12 posts tagged “pcos”

I've been feeling really lousy lately. Kinda fluttery in my stomach, tired, a bit weak. Just for fun (read: far fetched hope) I took a pee test. It was a long shot... and it came up negative, but I just couldn't help myself. It was far fetched because I still haven't gotten my period. I put so much hope into the Metformin. In my mind it was supposed to be a miracle drug. I'm trying to stay positive. I keep reminding myself that I've only been on it since February and it could still work, but there is a nagging voice in the back of my head saying "ya right, its never going to happen for you". On top of that, my weight loss has come to a stand-still. Life is so frustrating sometimes. 

Just got back from my OBGYN appointment. Basically we are at what feels like a stand still for another 3 months. I still haven't gotten my period after 2 months of Metformin, so we are upping the does to the maximum. I was on 500 mg 3 times per day. Now I am going up to 1000 mg twice a day. Hopefully this will bring back my period before my next appointment. The other thing she kept saying was that I have to loose weight. I know this. I'm not stupid. Its just not that easy. I am loosing, its just been very slow. 10 pounds in two months. I'm averaging about a pound a week. I am 5'7" tall. When I started on Metformin, I weighed 263 lbs. Today I weighed in at 253. Two years ago I was down to 195. My doc wants me back down to 200 before I go on the Clomid if possible. It took me a year and a half to loose 40 lbs the last time. I've got to find something that works. Maybe I'll sign up for the expensive 10 week program at the YMCA that has you work out like your on Biggest Looser. The trick is going to be getting Rudy involved. I know I can't do it on my own. The really frustrating part is that once I loose it all, then get pregnant, I'll just have to loose it all again.

Had my appointment with the family doc this morning to go over blood test results. I really should have canceled this visit. I felt like it was a wast of time. Everything she told me was stuff I already knew. We went over my sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels. All of which are high, but not high enough to be really bothersome. She talked about how getting my sugar levels under control and loosing weight will help with the cholesterol and the blood pressure. She said the the Metfomin will help with the sugar levels and possibly the weight loss (which it has already). It was decided that because I'm trying to get pregnant, I shouldn't go on any other medication. So nothing has really changed. Plus, I found it rather comical having a woman who is my size or possibly even bigger, who is also a doctor, telling me that I need to loose weight. I agree that I need to go down a few sizes, but I couldn't get that voice out my head that wanted to retort "I'll make more of an effort if you will to. How bout a wager. First one to loose 40 lbs wins". The thing that really frustrated me was when she asked how I was handling the Metformin. I told her I'm doing much better now, but I when I stared it was diarrhea for over a month. She proceeded to give me a lecture on how the intake of sugar and carbohydrates will increase the side effects of Metfomin, and that if I decrease how much I eat of those items, I should feel a lot better. I know thats true to a point, but I wasn't eating much of those at all when I started and I still had major problems with the runs. I even did a week of stage on the South Beach Diet, where I didn't eat any at all, and I still had the runs. Anyway, sorry for my little rant, but the appointment was just such a waste of time when I don't have a lot to spare.

Rudy and I officially got the time off for a long road trip to visit with his grandparents in Wyoming. We will be leaving the weekend of Memorial Day and will be gone up to two weeks. We've arranged it so our schedule will be really flexible. With how busy things are at work, I'm really looking forward to this trip and not having firm plans. It should be an adventure since I'm not good at going where the wind takes me. The idea of not knowing exactly where we are going to sleep at night or what we are going to do each day kind of freaks me out. We have a basic idea of what the trip will be. We will leave either Friday after work or sometime Saturday, depending on how good we are about packing ahead of time. If it works out, we will probably make our way to Milwaukee and stay with friends the first night. We are planning to take camping gear, so if we happen upon a campground that looks inviting, we may spend a night in the wilderness, otherwise it will probably be cheep motels. Rudy is brining his laptop with an updated navigation program and a GPS unit, so that puts me a little more at ease knowing that we can look ahead to find food, shelter, and gas stations. Along the way, we want to stop at Mount Rushmore and Walldrug. We will go through Yellowstone, the Badlands, and hopefully Bear Tooth Pass, if it is open by the time we get there. Once in Wyoming, we will be staying with Rudy's grandparents for a few days. They live near Jackson Hole and his Grandpa and Uncle work on a Ranch near there. The whole trip should be really interesting for me since I've never been out that direction.

I have never been so excited to stay the same weight! I've been on Metformin for 3 weeks now and I haven't gained another pound. This is a miracle. Over the past six months, since I went off the birth control pills, I haven't gone a single week without gaining weight. I am finally up to 3 pills a day, so hopefully with diet and exercise, I will start to loose weight soon.

Got some scary news from my doctor today. The fasting blood test I took abut two weeks ago said that my cholesterol was high (2 years ago it was borderline) and my sugar levels were elevated. Actually, they were more than elevated. My glucose level was 166 when it should be under 99. I looked it up online and found out that 100-124 is considered pre-diabetic. If I test higher than 124 twice in a row, I will be considered type two diabetic. I always knew there was a possibility of this because of my PCOS, I just didn't think it would happen so soon. Especially just as I'm ready to start trying for a baby. It does explains some of the problems I've been having recently. I've been very very thirsty, I crave sugar, and I've noticed blurred vision on occasion. I know insulin resistance is probably due to the large amount of weight I have gained since my wedding (from going off the Ortotrycycline to try to have a baby). Luckily, the Metformin that I was put on to help the PCOS is also the most common treatment for type 2 diabetics, so that should start to help soon. I'm up to two pills a day and I'll up the does one more time this weekend. I also have started to watch what I put into my mouth and am gradually adding exercise into my life again. Rudy and I are getting a training session this weekend on how to use the equipment at the YMCA, so that should get me even more motivated. I will get healthy again! I have to if I want to have a child.

Today was a good day. I had very minimal side effects from the Metformin and my headache was gone by the time I woke up. I even got to work relatively on time and left at 5 with everyone else. Because things went so well today, I'm actually planning to up my dose of Metformin this weekend, 3 days ahead of schedule. This way I can deal with the side effects of upping the dose over the weekend and hopefully be fine by Monday. I will still need to up it one more time and will probably do that next weekend to avoid more problems at work.

Last night after taking the Metformin I was ok. I felt mostly fine. However, when I woke up this morning, I had a terrible feeling of nausea. My first thought was "oh great... I get to practice having morning sickness :-( ". Luckily once I got up and started moving around and ate something, I felt much better.

I finally had my doctors appointment this morning. It went really well. I love my new doctor. She made me feel really at ease. Plus, she listened to me and did what I was hoping she would which was to put me on Metformin first... rather than Clomid. Metformin is a popular diabetes medication and has been show to help with PCOS symptoms. This is a huge ray of hope for me. There is a downside though. There are some nasty side effects when you start taking it. Luckily, if you are patient, they should subside. The worst (in my opinion) is that about 50% of people who take it experience nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea at the beginning of treatment. I just took my first pill, so we will see how it goes. The way I figure it is that if it helps with my symptoms eventually and helps me get pregnant, then its worth some discomfort in the beginning.