Hey y'all! This is the first time I've posted in this community, but love to follow along when I'm on LJ. I'm a RN, but this is NOT my area of expertise, so I have some questions.
I am 34 and on Ocella pills, which I restarted recently after taking a short 3 month break from them (I'm not sexually active). I have recently (in the past year and 2 months) lost almost 150 lbs, down from almost 350 lbs at 6'0" and also getting sober from a food addiction. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 22, and was told by 3 different gynecologists that I likely DID NOT ovulate, due to my PCOS. I have never really had some of the problems with my menstrual cycle that most have with PCOS (I didn't skip, I was VERY regular, and I didn't have an ultra heavy flow). I do, however, have the hirsutism and had the insulin-resistance that goes along with PCOS in some cases (which is now gone as per my last labs). I also never seemed to have issues with PMS, that I could remember. I would often hear my friends talk about cravings, breakouts, moodiness, bloating, etc., around their cycle, but I seemed to never experiences these....so I thought.
Now that I am almost 150 lbs down and weigh in weekly, I see some (I'm guessing) normal fluctuation in water weight. I seem to gain the last week of my active pills, and not the week of my period. Is this normal for some, especially since I monitor my weight so frequently? Also, I am curious to find out if my weight loss has jumped started my ovulation, if I were to go off of birth control--the reason I would like to know is that I am NOW getting PMS-like symptoms. I am having HORRIFIC chocolate/sweet cravings, which even when I was at my heaviest, I NEVER had. It seems like it is the same week as the water gains seem to be happening (the last week of my active pills, before the inert ones). I guess I am curious to know what everyone else thinks because I am still battling urges to binge eat at times, and I want to make sure that this very well COULD be related to my period, and not psychosomatic or food addiction behavior coming up. I also am struggling with body dysmorphia and still feeling like my body weighs 350 lbs, when it doesn't. This was especially bad (again) this week, and I'm wondering if it has ANYTHING to do with possible PMS/bloating/"normal" cycle related stuff. I'm also having more dramatic mood swings (same week), but I'm not sure if it is more noticable to me now because I'm examining myself so closely.
I guess what I'd really like to know is--does ovulation dictate PMS symptoms? If I wasn't ovulating before and had no PMS symptoms, could I very well have PMS symptoms now and may be ovulating if I were to be off of the Ocella for any length of time? Or is this just something I'm overanalyzing? Any feedback would be helpful.
Thanks.
I am 34 and on Ocella pills, which I restarted recently after taking a short 3 month break from them (I'm not sexually active). I have recently (in the past year and 2 months) lost almost 150 lbs, down from almost 350 lbs at 6'0" and also getting sober from a food addiction. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 22, and was told by 3 different gynecologists that I likely DID NOT ovulate, due to my PCOS. I have never really had some of the problems with my menstrual cycle that most have with PCOS (I didn't skip, I was VERY regular, and I didn't have an ultra heavy flow). I do, however, have the hirsutism and had the insulin-resistance that goes along with PCOS in some cases (which is now gone as per my last labs). I also never seemed to have issues with PMS, that I could remember. I would often hear my friends talk about cravings, breakouts, moodiness, bloating, etc., around their cycle, but I seemed to never experiences these....so I thought.
Now that I am almost 150 lbs down and weigh in weekly, I see some (I'm guessing) normal fluctuation in water weight. I seem to gain the last week of my active pills, and not the week of my period. Is this normal for some, especially since I monitor my weight so frequently? Also, I am curious to find out if my weight loss has jumped started my ovulation, if I were to go off of birth control--the reason I would like to know is that I am NOW getting PMS-like symptoms. I am having HORRIFIC chocolate/sweet cravings, which even when I was at my heaviest, I NEVER had. It seems like it is the same week as the water gains seem to be happening (the last week of my active pills, before the inert ones). I guess I am curious to know what everyone else thinks because I am still battling urges to binge eat at times, and I want to make sure that this very well COULD be related to my period, and not psychosomatic or food addiction behavior coming up. I also am struggling with body dysmorphia and still feeling like my body weighs 350 lbs, when it doesn't. This was especially bad (again) this week, and I'm wondering if it has ANYTHING to do with possible PMS/bloating/"normal" cycle related stuff. I'm also having more dramatic mood swings (same week), but I'm not sure if it is more noticable to me now because I'm examining myself so closely.
I guess what I'd really like to know is--does ovulation dictate PMS symptoms? If I wasn't ovulating before and had no PMS symptoms, could I very well have PMS symptoms now and may be ovulating if I were to be off of the Ocella for any length of time? Or is this just something I'm overanalyzing? Any feedback would be helpful.
Thanks.
When I'm on the pill I definitely still have PMS symptoms. As far as I know, your natural hormones are still doing their thing in the background, the pill doesn't completely wipe them out or anything. Now I'm not on the pill but for some reason I didn't ovulate this month (I'm involved in a study where I get TV ultrasounds and my hormone levels checked every few days, so I know for sure that I didn't ovulate), yet I still had bad PMS (just got my period today).
Thanks for your reply. I guess I'm just now noticing PMS symptoms...?
Secondly: I have been on HBC for 4 years (with a 18 month break for pregnancy, etc) and I ALWAYS have dreadful chocolate/sweet AND salty/citrus cravings when I am PMSing. Funnily enough, I never had cravings when PMSing before I was on HBC.
As for what this change could mean for your ovulation, I'm of no help. But, you might gain some peace of mind if you purchase one of the OTC ovulation test kits for next month, if your doctor can't offer some better answers.