I don't have PCOS, but I have all the other diabetes stuff. Is it food that you are having difficulty figuring out? I would be glad to help if I can. I have spent a lot of time on devising a diet for myself.

Initially (2 1/2 years) I did great on eating a lot of nuts because they have few carbs and only unsaturated fat. I have recently started to gain weight because my Dr. cut back on my thyroid medicine so just today I changed my diet substituting no carb protein powder for the nuts. I am not happy about that, but not tearing my hair out over it. I would be happy to share my diet plan with you, but it is important to decide for yourself which of the foods available to you are ones that you like and won't make you feel too deprived. I am a carb addict so I have only those carbs that don't raise that unquenchable desire to eat more. I have steel cut oats in the morning and a little bit of fruit throughout the day. I keep myself to 90 carbs a day and I am working on limiting myself to 1400 calories. I eat no flour, sugar, honey, potatoes, squash, corn, pasta, rice etc. I test my blood a lot and look for patterns. Heavy exercise in the morning was pushing my sugar instead of reducing it like it does at other times of the day so now instead of taking my glucophage at night, I am taking it during the day. That's the kind of pattern you want to look for. I also test an hour before I go to bed at night and if I am above 120, I get on my stationary bike and bring it down. Once all of this is a habit, it will be so much easier. I don't eat away from home very much. We did go out for a Valentine dinner and I had tofu with vegetables in a yummy peanutbutter sauce and that was okay for me. I can eat most salads out too. The Italian chop chop salads work very well. I pick up the hymnals after a church service instead of confronting the pile of donuts in the social hall. You have to do what works for you. I am always okay saying "no" to food in public. At home it is harder so I just don't have much here that I can't eat. I make my son keep his cookies or chips in his own room. I have really rambled. I apologize if that wasn't the sort of information you were looking for.

I actually think I may have this too. I have heard symptoms are irregular periods,acne,hairyness,and a deeper sounding voice,trouble losing weight. (I have a few of these symptoms,not all)
You should mention birth control pills to your doctor as they are supposed to help this alot too.

coolmama and whimzyme,
I really do not know exactly what POS is.
Do you know or anyone know if birth control pills help a person gain weight? I meed to gain weight so badly.
Betty in Florida

Betty, at your age you really don't want to mess with hormones like those in birth control pills. They usually just cause women to retain fluid. Talk to your doctor about getting extra calories. Drinking extra things like Boost and Ensure in between your regular meals will help a good bit toward helping you gain weight. Don't skip your regular meals.
Wish I knew something helpful about POS. I did a Google search and there's a lot of information that sounds as if it might be helpful for you. Don't forget, there may be more than one thing going on that your doctor has to be concerned about.

Thanks for all your comments and advice. I guess the main thing I am having trouble with is my eating habits. I have always had a large appetite. I am not overweight but in the last few years I have put on a few extra pounds and seem to be having a harder time shedding them than in the past. I am a carb addict as well and LOVE sweets. I grew up with a mother whose favorite thing in the whole world is to cook and bake. She still does this and there is never a time that she doesn't have a dessert in the fridge. My favorite veggie is the starchy potato, my favorite meat is beef and I have never encountered a dessert that I didn't like...now you see the reason for my frustration. Until five years ago I was a step aerobics instructor and was at the gym 6 days a week. Now due to osteoarthritis I have been advised by several doctors that I should never do aerobics. I married two years ago and since my lifestyle is different I can't seem to find the time to exercise. I just can't seem to find my groove. I am always exhausted and although my personal life is better than ever and I should be on top of the world, I feel down most of the time. I just don't quite know how to start picking myself up and this is really hard considering I've always been a very optimistic person. I know that I should start with my diet...just don't quite know how. Devorah, I am interested in hearing more about your diet plan.

Before I write about food, let me say what I am sure you have heard over and over again. If you have diabetes, exercise is crucial to control. I know you can't do weight bearing exercise and getting to a pool is often troublesome so the only recourse that I know of is to have a stationary bike at home. I bought a good recumbent bike and it is smack dab in front of the TV. That doesn't do much for the appearance of my family room but I have to make my health my first priority. I tried having it in a bedroom with a small TV, but that didn't work for me. I felt too cut off from the rest of the family - like I had been sent to my room for being naughty. I test my blood sugar at about nine at night to make sure I am under 120 and if not, I watch TV and pedal for a half hour or so. I don't increase the level of difficulty. That would be hard on my knees. If I sense that it is getting too easy for me, I increase my speed. I do the same on the treadmills at the gym. I use 0 incline and make up for it with speed. That is easier on the joints. In addition to having diabetes, I also have fibromyalgia so my muscles scream at me after I have exercised. I couldn't have done so much exercise a year ago, but my new rheumatologist considered pain to be reason enough to give me medications and the muscle relaxant I take (flexeril) allows me to relax the muscles and sleep. This has been a HUGE help to me.

I take some supplements, but only those that my doctor told me too. I take the 2 baby asperin, fish or flaxseed oil, alpha lipoic acid, and Co-enzyme Q-10. My doctor also instructed me to take a half teaspoon of cinnamon every day. I will mention that again later.

For breakfast I have my big carb meal of the day. That is because I exercise in the morning and because I have the whole day to work it off. I have a 1/4 cup (dry measure)of steel cut oats, about 6 walnut halves, and 1/4 cup of blueberries. Since yesterday I have added to that a hot drink made from an ounce of protein powder in hot water with 2 teaspoons of cocoa.

My mid-morning snack is a 12 oz. V-8, or a medium apple or 20 baby carrots. Previously I had peanutbutter on the apples, but I had to give that up to make room for the protein powder.

For lunch I was having a cup of Nancy's unsweetened low-fat yogurt with a half packet of Splenda and half a teaspoon of cinnamon. I have now begun to mix in an ounce of the protein powder and skip the Splenda. Today I am going out to lunch and I am going to get the Italian chop chop salad. It comes with garlic toast, but I throw that away on my way to my table (it would be better if I could remember to ask them to hold the bread). I have taken my testing kit to lunch with me often enough that I know this is the only menu selection that works for me. Calorie King on the internet has a good web site that tells the calorie & carb content of most fast foods. There really isn't much for us so I rarely go there and then just have a salad.

My afternoon snack is from the same list as the mid-morning snack. I am sure there are other things that work. I try to keep it at about 75 calories and 15 carbs.

For dinner I have a protein portion and either a salad or a vegetable. I don't eat any of the starchy vegetables. We mostly have cauliflower and broccoli. I have started using the 50/50 blend of lettuce and spinach for salad. The spinach has way more fiber than lettuce and other benefits as well. There is no meat that I have given up, but I do serve salmon once a week. I never liked fatty cuts of meat so that isn't a problem for me. My darling husband cuts out the center of the pork chop for me.

Before bed, I have another cup of hot chocolate made with protein powder. I used to have a generous handful of almonds at this time, but that's what got me into trouble with my weight.

This may not work for you at all. I think it is very important to choose the foods you like best from what is permitted for you.

One of my biggest peeves is the food pyramid that the American Diabetes Association (ADA)puts out. It stresses high quality carbs and suggest a carb limit that I think is way too high. My doctors agree. In fact, if you go to the web site of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists you will find that their guidelines are much more strict that the ADA. The people in my support group think that I should be taking more meds so that I can enjoy more foods. Having to take more meds will come soon enough. I am not going to rush into that if I don't have to. My last A1C was 5.4

By the way, I tried the new diet that doctors Oz and Roizen said was a surefire way to drop a dress size in 2 weeks. I just got heavier.