HI,

I have had PCOS for years even though I am 21. The Metformin has helped me a lot with hunger because I was starving constantly. It has also helped me with my acne on my face it is pretty much gone now. I also take a directic that is not a good for directic purposes but is good to slow the growth of excess hair you may have. It is called Spirnolactone. I was supposed to also be on birth control pills to help my periods because at this point it is like two days of a little bit of light nothing. I am anticipating having non at all at some point. But those are the three main treatments. I cannot take birth control pills I got allergic to them. But whatever you do don't take YAZ worst pills ever invented. It gave me the worst yeast infection of my life and it lasted eight months which turned into a bacterial infection stretching it to two years and I still have it. You may also have a thyroid issue. Thyroid and PCOS are connected and I have both Hashimoto's thyroid and PCOS. There is also something wrong with my adrenal glands which I think is a weird thing but whatever. They should check you T4 T3 TSH and the Thyroid antibody blood test. If they don't check the antibodies it's not good enough. Thyroid can cause weight gain if it is hypo (low) functioning. The endocrinologist is the right doctor to go to and I have been through three so far. I will be meeting my 4th on Monday.
Feel free to ask me anything.

Good luck with everything,

Stephanie

girl i am in the same boat as you! diet hasnt worked and i had to quit metformin because it made me too sick and i had a reaction to it (red spots all over my arm). cant wait to hear the answers :)

@ SAM1022: I can't go on birth control because I'm currently trying to get pregnant, and I don't view a pill cycle as a 'real' cycle because there is no hormone shift and ovulation, just a shedding of the uterine lining- so it's a period but not a cycle- and I don't feel that the pill has enough benefits for me to go on it for even a short time.

I'm just trying to find out what comes next, there has to be something after metformin...

I have pcos and we are ttc and my doctor just started me on metformin and clomid

The only treatments that I am aware of are the ones that have all ready been mentioned; spironolactone, metformin, and BCP.

there might be some herbal remedies that people claim work, but I don't have experience with those.

I've read that proper diet/exercise can help more than any of the medications. You might have to experiment with different diets; cutting out processed foods and sugars worked for me, others find that cutting out dairy works wonders, or even going gluten free.

Hi new to all this but need some help! Metformin made me so sick so my dr just started me on progesterone one week before my period every month. Any body ever try this?

I already have a 'proper diet'- I eat mainly vegetables and fruit, and have been both dairy and gluten free since long before the diagnosis. I take dance classes 7 times a week (10 and a half hours per week), and that hasn't helped me lose weight either.

The goal of the metformin was to get me to ovulate, progesterone won't help cause an ovulation, only a bleed. Which wouldn't help with the trying to conceive.

What is spironolactone? I've never heard of it before?

Spironolactone I believe treats the main symptom of excess hair growth. I was never on it since I didn't have that one symptom.

If the meds aren't working for you (to the original poster), then you need to talk to your doctor about other options.

There are TONS of books out there about PCOS and diet/exercise. It has more of an effect than what a lot of us think. It's harder to do, of course, but from what I have read, it works better (sometimes), than the medications. I know it's easier said than done, and I know how difficult it is to lose weight.
When my doctor told me that the majority of my symptoms would go away if I lost weight, I was glad to hear that, but I am not sure he realized how difficult it is.