Are you like me? Please help! Symptoms inside.

[Annie K]

I am a "thin" PCOSer. 5'5'', 125lbs. My symptoms, before BCP, were:

Hair on upper lip darkening, spreading in the nether regions, generally growing faster.
Acne on my chin that wouldn't go away for weeks.
Periods were irregular, but would take a while to completely disappear.
Lots of follicles on my ovaries.
No IR.
Blood work clean, no indication of why I have this - perhaps androgens?
Started having trouble losing weight in my midsection, despite exercising daily and eating well.

Does this sound like you? Have you tried anything successfully to get rid of these symptoms?

I am looking into accupuncture and herbs and such, but I figured I would go on here and see if there was someone like me who had succeeded in one way or another to get rid of symptoms the natural, or heck, not natural way. I have read a ton, but haven't found anyone specifically like me, so just going on the offensive, I guess. Thank you! :)

[goldengirl]

Hi Annie,

Our stories are similar. I was on Yaz (suppresses androgens) helped with pms symptoms, cramps, and acne went away. Then, got sick from Yaz, and a girl on a site like this urged me to get off of it because she just had her gallbladder removed. My symptoms matched hers so I stopped. For three months had normal easy periods, then started to have them every other month. OBGYN said you can get cysts when you stop BCP. Just last month an endocrinologist found the cysts and finally put everything together.

I was 5'5 and 125 when I had the irregular periods. In 14 months after the irregular periods starting I gained 30 pounds and that was while I was on a macrobiotic diet! I workout 6 days a week and haven't lost a pound. My acne is the worst it's ever been and all month long instead of cyclic. My acne hits my self esteem and ego so bad I hide at home...the weight doesn't help either.

I'm studying alternative medicine just to help myself, Ive been my own medical mystery since my first menses. My doctor is a natropath. So far I have tested my hormone levels via saliva (if your doc knows their stuff they use salivary hormone test). I use bioidentical progesterone cream. Helps with the cramps, mood swings and cravings. However, it needs to be used with herbs that balance your hormones or the progesterone can cause more hormone imbalance. I learned that the hard way, my dr. didn't make that clear, so I didn't do my herbs everyday.

I'm frustrated though because my endocrinologist is telling me the progesterone is causing my acne, fatigue and weight gain and made me go off of everything to test my hormones again and swore I would lose weight. So far it's been a month and nothing. I don't know who to believe...I'm waiting on my hormone, and IR results.

I want to try acupuncture. Did you try it?

[goldengirl]

Hi Annie,

Our stories are similar. I was on Yaz (suppresses androgens) helped with pms symptoms, cramps, and acne went away. Then, got sick from Yaz, and a girl on a site like this urged me to get off of it because she just had her gallbladder removed. My symptoms matched hers so I stopped. For three months had normal easy periods, then started to have them every other month. OBGYN said you can get cysts when you stop BCP. Just last month an endocrinologist found the cysts and finally put everything together.

I was 5'5 and 125 when I had the irregular periods. In 14 months after the irregular periods starting I gained 30 pounds and that was while I was on a macrobiotic diet! I workout 6 days a week and haven't lost a pound. My acne is the worst it's ever been and all month long instead of cyclic. My acne hits my self esteem and ego so bad I hide at home...the weight doesn't help either.

I'm studying alternative medicine just to help myself, Ive been my own medical mystery since my first menses. My doctor is a natropath. So far I have tested my hormone levels via saliva (if your doc knows their stuff they use salivary hormone test). I use bioidentical progesterone cream. Helps with the cramps, mood swings and cravings. However, it needs to be used with herbs that balance your hormones or the progesterone can cause more hormone imbalance. I learned that the hard way, my dr. didn't make that clear, so I didn't do my herbs everyday.

I'm frustrated though because my endocrinologist is telling me the progesterone is causing my acne, fatigue and weight gain and made me go off of everything to test my hormones again and swore I would lose weight. So far it's been a month and nothing. I don't know who to believe...I'm waiting on my hormone, and IR results.

I want to try acupuncture. Did you try it?

[goldengirl]

Hi Annie,

Our stories are similar. I was on Yaz (suppresses androgens) helped with pms symptoms, cramps, and acne went away. Then, got sick from Yaz, and a girl on a site like this urged me to get off of it because she just had her gallbladder removed. My symptoms matched hers so I stopped. For three months had normal easy periods, then started to have them every other month. OBGYN said you can get cysts when you stop BCP. Just last month an endocrinologist found the cysts and finally put everything together.

I was 5'5 and 125 when I had the irregular periods. In 14 months after the irregular periods starting I gained 30 pounds and that was while I was on a macrobiotic diet! I workout 6 days a week and haven't lost a pound. My acne is the worst it's ever been and all month long instead of cyclic. My acne hits my self esteem and ego so bad I hide at home...the weight doesn't help either.

I'm studying alternative medicine just to help myself, Ive been my own medical mystery since my first menses. My doctor is a natropath. So far I have tested my hormone levels via saliva (if your doc knows their stuff they use salivary hormone test). I use bioidentical progesterone cream. Helps with the cramps, mood swings and cravings. However, it needs to be used with herbs that balance your hormones or the progesterone can cause more hormone imbalance. I learned that the hard way, my dr. didn't make that clear, so I didn't do my herbs everyday.

I'm frustrated though because my endocrinologist is telling me the progesterone is causing my acne, fatigue and weight gain and made me go off of everything to test my hormones again and swore I would lose weight. So far it's been a month and nothing. I don't know who to believe...I'm waiting on my hormone, and IR results.

I want to try acupuncture. Did you try it?

[goldengirl]

Hi Annie,

Our stories are similar. I was on Yaz (suppresses androgens) helped with pms symptoms, cramps, and acne went away. Then, got sick from Yaz, and a girl on a site like this urged me to get off of it because she just had her gallbladder removed. My symptoms matched hers so I stopped. For three months had normal easy periods, then started to have them every other month. OBGYN said you can get cysts when you stop BCP. Just last month an endocrinologist found the cysts and finally put everything together.

I was 5'5 and 125 when I had the irregular periods. In 14 months after the irregular periods starting I gained 30 pounds and that was while I was on a macrobiotic diet! I workout 6 days a week and haven't lost a pound. My acne is the worst it's ever been and all month long instead of cyclic. My acne hits my self esteem and ego so bad I hide at home...the weight doesn't help either.

I'm studying alternative medicine just to help myself, Ive been my own medical mystery since my first menses. My doctor is a natropath. So far I have tested my hormone levels via saliva (if your doc knows their stuff they use salivary hormone test). I use bioidentical progesterone cream. Helps with the cramps, mood swings and cravings. However, it needs to be used with herbs that balance your hormones or the progesterone can cause more hormone imbalance. I learned that the hard way, my dr. didn't make that clear, so I didn't do my herbs everyday.

I'm frustrated though because my endocrinologist is telling me the progesterone is causing my acne, fatigue and weight gain and made me go off of everything to test my hormones again and swore I would lose weight. So far it's been a month and nothing. I don't know who to believe...I'm waiting on my hormone, and IR results.

I want to try acupuncture. Did you try it?

[cmschapp]

Hey Ladies this sounds like me. 3 years ago I was 5'5" and around 120 lbs and was on birth control. I gained 25 lbs over 2 years and currently am about 145. My symptoms sounded like the ones you listed but didn't really get better with BCP. I went off them 1/2010 to start TTC. I did 3 rounds of clomid and provera to induce AF with no pregnancies so I decided I wanted to go a more natural route. I have been taking my supplements since about July/2010 and have success with them helping my mood as well as regulating my cycle and helping me ovulate. I did run out of one of my supplements in my 3rd cycle so it went long but as soon as I started back up with it I ovulated and ended that cycle. I do still have to pluck my unwanted hair and I still get some break outs around my period but its not nearly as bad as it was before I started them. I did try acupuncture and liked it but am not sure if its covered by insurance so I need to see if I can submit claims to get my money back if not I will not be able to continue it. I hope this helps and if you have more questions let me know.

[praises1139]

Annie K--i'm like you. 5'5" and weighed about 124 on the pill, now i'm about 112 off the pill. BCP did help with my PCOS symptoms but i also had side effects from it. i haven't tried medications or supplements specifically for the symptoms because i'm trying to conceive (TTC). but i know there are other ladies around here who might be able to help.
maybe ask some of the ladies on the thread Thin PCOS & Fertility--maybe some of them did treat their symptoms when they were not TTC.
i have read that acupuncture can help lower testosterone as well as herbs and supplements. an acupuncturist can prescribe you the correct herbs. i'm doing acupuncture and some herbs but it's for fertility.

[ksu]

Hi, my name is Ksu. I am 29 years old. I live in LA. I'm so glad that I found this site.
Obviously, I shouldn't have acne; nevertheless, I'm suffering right now and have no idea how to help myself.
I was diagnosed with PCOS long time ago when I lived in Russia. I was 120 lb. I took hormone medication which helped me I guess in regulating my menstruation cycle and weight loss. Believe it or not, I fight with my weight always - it's stressful and emotional frustrating me. Because I thrive, but I meet less back. My weight is 160 lb now!!!! I am at the gym all of my life. It's good, but I want to see more results. Anyway, Now I have a big problems with acne. I've been in doctor's office. She didn't even advice me to test my blood first, instead, she prescribed me very expensive medications over $700. I took antibiotics Doxycycline which she also prescribed me, but it doesn't help. I did master Cleans for 20 days. My skin is so painful and terrible to look at it. Dear friends, Please, help me to find a good endocrinologist doctor here in LA if somebody knows one. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

[dustyfro]

I'm 5'4" and around 115 (I gained five pounds in two months when I moved to England, so I was five pounds heavier than I had been since I started college 7 years ago...I've worked it back to my normal weight now) My symptoms are acne, irregular periods, and hair growth. You should always have a blood test done. When mine didn't show up typical for PCOS, I had a test for adrenal hyperplasia (and a stressful month of playing phone tag with the doctor's office to get the results) which was negative, so my doctor called it "non-classic" because my androgens aren't that high and put me on a birth control pill.
Yaz was working fine for me, but then I lost my health insurance (and can't get it again because, hey, now I'm marked with a disease with a big scary name!) and Yaz was too expensive, so I got her to put me on a more financially feasible generic, and I finally went to Planned Parenthood for free birth control which...isn't working. I get two periods a month (could be because my housemate's hormones are overriding my medication) I can't do anything at the moment until I get back from England, and apparently the federal government wants to make things difficult for people who rely on Planned Parenthood, so there's no promise of that either.
I'm not convinced that I actually do have PCOS instead of something else. My doctor has never found any cysts, and my hormone levels aren't typical. I would really like to go to a nutritionist, but again, being poor with a disease means no insurance to cure said disease.