Was anyone else thin before PCOS kicked in?

I don't think they really know about weight gain and PCOS. I've read in some places that it's caused by weight gain. I doubt it! I think it's the other way around! My poor husband got more than what he bargained for! I was a size 5 when I met him. Is anyone else tired all of the time??

They really don't know which came first - the chicken or the egg. I feel it is the opposite. I was 11 years old when I got my period. When I was 12 they became irregular and I started gaining weight quickly. Why wouldn't I have been a fat little kid? What changed for me? Puberty. It's funny because I remember in Jr. High reading about the endocrine system in school and thinking to myself that I had an endocrine disorder, but to this day I don't know why I thought it. Little did I know I would come to find out this was true. I think the thing is that we have a hereditary factor at play here. There is a standard profile for most women with PCOS. They tend to have diabetes or alcoholism in their family. They may have a father or brothers that are balding. There are more factors but that is just what I can remember at this moment. Anyway, the point is that we have a hereditary predisposition to have this problem. It means that our endocrine system reacts unfavorably to foods others don't react to quite so poorly. So when we eat french toast, it messes, our pancreas dumps insulin while the next person who eats it is fine. This in turns sets up a negative cycle. It causes us to gain weight, lose energy, crave sugar, gain weight, lose energy, crave sugar. The fatter we get, the worse the symptoms. But realize this: When you have the surgery your cycles will return. It doesn't even take losing any weight at all. It takes getting the insulin under control. If it were only the weight, we wouldn't have a cycle until we saw considerable weight loss. Have any of you ever noticed how there are times you just *have* to have sugar or carbs? Do any of you find your energy flagging and find yourself eating because it energizes you? This was one of my main problems. I couldn't stay awake sometimes because I was in a negative pattern of eating sugar/carbs, my insulin dumping, going hypoglycemic and crashing then starting all over again because I was tired. Once you have the surgery though - all that starts to go away. Oh sure, you have some weakness and exhaustion from not eating, but generally the energy level increases for those with PCOS rather than decreases. This is a wonderful tool that helps us get PCOS under control, but it is not a cure. PCOS will always be there in us - we will never get rid of it. It will always respond the same way to what it has always responded to. The key is that this keeps a lid on it. It's like Gremlins. This surgery keeps the water away from them! Dina

Hi................. Thanks for that post. I used to be thin as a teenager....just see my pic's, then I started having ovarian cysts burst and also Pelvic Imflamatory disease as I turned 17-18 yrs old from then on I started gaining and gaining and gaining. I don't have all the other typical factors, I have always had irregular, absent or major bleeding periods, and painful ovulation. I call it my Pre-period before my PMS and then my period. So I get about 1 good week in there sometimes with nothing going on. I have been tested to check for PCOS and most of all my levels are within range. I do have high testosterone and some chin hairs and hairy legs I think more then most blondies, but anyhow. My OB-Gyn says I have it but the tests don't. Very weird, but I read an article one day and said thank god finally something that sounds like me!!! I was eating right, working out 5-6 days a week and still gaining or staying the same. I still am not sure how any WLS can help the insulin problem when all your changing is your food/calorie intake? Well, i hope to learn more on this site.....Nadine

I was thin as a teenager, but started gaining weight after having my son and was diagnosed with PCOS about the same time. From what I have read, PCOS causes weight gain in the middle area and makes it extremely hard to lose the weight after gaining it.