please help

[kinz06]

:confused:
I havn't been diagnosed with PCOS but i have every sytpome. I went to a size 3 to a size 18, now i am in a size 14 but cant lose anymore. I have been trying to have kids for about a year now and no luck. I was lucky and had one at age 19. IM 22yrs old and I also suffer from moods swings very nad and the doc just said my hormones where extrmly high last week when i was in the hopstial but they sent me home. How do i get help with no insurance?

[drheather]

:confused:
I havn't been diagnosed with PCOS but i have every sytpome. I went to a size 3 to a size 18, now i am in a size 14 but cant lose anymore. I have been trying to have kids for about a year now and no luck. I was lucky and had one at age 19. IM 22yrs old and I also suffer from moods swings very nad and the doc just said my hormones where extrmly high last week when i was in the hopstial but they sent me home. How do i get help with no insurance?

Hello and thanks for writing in.

I am sorry to hear that you have not gotten help so far with what you are experiencing. The fact that you have all the symptoms associated with PCOS is concerning.

I am not sure where to tell you to go to have this evaluated. It will depend on the state that you are in and if you have any community clinics. I would look for a free clinic in your area and see if they would be willing to evaluate what may be gong on. I know this can be particularly difficult without insurance.

Here are the tests we use to evaluate for PCOS starting with the symptoms (which you already know):

The symptoms of PCOS can vary widely from woman to woman. Not all women have all the symptoms, which range from irregular or completely absent periods to hirsuitism (excessive facial or body hair), ovarian cysts and Alopecia (male pattern hair loss). Other symptoms can include obesity, acne and skin tags, Acanthosis Nigricans (brown skin patches), high cholesterol levels, exhaustion or lack of mental alertness and decreased sex drive.

PCOS is notoriously difficult to diagnose. It is a diagnosis of exclusion. In other words, it is important to rule out other diseases that can cause symptoms similar to PCOS (such as Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia and Cushings).

To diagnose PCOS, we use a combination of clinical symptoms (what you experience as the patient, such as excess hair growth, irregular menses, acne, skin tags, weight gain, infertility, etc.) and lab tests.

The blood tests to consider are:

- testosterone- elevated in PCOS
- DHEA-S- elevated in PCOS
- fasting insulin- elevated in PCOS. Some doctors may hesitate to order this test because the normal range (0-20) is so wide. However, we find that results greater than 9 indicate insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is usually the underlying cause of PCOS, as you may have read about on our site.
- fasting glucose or glucose tolerance test- elevated in PCOS. Using this information in combination with the fasting insulin helps to diagnose insulin resistance. Also, women with PCOS have a higher risk of Diabetes so it is important to screen for this early and often.
- LH:FSH- Some doctors may also look at the ratio between these two hormones. In PCOS, we would expect LH to be elevated in comparison to FSH.
- You could get an ultrasound to check for the presence of ovarian cysts. Even if the ovaries do appear normal, the absence of ovarian cysts does not mean that you don't have PCOS. Not everyone with PCOS has ovarian cysts.

Again, you will have to investigate a bit in your area. You can also do a search for doctors in your area with expertise in PCOS and see what comes up. You can also use this link to find a doctor and ask if they can offer a reduced rate or a payment plan for those paying out of pocket. This site was down for construction so please check back.
http://www.pcosupport.org/membership/professionals.php#DE

If you are looking for another option that can help you address the condition, please check out our website at http://pcos.insulitelabs.com/. Here is some general information on the PCOS System, if you have not already looked into it.

The Insulite PCOS System is designed to help heal PCOS by addressing its underlying cause, which in most cases is Insulin Resistance.

With Insulin Resistance, the body becomes insensitive to the insulin it produces, which leads to elevated circulating levels of insulin. This in turn leads to hormonal imbalances such as increased testosterone and other androgens (masculinizing hormones).


Elevated insulin also contributes to the formation of cysts in the ovaries in part due to the hormonal imbalances and also because the ovaries are highly sensitive to the influence of insulin.

All of these factors combine to complicate a woman's chances of conceiving if she has PCOS.

Our system is designed to balance the testosterone, insulin and other reproductive hormones that impact ovulation.

While we cannot promise that you will conceive on our program, we know that theoretically reducing insulin and testosterone will increase your chances of conceiving.

It is safe to continue trying to get pregnant while you are using the System. We do recommend, however, that, if you become pregnant while using the PCOS System, you discontinue using the supplements during your pregnancy and then resume them after you finish breastfeeding. The reason is that while we know that the Insulite PCOS System is safe and non-toxic in general, these supplements have not been tested in any clinical trials specifically on pregnant women or infants.

I hope that this helps. Please let me know what you find on your area and if there is anything else I can help with.