The Effect Of PCOS On Breastfeeding

I have been discussing my symptoms with another friend who has PCOS and I found out that aside from the common symptoms, we both had problems with breastfeeding. I really thought that the problems that I had during and after my pregnancy were in no way related with PCOS. When I was diagnosed, I was only told that I may have problems conceiving, and that was it. But now that I have been reading more about the experiences of other PCOS women, somehow it all makes sense.

Right after giving birth, I was very determined to breastfeed my baby because I wanted to give her immune system a needed boost. But I was dismayed to find out that I had a very low milk supply. By this, I meant that I was only able to expel around 10 ml of breast milk for around 30 minutes of pumping. While many of my friends complained about breast engorgement and breast pain a few days after giving birth, I was literally pain free! My breasts were definitely heavier but even with regular pumping, I just couldn’t get breast milk that was sufficient enough for one feeding.

Now I realize that this problem may be correlated with PCOS. It is thought that the breast tissue among PCOS women does not fully develop. This means that although the breast size may look normal, it may lack the milk making capacity needed in milk production. To add to that, other factors associated with PCOS like an imbalance of hormones and insulin resistance seem to make milk production less possible.

Had I learned more about these before giving birth, I could have prepared well for it. Some PCOS women were able to breastfeed because they took medications for PCOS, and they also followed their doctor’s advice to eat healthier. Basically, the treatment was aimed at stabilizing hormones that were necessary for the production of milk. And women were also asked to eat healthier in order to at least control insulin resistance. It is then no surprise that I had so little milk because I neither did any of these. I was only focused on keeping the pregnancy and making sure that my daughter reached term.

If you have PCOS and you are on your way to motherhood, make sure that you discuss your intentions of breastfeeding your baby with your doctor. In my experience, I have learned that planning for my baby’s health and safety should have gone beyond pregnancy. I wish you a safe and happy pregnancy!

Finding Healthier Food Options

I am faced with the challenge of coming up with healthier meals all throughout the week. It’s hard to do it when most of the people in my household aren’t open to eating mostly vegetables. Although my cholesterol levels are normal, I can’t just take this matter sitting down. I try to eat more fish but the ones sold in my area aren’t fresh at all. And I’d immediately get allergies. Ugh! How I wish I could be just a vegetarian. Now, I’m wondering if “veggie meat” is high on the GI scale. I happen to like the vegetarian versions of barbiecue, adobo, etc… I guess I’ll work on that too.

How I Dealt With My PCOS-Related Anxiety Issues

Not knowing that anxiety may be related to PCOS, I dismissed the episodes thinking that it may be because I haven’t been circulating for a while. When my symptoms worsened, I also noticed that my heart seems to be out of sync. There are times when it would just race, and I would have to take deep breaths so that I can breathe. There are also episodes when I’d be awakened in the middle of the night by my racing heart.

I never had these before and I realized that I have been having this problem after giving birth to my daughter. It’s really strange and disturbing in the sense that I really didn’t have self- confidence issues before. Back in school, I was always part of the class considered to be the cream of the crop. To add to that, I was a well rounded individual and I actively participated in competitive sports. During those times, I didn’t have any qualms about meeting other people and taking bold risks.

But now, everything has changed. I recently took an important exam, and my body was totally out of sync. I am used to taking exams because right after graduation, I took all 3 exams necessary to practice as a licensed nurse in a foreign land. Those were very challenging exams but I took the entire process well. But just weeks ago, I was under great stress. Compared to the other exams that I took, it was the most stressful because my body is no longer the same.  And it was just frightening.

I have always thought of certification exams as an opportunity to move forward with my professional aspirations. But with PCOS in my midst, it was just so distressing. The week before the test date, I was in panic mode reading books and searching the internet for topics that I may have overlooked. When I’d sleep at night, I’d worry so much that it was just hard to get some rest.

But since I have had these issues for a while, I was able to effectively cope. When I began to have intervals of breathlessness, I learned coping techniques. My anxiety issues also became more manageable after I started exercising. I also try to stay away from caffeine because it made it so much worse. I used deep breathing to counteract my rapid heartbeats and when I’d get the feeling that I’d choke, I would concentrate on getting full breaths.

I never had any consultation for it because I felt that I could manage it. I felt that there are things that I can do so that I can condition myself to cope better. — It worked! I was in the middle of the exam and my hand froze because I realized that I needed more time to finish the last subtest. No matter what I did, my hand just froze and my handwriting became barely legible. I tried to regain my focus by saying a short prayer and I also willed myself to calm down. Ten minutes before the end of the exam, I was done! I even managed to review everything twice before the papers were collected.

Since PCOS has affected so many aspects of my life, I am slowly coming up with coping techniques so that I can live my life to the fullest. Dealing with this anxiety without any treatment was such a struggle. And it took me awhile to regain my lost confidence. I may not be victorious with PCOS yet, but these small victories keep me going. In time, I will be whole again.

My Poor Self-Control

From the looks of it, the reason why I haven’t been seeing results with my diet is because I really struggle with my self-control. I guess this is the biggest step that I need to address first so that I can go on with my ambitious goals.

Too Much Carbs

Today was a rough start considering that I vowed to stay away from carbs yesterday. But I really want to keep on working on this diet despite my failed beginnings. I guess it’s better to avoid it altogether rather than end up consuming bigger portions. Tomorrow is another day, and I hope I can do so much better.

My Love Story With Carbs

My love story with carbohydrates actually goes way back in my childhood. My family had a bakery business and as far as I could remember, bread was always part of our snacks and even meals. During that time, and even today, white bread is a staple in many Filipino households. And since rice is also a big part of our family meals, it is without a doubt that I have been having carbohydrate overload every single day.

It is a common practice for Filipino families to eat rice together with eggs and bacon or corned beef in the morning. For lunch and dinner, rice is always paired with any viand. For snacks, carbohydrates take center stage in the many forms of kakanin, arroz caldo, champorado, pancit, banana cue, along with many other carb-laden foods.   Since these foods can be found everywhere, it’s such a struggle for me to limit my carbohydrate intake.

My greatest challenge lies in the fact that my options are so limited here. It’s even hard to find healthier substitutes for white bread because it is the preferred type of bread being the most affordable. This is just one clear example of how far we are in terms of being health conscious because many families don’t have the resources to be choosy.

With this sad realization, I am still optimistic that I can find a meal plan that can work for me. Shunning the foods that I am accustomed to eating is definitely hard, but I have endured with my symptoms for so long already. I just hope that I can influence the rest of my family to start eating healthy as well. From my previous weight loss attempts, I know that it’s hard to stick to my diet when everyone is eating a different thing. It’s hard to avoid ice cream when I see them all indulging heaping servings of the sinful substance. Tsk tsk.

But my love for carbohydrates has to cease because my body is not taking it well. Although this is going to be hard, there is just no other way to go about it. I was told by my online PCOS friend that she stopped eating bread because she couldn’t have just a little. And that’s exactly the same thing for me. So with a heavy but hopeful heart, I bid my carbohydrate friends farewell. Life is going to be different without you guys, but I am pretty sure that it will all be for my own welfare.

A Positive Day

Just when I wasn’t feeling good with my diet, I was inspired by the story of another woman with PCOS. She has given me some helpful tips on how I can eat healthier, and I value her insights considering that she is successful in managing PCOS. From a rough day yesterday, and alhtough my diet today is not the way I intended it to be, this day is quite positive.

3 Foods To Avoid When You Have PCOS

Today, I forced myself to examine my diet because my efforts for the past few weeks are so ineffective. I realized that although I did try to limit my food intake, I didn’t really go out of my way to eat healthier. With PCOS and my insulin resistance, I should seriously avoid foods that can only aggravate my PCOS symptoms particularly insulin resistance.

With rice as a staple in my family meals, it’s hard for me to avoid carbohydrates and all the other food items that I need to consume in moderation. But from today onwards, I will try to avoid the following food items in my diet:

1.    Sweets – I have successfully dealt with my craving for chocolates, cake and even ice cream. After avoiding these for so long, I noticed that I no longer have the urge to eat it every now and then. But my biggest challenge would be in the form of liquid sweets like powdered juice drinks, shakes and even soda. Somehow I feel so refreshed after drinking these sweetened drinks. I need to relearn how to appreciate water – it’s good for the body and it doesn’t have all the glucose and the calories that I’m trying to avoid.

2.    White Rice – This one is going to be hard to avoid. Our family meal is never complete without rice. This type of rice is among the carbohydrates with a high glycemic index, and I should seriously avoid having it three times a day! Before I had my daughter, I was able to achieve dramatic weight loss results because I avoided it at all costs. It’s so hard to get back on my diet before, but I know that it’s the only way to go about this weight loss goal.

3.    White Bread – This is another culprit in my diet. With my local bakery having only this type of bread readily available, I need to purchase a healthier alternative at a mall. I know that eating healthy also entails a bigger allocation in my weekly food budget. If only I have access to affordable, fresh and organic produce like the other countries. Sigh!

For now, my focus will be on slowly eradicating these items on my diet. In the coming days, I will try to look for healthier alternatives so that I can move forward with my weight loss plan. If you happen to have any suggestions, they are mostly welcome here!

Getting Discouraged

I haven’t really seen any visible results with my diet. I am getting discouraged about this entire process. But since I have started it already, I should just get on with it. Sigh! It’s so hard to lose even a single pound!

Can PCOS Weaken The Immune System?

Aside from common ailments like fever, cough and colds, I really didn’t have serious health issues before. My body didn’t seem to complain when I constantly pushed myself to the limits by being active in competitive sports. But when my PCOS symptoms worsened, I also noticed that my immune system seemed weaker. I can easily get the infection from other sick family members, and I also noticed that it took my body longer in fighting off the most common illnesses.

When I browsed through some data regarding the association between a weak immune system and PCOS, I really could not get a definite answer. But what’s intriguing is that there are many women with PCOS, who also complain of a weakened immune system. I found out that many of these women are just like me. They also had more frequent bouts with viral or even bacterial infections.

Since PCOS is not directly linked with an immunocompromised state, it is believed that immune system problems may be due to a common PCOS symptom –insulin resistance. In PCOS women, the body needs more insulin in order to get a desired response. This altered body mechanism is believed to affect many mechanisms in the body, including the immune system response.

Although a growing number of studies are needed so that the link can be clearly established, these claims helped me understand as to how PCOS can cause a chain reaction in our body processes. When long ago I thought that PCOS is purely reproductive in nature, I am more than certain that it’s so much more than that.
With my weak immune system, I refuse to give up on this disorder knowing that there are options that I can take so I can be healthier. With my tendency to attract viruses and other illnesses, I have made it a point to practice preventive measures like proper hand washing or even isolating myself from sick family members. To add to that, I am also trying to have a healthier diet to at least control my insulin resistance.

I know that I need to make major adjustments with my schedule so that I can regularly exercise, but I am looking forward to that as another step towards a healthier me. I just don’t want to see myself as someone who is constantly sick because of this disorder. I am also very open to alternative treatment methods because I seriously want positive changes to occur healthwise.

Dealing with PCOS dictates that you need to be more attuned with your body so that you can take steps in controlling your symptoms. That’s precisely what I am doing now, and I am hoping that it will give me positive results.