Interested in Bariatric Surgery for PCOS - Need Help with Research

I'm new to this forum, but I am a 20 year old female who was diagnosed with PCOS 7 years ago. I dieted very hard at 13 to lose my "baby fat" and was at a healthy weight of 130. Suddenly, I gained 70+ pounds rapidly (less than 6 months), my periods were very irregular and no amount of dieting and exercise seemed to curb the problem. I am now 278 pounds and desperately need something to change. I am in college and and happy with everything in my life except my weight. I want to feel confident in myself and weight loss would really help me feel better (I also developed plantar fascistic and it is VERY painful and weight loss would help this go away).

I am looking into Bariatric surgeries now that I have exhausted every resource and tried every diet you can imagine to lose weight 'the old fashioned way' with diet and exercise (LOTS of exercise). I am looking for people's experiences, research, insight, and support on this post.

The surgeries I am looking at are:

Roux-En-Y

Lap Band

Sleeve Gastrectomy

Other suggestions that I may not have found in my research welcome!

Thank you all. ER

I am 40 years old and have a similar story.  Diagnosed with PCOS in 2013.  I am having the sleeve surgery 8/23.  I can't wait!  PCOS is nothing fun to live with and makes it so much harder to lose weight (without surgery).  My surgeon believes this would be the most successful route for me.  Maybe this helps :-)

Thank you for sharing! If you feel comfortable, please let me know how it works out for you! I am not able to meet with my gynecologist until November to get her input on this. Thank you, best wishes!

Hi ER! I am in the same boat, I have been struggling with PCOS since puberty and I'm waiting for my referral to get started on the path to WLS.

From just my own reading online (I'm not a doctor!) I have read that Roux-En-Y and Sleeve are better than Lap Band for PCOSers, because they tend to lead to bigger weight loss, which helps reduce PCOS symptoms. That being said though, my endocrinologist told me that any weight loss can help improve PCOS symptoms (which is a real nasty trick considering how hard it is to lose weight with PCOS!!)

I found this article online, it might be helpful to you: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3334389/ In the Bariatric Surgery section, the study suggests that Roux-En-Y may be most effective because it tends to result in greater weight loss than the other types. 

I hope this helps, all the best!

Hi ER-

I have PCOS, and had RXY in March.  I was 256 going into surgery, and tomorrow is my 5 month anniversary.  I weighed in at 176 this morning, and still have about 30 more pounds that I want to lose - but I feel fantastic!  

Because of the insulin resistance associated with PCOS, my OB & surgeon said that RXY is definitely the best option for PCOS patients.  

I've had 4 months of regular periods, eat about 800 calories a day (if I can fit that mu***** mostly Protien & some veggies, and I try to walk / run 3-4 miles per day.

My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.  It's a life saver & a life changer!

Hi Roadrage,

So you have had success with some reversal of your insulin resistance? I have an insulin resistance and I have been taking Metformin since my diagnosis.

Congratulations on your weight loss!!!! You must feel amazing!!

ER

Have you considered the duodenal switch? It offers better long term result than RNY. I went from 280 to 135. Just another surgery to consider but it is t as widely performed, which means finding a surgeon can be more difficult.