Does anyone have any help or suggestions?

Color me ignorant! Please explain to me exactly what PCOS is, symptoms, etc. I will be a year out from RNY WLS in exactly 3 days. Here is a brief scenario of my history (well maybe not so brief-sorry)...can anyone tell me if this is PCOS? I had gestational diabetes in my 4th trimester (with my 2nd child). I was put on insulin until birth of baby. GD went away but I was told that 90% will get Diabetes back later down the road. About 2 yrs later I did...and the weight just kept increasing. I never went back on insulin but did require various oral meds for the diabetes II. Since the birth of my child in 91 (and at the age of 37) I have had very irregular periods, ovarian fibroids, and a huge weight gain (although I have always been heavy since I was around 10 yrs old). When I was around 5 yrs old the doctors gave my parents a "tonic" for me to take because I was underweight...Oh lucky me!!! Good God what is wrong with some of these MD's? Anyway...of recent I have had a vaginal sono to see if my "fibroid cysts" have gotten larger in size. They have not. I had all bloodwork done and my levels are all good. Even my sugar levels. But...since July of this year I have not lost any "extra" weight. I keep losing and gaining the same 6-9 pounds over and over again. Is my body telling me that It just does not want to lose anymore...that this is where I am doomed to be for the rest of my life even after WLS? Yes, I have lost aprox. 160 Lbs (remember those 6-9 that I have been dealing with for months) in 12 months, but I want to lose at the very least another 50. I can't see this happening since what I have been experiencing the past 4 months. Here is a post I put up two nights ago...maybe this will help, and someone MAY have an answer for me...thanks for anyone *****ads this and can shed some light. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ have come to a complete halt now for over 3 months. I have gained and lost the same 6-9 lbs for the past 3 months. Where I was down 160 lbs, I am now (back up to) down only 156lbs. I tend to retain a lot of fluid. No matter if I weighed 90 lbs or 590 lbs, I retain fluid. I do take a fluid pill every day (prescribed, of course). When I ran out of my diuretics, boy did THAT show on the scale. I was without them for nearly 3 weeks and now I am really paying for it. I exercise, eat my protein, never missed not one day of vitamins or H2o...I do not take the B-12, caltrate or whatever that others say we need, but my labs all turned out fine. In 6 days I will be at my 1 year anniversary from WLS. I have not lost one (extra) pound in over 3 months...I hope this isn't the last of my losing any more weight. Before WLS I was a Type II diabetic on glucaphage @ 2000mg daily. This had increased over the years to the 2000mg per day. I now no longer need any diabetic meds nor high blood pressure pills. Thank God! BUT...my question is this. I guess you could say I am in what???---remission??? from the diabetes since WLS? Anyway, since I WAS a diabetic, does that mean that for the rest of my life I will produce carbs, sugar, etc. in a different way then a non (ever) diabetic would? Any info here might help me to get a handle on what to totally eliminate from my diet for the long haul---LIFE! Thanks in advance for your help. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thank you for reading, Audrey

Audrey, I must confess, I got a little lost there. What was the exact question? I do know a bit about PCOS, so if you're seeking information on that, I may be able to help. I do know that some infertile women with PCOS sometimes become fertile using glucophage. Good luck to you. Sheryl

I HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT THE PCOS ... AS FOR NOT TAKING THE B-12 & CALCIUM CITRATE ... YOU ARE PLAYING WITH FIRE. B-12 IS NOT ONLY FOR ENERGY, BUT FOR HEALTHY CELL BUILDING & NERVE CONDUCTION. THE CALCIUM IS NOT ONLY FOR YOUR TEETH, BUT WILL STAVE OFF OSTEOPOROSIS (sp?). ONCE YOU GET THIN, POROUS BONES, YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT SO WHY NOT HELP YOUR BONES OUT BY TAKING IT? AS FOR DIABETES, USUALLY WHEN YOUR BLOOD SUGARS IMPROVE TO THE POINT THAT YOU NO LONGER NEED INSULIN OR ORAL MEDS, THEN AS LONG AS YOU STAY WITH WHAT YOU DID TO GET TO THAT POINT, YOUR BODY WILL NOT GO BACK INTO A DIABETIC STATE. IT ISN'T A "REMISSION". YOUR INSULIN PRODUCTION/BLOOD SUGAR PRODUCTION &/OR INTAKE HAVE BALANCED TO A HEALTHY, NORMAL STATE & SHOULD STAY THERE UNLESS ANOTHER MEDICAL ISSUE ARISES THAT EFFECTS THIS. AS FOR YOUR PLATEAU ... FROM WHAT OTHERS HAVE TOLD ME ... HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS I HOPE WILL HELP BREAK THE PLATEAU YOU ARE ON. NO, THIS SHOULD NOT BE ALL THE WEIGHT YOU ARE ABLE TO LOSE. THIS FAR OUT, I WOULD GUESS THAT YOU ARE EATING JUST ENOUGH CALORIES TO MAINTAIN THE WEIGHT YOU ARE AT FOR THE AMOUNT OF CALORIES YOU BURN. FOR WLS PATIENTS, THAT IS USUALLY AROUND 900-1000 CALORIES A DAY. 1st, START A FOOD DIARY ... COUNT CALORIES TO KEEP THEM AROUND 700-800 A DAY ... COUNT YOUR PROTEINS (80g PER DAY), FLUIDS (1/2 OR MORE A DAY) & GO BACK TO THE BASICS. USE PREPARED WLS HIGH-PROTEIN PRODUCTS FIRST ... EAT THAT & ANIMAL/BEAN/LEGUME PROTEINS UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR 80g OF PROTEINS ... MANY OF YOUR HIGH-PROTEIN DRINKS SUCH AS ISOPURE (POWDER MIXED WITH WATER, OR BOTTLED) WILL DO TRIPLE DUTY - LOW CALORIES, ADDS TO YOUR FLUID COUNT & HIGH-PROTEIN. ONLY AFTER YOU HAVE INGESTED YOUR 80g OF PROTEINS, THEN GO TO GREEN VEGES ONLY ... FRUITS COME LAST & SKIP THE TREATS ALL TOGETHER. INCREASE YOUR AROBIC EXERCISE ... THAT DROPS #s ... WEIGHT LIFTING BUILDS MUSCLE & BULK ... GOOD FOR OVERALL HEALTH & STRENGTH, BUT RIGHT NOW YOU WANT TO JUMP START THAT WEIGHT LOSS SO WALKING, TREADMILL, BIKING, ETC, WILL GET YOUR MOTABOLISM GOING. DON'T EAT EVEN SMALL AMOUNTS OF ANYTHING OTHER THAN PROTEIN, GREEN VEGES & A TINY BIT OF FRUIT IF YOU CAN DO SO WITHIN YOUR CALORIE GOAL. STAY AWAY FROM THE ICEBERG LETTUCE AS IT IS HARD TO DIGEST. THE WEIGHT YOU ARE NOW TRYING TO LOSE IS THE HARDEST TO LOSE & WILL TAKE A MAJOR EFFORT. I NEED TO LOSE AROUND 150-160 #s. I WAS TOLD THAT JUST BECAUSE I WILL HAVE THE POUCH & STICK TO THE DIET, I'LL LOSE THE 1st 100 #s. BUT, AFTER THAT ... ANYTHING I WANT TO LOSE, IS UP TO ME & EXTRA EFFORT. GOD BLESS YOU & YOUR EFFORTS DAWN & NICK