Dealing with PCOS and Weight Loss

Also, I would strongly recommend going to bat and trying again to get to an endocrinologist. Sadly and infuriatingly, not treating your PCOS properly for decades has probably had an impact that may not be reversible, but proper treatment should still be able to help manage symptoms better and improve your overall health now and for the future. It’s horrible, but a lot of people in your generation received this treatment because the research on PCOS is so lacking.

If you’re barely eating, most traditional weight loss meds (many of which focus on suppressing appetite) will probably work even more poorly for you than they do for most people. There may be other kinds out there now that I haven’t heard about, but even if there are, a doctor demanding weight loss from a patient, and especially a PCOS patient, is not a great treatment approach. I’ve had PCOS for at least a decade, and after trying almost every kind of weight loss method short of meds, I’ve done more and more reading and become both anti-diet and very aware of medical anti-fat bias. If any of the above is of interest, I’m happy to share resources around anti-diet, medical anti-fat bias, and how that applies to PCOS specifically—if not, I totally get it, but please do know that this is a heavily research-supported approach, and not just an opinion from the internet. Beyond that, PCOS is a repro condition, true, but is primarily a metabolic condition. So, PCOS is probably one of the significant contributors to your weight. Is the gyn starting pcos treatment for you, or have they discussed a plan? Weight gain is a major PCOS symptom, and it’s hormonally driven, and can potentially be linked to insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes. Treating the hormonal imbalance and working on your metabolism should be a priority regardless entirely of weight, but of course, treatment depends on what else you have medically going on. If you haven’t seen one yet, I’d strongly recommend considering seeing an endocrinologist. At least in my experience, they often have a better understanding of PCOS as a metabolic issue and not exclusively the reproductive component, though even then, my treatment experience has been iffy. I’ve had a lot of people tell me to “just” loose a little weight, or brush off my symptoms…. so I’ve done a lot to educate myself, so I’d be able to advocate for myself. Shitty that I needed to, but, in any case if you’re interested in resources or have questions or want to chat, just let me know!