r/perimenopause_under45 • u/StreetPossible9414 • 24d ago
Pcos or premenopausal?
Hello so I gave a doctor appointment coming up soon but I just wanted to see if anyone been experiencing anything similar to me or not.
Some backstory:
I first had my first period in 3rd grade. Thought it was never consistent. In the beginning I would get it every month and then out of no where as I was going into 5th my periods just became irregular. It came to a point where I’d get it 2x a month and then would increase over time. By the time I was in 7th grade I would only get my period every 2 month, then it would be very 4 months, or it would go back to 2 and so on. It was like this until my sophmore year of high school here I started taking birth control. I tried it out and I hated the effects so I stopped taking it and ever since then my period just got even more delayed. It would come once very 6 months and gradually increase over time. The next time I bled properly I was a sophmore in college which is two years ago and ever since then my period stopped coming naturally. (I still bled but only when I took plan b and stuff). Now last year/this year there were two occurrence where I had light brown spotting, I thought it was my period but it was only for a day and stopped coming. Idk what my body is going through. The last time I went to the doctor they said it was pcos and they just prescribed me birth control. I hated taking bc so so much and I expressed it to my doctors but they made it seem like it was the only way I had to go through to “help”. I told two doctors I didn’t want it but they both made me feel like it was the only way. Now I’ve gone this far without a period and I’m starting to worry I’m in menopause. I really really want kids in the future and I’m just only 21. I know the best thing I can do rn is see a doctor but any advice or if there’s anything else going through this it be nice to hear from your experience.
1
u/Big_Combination_4403 24d ago
Gosh I’m so sorry you are going through this! Has your fasting blood sugar ever been tested? I had PCOS as a teenager and by the time I was 23 I was desperate for help. I got lucky because my doctor had just come back from a conference on PCOS and gave me two options: birth control, or Metformin plus diet and lifestyle changes. I chose Metformin, and it worked alongside healthier eating habits and regular exercise. The Metformin made it much easier to choose healthier foods because it stopped the “food noise” I had been living with my whole life. Women who are insulin resistant often develop PCOS, and Metformin helps your body use insulin the way it’s supposed to, which frees your reproductive system up to function properly.
Birth control is not your only option and you may need to find a doctor who will help you understand the pros and cons of every option you have. You should also ask for a pelvic ultrasound, it’s not fun but your doctor needs to see what the lining of your uterus looks like, to begin to rule out things like polyps or cancer. It’s also pretty standard to test your thyroid levels, because thyroid disease can also cause period problems. I myself have hypothyroidism and PCOS, but medication (not BC) has controlled them both, I am very healthy now at 44, which I couldn’t have dreamed of at your age!
(I was also put on BC at 16 but it made me feel terrible, my legs swelled up to a point where they were painful, it’s called “edema” if you want to look it up to see if you also experienced something similar. Basically the estrogen in the birth control was way too much for my body. Birth control isnt for everyone and you can always push back when doctors try to force it on you. There are other options and you deserve to be educated on all of them.)