Subject: Meds

This blog entry is not discussing what medicines to take because I am not a doctor or pharmacist. I’ve never even took a nutrition class in college! The closest thing I have to any form or medical education is first aid and CPR from 2010. So, no, I will not be telling anyone what pills to be popping. I will be discussing how to remember to take yours meds.

My Problem: Currently I am taking four different medicines, two are prescriptions and two are over the counter (metformin, tri-sprintec, a probiotic and fish oil). Forgetting to take three of these meds will cause me immediate (within 24hrs) distress. If I forget metformin my blood sugar goes crazy, if I forget my birth control my body thinks it’s time to start bleeding again, and if I forget my probiotic I start… well… let’s just say it’s brown, liquidly, doesn’t smell good afterwards. Also forgetting to take my metformin at the right time directly affects the how much probiotic I need (e.x. forget to take metformin during meal causes upset gut). When it comes to the fish oil I have not noticed a change if I stop taking it, but it’s supposed to help PCOS so I’m taking it.

My Solution (it could be yours too): Mother effing pill organizers! I am taking meds at least three times a day and it’s hard to keep track of when I have or have not taken them. Scenario 1: eating dinner with Ryan, I absent mindedly take my medicine. Fifteen minutes later we finish our meal.

Me: Did you see me take my pill?

Ryan: No.

Me: I can’t remember if I took it or not?

Ryan: Hum, I don’t remember?

Me: Well I’m taking it now. Remember it, okay?

Ryan: Okay.

Do you see the problem? We are both so used to me taking a pill with every meal that both of us forget if I ever took it. This is where the (mother effing) pill organizers come to the rescue! Da da da daaaaaa! I know what pills I have already taken and therefor will no longer accidently take a double dose, causing undo harm on my gut! I bought this one at Target for $3.99. Every week I reload, click-click, BA-BANG! Pill problem solved!

Also little keychain pill containers are great too, just make sure you move the pills you took while you were out and about from the pill organizer.     

My PCOS Story

Summer 2006

I was diagnosed with PCOS in the summer of 2009 but like many women I had been suffering from the symptoms all my life (unstable blood sugar, funky periods, excessive acne, and hair). I rarely had a period as a teenager and when I did have one it would be extremely heavy and last 8-16 days. My mother took me to see our local doctor and was told that it is normal for teenagers to have irregular periods and if it didn’t normalize in a year or two than I need to visit an OBGYN. My periods never normalized, of course, and when I was 15 we went to a specialist. Now I could have been very possibly diagnosed at this point but I was extremely afraid of anyone, doctors included, seeing me naked. I refused to let the doctor exam me and my mother paid the deductible for the visit with irritation. That was the end of me visiting ‘girly’ doctors for a while. As a teenager I never gained weight and I account this to my athletic activities, competitive swimming, long-distance running and a relativity healthy diet.

Spring 2007 (after gaining 20lbs)

At 18 (2006) I moved away from home to attend college, my first two years of college I was fairly active. During my third semester of school (fall 2007) my roommate asked me when my last period was and I sat down and thought about it and realized that I hadn’t had a period in over 8 months (I was not sexually active at this time). She, being a nursing major, knew this wasn’t normal and suggested I see a gynecologist about it. It was also around this time that I started gaining some weight but I had never gained weight before so I didn’t even notice until my pants didn’t fit anymore. To my surprise I had gone from a size 7 to a size 10 in about 3 months. After my first visit with the doctor she told me what I was told when I was 13 “You’re body is still adjusting” and she prescribed me an artificial estrogen hormone to “kick start my periods again”. Needless to say, my boobs grew from a size B to a size D and I had the worse acne I’ve ever had in my life. Around this time I also became engaged and that summer I got married. Before my wedding I went back to that same doctor’s office, saw a different doctor, by accident, (lucky for me he knew what he was doing), and he took me off that horrible estrogen and put me on a birth control.

Summer 2009 (right about the time I got on metformin)

For about a year after getting married I didn’t have health insurance until my husband and I finally signed up with his work’s insurance and I went back to see my doctor (Dr. Heath at the Cedar City Institute of Women’s Health). Three months prior to visiting the doctor my birth control prescription ran out and the office wouldn’t refill it until I came back for a visit. Therefore, I went three months without a birth control and didn’t have a drip of a period and obviously didn’t get pregnant (we didn’t use protection half the time). It was that visit that Dr. Heath suspected I had PCOS and examined my ovaries (which were covered with cists) and got my blood work done. A week later a nurse called said that my tests came back positive in having PCOS. That was it. No other information. Except I was prescribed 1500 mg of metformin and to keep one taking my birth control. By the time I was put on Metformin I had gone from weighing 145 lbs (MBI of 23.4) to about 185 (MBI of 29.9). After getting on the metformin I maintained that weight for two years, which was nice because it meant I stopped gaining.

Summer 2011 (15 extra lbs)

For about two months in the winter of 2010 my husband and I had work lined up but didn’t actually have an income. When I say were broke, I mean it in the rawest sense. Consequently I could not afford my already cheap medicine and during these two months I wasn’t taking either my birth control or metformin and I gained 15 lbs.  Once back on the medicine I stopped gaining and maintained that weight (right around 200 lbs). Right after gaining the 15lbs I went back to my doctor and explained what happened and that I really want to lose the weight. He put me on a higher dose of metformin (2550 mg a day, WAY too much btw) which made me super sick and I started just taking 1700 mg (two 850 mg pills a day). The problem with taking two 850mg a day is it’s not distributed evenly thought out my meals so my blood sugar would be all kinds of funky.

In August 2011 my husband and I moved to Oregon and I had to find a new doctor. I also bought a book about PCOS and had found the pcoschallange.com site and become much more informed about this disease. I learned about things like a low-GI diet, which makes all the difference in the world! To make a long story short I wanted to see an endocrinologist but I screwed that up by rescheduling too much and just looked up a nearby OBGYN. This doctor, whom I will not be returning to, informed me that I shouldn’t be taking metformin because I’m not a diabetic and I was never blood sugar tested. I told him that if I stop taking it I will gain weight and that “I refuse to gain more weight”.  Also, the doctor talked to my husband instead of me during the appointment. I found that very rude. Now I am on a better dosage of metformin (1750 mg broken up into a 500mgs for my two smaller meals and a 750mg for my largest meal of the day). I like this dosage but the side effect of taking metformin this long is starting super suck.

Ryan and I: 2012

Emotionally it has been a long rode for me. It wasn’t until the last year and half that I have finally started to not be completely disgusted with myself because of the weight. At first when I was gaining weight I feared that my husband would stop being attracted to me. Lucky I married the best man in the world and I know he will always find me beautiful. Learning about PCOS has changed everything for me. I feel comfortable in my skin again. I also know that if I can lose weight and get back to a healthy weight that having my own children will not but such a huge health risk. From reading other blogs on other PCOS support sites I know how frustrating and even embarrassing this disease can be. Hopefully updating this blog with personal stories and information will help other women to go from suffering from PCOS to thriving with PCOS!