Wednesday, February 8, 2012

PCOS- The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!!!



Ok here goes! I am going through all 3 things in the title! This might be a long blog post with lost of rambling! But there are a lot of things to go through!

Ok the Bad! This past week has been a really rough week. 2 weeks ago today I had to go take a few blood tests to test my progesterone levels, and see if we can start trying to have kids again. I have had to take 4 months off because my ovaries were inflammed and they were worried my ovaries would burst which would turn into a hysterectomy. I also had a lot of cysts, so they put me on birth control and metformin to get my ovaries back in working order! Well the blood tests were to see if my ovaries were working correctly again. Well last Monday I got the phone call! I had to go back in to get an ultrasound, and things were not good! I have to wait 4 more months before we can make a decision of what we need to do. Inflammed ovaries are causing scar tissue which is not good. So back on the pill, and metformin. I am not sure how I feel about this whole thing, besides wanting to give up and not care anymore. Last week was not a good week for me, so if I seemed distant to people sorry I was dealing with a lot emotionally. I blamed myself for a while, felt sorry for myself, was angry with everyone, including the Lord, then I got real! I am going to make changes to make things better. I am going to stick to a very strict diet with Jackie Warner's book to control my hormones, yes I am going to enjoy food, but be cautious and track everything. Hopefully this will help so come June there is good news to go around! If this works, then hopefully the 10 pounds will come off too! This was a really bad thing for me, and I am struggling with how I feel and how I am going to react everyday, and everyday is a new emotion!

So the first Ugly! So with PCOS comes lots of bad side effects. There is quite a long list of them, but I will go through the ones I struggle with and what are most common in people I have talked to. First thing I have struggled with is acne. I have never had a problem with acne, until I started trying to have kids. So even before Kennady. I have tried every face wash, and every treatment, but it doesn't really seem to help. I get them around my jaw line mostly, this is a hormonal sign if you get acne there. I have found the best facial cleanser so far for acne, I used to use Proactiv, but my skin got used to it, so now I use Bare Minerals sensitive facial cleanser, with their toner. I use Oil of Olay face lotion with spf 15 for sensitive skin. I also use Bare Minerals night cream for skin care also. So far this has been great! But I still have to work hard to not let it get out of control

Second Ugly is facial hair. I know this is embarrassing, but I have had hair growth on my jaw line, and chin, it starts getting long and really annoying. I have a women shaver that I got on Amazon that is only for women and facial hair, no creams, no water all you do is slide down your face and it just trims it all off. Sucks really bad, but I have to do this about once a week.

Third ugly is hair loss. The technical term androgenic alopecia. It is often called male patterned baldness! Seriously... yeah I am not kidding! My hair has been really suffering the past year. It has become very thin, and not very manageable! It has been very frustrating! My sister Chelsey luckily convinced me to get extensions! Now I don't know if I could live without them. I love them! It makes my hair look so much better. I have tried to not color my hair, bleach my hair in about 6 months. Luckily the ombre hair style is starting to be trendy! I have been using intense moisturizing shampoo and conditioner called Alterna seasilk ageless. You have to get it through a sylist. I also use Pravanna leave in conditioner every day to help moisturize my hair. I have recently started using moroccan oil. This seems to be helping. I have also started taking Biotin which is a supplement for hair growth, I take this 3 times a day with my prenatals. Hopefully we will start seeing a change, and I can take out my extensions!


My hair is super thin now, I wish you could see it better, but trust me, it is not good!

Fourth ugly is weight gain, or can't loose weight! Well luckily I have not gained too much weight, but I have gained about 10 lbs in the last year, which I fluctuate between that 10 pounds all the time. PCOS prevents people from being able to lose weight, which again for a women is frustrating! So this year my sister has a book that I just ordered from Amazon called "This is why you're fat and how to get thin forever" by Jackie Warner. In reading my sisters book it talks about hormones and how to control those with the foods you eat. So I am going to start working on all the foods to control my hormones. I want to get rid of those 10 pounds I have acquired, and maybe lose a few more!

My before picture, before I start the new diet! I try to work out 4 times a week already, but will keep you posted about how the diet works!


Ok here goes the good! Amongst all this bad and ugly, there should be a good. It is causing me to make a lifestyle choice, that I can change my life forever with diet, and knowing how to control my body and know how to make my body work correctly! Another good is I am learning patience! I am not good at this, but I am working on it. Some days I am really good, some days I am really bad at this! I have had to rely on a lot of praying, and help from the Lord to get me through all of this. I have gained a stronger testimony and have grown closer to the Lord. As much as it seems like this should be hard on a marriage, this has actually made me and Ty closer. He is so understanding, and when I cry and don't know how I feel or what to say, he just holds me and tells me how much he loves me and he is always there to support me in everything I do. This is a huge good, since that is the most important thing in the world is Ty. The other good is Kennady! I love her so much and I am so lucky to have her in my life. She is my little shadow, and I can't get enough of her! she also makes me feel better when I am crying, she always comes to give me a big hug and tell me I am her best friend! The Good is I am learning, and have become really humble through all of this, and have learned not to judge people, you never know what they are dealing with!
My cute little family!!! This is just for fun!!

So there you go! A lot of truth's and a lot of bad things, and embarrassing things about me, but it is good to get them out in the open, and be able to research these things, and make them better. If anyone else has any good advice on any of the symptoms let me know!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Bitter Sweet!

Well I have a bitter sweet attitude lately! Last month I didn't ovulate because of Clomid, but when I went to get my ultrasound to check out the ovaries I had a good follicle that they decided to give me the HCG shot, which thanks to the diet craze used to cost $50 now cost me $200! But that was supposed to make me ovulate and hopefully we could get pregnant! I try not to get hopeful because than it is harder to be disappointed and harder to get over the disappointment, but I let myself feel pretty hopeful! I seriously had convinced myself I was pregnant! haha I know I am a little crazy. Well I am not :(( That was a sad, hard week! but the good news is now we get to try to Artificial Insemination which is pretty expensive between $500-$1000 a time! Ouch! Ty gets to go get tested and give his sample! haha, he is not very excited to do that, but he has to take one for the team! I have been feeling really defeated lately, with many things just not getting pregnant. There have been some things that have happened and things that have been said that have really made me get down on myself. But after Saturday night listening to Uchtdorf's talk I seriously couldn't feel down anymore, it was just what I needed. So that is the sweet part is I got over myself and need to forget about myself and help others, and not worry so much about EVERYTHING!!

The other sweet, is that this weekend Ty and I get to go to Lake Tahoe for 5 days, just us!!!! I am so excited, it is like a second honeymoon! We are going to prove the 7 year itch wrong! haha.

Also I have an amazing recipe for you guys! Since people are getting yummy veggies out of their garden my mom makes the most amazing Zucchini bread!!

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar- You can use date sugar if you would like
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups zucchini
1/4 cup oil- You can also substitute apple sauce
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips- this is the best addition!

mix wet ingredients well with blender, then add dry ingredients. Put in greased pan. Bake at 350 bake for 40-45 minutes.

This seriously is sooo yummy! Enjoy!!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Low-Fat Mack-a-mole

Ok everyone here is one of my favorite summertime snacks, and will be great for football season!! It is basically all veggies, and low fat!

-1 Avocado
-1 cup cooked peas
-1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
-2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
-1 tbsp chopped red onion
-1 tbsp fresh parsley
-2 tbsp fresh lime juice
-1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
-1 tsp garlic salt
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-3/4 tsp Tabasco sauce

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and blend with an immersion blender, or in a blender until smooth.

This is a very easy, yummy recipe. And you can eat lots without feeling guilty! Good Sunday night football treat!

Enjoy!!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Slight Set Back!

Well this is my routine every month!

Day 1- first day of the wonderful mother nature
Day 5-10- take clomed
Day 10- blood test/Ultrasound
Day 11-15- Ovulation Test
Day 15- Ultrasound
Day 22-24- Progesterone Blood test
(all of these things are not covered by insurance, so it is adding up!!)

Well this is my monthly routine and has been for a while now, well nothing is changing so they keep making my clomed higher, well it can only go to 250 mg, which I am almost there! But anyway this last month I did all of this and the girl that took my blood on day 23 ran the wrong test, so now I have to repeat last month! They won't give me more clomed unless they have confirmed results from the blood test that I for sure didn't ovulate (the ovulation tests are only 95% accurate) Well anyway a little bummer that I know I didn't ovulate, but I have to redu this last month! I have been using the progesterone cream, and so it will be interesting to see if my levels change. Made an appointment with a Holistic Dr so will let you know how that goes in a few weeks after I see him! That is all for now!!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

I am back!

Sorry it has been a while since I have posted in this! I have been at Girls Camp, and stuff so now that it is over I can be more diligent in posting on this! Over the weekend I got to talk to some of my favorite people and people that have inspired me to be healthy and look for more natural ways to live, Tiff and Laurie Vukich!! They have a website that is amazing for natural thigns, makeup and hair tutorials, it is www.naturesknockout.com. They told me about a progesterone cream that you can get at a health food store that you rub on once a day and it is supposed to higher your levels. I just ordered me some for $9 so I will let you know my results! A little update on that, I have been taking Clomid for a few months now, and I have to go get blood tests to test my progesterone, and it keeps getting lower? So my Dr has me take a higher dosage of Clomid, which makes me nervous, so as I started talking with Tiff and Laurie they told me about this progesterone cream. So when I get my blood test in a few weeks I will let you know if my levels are higher to see if it really works! But seems better than taking pills. Some side effects of Clomid are









  • Hot Flashes- no women likes these!



  • Bloating and Abdominal discomfort- no women like these either!! We never want to feel bloated especially during the summer



  • Weight Gain- Also a downer!



  • Mood Swings- We as women have enough of these without adding to them!



  • Nausea/Dizziness- Enough said!



  • Headaches



In taking Clomid I have noticed I get more headaches, and a little bit of nausea. So if I can lower my dosage of Clomid and use the progesterone cream to help Ovulate, I am all for it. And the higher dosage the more risk you are for having twins!




Thursday, June 16, 2011

Black Bean and Avocado Salad

Ok guys here is an amazing recipe for a light lunch, or a snack with some whole grain chips!! SOOO yummy!

Ingredients:
1 can of Black Beans (16 oz.)
1 avocado
2 vine ripe tomatoes (I used Roma)
1/2 of red or green onion (I used red, love the flavor better)
Salt, Pepper, and cumin to taste (I used garlic instead of Cumin)
Cilantro and Lime

Directions:
Drain, rinse, and dry black beans ( I set them out for about a half hour to dry out)
Chop avocado and tomatoes
Dice onions
Combine avocados, tomatoes, onions and black beans
Season to taste with salt, pepper and cumin (garlic)
Squeeze lime juice over salad, and add cilantro.

Sorry no pics of this, I forgot to take a pic before I knew it it was all gone! I made this to go along side some chicken enchiladas on corn tortillas. Yummy!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Diet and Exercise

Diet and Exercise are important parts of managing PCOS. This is because as women with PCOS often have higher levels of insulin in their blood, and many have trouble maintaining a healthy weight. This nutrition guide will help you to understand how your body uses the food you eat, and what foods to eat to keep your insulin levels down.

Instead of:
Sweetened juice, canned fruit in heavy syrup or sweetened applesauce
Choose:
Fresh/frozen fruits, canned fruit without added sugar, or unsweetened applesauce
Instead of:
Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn, and peas
Choose:
broccoli, spinach, and carrots
Instead of:
Refines grains made with white flour such as white bread, pasta, bagels, and white rice
Choose:
whole grains such as whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and whole wheat bread
Instead of:
Sugary cereals
Choose:
High fiber cereals, like Kashi shredded wheat, or All Bran. Try to have a cereal that has at least 5 grams of fiber per serving
Instead of:
Sugary drinks like soda, and juice
Choose:
Sugar free or low sugar drinks such as water, diet soda, crystal light, powerade zero, vitamin water, etc

Just some tips when thinking about foods to choose from. You should eat a balance of high fiber carbohydrates and lean proteins. Proteins such as beans, hummus, nuts, peanut butter, tofu, eggs, fish, chicken, and meat. Fats such as canola oils, avocados, are also a healthy part of a PCOS diet.

That is all for today! More to come!