Periods and PCOS

[Queenie1996]

Hey everyone

I've just joined this page and been reading through some bits and bobs on here and was wondering for some advice regarding my situation.

I'm 24, overweight and been diagnosed with PCOS back in May. I have been prescribed metformin which I have been taking for a couple of weeks with side effects causing me to find the nearest toilet! My periods have been so irregular that I went 5 months with no period and now in my 3rd month with a constant period.

My biggest fear is that I can't have children which would absolutely devastate me as like many of you I long to be a mother.

Is there any advice, medical or day to day, that can help with A. My periods and B. Just general issues with PCOS

Thank you for reading x

[Stingy1]

Hi,Hope you are well.

Metformin can take a while to get used to! Slow release tablets are often a bit more gentle on your stomach.

My daughter lost three stone in weight after starting metformin as well as watching her diet & upping her exercise.

I don't know a lot about fertility & pcos but I know there is help out there and lots of ladies with the condition do become mothers.

Wishing you well & all the very best 🙂

[Katy_28]

Hi! Please don’t feel there is no hope out there for women with PCOS to conceive - it definitely happens and there are lots of stories here which are testament to that.Metformin can be a struggle at first - how long have you now been on it? Are you on a high dose? Usually doctors start you at 500mg and up the dose as your body gets used to it. It can help to take it after your main meal in the evening and then sleep off some of the side effects!

As for the periods - I would mention the constant bleed to your GP to see if there’s anything to be done about it. It may take your body a while to find a new rhythm with all of the good steps you have taken for your PCOS. I found that metformin and healthy eating made my periods more regular, but it’s so different for everyone.

I’m glad you found this page, keep reading and I hope it helps!

[Amyhogs in reply to Katy_28]

I hope so. I’m just about to start ivf fingers crossed 🤞

[Katy_28 in reply to Amyhogs]

I hope all goes well for you 🤞🏼

[Kimmy2002]

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 simple pcos, 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 4 months in A row but it’s taken 2 years of research and changing my diet to get there.. there is a device called an ovusense It’s a basal body temp device that you wear much like a tampon, and it’s tracks with an app your temp and predicts and confirms ovulation so once your ready to get pregnant you have all the information it may also be that your not currently ovulating and if you make the changes to diet and lifestyle you can make sure once your ready your body is already there too! But you will defo need supplements.. also I take metphormin because I developed diabetes because of my pcos if you change your diet I suggest not taking metphormin as the side affects are crappy and you can achieve it with diet alone doctors just prescribe it as it’s easy for them but metphormin depletes b12 and other vitamins that are super important for conceiving so if you can get off it I personally would . so supplements are the last thing to briefly talk about you 1000% need inositol (I get mine from time Heath) 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

[GetHealthy2021 in reply to Kimmy2002]

Thank you for writing this.

[Firefly86 in reply to Kimmy2002]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Are there any particular people or sites that you recommend looking at to help with the diet change?

[Kimmy2002 in reply to Firefly86]

Smartpcoschoices- she is on insta and runs 30 day free meal/diet plan workshops it was my starting point to really learning and changing. I also have a nutritionist but you have to pay for that .. start with the lady on insta and then I would be happyTo share the details of my nutritionist if

You require.