Welcome to Our War

PCOS has been like a war for me. Some battles I have won, and I have lost a lot.
The hardest part for me was being at the beginning of the road, looking down it, and wondering how in the world I was going to get started on what needed to happen.

I had just returned from serving a mission for the LDS church, where I had gained 50 pounds. When I got home, I stopped eating sugar, white flour, white rice, and white pasta. I started running every day, and I wasn't seeing a difference in my weight. At all. That's when I first suspected that something was wrong.
My doctor first put me on Sprintec - a birth control - and within a few weeks I had dropped around 20 pounds! Even one of the techs at the hospital was amazed! But after that initial weight loss, I was back to fighting for every pound to come off, I think I was able to get about five more off, but it was a long, hard road.

The biggest difference came when my sister started the Medifast diet, and  lost a lot of weight. I decided to try it, a year after my diagnosis. Within two weeks of being on the diet, I'd lost 15 more pounds! Through running every day, I have been able to maintain most of the weight loss. Throughout the diet, my energy levels went up a lot, I was able to sleep better, and I felt a little less crazy.

My biggest problem was, that despite the weight loss, I still had teenage acne, facial hair, and no energy.  I did a lot a of research and came across the supplement D-chiro inositol. It was expensive for how much it suggested taking every day, but I was willing to do whatever it took. The only difference I noticed was a pain in my bladder area that was persistent. My energy level never changed, and I was always exhausted. I did some more research and came across another inositol - myo-inositol. From what I read, it was supposedly the better choice for treating PCOS symptoms. So, I ordered a bottle, which happened to  be A LOT cheaper than the D-chiro! Again, I didn't really notice a difference, but I have never tried to become pregnant through any of this, nor have I had my hormone levels monitored, so I can't really say for sure that it didn't make a difference, but I never noticed one.

I decided that I needed to see a different doctor, a young gynecologist that knew more about PCOS, (my previous doctor had gone to medical school many, many years ago, and didn't really know a lot about it). After talking about a few things, mostly how "I don't look like the typical woman with PCOS." So why was I having so many problems? She prescribed Gianvi, a new birth control, telling me that it would help the symptoms better than my other birth control. Soon after, I decided to make an appointment with a dermatologist, who has put my on another oral medication, and a couple of topical medications. I have also had a few laser hair removal sessions done, but those are expensive and I had to travel a couple of hours. My sister owned the Remington home laser thing, and she let me borrow it, I bought some cartridges, and it has actually worked pretty well!... When I remember to use it!

My current medications have helped a lot! My acne is TONS better, my awkward hair growth has diminished, and I don't feel crazy, at all. I still struggle with sleeping and energy, but I haven't been concentrating on my diet lately, so there is always room for improvement there! Hopefully this blog journey will help a lot with that. Also, just a note, when I turned 26 and got kicked off my parents insurance, and before I got my own, I started taking Sprintec again because it is A LOT cheaper, but it made me INSANE and super depressed. I am back on Gianvi, and a lot happier! You just have to find what works for you.

Feel free to ask me any questions about anything! You can comment below, or you are even welcome to email.