PCOS

[Luce0331]

I know most of us with PCOS struggle with weight but has anyone here lost some weight and then struggled to shift any more? I’ve been fortunate enough to lose nearly four stone but that still leaves me at 14 stone so obviously wanting to lose more, and I cannot for the life of me lose a single pound I’ve cut back even more on food and been doing lots of cardio, should I just accept my weight or is there hope?

 

[Donald23]

I know most of us with PCOS struggle with weight but has anyone here lost some weight and then struggled to shift any more? I’ve been fortunate enough to lose nearly four stone but that still leaves me at 14 stone so obviously wanting to lose more, and I cannot for the life of me lose a single pound I’ve cut back even more on food and been doing lots of cardio, should I just accept my weight or is there hope?

Well done on losing 4 stone that’s a huge achievement!!
I think the increased cardio might be where you’re going wrong running and biking increases adrenaline which is bad for Pcos. You might be better cutting back on cardio and doing more weights.
I’ve found a mixture of weights and steady paced walks have helped me

 

[Luce0331]

Well done on losing 4 stone that’s a huge achievement!!
I think the increased cardio might be where you’re going wrong running and biking increases adrenaline which is bad for Pcos. You might be better cutting back on cardio and doing more weights.
I’ve found a mixture of weights and steady paced walks have helped me

Wow I never knew this! Thanks for the tip

 

[bbbbbbb123]

I was going to say the same! My gp told me it raises all the wrong hormones so can be counter effective, she said swimming is good! I do an hours walk each day and that seems to help me. It’s very slow but it is coming off xx

 

[TravellingPants]

Absolutely, low intensity is your friend (walking, swimming, slow weighted workouts, strength work like yoga or pilates). One of the main things a body with PCOS is dealing with is an imbalance in cortisol, which is the stress hormone. High intensity exercise elevates that further and keeps us in fight or flight, and your natural biological response to that is to hold on to fat stores because you might need them to do one of those two things.

I once did a full month of doing a Youtube HIIT workout every morning alongside calorie counting and didn’t shift a single pound. Replaced it with walking and ate exactly the same way and lost half a stone in the next two weeks! It’s wild the way what works for a typical hormonal set up is the worst enemy of a PCOS body.

 

[Curly]

I was told by a hormonal coach to stay away from
High intensity workouts and any weighted workouts should only be 30 minutes long

 

[Donald23]

I was told by a hormonal coach to stay away from
High intensity workouts and any weighted workouts should only be 30 minutes long

Oh I’ve never heard the time thing! That’s interesting and I’ll be taking that on board for my workouts going forward
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Wow I never knew this! Thanks for the tip

It’s not something the doctors seem to say. Everyone bangs on about food and losing weight but nothing about the best ways to do it

 

[Blond3g1rl]

Oh I’ve never heard the time thing! That’s interesting and I’ll be taking that on board for my workouts going forward
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It’s not something the doctors seem to say. Everyone bangs on about food and losing weight but nothing about the best ways to do it

GPs know very little about PCOS

 

[Curly]

Oh I’ve never heard the time thing! That’s interesting and I’ll be taking that on board for my workouts going forward
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It’s not something the doctors seem to say. Everyone bangs on about food and losing weight but nothing about the best ways to do it

I didn’t know the time thing until she said, apparently she said after 30 minutes your body then produces too much cortisol and then will
store fat.
She also said to cut as much gluten, sugar and dairy from diet and focus on protein and fats. This has been the only way I have managed to lose weight and feel healthier. It’s a total overhaul but I can see how certain foods were really bad for me.
I’ll also make sure I have one cup of spearmint tea a day

 

[Elsie1988]

GPs know very little about PCOS

They are only GP and not specialist so not expected to know about single con, however, some GPs do know more than others. You can request to see a different GP if you feel you need another opinion or help

 

[Blond3g1rl]

They are only GP and not specialist so not expected to know about single con, however, some GPs do know more than others. You can request to see a different GP if you feel you need another opinion or help

I was diagnosed nearly 20 years ago. I’ve seen countless GPs, all they say is lose weight. I was on metformin, then one GP took me off it due to apparently no evidence of it helping with women with PCOS, now every GP I see refuses to put me on it again.
Under the NHS PCOS is treated as a fertility issue. I do not want children. Therefore no help is provided.
I have had to educate myself.

 

[RandomAlpaca22]

I was diagnosed nearly 20 years ago. I’ve seen countless GPs, all they say is lose weight. I was on metformin, then one GP took me off it due to apparently no evidence of it helping with women with PCOS, now every GP I see refuses to put me on it again.
Under the NHS PCOS is treated as a fertility issue. I do not want children. Therefore no help is provided.
I have had to educate myself.

This is currently my issue too. I have been borderlined PCOS since the age of 11 but the GP decided at 15 the best thing for me was to be put onto the pill, causing the cysts to not show on any further scans.

I'm now almost 27, and have just had a trans-vaginal scan that has confirmed my ovaries are absolutely ridden with cysts. All my GP has offered is for me to go back on the pill (I don't care nor wish to go back on it).

I'm bleeping sick of this NHS and their lack of care and support for women with PCOS/endo etc. We're pushed to the bottom of the barrel, only given a look in if we inform them we are TTC. I don't want kids right now. but I would sure as hell like to not to be having cycle issues for 2 weeks every damn month

 

[boomska]

So I’m a little confused!!
Backstory- I did a blood test at home to test my hormones as think I suffer with PCOS. So I went private through work to see if I could get diagnosed but I also went through my local GP to get my thyroid tested. It came back normal
Got a scan of my ovaries done through the private GP and they’re totally fine too. I had my meeting with the private doctor and he said everything’s pointing to PCOS even though my ovaries are fine so I need to contact my local GP to go onto the pill.

Soooo I don’t know whether to go to my local GP (who has voiced they don’t want external input) and get a full blood work done or go straight to talk about the pill (currently not on anything!)

 

[Donald23]

So I’m a little confused!!
Backstory- I did a blood test at home to test my hormones as think I suffer with PCOS. So I went private through work to see if I could get diagnosed but I also went through my local GP to get my thyroid tested. It came back normal
Got a scan of my ovaries done through the private GP and they’re totally fine too. I had my meeting with the private doctor and he said everything’s pointing to PCOS even though my ovaries are fine so I need to contact my local GP to go onto the pill.

Soooo I don’t know whether to go to my local GP (who has voiced they don’t want external input) and get a full blood work done or go straight to talk about the pill (currently not on anything!)

To be diagnosed you need two of the three “criteria”. I’ll attach an image at the bottom. Normal scans don’t mean no Pcos but it would mean that your blood tests have shown something that correlates to your symptoms.
Did they repeat your at home blood tests? At home blood tests are done off small samples and can be very unreliable. If the private gp hasn’t redone them, I’d request for a full set of hormone and regular blood work up to be done.
If your bloods and ovaries are fine, I’d be getting your own gp to try dig a bit further into other causes. You don’t want to start on a pill that could prolong your suffering in the long run. It sort of sounds like the private gps done the scan and wants to fob you off back to the nhs, if your work is paying for it I’d use it to your full advantage to get a definitive diagnosis

 

[knivesnflowers]

So I’m a little confused!!
Backstory- I did a blood test at home to test my hormones as think I suffer with PCOS. So I went private through work to see if I could get diagnosed but I also went through my local GP to get my thyroid tested. It came back normal
Got a scan of my ovaries done through the private GP and they’re totally fine too. I had my meeting with the private doctor and he said everything’s pointing to PCOS even though my ovaries are fine so I need to contact my local GP to go onto the pill.

Soooo I don’t know whether to go to my local GP (who has voiced they don’t want external input) and get a full blood work done or go straight to talk about the pill (currently not on anything!)

i'm the same, clear scans but meet two of the diagnostic criteria through blood tests. pcos is the hormonal imbalance that causes symptoms, pco is the presence of actual cysts but cysts are sometimes a feature of / caused by pcos associated hormones too - honestly it's quite confusing!

 

[Thank(space)you]

I've just been diagnosed with PCOS which was a shock as I was convinced I was going through early menopause

 

[whyhellothere83]

I've just been diagnosed with PCOS which was a shock as I was convinced I was going through early menopause

I also thought I was going through early menopause when I was diagnosed!

 

[ThisIsMyDragName]

6ish months after I asked for a referral, I’ve got an appointment through for my scan to have a look at my ovaries. It’s in just under a month’s time. I had been prepared to get the scan privately but other stuff going on in my life meant I’ve not got round to booking it, so that’s saved me a few pennies. I’m still a bit grumpy that the referral was delayed for a few weeks because the GP couldn’t be bothered to put down any of the symptoms, etc that I described to him as the reason for referral, so it was initially rejected and I guess a bit lost in the system for a few weeks at the surgery, but I also get that a 6 month wait in the NHS is pretty good going, all things considered!

 

[LittleRoots]

Not sure if anyone’s experienced it or not, I went to get bloods done as suspected I have pcos (chickened out so many times) my results came back with high thyroid levels, so am going to get another blood test for more tests, absolutely terrified! From what I’ve read online thyroid issues can be hormone related anyone have anything similar? Don’t know what to expect