Symptoms worse after surgery?

Greetings to all of you out there.  This is my first post on this type of forum, so please bear with me.  I'm sorry if this question has been posed before, but I'm hoping to get some feedback on this. I was diagnosed with PCOS two years ago after being misdiagnosed for 6 years prior to that.  Spent years on BC pills that gave me severe morning sickness each day and spent a few months on Metformin until I had my RnY bypass last July. One of the biggest reasons I had the bypass was due to the fact that every doctor assured me that my chances of having PCOS symptoms reduce in severity were excellent with the WLS.  The WLS was successful to date, and I've lost way more than the 10% the doctors claimed would make me 'all better'.  Still, as each month passes, it seems as though my symptoms are actually increasing in severity. For instance, I never had facial hair before.  I now wax my upper lip weekly due to a mustache that popped up three months after of surgery.  All of my body hair is growing in longer and thicker and I'm attributing that to the multiple vitamins I've taken to prevent hair loss (from my head), but I have NEVER had any sort of facial hair before. As far as my cycle becoming regular in any way, it is actually worse than it has ever been.  Last February, Metformin brought on the first period I had in eight months.  However, with the exception of two separate weeks, I've had a period since then.  So I am more than well-accustomed to irregular bleeding.  But since the surgery, I've had two periods of severe hemorraghing that have brought me to my knees with the cramps and blood loss.  Additionally, I have been anemic since surgery despite the iron supplements prescribed by my surgeon ; this bleeding is hardly helping the situation.   Now that I've gotten the complaining out of my system, I'll ask the question that I'd love to get feedback on; have any of you experienced something similar despite your weight loss after surgery?  Do any of you have any advice? 

Hi there!  No real advice, just wanted to say that I'm sorry you're going through this.  Have you shared all this with your OB/GYN?  Does he/she have a treatment plan in mind?  I ask because not all GYN's are as experienced with PCOS as they would have their patients believe.  I was misdiagnosed for years as well, and finally found an excellent GYN who has been amazing, both pre- and post- surgery.  We're in the same area, so let me know if you'd like her information.  She's with Johns Hopkins and practices in Odenton, MD and Baltimore, MD.   Best of luck to you!  Hopefully, someone on this forum will have some helpful advice.

One reason for hair growth--if your taking Biotin--that's the answer. I too had/have PCOS and never had issues with hair growth until postop and when I started the Biotin--now I swear I get my eyebrows and face threaded once a week, shave my legs and underarms daily and bikini waxes every two weeks. I don't know about the irregular periods or pain your experiencing I'd go to my OBGYN if I were you. I'm on YAZ birth control and have no issues at all. All the best!!

Hi Wishful,

I had my surgery fairly close to yours and also have PCOS. I was diagnosed five years ago.

Since surgery I have had two "normal" cycles, meaning between 28 and 32 days.  But my last cycle was 34 days. I am at 105lbs (70% of excess weight lost).  I have also noticed that I have the same painful ovaries as before surgery, only now it can last three of the four weeks of each cycle rather than one (as it was before surgery).

My plan as of now is to wait and track my cycles for the next two months and then go to my doctor for an ovary ultrasound and more bloodwork.  I live in an area with few OB/GYNs, no bariatric doctors, but, thankfully, one awesome Endocrinologist.

You should ask for a referral to an Endo.  This would seem like a good time for a full hormone work-up and that would be the person to analyze the results for you.

Best of luck!

Alison

I'd like to thank all of you guys for your replies to my post; I was hoping that some people would have some input on this and I really appreciate your advice!  Especially hearing that things are going reasonably well for you, Alison, brightens my day! I'm in the middle of yet another hemorraghing episode right now and really am at a loss as to what I should try for this.  My GYN has literally disappeared (the hospital doesn't even have a record of her anymore and my medical records are MIA) and while I got a recommendation for a specialist from one of the nurses at my bariatric surgeon's office, the soonest appointment I could get with him is a month from now.   Given that each of the times I've dragged myself to the ER to deal with this bleeding they only made things worse by making me sit for 8+ hours in triage without being permitted to eat or drink, I'm rather reluctant to go to the hospital.  Let's just say that if they made me go that long without food or water after WLS, I'd undoubtedly pass out. Hormone therapy never works for me in these situations and the docs never wanted to do a D&C and so I was left to 'bleed it out' with the advice to take 800mg of Ibuprofen (Advil) to help things out.  However, now that I've got my new stomach I'm not able to take such a high dosage of those drugs.  That said, does anyone have advice on how to help with dysfunctional uterine bleeding now?   Thanks again for all of your help/advice and for bearing with my ranting!  :-)

i havent had the surgery yet but they can stop the bleeding with an endometrial ablasion thats what they did to me but i wouldnt reccomend it if your wanting children its pretty much a 100% chance it will make you infertile (as there is no more place for the egg to attach if it does become fertilized) I hope the biotin doesnt make my facial hair worse damn that would so suck

If i were you, i would take things into my own hands and start calling doctors to see who has the soonest appt. even if you have to make more than one appt w/ more than one doctor. you can always cancel. what you are experiencing sounds like something other than pcos to me but i could be wrong. i've never bled alot and i've had it since i was 17

You also got to remember that with rapid weight loss comes some crazy hormone cycles... that is why I had to swear to my surgeon that I would be on BC for 2 years or he would beat me with a stick... because of those crazy hormones we become pregnant with just a look from our hubbies!!

I'm on the Depo BC shot... so I don't have to deal with periods ... ever... YES! They last 3 months... and can't be messed up because of antibiotics, etc... and it takes instanly...

But, I have had the hair issue since high school... so I can't help ya there...

My periods were so much worse than before RNY immediatley after RNY. My periods got better about 6 months out. I did switch BC from Yasmin to Yaz and that's really helped. However, I have more hair growth than before, I sweat much more, and I have pain in my ovaries.  Please find an GNY that treats PCOS patients. Your cycle should get back on track. Your body went through a huge transition. See your GYN on the regular until things get back to normal. It's better to be safe than sorry. You're in my prayers. God bless you.

Again, thanks to everyone for being so supportive and for your advice.  Just thought I'd post this little update to let you and any phantom readers out there know the latest on this one. Finally saw the specialist who had been recommended to me by the nurse at the bariatric office last week and he has ordered ultrasounds, bloodwork, and a hysteroscopy to figure out what is going on.  Seems that he is pretty sure that PCOS was not the underlying cause for the 1-year non-stop period and thinks he may find something in my uterus.  Got a lecture about the possibility of endometrial cancer - oh goody... I could be wrong, but I don't think it's cancer just yet; am only 23, there's no real family history of cancer, and there's been enough testing done that if it is cancer, it has to be in the earlier stages as they probably would've found it before.  Would bet that this is just another sign that my horomones are running wild; have experienced several long periods before and it turned out to be nothing but the PCOS.  After the hemorraghing that happened last month, my period magically disappeared overnight and hasn't made a reappearance (am not knocking, but BANGING on wood!) and it's great to have time for everything 'down there' to settle down; try wearing tampons and pads for a year...it's hell on such delicate tissue.   However, the pain in my ovaries has increased in frequency and severity; just having the doc prod them during the exam seems to have ticked them off royally and they've been letting me know of their displeasure at being touched ever since...