With the Mirena IUD, I gained ten pounds.  For several months I have attempted to get those ten pounds off, doing liquid diets, cutting back calories, cutting carbs.  Seems nothing I do has worked.  Oh, yes, I lose a few pounds, then gain them back.  Up, down.  My body has been changing as well.  I’ve noticed “things” – - headaches, hot flashes, severe menstrual cramps, WEIGHT GAIN IN THE MIDSECTION!

Several weeks ago I did a saliva test for bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.  My gyn, it seemed to me, didn’t want to get to the bottom or root of my problems.  Instead, she wanted to treat each symptom.  Having insomnia? Try this.  Oh, you’ve got hot flashes? Try this.  They are all prescription medications that frankly I don’t want to take.  I’ve said for years that being a PCOS patient, I needed a full hormone panel workup.  But do you know, I’ve never had one?  I mean, come on.  When you have thyroid troubles, they run a whole battery of tests.  For women, we start suffering perimenopausal symptoms, and they shove a bunch of meds into our faces and say “That’s just the way it is at your age.”

I chose a new doctor.  I’m educating myself by reading, scanning internet articles, going to Barnes & Noble, Books A Million and reading the various books on the subject.  I had my appointment with a compounding pharmacist last Friday.  IT’S OFFICIAL:  I’M IN PERIMENOPAUSE.  The results were quite intriguing, and a little frightening as well.  I panicked at first.

We discussed diet, the importance of low carbs (which, come look in my cabinets!  Low carb is second nature to me!)  If I get much more low carb, I won’t be eating anything but MEAT, EGGS!  And it makes me wonder, do doctors have any real idea of how to treat the complexities that plague PCOS/Insulin Resistant/Metabolic Syndrome patients who are also gastric bypass patients?

I do want to add a blurb here…  while many PCOS patients say they are cured, I have been told that there is no cure for PCOS.  Weight loss surgery did help it for a few years, but now my body is starting to show signs and symptoms once again as the hormones are all stirred up…  (pay close attention to your body… know the symptoms…  don’t let them go untreated).

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 16th, 2009 at 8:57 pm and is filed under Health Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.