What now? Do I need to change anything?

[Sunflowermaggie]

Hi everyone, I have just been diagnosed with PCOS today! 🙋🏼‍♀️

I only found out as I came off the pill in lockdown and have only had 3 periods since August. They found I have high levels of testosterone and PCOS explains other symptoms such as excess hair and acne.

My doctor said I should go back into the pill, but I want to know my options first. I am at a healthy weight, the excess hair and acne don't bother me too much.

Should I just continue as I am? I'm not sure what to do, I feel overwhelmed with information...

Please help! X

[Kimmy2002]

Sounds like you have slim type pcos.. it’s less common but totally normal.. please don’t go back on the pill all it does is mask a few of the symptoms of pcos so not dealing with the root cause honestly Doctors are Super infuriating right! To be honest the treatment I have had is almost negligent.. firstly Lots of different things suite different people. My first advise is go and do your own research, Pinterest is a good source of advise.. pcos diet, pcos symptoms, pcos why, pcos what is it.. all things I typed and got some serious knowledge. There are also people on Instagram who do 30 day free meal plans and give you loads of information for free.. I think it’s called smartpcoschoices.. me personally I developed type 2 diabetes I was 6 stone over weight, lost a load of hair on my crown to point where I wear a wig and loads of hair in places there should be non! I was always tired and I just felt crap for so long it was my normal. My husband and I have been trying for a baby for over 13 years and for 10 years I hadn’t had a period so my pcos was quite severe. The first thing I did was learn what pcos actually is and then that helped me understand how to change both my diet and lifestyle to be well again. A super simple explanation is our body’s don’t tolerate sugar.. so they create insulin to match the higher sugar levels then because we have high insulin we create to much testosterone as the two hormones match each other within us and that causes a load of crappy side affects, like heavy periods, constant periods, no period at all, mood swings, weight gain, hairy chin, neck and back, loss of hair on crown and receding hair line, sweating a lot, always hot (especially hands and feet ) constantly tired, .. the list goes on but you can change it.. sugar is your new nemesis and It’s also not just simple sugar like sweets and deserts.. unused carbohydrates turn into sugars within our body if it’s not used.. so white potato, bread, pasta rice all things that if possible need to be removed from your diet even gluten free options should be a treat, There are other things you can have.. sweet potato, butternut squash, swede, quinoa buckwheat… but they are all complex carbs and will stop the ride of sugar spikes and plummets.. that’s also important as that why your craving food.. not even bad food just food I hear ya I been there.. it’s your body craving it’s next sugar high it sounds ridiculous I know.. one of the most helpful things I now know is to eat protein with every meal.. the protein helps Cut down sugar and carbs so double you protein intake (chicken, all fish and as much as you can inc oily fish if you can, please do cut the fat of bacon or pork as there is not a diet plan in the world where it’s good for you! ) and half your carbs and also good fat like avocado, humous, coconut oil, organic real butter.. please also stop counting calories.. a standard diet as you probably already know won’t work for us! and I back that up as i personally got a pcos nutritionist at my own cost and this comes directly from her... if I can shed any help I would also recommend going gluten and lacto free another side affect of pcos is loads of people are diagnosed with IBS again crappy lazy doctors what it is in most cases is a thing called pcos Leaky gut ( again Pinterest it) basically you can upset your tummy with gluten and lactos so if you avoid them it one more thing you don’t have to deal with but it’s more than just being close to a toilet constantly.. the leaky gut is twinned with inflammation of the stomach and left untreated can be nasty and again the side affects of that are feeling crap, tummy aches, the runs but it’s also affects your body working at a normal level.. Also the constant tiredness and feeling crappy seriously I know those diet changes feel like a lot but once you do it you will never look back.. I used to want to sleep in the late afternoon I was so poorly All the time I didn’t know what feeling good felt like until I changed my diet and lifestyle. One of the big issues is also stress.. stress actually makes your sugars increase crazy right! But when your stressed or upset do you reach for bad food.. look it up it’s a hormone called cortisol and it’s a ladys With pcos worst friend we need it as it helps us wake up and stimulates other hormones but we have too much.. there is no medical way of reducing so it’s a manage stress and situations. I’m 4 stone down, feeling fantastic and had conformation of Ovulation 2 months in A row but it’s taken 2 years of research and changing my diet to get there.. supplements is the last thing to briefly talk about you 1000% need inositol if nothing else, an omega 3, vit d with k3 and palmetto plus forte, also magnesium glycinate is a good Shout. There also herbal supplements called adaptogens you can take to help deal with stress hormone cortisol.. but please do your own research I can only tell you what has worked for me and every one is different. I wish you luck

[NellieH in reply to Kimmy2002]

This is such a great response. I'm 66 and was diagnosed with Stein-Leventhal Syndrome 45 years ago. Ie, I had slim (skinny, even) PCOS. Can't tell you the years of nightmares: the pain, surgeries, drugs, general mistreatment, and huge psychological impact. Also IBS. And there's loads of diabetes amd heart disease in my family. Fortunately - and i think this was helpful - I've always exercised a lot. But I wish all of this about diet and metabolism had been known then. I think it would have made a huge difference.

I hope the original poster will follow this excellent advice.