I'm in a PCOS Gray Zone

(Not Alone in Ohio)

I'm 27 yrs. old and for the since hitting puberty I've had regular cycles until the fall of 2007 when my cycles stop occurring monthly. In February of 2008 I was diagnosed with PCOS.

Actually what my doctor said was that I was in a gray zone between PCOS and something else, but he was going to treat me as a PCOS patient because that would correct the problem of not getting my cycles regularly.

Odd thing is, my diet wasn't bad. I ate yogurt and salads, white and red meat, a pretty normal balanced diet. I would try to walk/jog 3.5 miles 4 days a week and I was still gaining weight.

Sure, I would occasionally enjoy a bowl of ice cream, or a bag of candy. Never really ate chips, drank pop, ordered take out daily. Didn't shop in the middle isles of the grocery store because that is where you'll find most of your processed foods.

Now, I'm dealing with the fact that the chances of me conceiving are very slim.

The metformin that I was prescribed wasn't working. It didn't bring any of my levels down. Kinda started feeling hopeless.

Especially since I found out that a 40 year old woman I know got pregnant several months after she got married. So I took myself off of metformin and am now started more of a natural approach.

I've learned that primrose, chromium picolinate, and Vitamin D are crucial to insulin resistance and fertility. I haven't had a chance to test the results but I'm looking forward to finding out if it'll help.

It is extremely comforting to know that something worked for each of the women on this site. Thank you for sharing your story and good luck to all of you.

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Editor's comments: Medical studies indicate that diet and exercise have a tremendous influence on polycystic ovary syndrome. An authoritative book on the subject is The Natural Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility.

A good women's health reference book to have is The Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.

If you're taking metformin, be sure to also take vitamin B12. Metformin can induce a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Here are two articles about infertility:
www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/infertility-treatment.html
www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/infertility.html

Selected nutritional supplements such as vitex or d-pinitol can be useful in helping you to normalize your hormones.

Some women have a hormonal over-reaction when consuming refined carbohydrates such as bread.

Think about eating more vegetables and less grain products. This will help your insulin function.

Recommend that you get your vitamin D levels checked. Adequate vitamin D is important for managing PCOS and improving your fertility.

I might suggest that fish oil could be more useful than primrose oil at this point. You can get more information about oils in the PCOS diet book referred to above.

Have your thyroid function checked.

Also it's a good idea to get a second opinion from a naturopathic physician, who would be knowledgeable about diet, lifestyle, herbs and supplements.