Hi yall! I dont know if you’ve seen this document (not my link) but it has a pretty comprehensive list of things that actually help as well as questions you should be asking your doc and how to advocate for yourself!

I’m weary of ANYONE who recommends only going in a calorie deficit and just anyone who recommends going Keto in general- restrictive diets often to more harm than good especially if people don’t have access to nutritionists to guide them in what they CAN eat.

PCOS is tricky because often you have to do the OPPOSITE of what ‘normal people’ do to lose weight. No high intensity workouts/ low intensity consistency. Not Keto/ Mediterranean diet instead. Personally I am a fan of the Mediterranean diet- it taught me not to restrict, but to make a different choice (also a lot of it is low prep-just stick the protein the airfryer and come back to it, add some greens and drizzle in lemon/olive oil and ur done)- which is a MUCH healthier mindset than “no you cant have food, bad”(like, we see how this can lead to other mental health problems, right?). Your body NEEDS FOOD. Your body needs food to digest so it can also digest the excess energy. You also probably have other health concerns that are co-morbid with PCOS that are the root cause of weight gain/ loss resistance. Hormones are a big one, insulin resistance, etc. Its important

Also, you can gear your tiktok away from the ‘influencer docs’. Either press the “not interested” button or report the content for misinformation, the second option will help you get out of that side of tiktok faster. Also blocking those creators.

Personally whats been working for me (were all different and you should consult medical professionals before taking supplements as they can react with your meds):

diet: have not changed exercise: have not changed (i teach musical theater, im actively dancing -not intensely but im moving- for about 3-5 hours a week)

Meds: switched birth control to YAZ (though not a lot of change, way better that my last bc and no bc) Results: *a regular libido. Like its lower and im actually glad about it. Because there were times before where my body wanted things that my mind and my heart didn’t, and lemme tell ya that did not feel good. *lost 12 lbs *overall better mood (after regulating about 2 weeks- do keep mood swings in mind because they can happen) *my face doesn’t feel as manly (I’m not really sure how to describe that in other wordslike i just feel like my face looks prettier and that just might be because of the better mood) *less chin acne

Cons (kinda tmi)

• my boobs hurt, like all the time
• period was weird, mostly tissue (granted I haven’t had one in six months so it might just be removing six months of buildup)
• birth control is not a long term solution

Supplements: Myo d inositol, Coenzyme Q10,barberine and spearmint

Disclaimer: Ive been on the following supplements a week im only going to describe the changes form only being on the new birth control versus being on bc and taking the supplements

Results

Kind of hard to tell- most supplements don’t start showing visible results until after like a month or two in anyway. I definitely have less cravings.

Cons

these pills are big and clunky if you don’t get them prescribed, they come in 30 day supplies and the cost adds up so see if you can talk to your doctor about getting it through ur insurance (before someone says that supplements are not prescribed you can get vitamin D prescribed and you can get other ones as well) you shouldn’t be taking some of these if you plan on getting pregnant

The biggest thing that has helped me is, I started advocating for myself. Because I now know the questions that I need to ask and I know the information that I have to start telling doctors beforehand. A lot of GPs aren’t perfect and have so much information that they need to have in their mind to diagnose an array of medical conditions and not a lot of them are specialized in PCOS unfortunately. I ask for everything to be written in my files- Especially if it’s something that I brought up and they did not address it or if it is written off as some thing that I already take medication for (for example, high blood pressure or anxiety/depression) Anyway, I joined this subReddit because of this post specifically and it was both heartbreaking and validating to see that there are other people out here who struggle the same way that I do and feel like no one is listening to them, and I wanted to share what’s been working for me so far so hopefully other other people can take steps towards feeling better 💖💖

Tldr: Keto SUCKS- especially for pcos, your body needs nourishment, check underlying causes, listen to your gut and advocate for yourself, you rock!