Whole 30 and PCOS/Hormonal Birth Control/Insulin Resistance

[MicheleC]

I was diagnosed with PCOS in my 20's but even before that when I was 14 I was put on hormonal birth control due to irregular heavy periods. I also have struggled with being overweight and insulin resistant.

I know that just doing the Whole 30 and eating real actual food will help with a lot of this but I was wondering if there is any tweaks for those of us who are dealing with many years of being on hormonal birth control and being insulin resistant for many years. I am currently using a Mirena IUD and stopped taking pills but I am 36 now and had so many years of taking hormones under my belt. I have heard that birth control can affect your gut flora so I have been eating more fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi (I make myself) but are there other concerns?

If anyone has dealt with these issues please feel free to offer your stories and any advice.

Thanks!

Michele

[lauraska]

I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 16 and I'm now 34. The only time I have NOT been on hormonal birth control since my diagnosis was during the 15 months it took me to conceive and carry my son, who is now 15 months old. My doc doesn't want me off the BC and on a Mirena until I at least lose enough weight to start getting periods on my own, even if they aren't regular. BUT, I'm feeling like I'm getting to the age where I shouldn't really be on the pill anymore, so that's one of the reasons why I'm doing the Whole30 and seeing a nationally-renowned PCOS specialist to really tackle this head on. I also want to have at least one more kid, so there's other motivation at work here too.

I'm relatively new to these forums, but I've read a bunch of paleo-centric stuff that seems to imply that the grain-free community really frowns upon the use of drugs, like BC or metformin, to address hormonal/insulin/weight issues related to PCOS. Frankly, I'm happy to take medication to get me started, in the hopes that following Whole30 and a healthy exercise regimen will finally get me to a place where I don't need any medication at all.

Anyway, I'm headed to this specialist next week and hope to get some more insights. I'll try to check back and let you know what she says. Good luck!!