A day in the life...

Sometimes I feel like I am going crazy as I read blogs and forums about different supplements or other natural remedies that work for PCOS! I already tried Vitex three times a day and nothing happened...so here is my daily routine:

6:30am: Temp and chart (even if it is a lost cause!)
8:30am: 500mg of Metformin with a yogurt (life saver for the side effects!). Also, yogurt is said to help with fertility because of the pro biotics (why not?!)
9:00am: Red Raspberry Leaf Tea - Supposed to help lengthen my luteal phase and uterine lining
12:30pm: Another 500mg Metformin with lunch
2:00pm: Some more Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
Bedtime: Pill Marathon which consists of the following:

• Baby Aspirin (suppresses natural killer cells in the uterus, improves blood flow to the ovaries, improves follicle development, improves blood flow to the uterus, improves uterine lining, and increases odds that implantation will be successful)
• Fish Oil (aides in the production of hormones and helps to regulate menstrual cycle)
• Yet another 500mg of Metformin (that's 1500mg daily if you are counting!)
• Cinnamon (helps metabolize blood sugar)
• Multi Vitamin/Prenatal (speaks for itself! OBGYN wanted me on prenatals for atleast 3 months before we get pregnant)
• Vitamin D3 (I am deficient so I am required to take 2000 UI daily but it also helps with fertility!)

Oh and I almost forgot that I recently started using natural progesterone cream.

So there it is...a day in the life of PCOS as far as the supplements go!

September is PCOS Awareness Month...With that said here are some facts about this devil that I have:

• 10% of all women have PCOS
• Women with PCOS have a higher risk of miscarriage if they do get pregnant
• PCOS is the #1 cause of infertility
• Women with PCOS have a 4 to 7 times greater risk of having a heart attack than normal people
• Women with PCOS run the risk of endometrial cancer
• About 50% of women with PCOS become insulin resistant (which leads to type 2 diabetes)

I will never give up hope. This road is a long and bumpy one but when the time comes we will be amazing parents. That baby will mean even more to us. I am a fighter and this disease won't get the best of me!

And on a side note...I want to say thanks to my husband. Words can't express how much his support means to me. This disease effects him and our relationship and he stands by my side through it all. I am the luckiest girl in the world!

Long time no see!

Wow...it has been a LONG time since I last posted! So much has changed since then!

Jake has lost A LOT of weight...the lap band has been a great tool for him! He has lost well over 100 pounds! I am so proud of my hubby!

I have lost a little over 60 pounds! While that is good, it isn't what I was expecting to lose. Along the journey I realized just how bad my PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) really is and that it is the reason I gained so much weight. With my hormones and insulin levels so high, my body just turns everything I eat into fat cells instantly. So, it doesn't matter what I eat, it becomes fat. I also get chin hair, dandruff, skin tags, and the list goes on. I went to the doctor in January because the "baby fever" was starting to brew and I had heard about a medication called Metformin which is supposed to help your insulin and hormone levels. She put me on 500mg/day and refused to increase the dosage. I had heard from the research I did online that you need to take anywhere between 1500-2500mg in order for the Metformin to do its job. My doctor at the time told me the side effects are too strong and she refused to increase the dose. I listened like a fool, took it for 3 months, and nothing changed. I called her and told her I was feeling no different and I still hadn't had a cycle and she changed to 500mg XR and said that was equivalent to 1000mg (which I later found out was a lie). Again, nothing changed and I still didn't have a cycle. Also, my weight loss came to a halt.

Fast forward to now...we moved to Sacramento in May and have been living with Dadar and my mom until we are able to buy a house. It is so nice to be home!!

When we first moved here I decided to take matters into my own hands and got on a natural remedy called Vitex. It didn't have any side effects and got great reviews. I took it for three months and still - no changes. I went to a new doctor here and she ran a full blood panel and had a pelvic ultrasound done. I went in last week for the results and they were horrible.

My hormones are still opposite of what they should be. Also, the ultrasound revealed a "string of pearls" on both ovaries which is a string of small cysts. It also revealed a HUGE 1.5" cyst on my left ovary. She prescribed me some Provera to force a cycle with hopes that the cyst falls off. I go back in 6 weeks for another ultrasound and if the cyst is still there I will need to have it surgically removed. She put me back on Metformin but told me to increase to 1500mg as quickly as my body will allow. Hopefully I will have a cycle from the Metformin but if not she wants me back in December and we will do Clomid with Metformin which is a fertility drug. I pray that the Metformin does its job this time and that I get a cycle again. It has been over 2 years since I had a cycle and the only reason I had one then was because I was on birth control. The Metformin should help with my weight loss as well. The bad part is that you get HORRIBLE diarrhea while on it and really bad cramps. It is enough to make me want to curl up in bed all day long..but I know it is helping my body and I have to power through it. I have to leave it in God's hands and when the time comes, I know we will get pregnant!

Here is a current picture...can you see the weight loss?