PCOS, Adrenal Fatigue and Weight Gain

Ever wondered what 10 years undiagnosed looks like? Well, this is my personal story, including the before and after shots: it's not pretty!

It also leads to a whole load of extra conditions - all very definitely down to hormone imbalance. 

For me, the most devastating aspect of this condition (and, the most noticeable) has been the uncontrolled weight gain which I suffered over a 10 year period from age 26 to 36 and which I'm still managing today. In that time, I gained more than 100lbs (7.5st), and given that I started out weighing only 128lbs, this means my weight almost doubled. 

The photo on the left is me before the weight gain started. That dress was a RedorDead size small (8-10UK) and it hung off me at the back. I doubt I could get it over one leg now! 

The photo on the right that one is of me at my heaviest. Can you believe these two photos are of the same person? Devastating huh?

Through careful management, I haven't gained any weight for 4 years, Thank God! That, in itself is a "win" and from where I was is a great step forward, but I'm still carrying the weight that I put on. 

For me,  this is my last challenge - my one issue that I have outstanding. I'm still trying to reverse the effects of that weight gain, it's the issue I want most to solve. 

Here's the big news: I know the methodology now. 

I know why this happened, how it works and I know I can fix it. 

I also know how to resume the weight gain, which is what makes me so sure I've got the formula right. I can recreate the conditions that almost immediately resume weight gain - and that's not through extra calorie intake and lack of exercise, it's by allowing my hormones to get out of control. 

So, here I am. I'm just waiting for the results, but I found this stuff out fairly recently and I wanted to share it with you sooner rather than later. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Maybe you'll share yours with me? 

So, back to the story: 

As you can imagine, I wasn't exactly oblivious to the situation - I charted every single pound gained, I cried (a lot!) and did everything I could to take steps to reverse the trend. Nothing worked. 

I sought help from many doctors and repeatedly from my GPs one of whom told me to "stop stuffing things in your gob" (I quote word for word, and it makes me so cross! How can you look at those two photos and not realise something was wrong with me????). Alongside this, I also had investigations privately through BUPA and followed up just about every alternative/holistic therapy I could find. 

Here's a summary of my symptoms:

• - Weight gain of between 2 and 4lbs per month, sometimes as high as 4lbs per week
• - This weight gain was occurring on a 1200 calorie or less per day diet (this was constant, not just for a week or two when I decided to try harder. I'm single-minded to the point of obsession and followed a low-calorie diet ruled with a rod of iron)
• - Consistent daily exercise of 12 hours per week  including twice-weekly sessions with personal trainers, kick boxing, circuit training (with the guys, as the girls' session was just not tough enough!), mountain biking, weight-training, running, interval training, intense cardio
• - Perhaps, unsurprisingly I was also experiencing extreme fatigue (who wouldn't with that much exercise on so few calories!??!)
• - Much of the weight gain was concentrated around my stomach area leading to a "beer belly" type appearance, and for people on the tube to offer me their seat on a regular basis (girl with big tummy = must be pregnant!). That really hurts, believe me!
• - At it's worst, I tried a 12-week plan: 600 calories per day (on a prescribed 4-meal-a-day plan, excluding pretty much everything), daily training sessions with a personal trainer. The plan was aborted after 6 weeks as I had put on 6lbs in that time!

My trainers were estimating that I should be consuming as much as 6000 calories per day in order to simply maintain my current weight, and yet I was gaining, consistently and without fail. 

Despite being repeatedly told that this just wasn't possible, that I was making it up, that I must be stuffing donuts in my sleep or that I was plain lying to myself and the professionals around me, I've never given up looking for the answer as to why this happened. I knew I wasn't going mad and this wasn't normal, so I was really pleased (on balance) to find that answer. 

I've recently discovered that this combination of symptoms is absolutely classic for adrenal fatigue. 

I'm also told that, had I been reporting this combination of symptoms in the USA, that any GP worth their salt would have immediately lead them to the conclusion that I had adrenal fatigue, which is recognised, documented and the symptoms pretty much exactly as I describe in my own case above. 

Here is some info from Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN, NP on her website womentowomen.com

Adrenal imbalance causes a number of issues, including an expanded waistline. The science behind it is quite interesting. Normally when we feel begin to feel hungry, our blood sugar drops and the brain sends a message to the adrenal glands to release cortisol. Cortisol activates glucose, fats, and amino acids to keep our body fueled with energy until we eat. Cortisol maintains blood sugar levels, and insulin helps our cells absorb glucose. When we have longterm stress, both insulin and cortisol remain elevated in the blood, and the extra glucose is stored as fat–mostly in the abdomen.

Scientists have discovered that fat cells actually have special receptors for the stress hormone cortisol, and there are more of these receptors in our abdominal fat cells than anywhere else in our bodies! In addition, scientists have shown that belly fat is actually an active tissue, acting as an endocrine organ that responds to the stress response by actually welcoming more fat to be deposited! This is an ongoing cycle until we take steps to correct this adrenal imbalance.

Who knew? I just thought I was weird, and yet, here I am, all these years later finding that I'm not just a one-off, freak of nature after all! Yay!! (does happy dance). 

The repeated assertion by UK health professionals that I was simply overeating and that I needed to go home, get real and DIET!! couldn't have been more wrong, in fact, many of the diets which they prescribed actually made matters worse. 

It also gave me a tremendous sense of guilt that it was somehow my fault that I was in this situation and that I should be ashamed of the state I was in, which understandably lead to significant issues with self-esteem etc. 

So, where are we at now and how do we treat this:

Why does Adrenal Fatigue Happen:

• - adrenal imbalance leads the adrenal glands to produce too much cortisol
• - insulin and cortisol remain elevated in the blood
• - extra cortisol is stored as fat around the abdomen
• - too much stress promotes the condition, causing even more fat 
• - a vicious cycle develops

What is the Treatment for Adrenal Fatigue:

Although I only found out about this recently, luckily for me, through my other investigations I've already been following the guidelines below.  I'm pretty much on the right track. 

The treatments are as follows:

• - ditch the stress: stress is the ultimate cause of adrenal fatigue, so dropping stress is the ultimate treatment
• - help the adrenals to repair by dropping exercise to very low levels, and definitely, very low intensity (walking, yoga, active lifestyle rather than hitting it hard in the gym - difficult for me as I loved being a gym bunny!)
•  - support the thyroid through supplementation - I use sea greens for iodine
• - adopt a diet which will keep hormone release as controlled as possible - I advocate paleo as it avoids foods which cause a significant insulin/cortisol response

Of course, at 10 years undiagnosed, it's complicated and not going to be fixed in a couple of weeks, but nonetheless, there are defined treatments and I'm following them. The last 4 years without weight gain are testament to the fact that the effects can be halted, and I'm positive that the effects can be reversed. Simply being able to recognise how this situation came about is a great boost to the cause. I'm sure I'll find a pathway to return my body to its former self.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.