Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Because it needs to be said.

You get a pain in the middle of the night. It is EXCRUCIATING! But what is it? It feels like cramps only...WHAT? this can't be cramps it fucking hurts!!! this isn't right, this doesn't feel like cramps. What can it be? Maybe appendicitis? Maybe a Gall stone? Maybe something with the kidneys? Chances are more than likely that if you have PCOS it is a ruptured cyst. How do I know? I lived with them for 4 years, every month like clockwork. I didn't get a period but once a year MAYBE. But every month instead of "aunt flow" or my "monthly gift from mother nature" I got excruciatingly painful wanna rip my side out hurting....ruptured cysts for years. One of the first times I had a cyst pop I was in the ER and they thought it was a gall stone, they wanted to perform emergency surgery. Pretty scary huh?
     Eventually my cysts stopped, I don't know if they stopped growing but I know that they stopped popping. I still have a bruise that is JUST starting to disappear from 6 months ago when I had my last rupturing cyst. It is now to the point where it is slightly blue, but kinda yellow. I was hooked up to a pain monitor once, the cyst rupturing measured up near childbirth WITHOUT medication. Scary isn't it? What made them stop? I changed my diet, I added in exercise, I started taking vitamin supplements. In essence I changed my lifestyle. Some people look at me and think "oh, I can't do that, I have done it before, i've lost the weight etc, it always comes back tho" you know why it comes back? You don't stick to it and/or you make too many changes way too quickly. It has to be a LIFESTYLE change, not a diet, not a fad, not a "just till I lose the weight then I will be ok" No, it has to be FOREVER. I am not saying you can't have treats once in a while, you can (if you can get back on plan after having said treats) For me, If I have a bag of "healthy" chips in the house, I eat them in one day. That isn't so healthy. So, I can't have healthy chips in the house. Ice cream on the other hand, I can easily spread that tub out over a week or more. No problems.
  People tend to think that in order to see results they have to change everything at once. On the contrary. I was able to do that because I was ready. Most people need to take it in slow steps. These steps might be as simple as say....Ditching soda one month and drinking more water the next month (while still not drinking soda).  The third month they might cut out all juices, or switch from drinking juice to coffee or tea. The 4th month they might add in some vitamin supplements or stop eating "white" or refined carbs. For someone else one of those steps might be different, it might be "eat out less" or "eat less pre-packaged food". Whatever it is and however you accomplish it. JUST DO IT! Your life may be at risk if you don't. Not your physical life (well if you are diabetic then yes your actual life) but your dreams, your aspirations.
  Did you know that women who are over weight, diabetic, have PCOS, etc are less statistically likely to get the jobs or promotion they want and/or are entitled to? Especially if it is in the medical field. The thinking behind this is, "why should we let you care for other people or work with other people telling them how to be healthy and helping them in their lives if you can't keep yourself healthy?" The same is true in places like fast food and department stores too. Most clothing stores want you to be able to fit in to their clothes so that customers can see how "real" women wear their items.
    What to I suggest for women with PCOS? Make changes to your lifestyle, but only make them as quickly as you can. Slow and steady wins the race in this case. Psychologically it takes about 2 weeks for the body to go through withdrawal and 30 days for something to become habit. This is why I usually suggest people take things slow and make one change a month. Eventually after 4-6 months if you feel comfortable you can try changing two things together, but not until you are ready. The most important thing I suggest tho. Number ONE is if you can get in to a nutritionist. DO IT! you MUST, MUST, MUST, MUST see one especially if you have PCOS, pre-diabetes, diabetes or any metabolic disorder (which all of these  and many other things are).
   What if you can't get in to a nutritionist? If you are like me and can't get to a nutritionist there are still things you can do to help your metabolic disorder. Number one, exercise. Studies have shown that regular physical activity can dramatically help insulin resistance. Number 2, give up ALL sugary drinks, soda, diet soda, juice all of it. This doesn't have to be all at once, it can be over time. Tea is our friend instead. black tea peppermint tea, green tea NO SUGAR! Number 3 and probably the most important. It isn't all about sugar it is about carbs too. CUT THE CARBS. Yes, I meant that to be in caps. If you are going to have carbs, make them "whole wheat" or unrefined, not multigrain, not the sarah lee "white wheat" WHOLE WHEAT! tortillas, breads, pastas all of it. For every 15g of carbs, there should be 2g of dietary fiber. If your cup of pasta is 45 carbs, there should be 6g of fiber. PERIOD. Many people thing multi-grain and whole wheat are the same NO they are not. Multi-grain is just that, there are multiple or more than one type of grain in the bread. That does not mean those grains are whole. Whole wheat on the other hand is made with WHOLE wheat grains and is the lease processed, however, not all whole wheat is the same, this is where it is important to check the carbs on EVERYTHING. There are a few exceptions to this rule like yogurt, which is a protein and a grain. If you MUST have white pasta, white bread, etc. Make sure you add as much protein to it as possible. This will help slow the digestion of the carbohydrates.Personally I only have one meal a day if that with "traditional carbohydrates" i.e. bread, tortilla or pasta. This works for me, it might not work for everyone. You might be thinking "BUT, BUT, BUT your brain neeeeddssss carbs to work, true..it does, however you get carbs in fruit and veggies too.
  Veggies and fruits are your friend. PERIOD. salads, eggplant, carrots and celery for snack Love them, eat them enjoy them. A bowl of mixed fruit or frozen fruit smoothie are awesome choices for dessert and a lot sweeter than people think. Or have a bowl of strawberries and raspberries with a LITTLE bit of dark chocolate drizzled on top. Yum. If you love ice cream, bryers makes a carb smart ice cream that is AWESOME!
   I have to stress one thing tho. I MUST, MUST, MUST stress it. Watch portion sizes, the nutritional facts on the side of that bottle of soda, yea, that isn't for the whole bottle, it is for a part of it. That frozen pizza you had for lunch, or that salad you bought from Fred Meyer's, there is more that one serving in each of those. Always watch portion control and check nutritional facts.
  Supplements. What to take? there are LOOOOTTSSSS of things to take that will work for PCOS. first thing I suggest if you are going to see a nutritionist....ask them first what you should take. What do I take? I take 600mg calcium, 1000mg vitamin c, 1 prenatal, 500mg chromium picolinate, and 4000 mg fish oil DAILY.
   You CAN be healthy with PCOS and you CAN be pain free. the hirutism, amenhorea, acne, excess weight..all of the symptoms of PCOS can be helped and made to all but disappear with maintaining a healthy weight, and or a healthy lifestyle no matter what your weight. The important thing is to change things as slowly as you have to so you can stick to them FOR LIFE! The things that have helped me stay on track this time around? Blogging number one. Number two I get all the support I need from the wonderful people at 3 fat chicks also the movie Fat head made a huge world of difference. To anyone needing more information on these things and/or how a body of someone with PCOS works. Feel free to leave a comment, or message me. My contact details are on the about me page. I also suggest a simple google search. The movie and the forum listed above are both AWESOME resources as well. There are others and more to come listed on my resources page. Don't ever hesitate to contact me or follow my blog. I use my blog as my food diary, I have bad days like yesterday with my cornbread and corndogs. I also have my good days. All of it, the good and the bad, the slip ups, everything will be on this blog. You are not alone and you can do this, just take it slow and everything else will fall in to place.

5 comments:

  1. You tell it sister! My husband has type 2 diabetes and I have PCOS and insulin resistance as well. We have been using the Low Glycemic Index for about a year and I am just now learning the correct portion sizes for things. I started on My Fitness Pal 70 days ago and have lost 10 pounds since then, but 38 total since January. we have low glycemic index pasta maybe once a week and are now having at least one vegetable at dinner per night. I have had cysts burst before and they are not fun. I was in bed for a day and a half the last time one busted and that was a couple of years ago. I couldn't move without feeling like I was going to die. Anyways, great post. :)

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  2. Thanks, I have a friend who had one burst and doesn't know how to take care of it. I did put this on its own page because it needs to not be lost in all the posts. I have never tried low GI pasta, I just have regular paste, only I try not to eat it more than twice a month. If it isn't wheat, I won't eat it. I think it needs to be said and people need to hear it from those who are struggling with it too and not just professionals who don't have the issue but think they know how to treat it. Cysts suck! I used to get them popping EVERY month instead of a period. Thanks for your comment ;) It makes me happy to know people actually do read this and that others know what I am talking about ;)

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  3. Oh, I had a cyst pop last month. It was painful, but not as painful as it was previously. It took a week to get back to normal though, as in I got really bloated and took a week for the water retention to go away. Blah. I hate PCOS!

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  4. I KNOW!!! it sucks! I have been lucky enough that I haven't had a cyst in the last 6 mos or so since my diet change and I have even felt myself ovulating twice or so *insert dancing carrot* I am hoping more things balance out as I lose the weight, right now my biggest things are the facial hair and body acne SO ANNOYING!

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  5. yes, facial hair and body acne are HORRIBLE! the part I don't mind about PCOS is the not having a period. I don't want any more kids so I wouldn't have minded if it would stay away forever. However, now that I have lost a bunch of weight (51 since January) my birth control pills are working right again and making me have one... Ugh... not fun.

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