polycystic ovaries - diagnosed yesterday

Women's health
1

Hello everyone. I'm looking for a bit of advice.

So July last year I started getting lower abdominal pain, went to the doctors and he said I had a water infection gave me tablets to get rid of it but nothing happened. I left it for a few months until I started getting extremely bloated and nauseas. I still left it for a few weeks until I started getting very bad pains in my left side of my abdomen and burning in my stomach. I went back to the doctors had many blood tests, stool samples and urine samples. Everything came back okay. My doctor then diagnosed me with gastritis and gave me omeprazole. I finish this course of tablets and nothing changed. Went back to the doctors and he diagnosed me with IBS. Prescribed me more tablets. I didn't go back until a week ago as my symptoms have got a whole lot worse.

My symptoms now:

Nausea - very very bad!

Bloated stomach!

Heavy/swollen stomach!

Burning in stomach!

Not able to eat or sleep.

Drastic weight loss - from 11 and a half stone to 7 stone.

Pain in left middle abdomen

I went to the doctors on Friday and was referred straight to the surgical ward at my hospital. Here I had bloods done, X-ray of abdomen and a internal ultra sound. Where they found a lot of foccils on both of my 'enlarged ovaries'

Here, when I was told I burst into tears, not only have I been wrongly diagnosed for nearly a year but I have something wrong with me that I had no idea what it was!! He discharged me because I was asympotamatic which means I have the disease but not showing the right symptoms for it. He also told me a girl of my weight should not have PCOS. My blood came back 'unremarkable' now I'm not entirely sure what that means but my GP needs to look into it.

Please help me. Why do I have these symptoms but they are not related to PCOS? What happens now? Do I need surgery to have them removed? Am I able to have children? What are the risk factors of PCOS later in life?

I suffer with major health anxiety and depression. Finding this out has took its toll on me. I can't stop crying. I'm only 21 years old and I've never felt so unhealthy in my life. I do smoke but this past week I have completely cut down to 1/2 a day.

I have irregular periods. Only for the past two years or so. I do have periods but sometimes it can be two months until I come on again - and they are extremely painful. That is the only symptom I can think of that is related to PCOS oh and pain during intercourse.

Where do I go from here?

Thank you for taking your time to read my post. I'll appreciate every reply. Thank you

2

Someone?..please...

3

Hi Jade, 

I have somewhat similar symptoms to you. I am a petite person and have never been overweight. I never had regular periods in my life, but when I had them they were excessively heavy and painful. So at 16 when I went to the doctors they didnt even test me for anything, they just said it was my age.

I had a round of blood tests at 19 which came back normal, and then I had a manual pelvic exam by a lovely female GP who was concerned by my symptoms, and sent me for a scan even though my blood work was ok. I then had to be rediagnosed for some reason when I moved house. When I had the second round of blood tests they found that my FSH and LH were abnormal, which causes the PCOS.

I am still slim, but I have an enormous pregnant belly when I eat because of the cysts, and my ovaries are 6 x the normal size according to my last scan.

I get stabby pains in my lower left pelvis, just above my hip bone which is where my ovary is, which can be painful on many occasions including sneezing or coughing, sex, and pooping (sorry for the overshare).

I have read a lot about PCOS over the years since I was diagnosed because sadly there isnt really much the doctors can do about it. But what I do know is there are different types of PCOS with different symptoms. I have "hidden-cause  PCOS" which is where the person is normal weight and has no excess hair growth or raised testosterone levels, and no insulin resistance. 

There are lots of lifestyle changes you could make depending on your situation - if you are insulin resistant (more blood tests) then you can start a low GI diet. 

You can also try herbal treatments, or go on the pill. Thats the most common treatment for someone who is not trying for a baby, as it will regulate your cycle and reduce some of the symptoms. 

In terms of herbs, licorice tea is a good one, and tastes nice too.

Long term its not too much of a health issue if you maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. You may or may not have any difficulty getting pregnant - I have about 4 PCOS friends who all got pregnant normally, and I only have 1 who needed extra help from doctors. 

I hope you feel better soon. Im not a doctore, but I'm worried 7 Stone is a dangerous weight, and although you have been diagnosed with PCOS I feel like the stomach problems and lack of appetite are something else, so I would continue to get tested to get to the bottom of the problem. 

Chin up!!!

I hope you get some answers soon. I would like to hear how you get on smile 

 

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