The Start to My PCOS

(Summer)

Hi! I'm Summer. I'm17 years old and I self-diagnosed myself 3 months before a doctor ever told me anything helpful.

When I finally got to the doctors he told me I had PCOS and should cut out carbs, sugars, and everything I love about food! :(

I've done relatively well so far and my symptoms have become worse. I'm in pain constantly and have pain shooting down my leg so severely I cannot stand, walk, or put any pressure on it.

I am really concerned about having children.

I have been engaged for about two months and will be 18 really soon. I've always known I've wanted kids. I plan to become a labor and delivery nurse one day as well.

These other stories have helped me so much and I appreciate your stories. Does anyone have any advice? I hope we can all find peace of mind and be pain free!

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thank you
by: Summer

That will help a lot thank you so much. That's more than my doctor explained to me. I appreciate it!

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Some things to think about..
by: PCOS Editor

Hi Summer,

Good to hear from you!

If you're improving the quality of your diet, your symptoms should NOT be getting worse.

The first thing you need to do is find out what is causing the debilitating pain. Is it something mechanical like a pinched nerve, or is it something metabolic such as an enlarged ovarian cyst. Who knows? You can't solve a problem until you know what is causing the problem. Check in with a health professional for some help.

Secondly, plenty of PCOS women are able to start families. Sometimes, though, it takes extra work to do so. So don't worry. Just get to work on improving your health.

The place to always start is with improving the quality of your diet, such as eating a lot more vegetables (and a greater variety of them) and a lot less grains, especially gluten grains like wheat. Fish is preferable to meats. Fresh fruit OK in moderation. Nuts and seeds are good. Above all, avoid all soft drinks and all processed convenience foods such as bread, pizza, donuts, breakfast cereals, etc.

The issue is not to "cut carbs". What you want to do is add the "good" carbs and get rid of the "bad" carbs.

Are you overweight? If so, losing 5%-10% of your weight is proven to improve your fertility.

You can also check your thyroid function and vitamin D status, both of which should be optimal if you're to become pregnant and have a successful pregnancy. Note that a significant percentage of women with PCOS also have autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto's Disease), which is an inflammation of the thyroid that results in low thyroid function.

If your vitamin D is on the low side, supplementation is probably a wise move.

Keep up the good work and let us know how you're doing.

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