Tricia K.

Your doctor is also misinformed. Absent or irregular periods is only ONE of the many possible symptoms of PCOS. I'm one that has always had regular periods and I was positively diagnosed with PCOS. No doubt about it. If you have multiple symptoms of PCOS, I would seriously make an appt. with an endocrinologist and get tested for it. BTW - my ob/gyn never once asked me if I had been tested for PCOS. It was former PCP that did and sent me for testing - during my 1st visit to her. She was shocked and appalled that my ob/gyn didn't notice the signs and/or have me tested for it. Just goes to show you that not all doctors know what they're talking about. Good luck.

Hee hee...you know how I am about my own spelling/grammatical errors so I just had to bust your chops on that one.

I'm here to help....if I can. *hugs*

Kim, I'm sorry if I came across as though you shouldn't trust your surgeon and/or his nurse but what they were telling you/giving you just sounds so odd to me. What shocks me is that you're just now being diagnosed with it, after losing a significant amount of weight. You'd think that the weight loss would have slowed a lot of your symptoms down, or even eliminated them. Of course, everyone is different. I just hope that with your continued weight loss and prescriptions that you'll notice a difference. Good luck to you!

Breakfast: 25 oz. coffee w/ non-dairy creamer and 2 Splenda Lunch: 1/2 c. ground beef, 2 slices american cheese, 1 tbsp. sour cream, 5 olives Snack: 20 oz. latte w/ whole milk Dinner: 3/4 Lean Cuisine Herb Roasted Chicken Total Calories: 749 Total Fat: 43 grams - 52% Total Carbs: 42 grams - 22% Total Protein: 49 grams - 26%

Thanks for the heads up.

Great idea on the sonogram, Elisabeth! After my diagnosis was confirmed with the blood test, I went for a sonogram, which ruled out the existence of cysts on my ovaries - thankfully. The whole idea about giving Glucophage to assist in getting pregnant is absurd. :paranoid

Kim, you really need to speak with someone else, one who knows what they're talking about. That nurse is completely misinformed. And, as far as I know, they don't have one month doses of Depo-provera. One shot lasts for 11-13 weeks, regardless. And, one can't diagnose PCOS by having someone take Depo-provera for a month. Mine was diagnosed after reviewing my medical history, asking a series of questions to determine if I had some of the symptoms and THEN going to the endocrinologist to have a fasting blood test done. I was given 1 pill to take the evening before - one that is supposed to shut down a particular gland. If the test results showed that this gland was still producing after taking the pill, that confirmed the PCOS diagnosis. Please, please, please go see someone else.

I'm in for the challenge. I'm going to set my May goal for another 10 pounds and hope that I actually get there!! I didn't hit my goal in March and I doubt I'll be hitting in April. I think if I stick to the 30 minutes of exercise per day, I might actually have a chance!! LOL Good luck everyone! P.S. P'Nut - I made a tiny change to your post - in red.

You're very welcome, Kim. My doctors took me off of it because they felt that with the surgery, I wouldn't need to take it anymore. Losing weight helps a lot with controlling PCOS. I don't take anything now. What are your symptoms with PCOS? Mine were very minimal considering all of the symptoms that can occur with the syndrome - obesity (if you can call that minimal) and excess hair growth on upper arms and abdomen, which is all but gone now. I do still take Depo-provera though, but only for birth control reasons. I've been on it for almost 6 years and haven't had any adverse reactions to it. It didn't cause me to gain weight - I was actually able to lose a little bit of weight while on it and doing Atkin's. I love it because I haven't had a period the entire time I've taken it. I'll be going off of it early next year as we hope to get pregnant. I hope this helps.

Kim, I have PCOS and used to take metformin, but it really didn't do much for me. At the advice of my PCP and my surgeon, I stopped taking it the day of my surgery. You may wish to discuss taking metformin (Glucophage) or Actos with your doctor. They are actually diabetic medications but help some people with PCOS. There's also the option of taking another form of birth control called Depo-provera. It is a progestin only birth control that's administered by a shot every 11-13 weeks. So, you don't have to worry about taking a pill every day. From what I've read (see link below), the risks for heart attacks or strokes may be linked directly to smoking rather than the combination of smoking/birth control. http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/womenshealth/wome5315.html

Breakfast: 16 oz. vanilla protein shake made with skim milk Lunch: 10 corn chips w/ jack queso dip Snack: raspberry white chocolate cookie Dinner: 8 miniature pork egg rolls Snack: 2 c. microwave popcorn Total Calories: 1363 Total Fat: 54 grams - 35% Total Carbs: 145 grams - 41% Total Protein: 84 grams - 24% I was sooooo hungry today. I'm so glad I'm getting a fill on Tuesday. I'm in desperate need of one.

I've never studied the regular Centrum bottle but Flintstones Complete is a good source for vitamins. You may wish to compare them.

Is it just me or is anyone else noticing that things are kind of wacky today with the forum? I just noticed that my post on the "Band Season" thread was listed as a recent post when it was posted at 11 this morning. Odd....:party:

You're very welcome! :party:

Hi Nancy! Yes, this is seriously all that I eat on any given day. Good luck getting off of your plateau! :party:

Yay, I lost 1 pound. Thank God!!

From my experience, yes, they do taste the same. I have the caramel flavored ones. They're delicious!! I bought the industrial size container from Sam's Club. As far as their multi-vitamin is concerned, my surgeon told me that they don't have enough Iron in them. As bandsters, we need to keep our iron levels in check. Thus, my taking the Flintstones Chewables. Of course, as we all know, almost every surgeon is different.

Congratulations, Dawg!!

If you're willing to travel, my surgeon here in Louisiana charges $12,900 for the surgery, 23 hour hospital stay, anesthesia and 1 year of follow-up care/fills. This also includes the pre-op EKG. This is his outpatient self-pay price, and you have to pass a health screen to qualify. If I remember correctly, to qualify, you must not have had prior extensive abdominal surgery, among a few other things. I think a lot of his self-pay patients do qualify for this reduced price. The initial consultation fee and psych evaluation is $175, which is not part of the above-referenced price. Any additional testing (blood work, sleep apnea test, etc.) is also separate from the above price. My health insurance paid for my blood work, after my co-pay. Please visit his web site at www.whyweight.com for more info. Good luck!

Great site! My DH loves the Taco Bell Nachos BellGrande....all 810 calories of it! Holy Cow!! Of course, he eats that, plus, plus, plus. Hee hee.

LOL...I'm sure they're present, my dear. Be patient, they'll show up. P.S. If you have a digital camera with Macro mode, you can take a close-up photo of your driver's license. I didn't use the Macro mode when I took the one of mine above but I did take another one today with the correct mode. I think I'll upload it tomorrow to replace the original one.

I was also a self-pay patient. I went in for my first consult on July 21, 2005, had all my pre-surgery testing completed for my surgeon's review within a few weeks and then my surgery was scheduled for August 30, 2005. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina had other plans (I live an hour northwest of New Orleans) so, naturally, I didn't have surgery on my original scheduled date. I was banded 2 1/2 weeks later, on September 16, 2005.

Thanks! I've lost 72 lbs. thus far.

I'd like to extend the same invitation to anyone wishing to cruise out of New Orleans on Norwegian Cruise Lines - Norwegian Sun - the week of December 10th through 17th, 2006. Rooms range from $626 (Interior Stateroom) to $3,186 (Owner's Suite) per person, based on double occupancy. www.ncl.com This will be our first cruise and we're sooo excited!!