PCOS - Update

New update with my PCOS - I started taking a pill called Metformin.

Metformin is a type of drug known as an 'insulin-sensitising agent', which lowers the blood sugar level, in turn reducing the excessively high insulin. There are actually very few studies that have been carried out and published concerning the use of insulin sensitising drugs as a treatment for PCOS. These suggest that it may well be useful in several areas: helping weight reduction, improving irregular periods (70%), normalising blood cholesterol and leading to ovulation.

I have to take one pill for the first week. On Friday I have to start taking 2 pills and then the Friday after that I have to take 3 pills. Each pill is 500g. So in total I'll be taking 1500g of Metformin daily.

The first day I took the pill I got the attack of the shakes and it was really bad. I went shopping and that's when I noticed the shaking. I also thought I was going to be sick right in the middle of ASDA. The next couple of days were ok but on Monday things were different. I spent most of the day on the toilet and I've felt like crap ever since.

The most common side effects during treatment are diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal bloating.

I have two of those so far. I've been told these side effects will last between 1 to 4 weeks and I should start seeing results in about 3 to 4 months. It's only the first week and I'm starting to lose hope already. Oh and it's made my bleeding really heavy. More heavy than before. I have to see my doctor again in 3 weeks time to see how things are getting on. I'm also really hungry!! I've not been eating much because I dont like the side effects. Which isnt smart on my part, I know. I'll keep you updated.

I'd like again to encourage women who think they have any symptoms of PCOS as stated in this post to go see a doctor so you can start treatment. Please dont suffer in silence!

I'm also going to tell you about a blog called Soul Cysters. Started by a woman who's 16 year old Daughter has PCOS. The woman very kindly left me a comment and I've decided to link her blog here for others to read. The URL is here and also listed under Blogs We Read section down the side. Take the time to read her blog if you have any concerns about PCOS or you have PCOS. Thanks!

Official

This morning it became official with a letter from the hospital. I have Polycystic ovarian syndrome, which I kind of knew anyway after the doctor at the maternity clinic said in her opinion I did have PCOS. The letter says "your ultrasound scan findings were in keeping with polycystic ovarian syndrome"..IT'S ONLY TAKEN YOU 4 WEEKS TO SEND ME THIS BLOODY LETTER!

Anyway, with another tiny weight off my shoulder I can now start medication to control my symptoms. I really do urge anyone who has the slighest hint that she coul;d have pcos to get in contact with your doctor and get tested.

PCOS - Polycystic ovarian syndrome

I want to take this time to highlight something that is close to my heart, and that's PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome). I've posted about it before because I was going through some tests to see if my problems were caused by PCOS. My next doctors appointment will most likely have the outcome for being told I 100% have PCOS. I'm making this post so that other women might recognise some of the symptoms and then seek help and tests. So here goes. Please read carefully and if anything in this post rings true to you, then please seek help from the doctor.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), also known by the name Stein-Leventhal syndrome, is a hormonal problem that causes women to have a variety of symptoms. Some of the symptoms include:

* absent or infrequent periods (oligomenorrhoea): a common symptom of PCOS. Periods can be as frequent as every five to six weeks, but might only occur once or twice a year, if at all.

* increased facial and body hair (hirsutism): usually found under the chin, on the upper lip, forearms, lower legs and on the abdomen (usually a vertical line of hair up to the umbilicus).

* acne: usually found only on the face.

* infertility: infrequent or absent periods are linked with very occasional ovulation, which significantly reduces the likelihood of conceiving.

* overweight/obesity: a common finding in women with PCOS because their body cells are resistant to the sugar-control hormone insulin. This insulin resistance prevents cells using sugar in the blood normally and the sugar is stored as fat instead.

* miscarriage (sometimes recurrent): one of the hormonal abnormalities in PCOS, a raised level of luteinising hormone (LH - a hormone produced by the brain that affects ovary function), seems to be linked with miscarriage. Women with raised LH have a higher miscarriage rate (65 per cent of pregnancies end in miscarriage) compared with those who have normal LH values (around 12 per cent miscarriage rate).

Any of the above symptoms and signs may be absent with the exception of irregular or no periods. All women with PCOS will have irregular or no menses. Women who have PCOS do not regularly ovulate; that is, they do not release an egg every month. This is why they do not have regular periods. No one is quite sure what causes PCOS. However, the ovaries of women with PCOS frequently contain a number of small cysts, hence the name poly (many) cystic ovarian syndrome. A similar number of cysts may occur in women without PCOS. Therefore, the cysts themselves do not seem to be the cause of the problem. A malfunction of the body's blood sugar control system (insulin system) is frequent in women with PCOS. The result is an inadequate response to insulin (insulin resistance) that can lead to abnormally elevated blood sugar (glucose) levels. The insuliin disturbance is thought to also be the trigger for the development of symptoms such as acne and excess hair growth that is seen with PCOS.

The diagnosis is based on the patient's symptoms and physical appearance. If the diagnosis seems likely because the patient's history contains many of the symptoms described already, certain investigations are done to provide confirmatory evidence or to indicate another cause for the symptoms. These include:

* Blood tests such as
- Female Sex Hormones (at a certain point in the cycle if possible)
- Male Sex Hormones
- Glucose
- Thyroid Function Tests
- Other Hormones, eg Prolactin
* Ultrasound Examination

Your own GP can do the initial blood investigations, ensuring they are carried out at the correct time of the cycle if appropriate. Your GP may be able to arrange an ultrasound scan. Once the diagnosis is made, nothing more needs to be done for some women, eg if their fertility is not an issue, if their weight is within normal limits, and if they do not have excess body hair. If any of the symptoms are an issue, then further advice and treatment, and possibly specialist referral is needed.

PCOS often comes to light during puberty due to period problems, which affects around 75% of those with the disease. Infrequent, irregular or absent periods are all common variations, many finding their periods particularly heavy when they do arrive. The period disturbance is a sign that there is a problem with regular monthly ovulation. So just why do your periods go out of whack when you suffer from PCOS? The main culprit is hormonal imbalance

If you recognise two or more of these symptoms in yourself, make an appointment with your health care provider to investigate whether you may have PCOS. While a cure for PCOS has yet to be found, effective treatment for these symptoms is available.

Doctor visit: update

Today I went for more blood samples for my on-going testing for PCOS. I asked the nurse what my file said about my last set of results and she told me that I had a low level of the hormone SHBG (Sex hormone binding globulin) and the doctor wanted that tested again and also for other things.

Once home, I went searching to see just what this hormone is and found that conditions with low SHBG include polycystic ovary syndrome, diabetes, and hypothyroidism. I'm guessing that it's more than likely that I do have PCOS. What didnt help was me then reading more into the syndrome and seeing...

heavy bleeding is also an early warning sign of endometrial cancer, for which women with PCOS are at higher risk

...for the past few months, I've suffered from heavy bleeding. Like my mum said to me (while I was sobbing my heart out on the phone) is that it might never come to that or maybe I dont have PCOS and I'm reading too much into things. I guess I'll find out for sure in another 3 weeks time.

Now to something about waiting for blood tests. It came to my attention that some people had been coming to this blog and had been referred here from another blog. NHS Blog Doctor happened to pass by here and had read my post about not being happy at waiting 3 weeks for test results.
I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that 3 weeks is a long time to wait. I said in my post that I thought it typical of the NHS to take so long. I know for a fact that I'm not alone in thinking THAT. It's hard to have 100% faith in the NHS. They told my dad that all he had was an ulcer and then 3 months later, another doctor told my dad that he had cancer. Maybe I'm biassed because it was my dad but to me, they should have done more tests to rule out everything. Not just settle for "Oh. It must be an ulcer"

Do the non-private medical care people of the UK expect to much from the National Health Service? You hear so many horror stories in the papers about our health care that it can be hard to have faith in it.
The only thing I strongly disagree with is that the NHS 24 helpline isnt helpful at all. I've found it extremely helpful everytime I've called. They helped me when I couldnt breath right and told me that it was most likely bronchitis, they helped me again when I called about my gran and although saying I would have to wait for 3 hours for the out of hours doctor to arrive, the nurse made sure a doctor arrived an hour later and that's when we were told my gran had had a mini stroke. I'm just one of the millions of british people who dont have 100% faith in their health care. Who can really say I'm not right in thinking this? (apart from an NHS doctor).
In saying that I don't have faith in them anymore isnt a correct statement on my part, to be honest. I had faith in my original doctors. They were the ones to point out my mental health problem and my eating disorder. My faith lowered when I was moved to this new doctor surgery because my original doctor moved and because of where I stayed, I couldnt visit them anymore. There's no doubt in my mind that some NHS doctors are excellent. I just think mine aint all that great.