7 replies to this topic

[dreamer003]

Hi,
Just recently I was diagnosed with pco-syndrome. My symptoms are:
- acne
- diffuse hair loss
- irregular menstrual cycle
A gynaecologist did an ultrasound on me and confirmed my suspicions, I have pcos.
Now basically she said there's not much you can do, except go on birth control. The thing is, I have been on birth control (diane35) for 3 years, and although it helped my acne a little, the hair loss started while I was on it. I've been off it for a year now, and my hair stayed the same (not worse, nor better).
I'm also on accutane now and I've been on it for almost 2 months and my skin is definitely improving, but i wonder if it's more likely to come back after the treatment, because of pcos. Does anyone here took accutane while having pcos?
And I've read some things about a low carb diet, does that really help with the symptoms? Oh do i love carbs...
Would love to hear some experiences

[CocnutCaramel]

not an answer to your question, but my pco just went away on its own. it might come back, but according to my gyn it comes and goes and is not permanent. so you might not have it forever. i think my pco debuted when i was terribly stressed out and didn't exercise properly, so for me cardio workouts and calming down a bit helped me a lot. not saying i won't get the cysts back, but i'm not sure bcp is the ***only*** way to heal it.

[dreamer003]

CocnutCaramel, on 10 December 2011 - 02:44 AM, said:

not an answer to your question, but my pco just went away on its own. it might come back, but according to my gyn it comes and goes and is not permanent. so you might not have it forever. i think my pco debuted when i was terribly stressed out and didn't exercise properly, so for me cardio workouts and calming down a bit helped me a lot. not saying i won't get the cysts back, but i'm not sure bcp is the ***only*** way to heal it.

Oh that's new, my gynaecologist said nothing about it possibly going away. I did read about exercising and a better diet being helpful, so I should really start doing that... How did you de-stress?
Did you have many symptoms? And did they also go away?

[CocnutCaramel]

dreamer003, on 10 December 2011 - 02:57 AM, said:

Did you have many symptoms? And did they also go away?

I found out about my pcos about a year ago, when I hadn't had a period in 3 months. I got some sort of hormone pill to get back on my cycle again, and it worked fine. But my period was always pretty irregular. The months before it went away i had completley cramp-free periods and my gyno said that's an indication that I wasn't ovulating during those months.
I've always had lots dark, thick hair on my legs, pubic, armpits and eyebrows and that's supposed to be a symptom. But that's how i've been since I was 10, so it could just be genes. My acne is almost completley isolated to my cheeks/jawline, and before i got the diagnose I think my hair was falling out a bit more than normal.
So:
- Irregular periods
- No ovulation
- Missing/skipping periods
- lots of body hair
- Cheek acne
- Hairloss (but this one's not certain, cos i had longer hair than i'd ever had when that happened, so it could just be that i wasn't used to having that much hair to get caught in my hairbrush...)

When my period whent missing and i got the diagnose i was in an extremley stressful phase of my life: just moved to a new city, had no money and no friends, worked 12-hour days a lot of the tme. I lost a lot of weight (and I was pretty slim before) and generally just felt like crap. Now, a year later, I moved away from that city to a place where i have friends. I started exercising (run 2 times a week) and got my weight back (with more muscle! woho!)

Now, my hair isn't falling out, I am ovulating (because i have crazy cramps), i'm still a hairy werewolf-lady (lol), but my acne is subsiding. And overall i'm happier and feel better. I'm gonna start taking Yasmin on my next period and I hope that'll help with the cramps, and maybe keep the pco at bay.

Edited by CocnutCaramel, 10 December 2011 - 10:37 AM.

[dreamer003]

CocnutCaramel, on 10 December 2011 - 10:35 AM, said:

dreamer003, on 10 December 2011 - 02:57 AM, said:

Did you have many symptoms? And did they also go away?

I found out about my pcos about a year ago, when I hadn't had a period in 3 months. I got some sort of hormone pill to get back on my cycle again, and it worked fine. But my period was always pretty irregular. The months before it went away i had completley cramp-free periods and my gyno said that's an indication that I wasn't ovulating during those months.
I've always had lots dark, thick hair on my legs, pubic, armpits and eyebrows and that's supposed to be a symptom. But that's how i've been since I was 10, so it could just be genes. My acne is almost completley isolated to my cheeks/jawline, and before i got the diagnose I think my hair was falling out a bit more than normal.
So:
- Irregular periods
- No ovulation
- Missing/skipping periods
- lots of body hair
- Cheek acne
- Hairloss (but this one's not certain, cos i had longer hair than i'd ever had when that happened, so it could just be that i wasn't used to having that much hair to get caught in my hairbrush...)

When my period whent missing and i got the diagnose i was in an extremley stressful phase of my life: just moved to a new city, had no money and no friends, worked 12-hour days a lot of the tme. I lost a lot of weight (and I was pretty slim before) and generally just felt like crap. Now, a year later, I moved away from that city to a place where i have friends. I started exercising (run 2 times a week) and got my weight back (with more muscle! woho!)

Now, my hair isn't falling out, I am ovulating (because i have crazy cramps), i'm still a hairy werewolf-lady (lol), but my acne is subsiding. And overall i'm happier and feel better. I'm gonna start taking Yasmin on my next period and I hope that'll help with the cramps, and maybe keep the pco at bay.

Ahh that's really good to hear! I'm happy you're feeling better
I think i'm a little bit hairy too haha, but it's manageable
I'm definitely going to start exercising more and eating better, hopefully it will sort things out a bit. It took you about a year to start ovulating again?

[Prettywords]

Not demonizing BCP's at all because they can be really helpful, but some say they can cause PCOS.


Does the Pill cause PCOS?

The Pill is not a solution for PCOS. It does absolutely nothing to improve the underlying insulin resistance, and can actually worsen it ⁽⁹⁾. In 2003, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism published an article called 'A Modern Medical Quandary: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Insulin Resistance, and Oral Contraceptive Pills'.⁽¹⁰⁾ The Pill has been standard treatment for PCOS, and yet, perversely, it appears to worsen the metabolic problem that is at the root of the condition. The authors say: '...what has been lacking is a critical examination of whether oral contraceptives might...exert adverse metabolic effects with long-term consequences..'.

The Pill may have made further contributions to the epidemic of PCOS. The Pill is known to cause permanent hormone changes, even once it is stopped.^(6,7,8). As stated above, it is medically known that it can take a long time to get ovulation going after stopping the Pill. (Some women are lucky to have periods start again easily, but that is not the case for everyone.)

The pill will cause a monthly bleed, but this is not a true period.

I guess it would depend if you're IR or not.

Accutane can work for people with PCOS. Some say it has ant-androgen properties, but not much is known about just how it works.

I'd finish the course and then reevaluate later.

If you're IR and overweight, low carbing and losing weight will help tremendously. If you're thin and not IR it much dicier. Don't start an intense workout or diet during 'tane though.

Most people I know with PCOS who are on the pill need other meds to combat the PCOS. The BCP alone usually doesn't cut it by itself.

[dreamer003]

Prettywords, on 17 December 2011 - 12:56 AM, said:

Not demonizing BCP's at all because they can be really helpful, but some say they can cause PCOS.


Does the Pill cause PCOS?

The Pill is not a solution for PCOS. It does absolutely nothing to improve the underlying insulin resistance, and can actually worsen it ⁽⁹⁾. In 2003, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism published an article called 'A Modern Medical Quandary: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Insulin Resistance, and Oral Contraceptive Pills'.⁽¹⁰⁾ The Pill has been standard treatment for PCOS, and yet, perversely, it appears to worsen the metabolic problem that is at the root of the condition. The authors say: '...what has been lacking is a critical examination of whether oral contraceptives might...exert adverse metabolic effects with long-term consequences..'.

The Pill may have made further contributions to the epidemic of PCOS. The Pill is known to cause permanent hormone changes, even once it is stopped.^(6,7,8). As stated above, it is medically known that it can take a long time to get ovulation going after stopping the Pill. (Some women are lucky to have periods start again easily, but that is not the case for everyone.)

The pill will cause a monthly bleed, but this is not a true period.

I guess it would depend if you're IR or not.

Accutane can work for people with PCOS. Some say it has ant-androgen properties, but not much is known about just how it works.

I'd finish the course and then reevaluate later.

If you're IR and overweight, low carbing and losing weight will help tremendously. If you're thin and not IR it much dicier. Don't start an intense workout or diet during 'tane though.

Most people I know with PCOS who are on the pill need other meds to combat the PCOS. The BCP alone usually doesn't cut it by itself.

Thanks for your reply
I've read some things about bcp's causing pcos too, but I don't really know what to believe... I can't change the fact I was on bc for 4 years anyway and I've been off it for a year now and not really thinking about starting again (but i probably will some time in my life).

I have no idea if I'm insulin resistant. Is that a given when you have pcos? I guess that's why you should eat low GI food, to keep your blood sugar stable.
I'm not overweight though, i'm slightly underweight.

[Prettywords]

It's not a given when you have PCOS, but many are IR. It's more difficult to treat PCOS if you're thin. Overweight people with it usually notice dramatic results in all their symptoms when they lose weight. There's a lot they don't understand about lean PCOS.