She prescribed Metformin. According to the forum I am a member of, for PCOS, its the drug to take. I also take a 1 daily, 250mg Apple Cider Vinegar supplement, and since I am limiting my food intake, I take a Women's One DailyTM with Calcium, Iron, and Zinc. I made sure it had iron in it, because of the severe blood loss every month.
No, they aren't making me test my blood, but when I go back in January for the biopsy (there was an abnormality on the pap smear) I'm going to ask her about that. When I got diagnosed, they told me that my blood glucose was "higher than we'd like" whatever that means. (that was in the ER, when I almost bled to death, from my period) So I'm going to look into if I need to. I haven't been monitoring it before, so I guess they don't think I need to. I, on the other hand, who come from a family that have diabetes for one reason or another, think that if I am going to be put on a diabetic medication, I think its kinda important to sacrifice a few blood drops, in the name of health. I'm going to see if what I need is going to be covered by insurance... I have Washtenaw Health Plan B-- The free plan-- so I don't know if it will cover testing supplies...
Here's how I look at it: Its not a diet, its a lifestyle change. The PCOS forum suggested a Low GI diet. I pretty much stick to that. I do cheat, eating Salt and Vinegar chips, and drinking regular pop. Every once in a while I'll eat chocolate. But I figure, if you don't give in a little, or give a little lee-way, you'll cave, and then binge, and grow to resent your new life. I want to have kids one day, and in order for my body to create the estrogen needed to even ovulate, I need to make sure that I'm not eating an over abundance of sugars and carbs. This is something I'll be doing for the rest of my life. The ticker in my signature is marking my weight loss. What I like about it, is it doesn't show the actual weight you are, but anyone that clicks on it can see my progress. I'm not ashamed of myself, anymore. I weigh 204. I use to weigh 230, and on October 11th, i was at 211, that isn't much loss, but I haven't weighed that little in several years. and considering that I haven't really started exercising, and this is just from a change in diet, I am pretty damn proud of myself. lol I was a little leery of showing this on here, because the last time I posted a picture of my ass, someone put it in the Epic Fail thread... but this is a picture of my profile, as of Friday, October 31st, 2008:
I don't have on a corset, nor am I sucking in. That's all me. I know I have a ways to go, but I am so damn proud of myself. I feel so skinny. I use to be a tight size 20, Now, I am a very lose size 17!
People, I beg you to please please please go to that PCOS site if you have PCOS. Its helpful, on so many levels. And its not a site full of whiners. Its a site where women, all over the world, who have this can come together and help each other.
I also would like to start an exercise support group. Keep each other motivated, share your stories of defeat, and triumph. This is a hard thing to conquer, but with time, it is manageable. Its hard to do this sort of thing alone. So any ideas, or suggestions, I'm all ears.