Most cases of PCOS are diagnosed shortly after a girl starts her period but come on later in life as well. It can show up during the reproductive years or in response to a "traumatic event within your body" aka-a substantial weight gain. I will assume that the last scenario did it for me. I really didn't show symptoms of PCOS until after I had hit my highest weight, dropped back down to 200.6, was in a car accident and then gained back 39 pounds.
I will be honest. During "phase 1" of my weight loss, it was pretty easy for me. I didn't work so working out and meal prep and planning was my job, and I treated it as such. In the fall of 2014, I had returned back to college and had started to work as a teacher's assistant and a tutor. I was much busier and it became HARD. I was lucky if I mad it to the gym 3-4 days a week. I maintained my weight loss within 10 pounds or so for two years. In February 2016, the day of the big east coast blizzard, I was involved in a car accident and sustained a head injury. I was not able to do physical activity and packed on another 25 pounds. When I was released in May 2016 I still went to the gym. I still ate mostly healthy but the weight would not budge. I was finding myself buying new fat clothes and that is something I promised myself I would not do. I plan to do another blog about "fat clothes" here soon. I was becoming more and more depressed by the day.
I started in the endocrinology field during my externship and became FASINATED. I absorbed any and all information that I could get my hands on. I was thrilled to land a job in that field after my externship. At every oppertunity I would ask questions. I began to think that I had PCOS, Dysmetabolic syndrome-insulin resistance pretty quickly. One of the first things I did once my probation period was over and my insurance kicked in was make an appointment with the office I work for. My doctor ordered a batter of tests. Here are some of the test you can expect when you are checking for PCOS, Dysmetabolic Syndrome, and Insulin resistance. By the way they are all related.
- Testosterone- Yes we ladies have testosterone. Ladies with higher levels of testosterone can indicate one of the above diagnoses.
- CMP (Complete metabolic panel)- This gives your physician clues and can rule out other issues with your health that can hinder weight loss. The big one is your glucose level. You can have a higher glucose number and not be diabetic. This measures your glucose at the time of your blood draw. It also measures thinks like your liver enzymes, microalbumin, creatine which could indicate kidney disease and diabetes.
- HbA1C- This is the most common test to accurately diagnose diabetes. This test measures your glucose levels % of the past 3-4 months (the life of a red blood cell) If you have any of the above you are going to be hovering on the upper end of normal and perhaps even in the "pre-diabetic" stage. Normal (4.5-5.5%) Prediabetes (5.6-6.5) Diabetic (6.6 and above). Remember these are just averages and your reference range (normal) could be slightly different and men do differ from women.
There are other hormonal tests that can be ordered and an ultrasound is normally ordered around your menstral cycle to check to see if your ovaries are cystic.
Because you cannot always rely on tests a patients symtoms are looked at. Here are a few of the common ones with checks beside each that I personally have.
- Weight gain or inability to lose weight ⥌🙆
- Irregular periods 🙆
- Adult acne
- Excessive hair growth (due to excess androgens-male hormones)
- Infertility
- Hair loss (usually scalp hair)🙆
- Fatigue🙆
It isn't pleasant by any means. It IS harder to lose weight with one of these diagnosis' because while your body is producing insulin, it is not as effective at lowering blood glucose levels as those without this disease. Low blood insulin levels is esstential for weight loss.
The chief reason I am doing this blog is to educate and to let you know there is hope and there are treatments available and you CAN lose weight and conceive despite this. I have done it and have been doing it since October 10, 2016. To date, I have lost 34 pounds.
Because this is such a large subject, I have to break this subject up into parts. This is part 1.
Part 2 will cover treatments
Part 3 will cover diet and exercise.
Disclaimer: Please note I am not a medical doctor. I am a MA and a tutor for all biological science classes. I am taking nutrition classes and have completed approxiately 50% of my personal training classes. Please do not use this as a medical diagnosis and do not start any diet or exericise program without permission from your physician.
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