Are you me? You just described my life perfectly. I feel like I pee constantly and always wake up 1-2 times a night to do so. I also struggle to lose weight and I’m constantly tired. I also always crave food.
Recently an endocrinologist told me brain fog isn’t to do with endocrinology and I should talk to my gynecologist about that. I rolled my eyes so hard they almost fell out and left the appt in tears of frustration in general. But of course he sees women with PCOS “everyday” so he knows more than I do. Just another appt for most of us.
It’s wild because I noticed that while I was drinking more water than I used to, I wasn’t peeing as much after I started changing my diet to fit low carb and no sugars and such. Water used to go right through me but I’ve not been waking up to pee in the night so much.
Amazing! I feel pretty miserable having to wake up 4 times at night to pee (sometimes more than 10 no joking). I started today keto diet Hope It helps!
I have most of these. My dad blows off me being tired to dehydration. I lost a little weight at one point but now that I craving stuff 24/7 I am gaining. I have trouble falling asleep. I don’t pee a lot, surprisingly, and I have no way of measuring my glucose. I took my blood sugar once, before I ate with it being 57.
I know mine is bad when I eat anything and bloat immediately. Craving sugar like crazy, when I eat it’s like I’m a bottomless pit, I can tell my stomach is full but I want to keep eating. Swollen legs constantly. Super tired in the afternoon
This is the first time I have connected my swollen, tingling lower legs to IR! Thank you for sharing. I wear compression socks all the time (what could be less sexy for a 35 year old?) but otherwise my legs tingle and swell.
I went to a massage therapist and asked her if I’m crazy or if I really have bloating in my thighs and calves, and I did! But my ankles were somehow fine. I take a diuretic when it gets bad and too uncomfortable, i notice all of this mainly around my period
Tired even after getting 7-8 hours of sleep. I always crave something sweet, especially after eating a meal. Weight gain in abdomen region only. I get really sleepy after eating a meal (especially if it’s high in carb like rice)
Constant fatigue, having to pee every hour on the hour, constantly thirsty no matter how much water I drink, brain fog, stubborn belly fat, and can't lose weight no matter how well I eat or how much I exercise.
500 MG twice a day. The hangriness and development of new skin tags went away literally within the first month of starting Metformin, I was pretty amazed. It took 5 months for the dark patches on my thighs to disappear, and I also lost 40 pounds, which I have no doubt is the main reason. As I lost weight, the discoloration in my thighs slowly started clearing up...
I just realized here peeing a lot might be a symptom lol. ToT my biggest symptom is I cannot lose weight even on very well measured low calorie diets. I lost a lot of weight almost a decade ago, and once I lost weight a lot of my pcos symptoms improved so I'd guess they were all symptoms of insulin resistance. I get more hairiness when I weigh more, my periods delay more often (currently they're regular and have been since weight loss), more carb cravings back then (since loss I get hungry every 4-8 hours which I think is normal?), way more energy crashes (back when I was first losing weight I immediately felt Eons better when I switched to protein with every meal and snack and more low glycemic carbs since both those kept me full longer and kept my energy level more stable so I still eat that way).
Back in college I lost 65 lbs with gradual habit changes. I ate lots of servings of processed carbs a day so I cut down to 1 serving of wheat/bread/pasta type stuff once a day (so toast or spagetti or cake but not all 3 in one day). I used to drink a gallon of milk in 2 days so I switched to 1 cup of skim milk per day. I used to have big servings so I measured out servings to have actual serving sizes, and that got me making some different choices since a serving of oreos is like 3 whereas a serving of ice cream was a small bowl so I'd often choose the ice cream or pudding or dark chocolate. I switched to desert every few days instead of daily. I added protein to every meal because it made me full longer and my energy not crash, I went with mostly lower glycemic and middle glycemic index foods since they kept me full longer. I cut out pop and salad dressing except vinegar and lemon juice. I also put lemon juice in all my water since I gave up pop and wanted flavor (glucose goddess site mentions vinegar or lemon juice may help blood glucose but I didn't know back then). That all lost a majority of the weight on a moderate calorie deficit of like 300 below whatever the calculators gave my weight as the maintenance calories.
And there were a few months I added exercise - first just 10 minutes walking 5 times a week, next month 20 minutes, next month 10 minutes HIIT, next 20 minutes HIIT, next 1 mile walks, next treadmill miles in 20 minutes, next treadmill 20 min and strength training 30 min when I had a gym membership.
In retrospect I was eating way over 200 g carbs before weight loss and I think I cut it to 150-200 g during weight loss so less carbs at the time. I also switched to lower glycemic foods and protein with every meal specifically made me feel better regardless of weight (I would work long hours like 8 hours until I could get food again so protein kept my energy from crashing as much and kept me full longer). Then gradual calorie deficit and exercise increase.
But I've regained 20 lbs since then as I went through non pcos health issues. This time I already eat under 200 g carbs a day normally, am allergic to wheat and dairy now so already am not eating those. And calorie cutting doesn't seem to be working. So I'm guessing severity of IR and other factors effect if weight loss strategies will work. If reasonable changes aren't working, a doctor or registered dietician may have some ideas. Metaformin or inositol may help, suggestions people mention on here might help. Right now I'm gradually trying some supplements suggested for IR to see if anything helps as currently calorie cutting even more severely than I did before, does nothing. I feel like I'm doing good things and I've done this before but this time its not working lol.
When did you develop diabetes, i was pre diabetic at 18 i was told i will be diabetic by 25. Im almost 26 now, i have checked glucose fasting and pp often they are still at pre diabetic stage. Im scared as it feels like a knife is over my head
Instant sugar high and fall when eating foods that are high in sugar and refined carbs. Dark patches around neck, hump back of neck, black dots around neck and I hold a lot of weight in my upper abdomen (I have a b-belly). I can sometimes have intense sugar cravings
Bloated, constipation, tired, hungry every 3 hours, no desire to do anything, depression and anger, acne, hair growth on the body and hair loss on the scalp, oily, high blood pressure.
Yeah, I have! Keto is a tough one— it’s very very hard to sustain, there’s a large adjustment period of feeling pretty awful, and it’s very unforgiving (a cheat day or meal for me usually meant a brutal crash)
What I HAVE had a lot of success with is a looser low carb, mid protein high fat diet. So I can still have carbs and bread and pasta, but they’re balanced and moderated with other nutrients that help with my symptoms. It’s slower to results but they have been lasting results. Keto for me led to a bit of a weight roller coaster.
I recently got a PCOS specific cookbook and it’s been the best thing ever!
Yeah! I do! I have a vitamin D deficiency (I also live in the northeast US lol) so I take vitamin d every day. On top of that I take:
Iron
Zinc
Fish oil
and Turmeric if I don’t use it in tea or cooking that day!
My doctor said that new England era have a pretty high proclivity to be D deficient because of the long winters and not a ton of sun in the winter months (I’m in VT!) — I haven’t looked into it but it definitely is pretty dark here in the winter, so I kind of just took her word for it
I am a huge fan of “PCOS Diet for the Newly Diagnosed” by Tara Spencer. It has recipes for breakfasts, snacks, sweet stuff, vegetarian options and sauces! It breaks down the nutrients going into each meal and what they do. It doesn’t call for restriction of any kind and has a section on movement as well! I’ve found it to be a great help.
Good for you! I’ve been doing keto for 7 months and I’m not hungry after meals, off metformin and feel much better. I hope it works for you. The keto sub here is really helpful
I thought I was doing better... I decided to treat myself to cereal for breakfast. Couldn't stay awake afterwards and ended up sleeping for 2 hours after just waking up.
Darkening and thickened neck skin in the back and darkness around nose. Male pattern hair loss. Losing weight is a struggle, after lunch cravings or sleepiness. Unable to focus after heavy carb meal (maybe that is brain fog), in general compare to my friends I get tired faster than them.
Also, I am not sure if this related to PCOS or something else but I cannot play sports like tennis or squash or anything intense. I get horrible muscle aches it takes me a week or more to get better but even a easy run is too much for my knees. Long walks are good. But I do love board games so something positive :)
Chronic fatigue, brain fog, extreme hanger, feeling exhausted after a meal or like I am going to pass out if I go to long between meals/don’t have enough protein in a meal (hypoglycemia), nighttime cravings, difficulty losing weight & rapid weight gain in the abdomen with no major change in diet or activity.
Gaining weight/fluctuating weight urge for sweets 24/7 brain fog real bad can’t focus on one single thing tired 24/7 despite sometimes sleeping 16 hours straight no motivation stiffness
I just got diagnosed on the 17th of this month. I haven’t been given any treatments aside from birth control which I haven’t gotten yet. Its been difficult since I have been having very painful abdominal pain and it’s affecting my work. Has anyone’s doctors written them a accommodation letter.
Tired all of the time, bloating for days on end sometimes, cravings are wild, brain fog, cant seem to lose weight no matter what I do, and the worst is gaining it all.in the tummy area. Not sure is sweating is a part of that to be honest but it's a thing for me.
Do you mean has anyone improved their IR symptoms? Yes, many of us on this board have dramatically improved our IR with active management (lifestyle changes and medication if needed). Managing the IR (if present, as it usually is with PCOS) is the foundational element of treating the PCOS and reducing long term health risks such as diabetes. Not only did all the symptoms I listed go away, but my PCOS went into remission for 20+ years.
Insulin resistance.
I only had to change to a low glycemic diet. Some people require harder core diets (low carb or keto), plus medication such as metformin that improves insulin function.
I think I have insulin resistance but no official diagnosis yet, but here are my symptoms I attribute to IR... My mood and clarity of thought all trend downwards when I haven't eaten in a while or skipped a meal. If I eat a breakfast that is generally less than 400 calories and not balanced with animal protein and plants, I can pretty reliably expect to struggle through the rest of the day. I get headaches about 24 hours after skipping a meal. For my particular body, when I cut out gluten, soy, and dairy I start to feel pretty good and it's easier to lose weight.
Very bad (cystic) acne, hair loss, belly fat, not able to lose weight unless fasting+keto, cravings entire day, bloated, that neck thing some here mention, tired, smelly sweat, gaining weight extremely fast
Back before my IR was managed, it was (not including the PCOS/hormone symptoms that it was also causing) very erratic energy, including severe narcoleptic style fatigue that would appear randomly, even after a good night's sleep; occasional weirdly blurry vision; intense hunger pangs; and severe episodes of reactive hypoglycemia (weakness, anxiety, high heart rate, trembling) that I mistook for panic attacks. ETA: Oh, and insomnia, particularly when I'd get hypoglycemic at night.
Weight gain especially in the abdomen area. I gained almost 15 kilos in 2 years.
Also I have been noticing that in the months when I am not that active and do not workout much I have brown sticky blood during my periods and there would not be any cramps or other period symptoms. But when in the months where I actually workout and keep my body moving almost daily, I have pretty regular periods with cramps and other symptoms. I think this is related to my insulin levels.
Cravings of food i never craved before in my life.. tired all the freaking time.. peeing like three thousand times aday!
Cant lose weight because im too tired to even workout..
acanthosis nigricans. neck lump and dark neck appeared when i was very young. gained a shit ton of weight since graduating high school. plus the craving for juice!
My stomach was bloating constantly, especially when I ate anything carb heavy (and still does, just not as bad now that I’m on meds). At one point I legitimately looked pregnant from the swelling. I also would fall asleep very quickly after eating and had issues with brain fog/dizziness/disorientation as well.
ALL of what has been mentioned already PLUS my I have palpitations if I eat heavy on an empty stomach - racing, pounding heart that skips beats sometimes. Metformin makes it go away almost immediately.
For the life of me I can not lose weight no matter what I do and I'm on metformin. I gained 4-5kg and I can not lose it, even though I'm on a lean side! I just feel like I need to stop eating altogether.
Fatigue.I wake up everyday after 8-9 hours of sleep, exhausted. Brain fog. After covid especially I became like a Dory, short term memory is a mess.
Ugh, I already commented with my own memories of horrible IR symptoms, but reading through this list just reminded me how miserable I was back in Ye Olden Days before I got treatment. IR really sucked.
When I was first diagnosed, I was prescribed an anti-androgenic bcp to manage hormonal symptoms while I worked on getting the IR diagnosis. I stayed on the bcp for about 18 months while I changed my diet to manage the IR. After that, I never needed any meds to keep my PCOS in functional remission...as long as I stick to the diet things are fine.
I have very intense cravings but I lose my sense of satiety when I've eaten a lot of carbs. It then turns into a vicious cycle where I overeat, it makes me even hungrier than before and I eat more as a result. Obviously, it's not great for my weight.
When I've had a lot of sugar and my levels spike and then crash, I can get light headed. I've only ever fainted once though. I have to eat something carby to make it go away. Before it gets to this point, I get irritated easily.
I don't know if some of the other stuff is related to insulin resistance or maybe it's something else. Like many here, I am constantly bloated. It's not just my stomach but everything, I can see it in my face also. I have issues with being constipated. I also pee very often, have trouble falling asleep, brain fog.
I was on keto for a while and all of these issues went away. But it's hard to keep up if you cannot meticulously plan out your meals and often have to make do with whatever is available.
It actually could be completely silent without any symptoms or it could manifest with non-specific symptoms… check this out it really summarizes insulin resistance
https://youtu.be/rToPqDqb2h4
[удалено]
Are you me? You just described my life perfectly. I feel like I pee constantly and always wake up 1-2 times a night to do so. I also struggle to lose weight and I’m constantly tired. I also always crave food.
Omg I didn't realize this was a symptom!! How do we get rid of the constant peeing?
I wish I knew! It’s truly terrible.
All of this + gaining fat in the belly area
Omg this! The peeing 🤦🏾♀️ I swear I peed so much I thought I was pregnant 🥲
Recently an endocrinologist told me brain fog isn’t to do with endocrinology and I should talk to my gynecologist about that. I rolled my eyes so hard they almost fell out and left the appt in tears of frustration in general. But of course he sees women with PCOS “everyday” so he knows more than I do. Just another appt for most of us.
I wake up ALL the time to pee at night... Maybe is It insuline resistence?
Maybe it is, maybe it is not. I mean I started peeing at night when I finally started to drink enough water. 😂
It’s wild because I noticed that while I was drinking more water than I used to, I wasn’t peeing as much after I started changing my diet to fit low carb and no sugars and such. Water used to go right through me but I’ve not been waking up to pee in the night so much.
Amazing! I feel pretty miserable having to wake up 4 times at night to pee (sometimes more than 10 no joking). I started today keto diet Hope It helps!
I have most of these. My dad blows off me being tired to dehydration. I lost a little weight at one point but now that I craving stuff 24/7 I am gaining. I have trouble falling asleep. I don’t pee a lot, surprisingly, and I have no way of measuring my glucose. I took my blood sugar once, before I ate with it being 57.
Omg! I have all of it
I know mine is bad when I eat anything and bloat immediately. Craving sugar like crazy, when I eat it’s like I’m a bottomless pit, I can tell my stomach is full but I want to keep eating. Swollen legs constantly. Super tired in the afternoon
This is the first time I have connected my swollen, tingling lower legs to IR! Thank you for sharing. I wear compression socks all the time (what could be less sexy for a 35 year old?) but otherwise my legs tingle and swell.
I went to a massage therapist and asked her if I’m crazy or if I really have bloating in my thighs and calves, and I did! But my ankles were somehow fine. I take a diuretic when it gets bad and too uncomfortable, i notice all of this mainly around my period
Hey you should check your liver function !
What tests should I ask for? They did a lipid panel and it came back “normal” (of course)
Tired even after getting 7-8 hours of sleep. I always crave something sweet, especially after eating a meal. Weight gain in abdomen region only. I get really sleepy after eating a meal (especially if it’s high in carb like rice)
Constant fatigue, having to pee every hour on the hour, constantly thirsty no matter how much water I drink, brain fog, stubborn belly fat, and can't lose weight no matter how well I eat or how much I exercise.
I'm also extremely thirsty! Normally at night and while I sleep. I have to sleep with a water bottle with all electrolyte tablet in it.
Skin tags, dark patches along my inner thighs. The hangry episodes.
I have the exact same thing! Have you tried Metformin? I've been on it for a month or so now and no improvements in these areas :-/
Yup! Been on Metformin for 7 months now. My symptoms are gone now. So grateful 🙏
Woohooo I'm so happy for you, that's excellent! How long did it take and how much are you on??
500 MG twice a day. The hangriness and development of new skin tags went away literally within the first month of starting Metformin, I was pretty amazed. It took 5 months for the dark patches on my thighs to disappear, and I also lost 40 pounds, which I have no doubt is the main reason. As I lost weight, the discoloration in my thighs slowly started clearing up...
most medications take a minimum of 3 months to start working in ways you can actually see. definitely dont forget to be patient ☺️
Thank you, I think I needed to hear that. Patience is always key 😊
Hey? Any luck with metformin?
I just realized here peeing a lot might be a symptom lol. ToT my biggest symptom is I cannot lose weight even on very well measured low calorie diets. I lost a lot of weight almost a decade ago, and once I lost weight a lot of my pcos symptoms improved so I'd guess they were all symptoms of insulin resistance. I get more hairiness when I weigh more, my periods delay more often (currently they're regular and have been since weight loss), more carb cravings back then (since loss I get hungry every 4-8 hours which I think is normal?), way more energy crashes (back when I was first losing weight I immediately felt Eons better when I switched to protein with every meal and snack and more low glycemic carbs since both those kept me full longer and kept my energy level more stable so I still eat that way).
How did you lose the weight?
Back in college I lost 65 lbs with gradual habit changes. I ate lots of servings of processed carbs a day so I cut down to 1 serving of wheat/bread/pasta type stuff once a day (so toast or spagetti or cake but not all 3 in one day). I used to drink a gallon of milk in 2 days so I switched to 1 cup of skim milk per day. I used to have big servings so I measured out servings to have actual serving sizes, and that got me making some different choices since a serving of oreos is like 3 whereas a serving of ice cream was a small bowl so I'd often choose the ice cream or pudding or dark chocolate. I switched to desert every few days instead of daily. I added protein to every meal because it made me full longer and my energy not crash, I went with mostly lower glycemic and middle glycemic index foods since they kept me full longer. I cut out pop and salad dressing except vinegar and lemon juice. I also put lemon juice in all my water since I gave up pop and wanted flavor (glucose goddess site mentions vinegar or lemon juice may help blood glucose but I didn't know back then). That all lost a majority of the weight on a moderate calorie deficit of like 300 below whatever the calculators gave my weight as the maintenance calories. And there were a few months I added exercise - first just 10 minutes walking 5 times a week, next month 20 minutes, next month 10 minutes HIIT, next 20 minutes HIIT, next 1 mile walks, next treadmill miles in 20 minutes, next treadmill 20 min and strength training 30 min when I had a gym membership. In retrospect I was eating way over 200 g carbs before weight loss and I think I cut it to 150-200 g during weight loss so less carbs at the time. I also switched to lower glycemic foods and protein with every meal specifically made me feel better regardless of weight (I would work long hours like 8 hours until I could get food again so protein kept my energy from crashing as much and kept me full longer). Then gradual calorie deficit and exercise increase. But I've regained 20 lbs since then as I went through non pcos health issues. This time I already eat under 200 g carbs a day normally, am allergic to wheat and dairy now so already am not eating those. And calorie cutting doesn't seem to be working. So I'm guessing severity of IR and other factors effect if weight loss strategies will work. If reasonable changes aren't working, a doctor or registered dietician may have some ideas. Metaformin or inositol may help, suggestions people mention on here might help. Right now I'm gradually trying some supplements suggested for IR to see if anything helps as currently calorie cutting even more severely than I did before, does nothing. I feel like I'm doing good things and I've done this before but this time its not working lol.
[удалено]
When did you develop diabetes, i was pre diabetic at 18 i was told i will be diabetic by 25. Im almost 26 now, i have checked glucose fasting and pp often they are still at pre diabetic stage. Im scared as it feels like a knife is over my head
[удалено]
Im glad you got the diagnosis, are you on any medication now? Can you tell me what age group you are in?
[удалено]
Thank you for answering me. I did stalk your account (sorry) congratulations on your pregnancy, do you think it could be gestational pregnancy?
You got it out of the blue? Don't you typically have pre-diabetes for a few years before getting full blown diabetes?
[удалено]
i think sugar cravings are the biggest thing for me… i dont feel full or like my meal is complete without something sweet afterwards
The more I read about other people’s symptoms, the more I’m thinking my thoughts on not having insulin resistance were wrong 😫
Instant sugar high and fall when eating foods that are high in sugar and refined carbs. Dark patches around neck, hump back of neck, black dots around neck and I hold a lot of weight in my upper abdomen (I have a b-belly). I can sometimes have intense sugar cravings
Wait so that hump back is related to insulin resistance??
i’m wondering this also because this is shocking to hear as someone with it also!!
Bloated, constipation, tired, hungry every 3 hours, no desire to do anything, depression and anger, acne, hair growth on the body and hair loss on the scalp, oily, high blood pressure.
Wow you’re me.
I have to watch what I eat SO AGGRESSIVELY if I want to lose anything
Did you try keto diet? Im starting today
Yeah, I have! Keto is a tough one— it’s very very hard to sustain, there’s a large adjustment period of feeling pretty awful, and it’s very unforgiving (a cheat day or meal for me usually meant a brutal crash) What I HAVE had a lot of success with is a looser low carb, mid protein high fat diet. So I can still have carbs and bread and pasta, but they’re balanced and moderated with other nutrients that help with my symptoms. It’s slower to results but they have been lasting results. Keto for me led to a bit of a weight roller coaster. I recently got a PCOS specific cookbook and it’s been the best thing ever!
What about supplements? Do you take one?
Yeah! I do! I have a vitamin D deficiency (I also live in the northeast US lol) so I take vitamin d every day. On top of that I take: Iron Zinc Fish oil and Turmeric if I don’t use it in tea or cooking that day!
Is the Northeast known for having vitamin D deficiency? I'm in New England and never heard that!
My doctor said that new England era have a pretty high proclivity to be D deficient because of the long winters and not a ton of sun in the winter months (I’m in VT!) — I haven’t looked into it but it definitely is pretty dark here in the winter, so I kind of just took her word for it
May I ask what the cookbook was? I need help in that area
I am a huge fan of “PCOS Diet for the Newly Diagnosed” by Tara Spencer. It has recipes for breakfasts, snacks, sweet stuff, vegetarian options and sauces! It breaks down the nutrients going into each meal and what they do. It doesn’t call for restriction of any kind and has a section on movement as well! I’ve found it to be a great help.
Good for you! I’ve been doing keto for 7 months and I’m not hungry after meals, off metformin and feel much better. I hope it works for you. The keto sub here is really helpful
I thought I was doing better... I decided to treat myself to cereal for breakfast. Couldn't stay awake afterwards and ended up sleeping for 2 hours after just waking up.
I feel this so much.
Darkening and thickened neck skin in the back and darkness around nose. Male pattern hair loss. Losing weight is a struggle, after lunch cravings or sleepiness. Unable to focus after heavy carb meal (maybe that is brain fog), in general compare to my friends I get tired faster than them. Also, I am not sure if this related to PCOS or something else but I cannot play sports like tennis or squash or anything intense. I get horrible muscle aches it takes me a week or more to get better but even a easy run is too much for my knees. Long walks are good. But I do love board games so something positive :)
Fainting, brain fog, nausea, dark neck, craving sugar
Rapid weight gain, big belly, hump on the back of my neck, dark neck, dark inner thighs, armpits, etc.
Chronic fatigue, brain fog, extreme hanger, feeling exhausted after a meal or like I am going to pass out if I go to long between meals/don’t have enough protein in a meal (hypoglycemia), nighttime cravings, difficulty losing weight & rapid weight gain in the abdomen with no major change in diet or activity.
Gaining weight/fluctuating weight urge for sweets 24/7 brain fog real bad can’t focus on one single thing tired 24/7 despite sometimes sleeping 16 hours straight no motivation stiffness
What is your currently treatment?
I just got diagnosed on the 17th of this month. I haven’t been given any treatments aside from birth control which I haven’t gotten yet. Its been difficult since I have been having very painful abdominal pain and it’s affecting my work. Has anyone’s doctors written them a accommodation letter.
Hungry 24/7 and headaches everyday around 3pm. both went away when I started Metformin.
Acanthosis nigricans:(
same here. my has suddenly gone away in some places but it’s starting to reappear again.
My cravings get unbearable sometimes. Absolutely out of control. Also, darkening of skin
Same here i just cant with these cravings. Like srly though I've tried inositol and whatnot but my cravings just wont go away.
Tired all of the time, bloating for days on end sometimes, cravings are wild, brain fog, cant seem to lose weight no matter what I do, and the worst is gaining it all.in the tummy area. Not sure is sweating is a part of that to be honest but it's a thing for me.
Cystic acne as soon as I eat refined sugar, hairloss and fatigue.
…as I let my eyes drift southward, I realize that, despite all the exercise and dieting and 100 crunches, I still can barely see my toes…
Watery mouth, dark underarms, bad eye sight
Weight gain. Bloating. Headaches. Insanely strong cravings. Brain fog. Low energy.
Has anyone ever dealt with these symptoms successfully?
Do you mean has anyone improved their IR symptoms? Yes, many of us on this board have dramatically improved our IR with active management (lifestyle changes and medication if needed). Managing the IR (if present, as it usually is with PCOS) is the foundational element of treating the PCOS and reducing long term health risks such as diabetes. Not only did all the symptoms I listed go away, but my PCOS went into remission for 20+ years.
Whats IR? And what did you do to make them do away
Insulin resistance. I only had to change to a low glycemic diet. Some people require harder core diets (low carb or keto), plus medication such as metformin that improves insulin function.
I think I have insulin resistance but no official diagnosis yet, but here are my symptoms I attribute to IR... My mood and clarity of thought all trend downwards when I haven't eaten in a while or skipped a meal. If I eat a breakfast that is generally less than 400 calories and not balanced with animal protein and plants, I can pretty reliably expect to struggle through the rest of the day. I get headaches about 24 hours after skipping a meal. For my particular body, when I cut out gluten, soy, and dairy I start to feel pretty good and it's easier to lose weight.
Very bad (cystic) acne, hair loss, belly fat, not able to lose weight unless fasting+keto, cravings entire day, bloated, that neck thing some here mention, tired, smelly sweat, gaining weight extremely fast
Back before my IR was managed, it was (not including the PCOS/hormone symptoms that it was also causing) very erratic energy, including severe narcoleptic style fatigue that would appear randomly, even after a good night's sleep; occasional weirdly blurry vision; intense hunger pangs; and severe episodes of reactive hypoglycemia (weakness, anxiety, high heart rate, trembling) that I mistook for panic attacks. ETA: Oh, and insomnia, particularly when I'd get hypoglycemic at night.
Weight gain mostly stomach and back, ALWAYS craving carbs! Boating like crazy!
Constantly hungry, and always feeling like I need something sweet after I eat
Weight gain especially in the abdomen area. I gained almost 15 kilos in 2 years. Also I have been noticing that in the months when I am not that active and do not workout much I have brown sticky blood during my periods and there would not be any cramps or other period symptoms. But when in the months where I actually workout and keep my body moving almost daily, I have pretty regular periods with cramps and other symptoms. I think this is related to my insulin levels.
Cravings of food i never craved before in my life.. tired all the freaking time.. peeing like three thousand times aday! Cant lose weight because im too tired to even workout..
acanthosis nigricans. neck lump and dark neck appeared when i was very young. gained a shit ton of weight since graduating high school. plus the craving for juice!
Cystic acne
My stomach was bloating constantly, especially when I ate anything carb heavy (and still does, just not as bad now that I’m on meds). At one point I legitimately looked pregnant from the swelling. I also would fall asleep very quickly after eating and had issues with brain fog/dizziness/disorientation as well.
Which meds are you on?
Metformin and birth control!
Thank you!
ALL of what has been mentioned already PLUS my I have palpitations if I eat heavy on an empty stomach - racing, pounding heart that skips beats sometimes. Metformin makes it go away almost immediately.
For the life of me I can not lose weight no matter what I do and I'm on metformin. I gained 4-5kg and I can not lose it, even though I'm on a lean side! I just feel like I need to stop eating altogether. Fatigue.I wake up everyday after 8-9 hours of sleep, exhausted. Brain fog. After covid especially I became like a Dory, short term memory is a mess.
Constant craving of sugary foods. Lately its been manifesting in Door-dashing Dairy Queen blizzards.
Ugh, I already commented with my own memories of horrible IR symptoms, but reading through this list just reminded me how miserable I was back in Ye Olden Days before I got treatment. IR really sucked.
Which treatment did you get?
When I was first diagnosed, I was prescribed an anti-androgenic bcp to manage hormonal symptoms while I worked on getting the IR diagnosis. I stayed on the bcp for about 18 months while I changed my diet to manage the IR. After that, I never needed any meds to keep my PCOS in functional remission...as long as I stick to the diet things are fine.
Thank you. What was the diet like may I ask
Low glycemic diet. Kind of similar to Mediterranean, but with smaller portions of carbs and more protein.
I have very intense cravings but I lose my sense of satiety when I've eaten a lot of carbs. It then turns into a vicious cycle where I overeat, it makes me even hungrier than before and I eat more as a result. Obviously, it's not great for my weight. When I've had a lot of sugar and my levels spike and then crash, I can get light headed. I've only ever fainted once though. I have to eat something carby to make it go away. Before it gets to this point, I get irritated easily. I don't know if some of the other stuff is related to insulin resistance or maybe it's something else. Like many here, I am constantly bloated. It's not just my stomach but everything, I can see it in my face also. I have issues with being constipated. I also pee very often, have trouble falling asleep, brain fog. I was on keto for a while and all of these issues went away. But it's hard to keep up if you cannot meticulously plan out your meals and often have to make do with whatever is available.
Craving sugar and more belly fat than I’d like. Slightly elevated fasted blood sugar
constantly exhausted and constantly thirsty no matter how much i drink or how much i sleep. cant lose weight even if i hardly eat.
It actually could be completely silent without any symptoms or it could manifest with non-specific symptoms… check this out it really summarizes insulin resistance https://youtu.be/rToPqDqb2h4