Hi everyone..

I'm new to the site, and new to PCOS. I really hope u can share some of your knowledge and advice with me!!

I'm 17 and ever since I was 13 I've been putting on weight, and my periods became irregular, until when I was about 14 and they stopped completely.

I'd never heard of PCOS until I was surfing on the internet, I have all the symptoms and, after being sent to a scan my gyn. told me i do have cysts, but I havent actually been diagnosed with PCOS although I've been told its a possibility.

My dr. has basically told me not to come back until I've lost weight. I am doing well with the weight loss but does that mean when my weight returns to normal my periods are likely to come back? I'm still having trouble understanding how losing weight will help me with regulating my periods!!!!

Please please answer some of my questions, I'm getting desperate. Does this mean I have a really low chance of having a baby???

Thankyou in advance... I look forward to reading a reply!!!!

P.S After losing 12 KG I noticed some spotting, it lasted for 3 days, is this a good sign?

I think you should see a physician who is more knowledgable about PCOS. It can be very difficult to lose weight with this disease. Many new drugs are coming onto the market to help too.

Also, I think it is inexcusable that a Dr. is putting you off, to any untrained eye a healty 17 year old should be having periods, and if she is not, should find out why. You should be screened for other gynecological problems - not just PCOS


Best of luck to you.

Bumpkin

I agree with Bumpkin - you need a 2nd, 3rd or however many more opinions it takes to get your periods under control again. Especially if you have any desire at all to try to have children someday. I went through much the same as you are experiencing and lost out on my best reproductive years due to a combination of (1) my lack of knowledge about PCOS and (2) the lack of care or concern that any of my Doctors had for my situation over the years. I know first hand how very discouraging it is to be young and naieve about a serious health disorder like PCOS and then to feel as though no Doctor on the planet knows any more than you do, or that they are just not interested in helping you find a solution. (Mostly they don't want to admit that they don't have the knowledge about PCOS and that they really don't know what to do to help you.) I have even been to Doctors who "say" they know how to treat PCOS, and have told them face-to-face that I have PCOS and they never have provided me with any sort of guidance on how to regulate my PCOS. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I saw an actual "fertility specialist" who I feel TRULY understands PCOS and has really put me through every kind of test possible such as drawing 12 vials of blood in order to test everything in the world my blood could tell them, giving me an ultrasound image of both of my ovaries, and just yesterday performing an HSG (hysterosalpingogram) which is an x-ray of the uterus and falopian tubes to confirm that my uterus is not mis-shapen and my tubes are not closed. All recent test results confirmed my PCOS...FINALLY! For the first time in my life (I am now 35) I finally found a Doctor who was knowledgeable enough and willing enough to put me through the proper tests and FULLY confirm that I am a text-book case of PCOS. I have now been prescribed an aggressive dose of Metformin, and have been given some nutritional guidelines to help me achieve weight loss (I've already lost 32 lbs), and ultimatley I hope to achieve pregnancy, as well as avoid developing diabetes. My advice to you is to be aggressive. Read and learn everything you can about PCOS on the Internet and at the Library. Never ignore your PCOS. Trust me, it will not go away on its own just because you ignore it, or because you continue to let your Doctors ignore it. You're young, and you might start thinking that this is a great form of "natural" birth control right now - but it's the kind of disorder that can be permanent birth control, as well as lead to other diseases such as diabetes. Make your Doctors listen to you...and if they don't...just keep searching until you find the right Doctor who WILL listen to you and WILL help you. I wish you all the best.

I am new here but I have been on the beyond infertility part for a while. Anyway, what is with these doctors? no no no! "Must be love" Find your self a new doctor. If you are in a rural area go to the nearest city and look in a phone book if you have to. Find a Reproductive Endocrinologist(sp, but that is the basic pronouncement) Or a Fertility doctor. I am not saying your infertile, if I were you I wouldn't say that to anyone because the insurance people don't like it. Even though I am sure you don't want to get pregnant right now, one of these doctors can do the right tests to find out for sure what you problem is. If you do have pcos which in my opinion you do, then you tell him/her to get you some progesterone(to jump start your period) then glucophage which is a drug that will make you feel alot better. Then you get your self some ortho tri cyclen which is birth control. You don't have to take it just because of the sex part, it will help with the acne that I will bet you have pretty bad, right? Also it and the gluecophage will help with the weight, but the weight is a result of your problems, not a cause. I am 22 yrs old, and I have been dealing with this since I was 16, just recently I was officially diagnosed with pcos amoung other things. I also have a uterian anomolie calle unicornate uterus and an incompetant cervix. I have been jerked around enough by doctors and led to believe that if I would just lose weight then I would be okay too. You CANNOT lose the weight without the gluecophage and exercise. I've tried.
You don't worry about that baby thing just yet. Your young, just take one thing at a time but do get it fixed now. Find that doctor.
What does your mom say about all this, if you don't mind me asking? Mine always helped me alot when I was younger.
You are very brave for searching for help, let me know if you need anything else. Good Luck Keep us updated.
Beth,22 uu, pcos, ic