I am checking in with everyone! I have been so extra busy with school. I am majoring in Elementary Education at Dixie State College and I am taking a full load of credits (18). My classes consist of my the education courses in addition to taking flute lessons and flute choir.  I am not sure if I have mentioned that I play the flute before or not but I do and have been playing for 20+ years. Anyways, I had my flute recital today and I feel that it went well. There are a few things I wasn't happy with, namely tone on some long notes, but overall I am satisfied with my performance. This semester is finally almost over. I only have one week of classes and then finals. After this semester I will only have 3 semesters left until graduation day (Bachelor's). Here is the video of me playing my flute. I would love for some (honest, hopefully not brutal) feedback.

Just a quick check in telling you that I haven’t forgotten about this blog. I am in the process of reading the book. I actually just received my cookbook yesterday in the mail. I am expecting that I will be completed reading the book by midweek. Once I get the book completely read I will go out and purchase all of my goods. 

So I have decided that I am going to try to do the South Beach diet. I have ordered two books. The first book that I ordered is: The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life and the second one is called The South Beach Diet Cookbook. Once I have read through the instruction book and have a better understanding of what I need to be doing I will get started..

In addition to watching what I eat, I am GOING to start riding my bike on a more regular basis. Thankfully, I have a hubby who LOVES to ride his bike and will take me whenever I wish to go. I also have a goal of being able to go on a run.

I did make an attempt to go bike riding on Sunday, however, my attempt was short lived as a storm started to move in and I got worried that it would start to thunder and lightning so we turned around and went back home. 

These pictures were taken August 8, 2012

I will post my stats as soon as I find a measuring tape.

As I lose the weight I will add more pictures to help keep track of my progress.  

One of the most important things to me, besides my family and God, right now is trying to get my PCOS under control. I have done a little bit of research and have found some information that I would like to share with you in my effort in trying to start a diet and exercise regime. First off, let me state: I am NOT a medical professional!

It has been shown that even a slight decrease in weight (5%) can help subdue some of the effects of PCOS. In fact, according to an article completed by Farshchi, Rane, Love, and Kennedy studies in patients with PCOS confirm that modest weight loss improves glucose tolerance, cardiovascular risk profile and reproductive function.  Modest weight loss achieved in the short term may also improve some of the endocrine abnormalities associated with PCOS (Farshchi, 2007).

That being said, what can we do to help lose the weight to live, and maintain, a healthy lifestyle? There are several diets, or lifestyle changes, that are effective in helping women that have PCOS. I have heard that the Paleo, Atkins, and watching what you eat according to the glycemic index are all beneficial. While there are many things that are positive or negative with each, I believe that you should do what is best for your body. I have tried several diets and have found I have been most successful doing the Atkins diet. However, this time I think I am going to try to do the South Beach diet.

My intention is to start doing a diet (life style change) and track my progress on here with you lovely people. I have a hard time dieting and keeping up the motivation. I have found in the past that the thing that is the best for me is when I have someone to help keep me motivated. I have done Jenny Craig in the past and I believe that I was successful doing the diet because I had someone to hold me accountable for my diet. I don’t like to go in and be told I have dreadfully gained weight when I should have lost.

Before I start, I am going to take several pictures of myself along with my current weight and my goal weight and use this blog as an online journal. If anyone would like to join me in my adventure then please do so and don’t be afraid to message me. I would love to share this journey with someone(s)! If you do message, if you wouldn’t mind, please put your current weight, your goal weight, and what you plan on doing in order to lose the weight. If you really want to— email me your picture along with a several pictures and I would love to follow your progress and will add the pictures along with your updates to my blog (only with your permission, of course). My email address is fluteromantique@gmail.com.

I will attempt to post a picture of my meals for the day on a daily basis. Then, once a week I will try to post information on PCOS. Lastly, on Tuesday’s I will put up an updated picture along with my current weight.  

I was mentioned in a newspaper article in my local town. The article was talking about PCOS. The article was in the Spectrum from St. George, UT, this is what it says:

Generating Awareness

As many as one in 10 women may

have polycystic ovary syndrome

By Lisa Larson
larson@thespectrum.com

For many women, an erratic menstrual cycle, difficulty losing weight or occasional dark chin hairs are annoying but seemingly normal aspects of life. In truth, these symptoms may be indicative of a greater problem known as polycystic ovary syndrome that can cause infertility, increase the risk for diabetes and heart disease and lead to a host of other issues.

It’s a fact Jessica Ross can relate to first-hand.

When she was 15 years old, Ross started having problems with her menstrual cycle and with weight gain. She was diagnosed with PCOS but at the time she didn’t really understand what it might mean. Years later, when she was married and hoping to start a family, some of the more serious ramifications settled in.

“It took us six years to get pregnant,” Ross said. “It was hard walking through stores and seeing all the baby stuff.”

Eventually, with the help of fertility medication, she was able to conceive but PCOS is still very much a part of her reality.

It’s a variation of a story Lisa Borunda, certified family nurse practitioner and PCOS specialist in St. George, has seen many times in her 11 years working with Dr. Chad Lunt, OBGYN.

“I’ve heard over and over that PCOS increases a patient’s risk for diabetes and heart disease, but it wasn’t until I was preparing for a presentation and started looking over the studies and seeing the alarming statistics that it really registered with me the enormous responsibility and opportunity
we have to help our patients prevent these serious health complications,” Borunda said.

Some of the statistics Borunda found indicated that 50 percent of women with PCOS will have impaired glucose tolerance or Type 2 diabetes by age 40 and that women with PCOS have a four to seven times greater risk of heart attack than peers their age without PCOS, according to an excerpt
from Borunda’s nearly completed book on the subject.

Additionally, PCOS symptoms and conditions can include obesity, PMS, depression,
acne, dark hair growth, male pattern baldness, sleep apnea, autoimmune thyroiditis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, recurrent miscarriage, infertility, uterine cancer, dyslipidemia and high blood pressure.

Borunda’s passion for diagnosing and treating PCOS led her to write a book on the topic and to start an education and support group for PCOS patients.

Ross and others in attendance at the March 15 support group were grateful to have the opportunity to learn more about their diagnosis and its treatment.

“It’s nice to get to know other people going through the same thing as well,” Ross said.

“I think we’re all excited (to generate) awareness because it’s so common but people don’t really know what it is,” Borunda said.

Approximately 10 percent of women are affected by PCOS and 80 percent of women with rregular cycles have PCOS, according to information provided by Borunda’s office.

Although the exact cause of PCOS is unknown, many experts believe several factors, including genetics, play a role, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health.

Effectively diagnosing the disorder is a process that involves ruling out other issues with similar symptoms such as thyroid, pituitary and adrenal problems and screening the patient for irregular menstrual cycles, biochemical symptoms of high testosterone or clinical symptoms of high testosterone
such as dark hair growth or acne, and confirming polycystic ovary appearance on an ultrasound.

Patients diagnosed with PCOS must meet two of the three criteria. “I was happy to get answers but I was nervous because I have to change everything around,” said Brittany Randall of her recent PCOS diagnosis.

Although PCOS is not the same as an acute infection that must be treated immediately, the long-term ramifications of the disorder — such as insulin resistance and higher risk for diabetes — means patients should begin following a low glycemic diet, similar to a diabetic diet, such as eating small frequent meals and pairing complex carbohydrates with protein.

Patients are encouraged to exercise regularly to assist in weight loss and aid in balancing insulin levels. They are also often treated with Metformin — a drug primarily used to treat diabetes.

“It’s not like (PCOS) is directly affecting your blood sugar this minute, it’s looking at the long-term,” Borunda said.

During PCOS support group meetings, various healthcare professionals are brought in to educate
participants on diet, exercise, dermatological issues, how to deal with grief associated with infertility or
miscarriages and more. Although the support group meets in Borunda’s office, it is open to the public and participants do not have to be a patient of Borunda or Lunt to attend.

Borunda said her motivation for starting the education and support group was not to draw PCOS patients to her practice, rather she is hoping to educate the medical community as well as the general public about the long-term impact this endocrine and reproductive disorder can have if left untreated.

“I want to see people being treated in a multi-disciplinary approach,” Borunda said.

By getting involved in the PCOS support group, Randall is just hoping to “learn more about it and
see what other people do to adjust their lifestyles and know I’m not the only one.”

PCOS support and education group meets at 6 p.m. the first Tuesday and the third Thursday of each month at, 515 S. 300 East, Suite 205, St. George. There is no charge for the group, though donations are accepted. Email pcossupport@hotmail.com with questions regarding the support group or log onto www.stgpcos.blogspot.com.

I know that it has been a while since I have posted anything onto this site and in all honesty I actually forgot all about it. It wasn't until I was looking up stuff on Pinterest about PCOS that I saw my former image and thought to myself, "That looks like my image". So I am going to make an honest attempt at working on this thing.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder that affects approximately 5% of all women. It occurs amongst all races and nationalities, is the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age, and is a leading cause of infertility. The principal features are obesity, anovulation (resulting in irregular menstruation), and excessive amounts or effects of androgenic (masculinizing) hormones. The symptoms and severity of the syndrome vary greatly among women. While the causes are unknown, insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity are all strongly correlated with PCOS.

Common symptoms of PCOS include:
Oligomenorrhea, amenorrhea — irregular, few, or absent menstrual periods.
Infertility, generally resulting from chronic anovulation (lack of ovulation).
Hirsutism — excessive and increased body hair, typically in a male pattern affecting face, chest and legs.
Hair loss appearing as thinning hair on the top of the head
Acne, oily skin, seborrhea.
Obesity: one in two women with PCOS are obese.
Depression.
Deepening of voice
Mild symptoms of hyperandrogenism, such as acne or hyperseborrhea, are frequent in adolescent girls and are often associated with irregular menstrual cycles. In most instances, these symptoms are transient and only reflect the immaturity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis during the first years following menarche.
PCOS can present in any age during the reproductive years. Due to its often vague presentation it can take years to reach a diagnosis.

Women with PCOS are at risk for the following:
Endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterine lining) are possible, due to overaccumulation of uterine lining, and also lack of progesterone resulting in prolonged stimulation of uterine cells by estrogen. It is however unclear if this risk is directly due to the syndrome or from the associated obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperandrogenism.
Insulin resistance/Type II diabetes
High blood pressure
Dyslipidemia (disorders of lipid metabolism — cholesterol and triglycerides)
Cardiovascular disease
Strokes
Weight gain
Miscarriage
acanthosis nigricans (patches of darkened skin under the arms, in the groin area, on the back of the neck)
Autoimmune thyroiditis

I got the information from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  Welcome to my blog "The Life with PCOS"! I will be sharing my victories and my struggles that I have with PCOS on this blog. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 15 years old while I was living in Utah. I have a lot of the symptoms of PCOS but the one that I have struggled with the longest is the weight.

     When I was 15 I started to gain weight and after I was diagnosed the doctor put me on birth control pills to help control the PCOS and I eventually lost the weight. I do believe that I lost the weight do to other factors in my life at the time and not just the medicine. After high school,  I discontinued the use of my medicine and started to see the weight come back along with a lot of the other feminine problems that go along with PCOS.     

     Eventually, I got married and after about 5 months of marriage my husband I decided to try and conceive a baby.  I swear I was buying a pregnancy test every month because of the lack of a period. After several years of trying to get pregnant and not succeeding, we decided to see my doctor about the difficulties that we were having. She told us to continue to try for more year and then we will be a little more aggressive about us TTC.

     One year passed, and I still was not pregnant, my doctor put me on Clomide (a fertility drug) and Provera (to help regulate my periods). I was in the office every month seeing if I was ovulating. At the end of one year of being on the medicine the doctor suggested that I go to a fertility doctor to see about doing something more to become pregnant. My husband and I were losing hope that it would ever happen to us.   

     My husband and I decided that we would see the infertility doctor but that we were going to start looking at doing the foster care program with the intention of adoption. We started the foster care classes in February of 2007 and on February 28th, 2007 I went to the infertility doctor were they ran some test and did an ultrasound to see my ovaries. We finally finished our foster care classes the first Tuesday of March and we still had some stuff that we needed to finish and turn in before we would be able to foster/adopt any children. That same Tuesday I was starting to get nauseated; however, I get motion sickness and my hubby wasn't feeling good so I thought that it was from that. Wednesday night I had a dream that I was pregnant so when I went to Wal-Mart on Thursday, I decided that I would get a pregnancy test. After I got home from Wal-Mart, I took the first of the two tests that were in the package and it looked like two lines were on there. I immediately called my husband and told him the possible good news.      

     We were both in shock and unsure if that was really two lines on the test so I took the other pregnancy test and it had the same results. After the second test, I called my husband and told him that it had the same results as the first test and he told me to call the doctor. I called the doctor’s office and they told me to come into the office on Friday and that they would run some blood work, only problem was is that I wouldn't find out the results until Monday.

     All weekend long I didn't feel good and was really tired. Monday morning came and I got ready for work and was on my way there when I got sick all over the place I ended up calling in and went back home. When I arrived home my hubby told me that if I wasn't pregnant then I was to go to the hospital. Around 1PM the doctor’s office called and told me congratulations that I was pregnant! I started to cry. One week after I found out that I was pregnant the infertility doctor’s office called and told me the same.

     My baby was born November 5th, 2007 we named him Jason Ross, Jr. but we call him JJ. It took us 7 years from the time we started trying to get pregnant until he was born to finally have a child. JJ is our gift from God and we thank Him every day.

UPDATE

My husband I have moved back to Utah where my husband is a mechanic for a local shop. I am attending school to become an Elementary Teacher. As for my son, he is an energetic little boy who loves all things cars, dirt, and superheroes. He was diagnosed, in June 2012, with extreme ADHD and moderate ODD.