This is a diet to help me help myself.
I have polycystic ovary syndrome (I'm actually proud of myself for telling you this because most of these type of posts end up on my secret blog where things don't actually get published... I'm working on it though and I guess this is step one).
Hi, my name is D.P. and I have PCOS.
There are a TON of symptoms that accompany this and I'm fortunate enough to not have to battle my weight to the extreme that some do or buy very expensive creams to keep the hair from growing on my face. (Hirsutism aka facial hair is another symptom of PCOS, due to the increased testosterone that the woman's body makes.)
What I do have and it kills me is adult acne. Some serious horrible acne. I have never known clear skin. I am already getting 'fine lines and wrinkles' and still have acne!!! Not exactly the way I had hoped I'd look in my mid to late (gasp!) twenties.
There are a lot of medicines that I can take for this, but they come with side effects too, some of which are intolerable or unhealthy for me right now.
So.... the next step is my diet.
Women with PCOS are often insulin resistant, pre-diabetic or even diabetic (hence the weight-loss battle). Last time I had my blood sugar checked, I was fine, nothing to be worried about, but my doc said, 'skip that cookie after dinner and be careful of your carbs'. I kept that in my mind for several months and then I think I buried that thought with cookie crumbs and forgot it all together. Skip to present, my skin is awful!!! I don't have proof that it is from all the holiday cookies, treats and other carby, sugary bites that I may or may not have eaten this past month, but I'm thinking it is probably one of the factors.
A low sugar, low carb diet can help a woman with PCOS with lots of issues, even possibly fertility, but I'm going to start it today in hopes that my skin starts to look a little more like that of a twenty-something and a little less like that of a 13 year-old going through puberty.
Goodbye bagels & biscuits. Hello salads and green beans! What on earth am I going to eat for breakfast? :)
I'll let you know how it works.
Happy New Year!
Hang in there. Good for you for getting this out. Those of us around 50...icks...have other bad news of what is to come.... But, then you seem to have the symptoms we all are having. Oh, did I see the night sweats on that list....Let's not forget that one.
ReplyDeleteWe will all be keeping you in our thoughts and are proud of you for getting this out. Promise not to tell anyone.
I heart you! For breakfast, try yoplait smoothies. You can find them in the frozen food section. They are around $3.19 for two servings, but there is a $1 off coupon in todays paper! They are yum, and I dont even care for smoothies. Hopefully since the sugar is natural, it will be ok.
ReplyDeleteGo Norie!! Love you!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you found my blog too! Yay for admitting to PCOS, it's not that horrible :) I hope you can check out that site I mentioned today, I think it will really help both of us. Can't wait to read more about you!
ReplyDeleteOh and I updated my post. The writer of that book is a Naturopathic Doctor, not an MD. But it's endorced by 2 MD's. Just thought I would let you know. And I will definately let you know how the book is :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your PCOS. Welcome out of the closet, I hope it helps you and you get all the wonderful support in the world :o) There are a lot of wonderful groups out here in bloggy world that have great support and people going through the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI have adult acne. I never worried about pimples until I was in my early twenties and then BAM...I had awful acne. I have tried all kinds of different things like proactive but those things only make my acne worse. Let me know if this works for you, I would def give it a shot if it works.