Can someone answer a question about pcos and weightloss

[no_regrets_91]

So april 1 marks three years ttc for us and it has hit me pretty hard in the last few weeks. especially since my sister is 10 weeks pregnant and sister in law is due in june. I teetered between 256lb and 258lb. I did not respond to clomid or any of the pills that my re gave me. And I was a slow responder to the menopur, so much so that we had to cancel the cycle after stemming for 13 days because we ran out of money I had a follicle on each side that was 8mm this was in early January

In the last week I have been watching my carbs and fat intake and I have been upping my protein and fiber intake. As of today I am down to 249.4 I am so proud of myself! I haven't been below 250 in a couple of years.

The last time I had a cycle on my own I was 14 and around 150lb, this is my goal weight as I am taller then I was back then.

I have read that losing 10% of your body weight could drastically improve your cycles. that is getting down to 232lb for me. which is my next mini weight goal, I have also been taking my metformin for the last 2 weeks like I should have been all along. I have not been consistant with this in the past, at all!

I predict that by the end of june I should be down to my mini goal of 232 (the 10%) and will have been on metformin for about 3 months. At that time I will stop taking bc pills (my re put me on them until we start treatment again)

I know that no one can answer this for sure, but in your opinion is it possible for me to have a normal cycle (at least one!) on my own or with clomid after I reach this weight?

Sorry I know that this is long, but I appreciate any opinions as this has been a tough time for me. and I am really trying to turn things around and be healthy so we hopefully wont have to resort to injectables again.

thank you

 

[Niki_V]

Congrats on reaching your mini goal! I know how hard it can be.

I too have PCOS and have struggled with my weight. At my biggest I was almost 370. Now I am hanging between 225 and 230. I have tried everything to loose the pounds, but never could drop more than 50 lbs. The only time that I lost more than that was when I was pregnant and dropped 65 lbs. About 2 and half years ago I had Lap Band surgery to try and help PCOS symptoms. I have lost almost 150 lbs since then, and yes some of the systems did improve. My cycle unaided is about every 8 wks vs. what it used to be which was anywhere from 3 months to a year. I am no long insulin restitant, but that is where it all ends for me. I still don't ovulate on my own and all my hormonal levels are still off kilter. I have been through 3 clomid treatments with my regular OB/Gyn, with only 1 successful ovulation. All the rest have had large cysts formed. I am now seeing an RE and have done 3 rounds of clomid with him. This last one with ovulation triggered by HCG shot. Now doing the 2WW.

With all that said, each and every person is different. I have heard of some women losing the weight and PCOS improving to an almost non-existant state. The doctors say loosing the weight will definitely help. Having lost the weight and struggling now for a year and a half to get pregnant, I don't know. When I was about 340 lbs, I ended up pregnant twice in less than a year (miscarriage and then a successful pregnancy a month later). We tried for a year before I had the Lap Band surgery with no luck. Listened to the doctors about losing the weight and took a year to do that before TTC again.

I don't know if this helps. I can only speak from my own experience.

 

[n41210]

well done on your weight loss. i too have pcos and was told by my GP to lose weight to improve my chancesof concieving. as ive lost weight my periods have become regular to 5 week cycles. ive lost 3 st (42 lbs) in total. i tried clomid but that was unsuccessful and so was menpur. i needed to get my bmi below 30 so that i was eligable for ivf on the nhs. i have always had irreglular period since i started when i was 11 and they have only been regular for the last 9 months. im just speaking from my experience.
good luck to you xx

 

[no_regrets_91]

thank you ladies for your response. Another question for you.. Have you been taking metformin consistantly? because as I stated above I have only recently started to.

 

[Niki_V]

I took it about 10 years ago. It was really hard on my GI system so they put me on Avandia till the big health scare with that. I have also done insulin shots too. At the time I was doing the metformin, I wasn't TTC, so I cannot answer if it helped me ovulate. I know that my cycles did not improve without BC, but my insulin resistance was better.

 

[rosebud_01_99]

hi, i lost 120lbs and my symptoms didnt improve at all, ive also been on metaformin for 3yrs now for type 2 diabetes and no ovulation or regular afs. none of it helped me. but then again nothing seems to help me. rosebud

 

[n41210]

ive never taken metformin. im hopefully going to start ivf in the next few months. ive been ttc for nearly 5 years now.
good luck ladies.

 

[LolaAnn]

For me, sticking to a low carb diet and losing weight ABSOLUTELY helps me with having a regular cycle and ovulating. I got pregnant with my son when I was about 136lb, and now I'm about 16lb heavier than that and I just can't concieve ovulate on my own. I'm on my first cycle of clomid so I'll let you know if it works.

 

[Madgirl]

Well in my case of PCOS, all the dieting and weightloss did absolutely NOTHING! I started at 185 and lost down to around 155-160. It was until I added exercise that my cycles became somewhat regular. And even then they arent all that regular. So if you can add a little exercise like walking or something that my help things along quicker.

 

[LolaAnn]

by the way, you guys might want to google myo-inositol and pcos. I'm thinking of taking it after the really high success rates of the studies and it's all natural so it can't hurt.