PCO(S)

Post Reply New Topic

Does any one here have Poly Cystic Ovarie Syndrome?



I have always had rare and painful periods, and I have lately started feeling
lower abdominal pain. I seem to have a lot more of the symptoms as well..
But I guess I'm a bit scared of seeing a doctor. Is this harmful in any way?

How did you notice that you had this? And how did your doctor confirm it?

Yes I have it, in fact I am getting my levels checked now and hoping to go on a low dose of metformin (I am not diabetic but apparently it will help relieve some of the symptoms). I have always had irregular cycles, acne, and lately I've been dealing with painful and sickly periods.. not fun.

Hi, D,

I have PCOS, and I had blood tests for several things, esp. hormones and blood sugars, and I had a couple of pelvic ultrasounds. I was on metformin like Lionesss as well, and had to have a couple of procedures to deal with cysts that didn't resolve.

My periods were a misery, and could be very heavy. I would have them pretty regularly but they would last for 8 days. Then my cycles started to change, and would be from 21 days to 31 days. Then in the last ten years, I'd skip periods, or I would bleed for weeks.

The best way to deal with it is to be proactive. Take the hormones if prescribed because PCOS can lead to certain kinds of heart disease and diabetes. Exercise. Get excess weight off if you can, even part of it. Ask to see a nutritionist to get on the right diet for you to minimize symptoms. During your period, use all of the self help techniques that can make you more comfortable, from hot water bottles, to minimizing caffiene, that sort of thing. Move as much as you can, even if you have to stay close to home, to help with cramping. Use Midol or ibuprofen if the cramps are bad if you can tolerate otc pain meds.

In my case, I finally was faced with hysterectomy or a uterine ablation, as the hormones were causing fibroids to grow out of control. I went with uterine ablation, and it was the best decision I ever made. Of course, I was older (46 yo), and not wanting children, as the ablation basically makes one sterile. But because of the anemia I developed along with the fibroids, which aggravated the already heavy bleeding, it made sense for me to do the ablation.

But do see a doctor. This is a chronic condition and you need to monitor it with help.

Good luck.

I have PCOS as well. My doctors suspected it when my blood glucose levels weren't normal. They ran a glucose tolerance test and also blood tests for hormones (thyroid, sex, and stress). I also had a pelvic ultrasound.

My periods were wretched... cramps so bad I vomited and got diarrhea, heavy bleeding for a week with only 2 week breaks. I got anemia because of it. I wasn't diagnosed properly because my ovaries were asymptomatic (no cysts), but I made the doctors give me a partial hysterectomy (just the uterus) because I got really sick taking all the hormones and pain killers and couldn't stay on top of the anemia even with supplements.

I had extreme problems with my weight. I kept gaining even though I was eating properly and exercising. I developed insulin resistance (pre-diabetes), and they gave me Metformin to help with that. It helped a little, but not significantly in my case. Losing weight appears to help the symptoms, but I couldn't lose weight because of the condition... it became a no-win situation. I finally ended up getting gastric bypass surgery to correct all the metabolic problems.

I also suffer from acne and excessive body hair. In addition to the acne, I also have a skin condition known as Hidradenitis Suppurativa which are chronic boils in groin, armpits and under the breasts. They believe it may be an autoimmune disease and may be related to PCOS (many women with HS also have PCOS). I'm getting laser treatments for the hair, but there is no cure or treatment for the HS and the acne meds make me sick.

Part of the reason some of my issues got as bad as they did is because I wasn't diagnosed early and the issues compounded. So take the meds your docs give you and keep getting tested. Lose weight if you can and see a nutritionist because lots of foods seem to aggravate the condition (high carbs, gluten, etc)... if you can't lose weight even when you try, please consider weight loss surgery because it has been proven in recent studies to resolve many metabolic issues (diabetes, PCOS, etc). You definitely need to treat and monitor this condition because the other conditions associated with it can increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

I have PCO and have been told that having periods every 3 weeks / or not at all can be normal if you have PCOS ...I felt really ill on metformin, so they put me on the pill dianette, which makes me ill so am currently on nothing. I want to have my ovaries out as don't want anymore children but thay won't do it till I'm over 35 for some reason. So I will suffer in agony untill then I suppose.

I had similar problems with my doctors when I told them I wanted a hysterectomy. I was only 23 and had no children. I did finally force the doctors to do the surgery, but I had to pay out of pocket for it. I figured it was worth the costs to just have to worry about the pain, hormones and anemia all the time.

Hi,

I was diagnosed with PCOS about 10 years ago. I found out when I went to the doctor complaining about pain in my side and they did an ultrasound and found cysts.

It is a good idea to see your doctor. Most cysts are reabsorbed into the body but some just grow and can cause all kinds of problems and worse if large ones burst.

I had PCOS from puberty till mid-2002, when I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and had those miserable, painful, cystic things removed.

Cancer sucks, but god am I glad to be rid of those godawful periods!

Oh, my goodness yes! I kept having this nagging pain in my lower right abdomen and it would get worse around my period, and then ease up, but not completely after my cycle was done, and then the pain would build again.

This went on for a couple of months, and then I felt really off for a couple of days, and extremely bloated (some cysts are hormonally active, which mine were). I was working at the hospital, and as I walked into a patient room to check on supplies, whammo! I had this blinding crash of white hot pain, and I was on the floor before I knew it. I had broken out in a cold sweat, and shaking, and I ended up in the ER. I was lucky to be there.

A friend of mine had one burst, and she didn't go into the hospital for several days, and finally was forced to go by her mother. She had severe infection and lost an ovary, and was in the hospital a week.

It's not something to ignore, for sure.