Thursday, September 2, 2010

What about the Skinny PCOS Patient?

I've read (skimmed) several library books on PCOS in the past few weeks. The best one I have found is What to Do When the Doctor Says Its PCOS by Milton Hammerly and Cheryl Kimball.   Also, Taking Charge of Your Fertility has a short and informative section on PCOS.  All of the books I have found suggest exercise, diet, and weight loss to bring back regular cycles. The typical PCOS patient tends to be overweight, or gains weight easily and has difficulty loosing weight because of the insulin resistance that is associated with PCOS.  In fact, I've been reading that insulin resistance is actually at the core of PCOS. Because the body is insulin resistant, the pancreas produces more insulin, which signals other hormones including the male hormone androgen to over-produce, which prevents the egg from being released. Ta-da!

I'm the skinny PCOS patient. I'm 5'8 and 135. In fact, one of my besties, Dr. D, told me there was no way that I had PCOS because I'm so thin. My regular physician told me basically the same thing. I eat pretty healthy, although I've been watching my refined carb intake lately (well, except for all the birthday cake I've been eating this week). I've actually dropped about five pounds in the past month.

There isn't really much for the skinny PCOS patient in any of the PCOS websites and message boards. It's frustrating in it's own right. I'd love to try the PCOS Diet Cookbook and see what happens to my cycles.  Any thoughts?

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