Some Experience Please

[WarOnTypeII]

Hey team, my wife has PCOS. I've tried to read a little bit of the threads in here but am lazy and am taking the direct approach.

We are currently undergoing fertility treatment. She takes glucophage, metformin and has recently started a course of provera for an upcoming IUI cycle.

She bought into Atkins, but after two "false starts" on induction, she's given up on it. She craves bread.

So.

Is this normal, with the course of drugs she's on.
And, what did you all do to overcome this so that I might point her here, or read it to her and hopefully she can experience some of the success I've read about in this forum.

Thanks

[annRN]

Hello. I have been TTC for 2.5 years. Because of my PCOS, I have had to take Provera for every medicated cycle. First of all, I would say please try to be as patient and loving with your wife as you can. Fertility drugs (including Provera) are very hard on her body. Provera, and other drugs used for IUI, cause mood swings, weight gain, bloating, irritability -- all kinds of fun stuff. What stimulant is she going to take? Clomid? Femara? Injectibles (Gonal F or Follistim?) Clomid, especially, can have lots of side effects! Fertility treatments are a roller coaster ride. Some days you feel on top of the world, others you don't want to get out of bed!

As far as getting past the first few days... I don't know that I would recommend doing induction while actively doing fertility treatments. I am currently taking a break from treatment, and that is why I am back on Atkins. When I return to my RE in July or August, I will switch to the lifetime maintenance phase of Atkins. Like I said, fertility treatments are very difficult, I don't think I could make it through treatment while also worrying about losing weight...

If your wife decides to go ahead with Induction now and she really wants to succeed, I would tell her that, in my experience, the first week is hard. I had to gut it out. I had cravings and I chose not to give in. Since the first week ended I have had no further cravings. I go out to lunch almost every week day with coworkers. They order french fries, bread, cinnamon rolls, whatever and it doesn't even remotely phase me. Once your wife gets into ketosis it will suppress her appetite so much that those cravings really just go away -- at least they have for me. I am a bread addict, but I eat at Panera at least once a week -- I have a nice salad and no bread. It's easy for me now. That said, ketosis is definitely not good during pregnancy. Ketones released can cause harm to a fetus!

I hope this post wasn't too contradictory. Good luck to you and your wife!

[WarOnTypeII]

Thanks so much for the info. I am trying to help and basically I was wrong and had misconceptions about Atkins being a cure-all for her insulin resistance, PCOS and ultimately us having kids.

Patience and keeping my mouth shut seems like the order of the day.



Thanks Again

[b'sgirl]

HI war.I have pcos and i found out in 1999.when i first found out i had no idea what it was or what to do.my doctor at the time was not very helpfull.I thought i would never have kids.I was devistated.Well i wanted to educate my self as much as possible and do everything possible to treat and help this pcos.I did take gluphocage but i took the one that is time released and what that means is you take all your pills at once and they work throughout the day and that helped so much.Also there is a web site soulcysters.com this site is where i learned alot of info.Me and my husband tried for so long to have a baby.And i took fertility pills and i did not get pregnant.My doctor was gonna send me to a speacialist and wanted me to do veto fert. i was not ready to go that far.I kept reading everywhere on the net that diet and exercise can benifit pcos.And if you lose just 10 % of your weight it helps your chances.So i was at my wits end ready to give up and so thats what i did i lost a little weight and took gluphocage and wala i got pregnant.I wanted to share my experience becuase being a women with pcos is very frustrating and heartbreaking sometimes and you can sometimes feel alone.I have found that atkins was great for me becuase having insulin resistance ( the cause of pcos).I crave bread ,sweets all the time.And atkins stops the cravings.How long was your wife on induction.I know induction is hard and you feel like crap but that passes.I think if she stuck it out for 14 days she would feel the difference.I tried induction so many times and gave up on the 3rd of 4th day.but i learned you have to stick it out and then you feel awsome.IMO atkins can really help pcos.Also when i was pregnant my doctor made me eat low carb becuase of the insuling resistance and gestational diebetes.I hope that you and your wifes dreams come true.If your wife has any questions she can pm me.

[WarOnTypeII]

Thanks very much for the testimonial B'sgirl. I will do that. It's best to get her in here and reading and asking. But I appreciate the information and support you and annRN have given me.

[KryssieLyn]

Originally Posted by WarOnTypeII

basically I was wrong and had misconceptions about Atkins being a cure-all for her insulin resistance, PCOS and ultimately us having kids.

Don't dicount Atkins as being a MAJOR part of helping with PCOS. Fertility drugs are NOT necessarily the answer for women with PCOS. I was on Fertility drugs for 7 months STRAIGHT and nothing. In fact, they ended me up in the hospital for a week with OHSS. In my case, and my opinion, you have to solve the root of the problem in order to give the drugs a chance to work. Not saying they WONT work, just saying it is so much easier if you work on the cause of the problem.

Atkins alone has cured my PCOS related acne, lowered my cholesterol and BP and brought me into a healthy BMI range. That is one of the first things they recommend for women with PCOS who are TTC....to lose weight. Losing weight alone can bring on ovulation.

Atkins ALONG with Metformin has brought my insulin levels to the normal range, brought my basal body Temperature up to a normal range and caused me to become ovulatory on my own. I know that ATKINS is the cause of all these positive changes. I was taking the Met before I started Atkins and it wasn't working half as well as it does in combination with Atkins. I am hoping with all these changes in my body that DH and I will be able to conceive naturally once he gets back from Iraq. If not, then I'm hoping that all these changes will allow the minimum amount of fertility treatments to work more effectively.

So my point is, from experience, don't discount the efficacy of the Atkins diet for PCOS. It may not be the "cure-ALL", but it sure has been the "cure-MOST' for me!

[annRN]

I agree that Low Carb is very helpful for PCOS. However, trying to start the diet while actively doing medicated fertility cycles would be very hard. Also, induction is not a healthy phase to be in during pregnancy because of ketones released.

I hope that both of you, War & Kryssie, are able to have children, however that happens.