Depressed and worried about PCOS

Hi all, I'm 21year old and recently I have come to know that I have PCOS, which has made me depressed.

I have put on a lot of weight; I'm suffering from severe hair loss.

This has caused depression in me, I was very beautiful, slim and had long thick hair, but now I am fat, lost my clear complexion and have very thin hair which has made me to lose hope in everything.

I have been exercising and dieting regularly but of no use.

So please can anybody suggest me some methods to lose my weight.

Regards,
Sonali.

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Editor's comments: Hi Sonali, it's normal to feel worried and depressed. The danger is that you might allow yourself to give up. Or, possibly your feelings of depression will incapacitate you so that doing anything at all is a big effort.

Many women have been "surprised" by PCOS. The reason is that it makes itself obvious at different times in different women. Some may notice a problem with they are 12 years old while others may not notice anything until they are 18 or 20.

PCOS is not a terminal disease. You can actually reverse it to some extent. Many women have developed PCOS but have been able to get it under control, lose weight, stop hair loss, regain a fairly normal cycle and become pregnant. And live a perfectly normal life.

How do they do this? Here are some things you could do, which the other women have done:

1) Educate yourself as to what causes PCOS so that you can make intelligent decisions for dealing with it. Read books, visit websites, talk to others who are dealing with issues similar to yours. Get second opinions from other doctors. Become knowledgeable about the various conventional and natural treatment options that are available.

2) A healthy diet plays an absolutely central role in managing the symptoms of PCOS, including infertility, acne, weight, hair loss, male-pattern hair growth, and depression. A healthy diet will also greatly reduce your risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.

A good place to get diet advice is from The Natural Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility ebook.

For starters, you can increase intake of vegetables and decrease consumption of refined grains such as white rice. You can also avoid packaged convenience foods as much as possible. Especially avoid any food that contains high fructose corn syrup.

3) Regular exercise is vital, especially if you have a weight issue. Daily exercise, when combined with the correct diet, can be as effective as metformin (Glucophage), but without its side effects.

4) Selected nutritional supplements such as vitex or d-pinitol can be useful in helping you to normalize your hormones.

There are a number of other nutritional supplements that have been shown to be helpful for reducing symptoms related to polycystic ovary syndrome.

5) If depression is an issue for you, consider taking cod liver oil or fish oil. Some studies have shown that the omega-3 fats found in fish oil can help to relieve depression.

6) Ask your doctor about the severe hair loss. Possibly you have a thyroid disorder that is contributing to the problem. However, it's more likely that you have a condition called androgenetic alopecia, which is hair loss caused by excessively high levels of male hormones.

A huge step toward reducing the level of male hormones is to improve your diet.