yet another medical question from me

[nikki1979]

ok ive done the reasearch on this so im not needing facts . i recently found out (yesterday) an answer to a few of my questions. last month i had loads of blood work done and an ultrasound. turns out i have a cyst on an ovary and my testorone level is actually pretty damn high (ill be going back to the doc next moth but i cant get in sooner) and i have something called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (or disorder depending on weho ur talkin to ) what id like to know is if u or any one u know has this and what it actually has done to u or them and wha ti shud expect. im not to worried about it but i wud kinda like to know what i have to look forward to. so far the only symptom im having is i cant loose weight to save my life wich is why the doc ran teh tests in the first place. so if u cud also let me know what the meds did to u and if it was worth it to take em. ok im done. i understand if u dont wanna talk in the forum about it id luv a PM if ud rather it that way

Thank You in advance

Nikki

[cowgirltease]

cystic ovaries ain't nuthin to worry about. They just hurt like hell when you ovulate.

[nikki1979]

ya , im not to worried about the cyst, if i aint felt it yet i dont think i will hehehehe, im just wondering more about medication side affect and just HOW likly i am to get diabetes , that kinda stuff. ive been doing alot of research and not much of it really says more than a definition of what it is, i got that by now LMAO i was givin a helpful support page from a member but im still looking for more :D

~nikki

[naughtyangel]

Hi Nikki :)

I have PCOS. I found out while seeing a fertility specialist, trying to get pregnant with my son. So I've known I have it for almost 5 years now. The doctor suspects I've had it for a long time, as I went on the pill when I was just 16 to regulate my cycles.

For me, the two major issues it's brought into my life are being totally frustrated trying to lose weight and infertility. It took me over 2 years to get pregnant.

Have you talked to your doctor about starting a controlled-carb diet? It's been the only thing that's worked for me as far as weight loss goes.

Feel free to ask me any other questions...here or via pm :)

[nikki1979]

i think im gonna cry. i keep gettin told no carbs, ill die *sniff* im one of those ppl that have to have carbs at every meal or i just dont feel satisfied. ok so far thats the worst drawback, i will just have to find away around that :(

~nikki

[GingerV]

Nikki.....don't panic. Your doc is more lilkely to tell you to try carbs with a low glycemic index rather than no carbs altogether. That means that you'll be looking to avoid white bread, potatoes, white rice. But you won't be going off ALL carbs ala the Atkins sort of thing.

Not all good news, I know...but not as bad as it could be.

[naughtyangel]

Nikki, it's doesn't have to be no carbs. It's all about controlling your carbs. Your body needs some carbs to be healthy, it's just a matter of making as many of them healthy carbs as possible. (green veggies are best...also hard for me cause I'm a picky-veggie-eater).

I substitute all white-flour products (breads, pastas) with whole-wheat, and cut my portions in half. Same with white vs. brown rice. I've completely given up potatoes (which was really hard for me, I love potatoes!).

Sugar's a big one. Eating foods with sugar in them is like attacking your body with carbs. Even though it's expensive, I only use Splenda now instead of sugar. I have some really awesome recipies for low-carb sweets (I'm talking chocolate cheesecake, peanut butter cookies, etc). I'd be happy to share them with you if you want :)

[Lilith]

Nikki,
Keep in mind that it can cause type 2 diabetes. Often people with PCOS are given diabetes medication as part of their treatment. One thing that people get confused about as is seen in this thread is that just because a carb is complex does not mean it is safer according to the glycemic index. So just choosing wheat products and avoiding processed sugar is not the answer. studies have also begun to show that dietary sweetners can still cause blood sugar to rise. It is suspected that our tastebuds may have something to do with it.

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

This site will give you info including a database of each many carbs index. I have been studying a lot about this recently because I am trying to get off diabetic medicine. I was very suprised to find that many of the ideas I had about what was a better carb were not true.

[naughtyangel]

I totally agree wtih you, Lilith :)

PCOS can take so many forms and the symptoms & treatments are very diverse. I have a very mild form of PCOS, and the changes I made to my diet were on my doctor's recommendation, and have been enough to avoid medication under regular circumstances (though I'll probably need them again in order to get pregnant again).

Lilith, that's a great link, thanks for sharing it! I've saved it to my fave's for a more in-depth look later on. I've heard talk about the glycemic index before, but haven't really looked into it...but I plan to now :)

[Lilith]

My Drs. and nutritionists all suggest you try to plan your carbs around the index. I read some articles about women with PCOS taking diabetes meds to get pregnant. It seems to help.

[nikki1979]

ok this is beging to sound a bit more serious than i was takin it . i was just like "whatever, makes no dif to me" but now it seems that it really is gonna effect my everyday life much more than i wanted it to. so much for my days of eating white bread w honey on it for breakfast :( oh well ill live LOL yall r great ty for the advice and the helpfull sites uve given me

~nikki

[GingerV]

VERY roughly (and Lil could probably explain it better), there are a lot of different carbohydrates. Some of them induce a bigger insulin reaction than others. The higher a food's glycemic index raiting, the more that food triggers your body to release insulin. If your diabetes/PCOS/whatever is mild enough, you can sometimes manage your own insulin just by avoiding foods with high glycemic index raitings.

One quick point, the sugar most of us put in our coffee is sucrose. Fructose (the sugar found in most fruits) has a much lower glycemic index....and it tastes just as good in coffee (and other places). It's easy to find most places now, but a health food store would be a good source.

It won't be too bad a switch, Nikki....and you'll be surprised how much better you feel for it.