I need some guidance...PLEASE help!!

[hjyon]

HI there,

I have been off and on these boards but I am facing some issues right now and want to find out what the rest of you think. I am 28 and was recently dx with PCOS. I was put on bcp and met 2000mg. However, I alos have IBS so the met is doing a HUGE number on my tummy, and the bcp has turned me into a raving ***** (excuse the french), but that is truly the only way to explain who I am right now. I freak out easily and have been screaming at my kids all of a sudden, and for dumb things. Honestely, I couldn't really begin to explain how bad things have been. Plus, I my migraines have gotten much worse. I have gone from one to three a year to that many in a month.

Anyhow, I keep being told that the only thing they can do is bcp to get my regular. But I cannot take them. It is just not good, my mother and both my sisters are the same way. So, I am going off of them right now. Adn this is where the problem lies. I am extremely irregular, I either have no period at all, and that pretty much happens most of the time, or Ihave a period that lasts for a month or so at a time. Not having a period isn't the end of the world :D but having one non stop is. Plus, since I have been on the pill for 6 wks, I have been spotting and now I have had my period for over a wk almost a wk and half. I just don't know what to do, I am seriously considering talking to my doc about a hysterectomy. I realize this won't cure the PCOS but at least I won't have to worry about my periods lasting for mths at a time.

Please if anyone has any insight as to what I can ask/talk to my doc about that would be fabulous. I just feel lost, and want to feel normal again :).

Thanks, Holly

PS...btw I am 28 and have three kids and we do NOT plan to have anymore.

[katydidnt1]

This is totally contrary to what most people say on here, but I do not plan to stay on met once I am done TTC. My dr believes that Met is really hard on your system, and, it's such a great drug for treating diabetes, that he doesn't feel it's good to stay on it any longer than nesecary, in case you need it down the road for Diabetes. Becasue, lets face it, a lot of us are destined for Type II. So, maybe you should try the pill or something of that nature. I would talk to your doctor and find out what options you have.

Katie

[katydidnt1]

What I meant to say, is that maybe you can take a mini-pill or something. Or there may be another option. I didn't want you to think that I hadn't read your whole post. I know that BCP is hard on your system.

Katie

[sweetsunshine72]

You might want to try Cinnamon. It does the same job as Met (re-sensitizes you for Insulin), but it DOES NOT have nearly the same s/e!!! In fact, it is used in chinese medicine to treat tummy troubles.

You should be able to get it at WalMart (USA), or your local health food store, and it's pretty cheap, too.

Dosages start at 1000 mg/day (spread out w/ meals), and go up to as much as 4500 mg/day (spread out).

If you are going to merge the two, just be careful to go gently, as the Cinnamon can pull your blood sugar down pretty fast if you are taking both, or if you get low blood sugar.

You should also start taking fish oil (Omega-3). It also helps metabolism, mood swings, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, etc., etc., etc.

I really hope you figure out a good treatment for you. Take care! 8)

[elsie]

Katy,

I'd get a second opinion about met. It is hard on your system, but diabetes is harder. The idea is to prevent typeII by treating ir. I know your main focus is trying ttc, but being healthy enough to parent is equally important. Take it from me, I have two children and my ir prevented my having the energy to play and even be there emotionally as much as I'd like. I'm not trying to push met, just for you to understand that a good endo will see the whole picture.

One perspective about met is that if it one is overweight, it can enhance weight loss efforts and if you take away the excess weight, your ir may be controlled with lifestyle factors at a lower weight, allowing you to go off met. This has not been the case for me, but then again diabetes (not brought on by lifestyle/weight factors) runs in my family. Diabetes is a serious, serious condition and if you are prone to it, aggressive prevention is key.

[elsie]

Hyjon,

Have you considered trying one medication in isolation to better gauge its side effects and efficacy? If you started bcp's and met at the same time, I can only imagine how turned-inside-out you must feel. Plus, 2000mg of met is a high dose in itself to adjust to.

You're right that a hysterectomy probably wouldn't change much. Current thinking is that ir is the root of the problem -- so the organ function in question is probably your pancreas, not your ovaries.

In terms of the met, did you ramp up s-l-o-w-l-y? It probably should take you a couple of months to get up to a 2000mg dose. There are all kinds of suggestions on the board for combining met with certain foods, and avoiding others, to avoid stomach upset.

The main thing is that starting both those meds together makes it impossible to determine which one you can tolerate, and which one is actually working. I'd take a step back, maybe cleanse your system for a month, then re-consult with an endo about the best plan of attack. Good luck :)

[hjyon]

Thank you to all for your help and guidance! I agree 2000mg is quite drastic, I never really took that much because it was doing me in. Part of the problem with that is that I also have IBS, which doesn't help any.

I had tried cinnamon in the past but I burped it up, even if i took it with a lot of water or food. And it was burning my throat. So, I stopped.

With the hysterectomy my main goal is to try and just stop the eratic bleeding that seems to last for quite some time. However, there is another method (I cannot remember the exact name) but they go in and burn the inside of your uterus and ovaries and that will keep you from ever having a period again. That is my only reason for doing something drastic. Unfortunately I cannot take any type of pill, I have tried so many times over the years and I just do horrible, all the women in my family turn into psychos on it. Really, I am a VERY patient person, especially when it comes to my kids (don't get me wrong I don't put up with crap) but I don't tend to freak out like I have been. It was really scary I was even having thoughts of just not giving a rip about my kids and I just wanted to beat them, seriously it was that bad. And that is sooooo NOT me. Anyways I have been off the pill for 3 or 4 days now and I am already going back to my old self, slowly but surly. I am going to see my Endo in a couple of weeks when she gets back from Romania.

I am also going to talk to my gyno about other possablities for treating the bleeding. This just can't keep on. You know, with all that I am going through now I realize how blessed I have been with my children. Not that I didn't realize how wonderful and what little blessings they were before, but now I believe they are truly miracles from God, because I probably should have never been able to concieve as easily as I did. Both pregnancies I only tired once and there they each came, with no help other than God and nature. I have my 4 yr old son and my twin girls who are 2.

Again, thank you. I will keep you all updated as to what my docs say. 8)

[elsie]

Hyjon,

I know exactly what you mean about looking at your children in a whole new way after being dx'd ... before then I had occasional thoughts of wishing I had waited until later in my 20s to have kids. Now I realize that having them unplanned (but still very much wanted) is a blessing, because my endo tells me that my monthly flow is most likely anovulatory.