Doctor Debriefing
Jun 11th, 2009 by heidi
Well, my appointment this afternoon spiraled into a long one. She did most of the family history/current health questions for a physical but we ran out of time to actually check b/p, do the Pap, etc. because we got on the topic of depression, anxiety, and PCOS. I walked out with a prescription for Metformin, as I suspect that I’ve got issues with insulin resistance and blood sugar but have never tested positive for diabetes. I also have a prescription for an antidepressant that she feels will help both the depression and the anxiety…if it can do both, I will be very pleased.
Things seemed to go well. Although I suspect she would very much like to discuss my weight with me, she is respectful of my choice and understands that it won’t help me. As I put it to her, if dieting and exercise were the keys to long-term permanent weight loss (independent of any other factor), I wouldn’t be fat, or at least not as fat. I’ve got emotional eating problems that need to be dealt with, as well as disordered eating, and not a blinking thing is going to be accomplished by telling me how much I weigh.
I’m tempted to bring a copy of Health At Every Size with me to my next appointment. I’ll be seeing her again in three weeks to follow up on blood test results and see how the meds are doing – we shall see from there what happens.
The ED psychologist that I contacted has a full practice at the moment, so now I get to try to track down someone else who accepts my insurance (they’re apparently fairly rare, based on provider search results). Frustrating. Very frustrating.
But at least the meds are out of the way.
Sometimes it’s better to call the office of the psychologist instead of using provider search results. When I was searching for my current psychologist for my ED, she didn’t show up on the provider search results for one of my insurance plans, but it turns out she actually accepted that plan. She told me sometimes the insurance companies don’t list all the people they cover.
I hope that helps and good luck. ^o^
I have really really obvious indications of PCOS (rapid weight gain esp around the stomach when I hit puberty, discolored skin, excessive body hair, very oily skin, 3 miscarriages (PCOS can make it difficult to sustain a pregnancy) and some other things) but I’ve never had problems with high blood sugar, cholesterol, or blood pressure all of which are also associated with PCOS so I didn’t really push to get screened for it until recently.
I’m on metformin now, and my skin is no longer crazy oily, I no longer crave carbs the way I did, and I’ve been losing about 2 pounds a week mostly from my stomach without changing diet (except for less carbs) or exercise. So, I’ve had good results and I’ve never had blood sugar issues. I even passed the GD screen with flying colors when I was pregnant.
So, you know, you don’t have to be diabetic to have PCOS.
If your doctor didn’t tell you, btw, metformin can really upset your stomach the first week you take it. Some people experience that upset much longer than the first week. It can also exacerbate lactose intolerance.
along my own medical journey i have learned the following, which may be of use to others:
1. people can be insulin resistant but have normal blood sugar. their insulin can be high with normal glucose levels and doctors may not test insulin unless there is a problem with glucose.
2. there is an article about a possible connection between pcos and insulin resistance via a kinase which affects both systems which malfunctions somehow…however this link was on my now-dead laptop.
3. many people who experience bad GI issues on regular met can benefit from the extended release formula; however many doctors either don’t know this or don’t really believe their patients’ feedback. oy.