How did you know you had PCOS?

I don't think I have PCOS, but I didn't think I was diabetic either, and I am! I wanted to know what are some signs & symptoms of PCOS? I generally have a period for about 6 months and then nothing for 2 or 3. I take some sort of progesterone pill to get it going again and it does for another 6 months. I've only had to take the progesterone pill once (for 10 days) to jumpstart my period, but as of this month, I haven't had a period in 2 months, so I'm going to have to jumpstart it again. I have taken a pregnancy test and am not pregnant. I was just wondering what things I should be looking out for and if it sounds like I might have PCOS? Is it painful? I've heard that with PCOS comes weight gain, which I have had none (thank goodness). Thanks in advance for your help! Michelle

You could have PCOS, but PCOS is also characterized with having irregular or no ovulation & periods. Many women with PCOS are obese, but not all are. Acanthosis nigricans (dark areas of skin mostly found on the neck, elbows, bra line, knees & groin area) is a sign of an insulin imbalance & many women with PCOS have it. Also skin tags are common as well as hirsutism (male pattern facial hair growth). Have you been to www.soulcysters.com ? They have articles on exactly what PCOS is...as it's hard to diagnose as every woman presents a little different. Kristy

I found out that I had PCOS while trying to conceive. I had been on birth control pills for years and when I stopped taking them I didn't get a period for 6 months. I went to my doctor and he sent me to an OB/GYN. They did some blood tests, took a family history and I was diagnosed with PCOS. Now, 3 years later, I have 2 beautiful children thanks to metformin. Metformin, a diabetic drug, has really changed how I feel and has relieved a lot of my symptoms. Go to your doctor and ask him if it could be PCOS. I also agree that soulcysters.com is a wealth of information. Good luck!

I found out I had PCOS after attempting to conceive for over a year. I finally went to a specialist who diagnosed me. My main symptoms are belly fat, dark skin areas, irregular periods, and difficulty conceiving. It's not painful really. I was put on metformin in order to get pregnant and haven't been taking anything for over a year now. (I did get pregnant by the way. ;-) ) Good luck!

I started to have hair growth on my elbows. My Dr. sent me to an endocrinologist who ran bloodwork to confirm the diagnosis. I found out Sept. 2006 and I am 29. At first I was devastated, but now I am just trying to find non-narcotic methods to manage cramping. I am taking Yasmin and Spironolactone, too. Christi N

 for me it wasnt so easy, and i felt upset that  now looking back only IF.. some tests were done early on alot of my medical conditions would have been halted at a young age.  at age 16 i started having irregular cycles i missed about 3 months and my mom said  to me everything will be ok if you are pregnant...LOL I told her again i was a virgin how could this be..LOL SO...went to the obgyn dr and she with no tests at all said here is some bc pills.. age 17 i develope some really bad facial zits, hair... and i ended up at the derm dept.. which they did some treatments and then gave me  retin a which i still use. weight gain started around age 22 and i noticed i kept gaining in my belly area. age 27 i couldnt figure out why i wasnt getting pregnant  we had been trying since age 23 started going to fertility specialist and she did an ultrasound and labs and there you go i had PCOS.. they told me i wouldnt ever have a child with this..  we still went on and went threw fertility treatments.. gave up and  what do you know i have a beautiful 6  year old daughter.. the other thing is now i have developed Diabetes as well which is another condition of PCOS.. soooo not to mention that my endocrinologist said that if at a young age they would have run labs they could have started me on meds then and i for sure wouldnt be over weight  today. BUT ...it was when she told me  " you will never been skinny with pcos.." your body will never allow you to loose the weight" thats when i knew i had to do something.. my surgery is tomorrow..i cant wait.. god bless you all with pcos..i know how hard it is..

Facial hair, and excessive hair in areas such as belly, back, arms.  Irregular periods, overweight, hard to lose weight, and so on.  I thank God I saw the comercial on the last day of a cruise we went on.  It was on the big screen in the theater while we were waiting to get off the ship.  For years I'd felt abnormal, like maybe I was supposed to be a boy but was born a girl, like I was getting facial hair and hairy arms and back and belly, and the periods didn't help my self esteem.  Girls aren't supposed to shave their chin and neck and be all hairy like a man!  What was wrong with me!? After hearing the symptoms, I knew I had to see a Dr when I got home.  I went and sure enough, I have PCOS.  I went to 3 dr's about this.  The first put me on Yasmin.  I had only ever been on depo when I was 20y/o, which caused 80lbs weight gain after losing 60lbs 5 months earlier. The yasmine caused my heart to race, get out of breath, backaches and the worst headaches.  I stopped taking the bc then bled like you wouldn't believe.  I thought I was dying!  I went back to gyn and she said that's normal when you just stop taking that bc, and she put me on provera.  Again, I got the headaches and back pain, but I got my period.  I took that a few months then just gave up on it.  Last July I went to a highly recomended ob/gyn and he clarified more for me.  He took one look at me and said that's what I have (after my new pcp said I didn't based on my labs) but he say the hair, skin tags and with my history laid it all out on the line.  He said weight loss would help, and put me on progestrone.  I have not had and side effects on this and it brings on the periods.  My concern is that I may not be ovulating, but the weight loss will help that become more normal. I would love to take a shower and not have to shave my face/chin/sideburns anymore, and maybe that will lessen after I lose the extra 150# I'm carrying around.

Hi Michelle!      I found out about 10 years ago when I diagnosed myself! I was tired of having BC' s shoved down my throat as an answer to my nonexistent periods (none in 2-3 years!) Believe me when I say there was very little info about this condition 10 years ago. I looked up everything I possibly could about menstrual disorders and when I found PCOS as the most likely culprit, I dug up as much info as possible. When I went to see my gyno, I told her this is what I had and she said, "You know what, I believe you're right." DUH! You got to understand that not every woman who is diagnosed with this condition has the same symptoms. For instance, my ovaries have no cysts. However, what finally convinced me was my inability to lose VERY LITTLE or no weight when I made agressive attempts. I've always been a big girl, but at first I was just always overweight. Now, however, I am considered obese. Your symptoms will very closely resemble hypothyroidism. Luckily, I haven't had the acne or excessive hair growth. I have lost quite a bit of hair over the years and it is now finally slowing down a bit. Then the # 1 most common symptom of course is the inability to conceive. I am now at the stage in this disorder where my endocrinologist (specialist in PCOS) says that I am progressing into Metabolic Syndrome. That is another set of symptoms related to insulin resistance and PCOS. It consists of elevated blood sugar (pre-diabetes), elevated cholesterol, decline in good cholesterol, and prehypertension (not high, but higher blood pressure than normal). For those of you who aren't already there, this is the next step before becoming diabetic and developing heart disease. I'm sorry so long winded, I'm just glad to be able to share my experience and knowledge. Ladies, sometimes we have to take our lives into our own hands, because not every doctor is going to agree or know what you are talking about. I wish this site and forum existed 10 years ago. I probably would have done more for myself instead of just taking birth control. Good Luck, Also Michelle