PCOS

I am proud to record that at my last weigh-in (Thursday, 2 days ago), I was at 162 lbs. So, since I started my fitness plan, I have lost 6 lbs.  It's been about 3 weeks.  I'm really very impressed with myself that I have been keeping my promise to myself.  Today, I was not feeling well due to PCOS (explained further below), and I didn't want to run, but I made myself go out without my dog and run harder than I have, yet.  And I'm just really feeling like I can count on myself to do what's best for me. 

So, I was diagnosed with Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) when I was in college, but shortly after that (while still in college), I was told I don't have it.  At the time, it was commonly misdiagnosed and under-diagnosed because many doctors believed that it was not a real issue or that it was some rare condition that was very extreme.  There was also no treatment.  When I was first diagnosed, I was told that I would not be able to have children.  Of course, I was relieved to have a second doctor tell me later that I did not have it.  Only to find out as an adult that indeed, I do have PCOS and that it explains many adverse symptoms I had always experienced since puberty and that now, there are treatments, and it's not any guarantee that I won't be able to have children (obviously true, see DJ).  Gotta love modern medicine, with it's limitations and miracles. 

So, it is what it sounds like on the surface, a condition in which one develops cysts on her ovaries.  But that's a very superficial name as what is truly going on with this condition is much more complex than that.  It turns out that what is really happening with PCOS is that a woman's body is unable to process carbohydrates adequately.  Which leads to a formula.  Too many carbohydrates during one sitting greatly increases the blood sugar level, which in turn increases insulin production (a hormone produced by the pancreas) to try to process those sugars, which then instigates an increase in androgens (a hormone, principally testosterone - which is mainly converted to estrogen in women, produced in the ovaries, adrenal glands and fat cells) as a response to the excess insulin.  (You can see by the description that PCOS has similarities to diabetes and in fact, is often treated with a common diabetes medication, called Metformin.) When a woman produces too much of these androgens it results in such virilizing effects as acne, hirsutism (excess hair growth in "inappropriate" places, like the chin or upper lip) and thinning hair. Sounds fun, right?  That's not all, women with PCOS are usually overweight.  I had a doctor later in life that refused to believe that I had PCOS because I didn't "look like someone with PCOS", which he later explained to mean that I wasn't "extremely overweight and very hairy".  So, I guess, I have to thank God that I have what a friend of mine said her doctor calls "Thin PCOS", which is a different form of it (I have no clue as to the truth of that, but it seems to make sense, since most doctors insisted on hormone level testing, because they didn't believe that I really had it). Then, FINALLY, along with all of that lovely stuff, your folicles (these develop into eggs to be released by the ovaries) harden and attach to the outside of the ovaries, causing multiple cysts surrounding the ovaries (it was super crazy to actually see these during my prenatal ultrasounds!).  For some women, this is extremely painful and for some women, these cysts can burst which is excruciating.  I only have the pain when my bowels are moving where they lay against my ovaries, and I have never had one burst (thankfully). 

Ok, so all of that to explain that I wasn't feeling well today because, I take Metformin to control the PCOS, which also means that if I eat too many carbs in one sitting, instead of my blood sugar going up, the Metformin helps my body "over-process" the sugars, so to say, which results in a "flushing" of them, or simply put, diarrhea.  Excellent.  I was at a friend's wedding shower today and had a glass of Sprite, 2 small pieces of yummy Kruse and Muer bread and half a bowl of linguine primavera, apparently, all of that = carb city.  I didn't register it as too much, but clearly, my body did.  The solid thing is (no pun intended) that the Metformin forces processing of carbs, which means, I don't hold as much of the sugars in the form of fat, which makes it easier for me to lose weight (which is still harder than it is for most women, even with the Metformin helping).  Also, it's usually one incident of the cha cha chas and then I feel pretty much fine.  So, thankfully, I was able to get that run in that was on my fitness goal sheet for today.

I also take birth control to control the PCOS symptoms.  Yaz is the only one I've used that has really done wonders for the acne, hair growth (in non-hairy places), hair thinning (in hairy places), irritability, PMS, and other unpleasant symptoms.  Between that, the Metformin, and adjusting my diet appropriately, I feel pretty "normal", I guess.  I still break out before my period, but at least it's not as bad as it was when I was first pregnant and then again when I was at the end of nursing and my body had returned to it's previous "normal", but I wasn't yet back on the Yaz.  And I just have to note that Yaz used to be Yazmin and before that it was Yasmin 28 (no z).  It worked the best when it was Yasmin 28.  I fought and fought to keep getting that, even when they changed the formula and the name, but inevitably, I couldn't get the original anymore.  I NEVER broke out on the Yasmin 28.  :(  Oh well, given our society's patriarchal approach to medicine and the completely idiotic lack of current women's health research, application, and acceptance (really, a Catholic hospital can give non-Catholic employees insurance that doesn't cover birth control, but that covers Viagra???), at least doctors actually know what PCOS is, today.  I think my mom probably had the same thing.  It took her 5 years of trying to get pregnant for the first time.  Because of the Metformin treatment, I was able to become pregnant on our first try.  :)  Ending on a positive note.