc and my facial hair/skin problems they need 2 out of 3 to diagnose pcos. Which makes sense but they want to get my periods regular or at least 4 a year as i was having none at all previously, the doc said they would speak to gynocology and see if it was best to refer me to them for a treatment plan etc and to check nothing else is going on. So not sure what this means. It would be good to get it all sorted and regular but i thought if i did'nt have many cysts then they would say i don't have pcos but they say i do. I just felt really confused! Haha its complicated being a women xx

[Vonnah]

I'm sorry you been going through this. The longest period i had was for 3 weeks. It probably is related to PCOS but everything will be ok. It seems kinda rude that your doctor offered you a diabetic diet because yes we all need to change our lifestyle but i don't know i think you will be fine. There's no need for your doctor to put stress on you and more anxiety right after being diagnosed. I hope you feel better soon. Just try to take one day at a time. Praying for you😘