PCOS specialist followup
Jul. 24th, 2006 06:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
danaerisI had my followup on blood tests today. For those who don't remember, the clinic I'm at is affiliated with some of the top research hospitals in Canada, and the head doctor does research on PCOS.
Some interesting things I discovered:
-PCOS is comorbid with sleep disorders
-even though all of my tests came back "normal"...
->PCOS is a clinical diagnosis, done based on things like the absence or irregularity of periods, the hair, the acne, the PMDD, etc. So, even with all of my tests being within normal ranges, I'm still considered to have PCOS.
->They expect that I have Insulin Resistance BECAUSE I have PCOS, and stated, iirc, that IR cannot be tested for.
->They expect that I have elevated androgens, etc. *for what's normal for me*, even though in comparison to other women, my androgens are normal.
She was willing to prescribe Metformin, but recommended birth control. She said that birth control can make a medium difference to hair and acne, and no difference to weight, whereas Metformin might make a tiny difference to weight, but no difference to hair and acne.
In terms of birth control, she said that they don't believe that either Diane or Yasmin are particularly better or worse for women with PCOS. They recommended one of the 30 or 35s, and she prescribed the Marvolon for me (a 30). She explicitly would not recommend a lower dosage like Alesse, unless there are complications such as migraines that we are worried about (not the case for me).
So, my prescription:
Try to lose 5-10% of my body weight, go on birth control pills, see a psychiatrist for my mood disorder problems, and get a sleep study done, before my six month follow up appointment.
Some interesting things I discovered:
-PCOS is comorbid with sleep disorders
-even though all of my tests came back "normal"...
->PCOS is a clinical diagnosis, done based on things like the absence or irregularity of periods, the hair, the acne, the PMDD, etc. So, even with all of my tests being within normal ranges, I'm still considered to have PCOS.
->They expect that I have Insulin Resistance BECAUSE I have PCOS, and stated, iirc, that IR cannot be tested for.
->They expect that I have elevated androgens, etc. *for what's normal for me*, even though in comparison to other women, my androgens are normal.
She was willing to prescribe Metformin, but recommended birth control. She said that birth control can make a medium difference to hair and acne, and no difference to weight, whereas Metformin might make a tiny difference to weight, but no difference to hair and acne.
In terms of birth control, she said that they don't believe that either Diane or Yasmin are particularly better or worse for women with PCOS. They recommended one of the 30 or 35s, and she prescribed the Marvolon for me (a 30). She explicitly would not recommend a lower dosage like Alesse, unless there are complications such as migraines that we are worried about (not the case for me).
So, my prescription:
Try to lose 5-10% of my body weight, go on birth control pills, see a psychiatrist for my mood disorder problems, and get a sleep study done, before my six month follow up appointment.
