Pollycystic Ovaian Syndrome

[pzbp]

My 17 year old daughter was dignosed with pollycystic ovarian syndrome after pain sent her to the Er about 2 years ago. She had a cyst on her ovary that was 9cm x 7cm. Ever since she started getting her period they were irregular. After the cyst was found her OBGYN made a mistake and put her on the depo shot.  She then did not get her period at all and the cyst got even bigger with more pain. We changed doctors and they put her on birth control and the cyst went way down.  She was doing fine for a while and the cyst came back.  She was then tested for sugar, she is a little over weight.  It came back positive and was put on metformin 5oo mg daily.  She was doing fine, she really worked hard at taking all sugars out of her diet.  Then her doctor increased the sugar pill, almost 2000 mg. daily.  She began getting dizzy and feeling bad.  She also increased her sugar intake because she found it made her feel better.  She is now back to taking 500 mg. metformin and is doing good.  Her OBGYN moved and we are now seeing a replacement.
Questions
Her periods are getting shorter.  She is on Yaz and during the course of pills when she is to get her period she does not, until like the last 2. She has her period for about 3-4 days and light flow.  Could this be a problem with her condition?  Are the birth control pills not strong enough?

[pzbp]

Sorry ran out of room!
I don't understand this disease!
The way the doc explained it to me is... Sugar in her system is cause the problems with her cysts.  Why is her body producing so much sugar?  
She was asked to test her sugar with a meter and after fasting her sugar was high 150 or so, after she eats her sugar level goes down.  This has caused her to have problems with her weight.  She is active but can not loose weight.
Should she be seeing a doctor for her sugar and diet?
What are the side affects?
Will she have problems with getting pregnant? This is a very big concern for her.  She loves kids and is worried that she will not be able to have them when she is ready.
Have problems later on?
If anyone could give me some information on this or a web site to learn more, We would greatly appriciate it!
Sorry for the spelling mistakes
Thanks

[pzbp]

Sorry ran out of room!
I don't understand this disease!
The way the doc explained it to me is... Sugar in her system is cause the problems with her cysts.  Why is her body producing so much sugar?  
She was asked to test her sugar with a meter and after fasting her sugar was high 150 or so, after she eats her sugar level goes down.  This has caused her to have problems with her weight.  She is active but can not loose weight.
Should she be seeing a doctor for her sugar and diet?
What are the side affects?
Will she have problems with getting pregnant? This is a very big concern for her.  She loves kids and is worried that she will not be able to have them when she is ready.
Have problems later on?
If anyone could give me some information on this or a web site to learn more, We would greatly appriciate it!
Sorry for the spelling mistakes
Thanks

[casablancas]

The body doesn't produce sugar, I think PCOS causes insulin resistance so the body cannot process sugar in the same way(by storing it as glycogen) so it builds up,  
and the insulin in the blood increase, Excess insulin stimulates the ovaries to produce large amounts of the male hormone testosterone, which may prevent the ovaries from releasing an egg each month, thus causing infertility. High levels of insulin also increase the conversion of androgens (male hormones) to estrogens (female hormones), upsetting a delicate balance between the two and having a direct effect on weight gain and the formation of cystic follicles or ovarian cysts.

Some sites say that by controlling the amount of sugar we eat by following a low GI diet we can control the amount of insulin produced and therefore the symptoms of PCOS.
There are lots of women with PCOS who have successful pregnancies but probably need help ovulating(for example using Clomid), so it is possible that your daughter will be able to get pregnant in the future.

[pzbp]

Thank You for the information!

[pzbp]

She has had a problem for years with odd hair growth.  Thick and it places where it should not be.
Connection?

[casablancas]

yes this is another symptom of PCOS, I think it's called hirsutism. If you go to google and search for PCOS there are a lot of good sites on the subject.

[jess4me]

There are different types of diets she can try . Doctors recommend a low carbohydrate diet such as south beach diet. I have pcos and attended a weight loss clinic. I lost 33lbs and currently keeping it off by myself. It's very hard at first but she can do it. Also walking can help like on a treadmill. I hope this help keep me posted and good luck.