PCOS but low weight. Recovered ED, will I gain weight?

[Junomoon]

Hi, I've very recently been diagnosed with PCOS... All the pages I've followed have ended up being heavily focused on weight loss and diet. I've only recently recovered from an eating disorder and am struggling with this. Is anyone aware of some good support pages not focused on diet? I'm at a healthy BMI, but this diagnosis has made me wonder whether that's only because of my long standing ED- has anyone else experienced this? Am I going to gain a lot of weight?

[MedStudentP]

Not definitively no! PCOS is different in every woman so just as one person has one experience that doesn’t mean you will too.

Weight gain amongst women with PCOS is related to insulin-resistance similar to in Diabetes which means it’s easier to gain and harder to lose weight - but also a high BMI can also exacerbate PCOS problems and make insulin-resistance worse! (Just for you to know)

While this might be common it doesn’t mean it will happen with you! But this is the reason why a lot of weight and diet posts are on support pages - plus it’s an easier topic to discuss than more expert parts of PCOS!

I hope this gives you an insight and explains some things so you feel less worried! It’s really great to hear you’re beating your ED and I think it’s best to focus on the progress you’ve made there rather than letting other people’s PCOS issues affect your mental standing!

Maybe an idea to check your glucose and insulin levels if you really are concerned about it or chatting to an Endocrinologist about the best long term management - but right now I think you’re at your own stage and shouldn’t be worried about issues that aren’t fitting your situation!

Hope this helps (my god it’s long haha)

[Junomoon in reply to MedStudentP]

Thank you so much! I'm booking in for a checkup to talk about this more later this week, so will ask about an endocrinologist then. Thank you!

[MedStudentP in reply to Junomoon]

I get it is really complicated and it can be hard to explain to people and even some GPs don’t fully get the whole picture! Best to get expert help as you can live a great and normal life with PCOS when you’re looked out for!