Insulin Resistance and PCOS in Teen Girls

Usually when I hear or read about PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) and insulin resistance, it's tied to a woman's struggle with infertility. What I haven't heard much about is the struggle with PCOS in teenage girls. I know it happens because insulin resistance happened to me, at thirteen.

Being a teen girl in school is hard enough without having issues such as being overweight, have thinning hair on your head and/or too much hair on your face (hirsutism). PCOS, a hormonal condition caused by insulin resistance can cause all these symptoms among others. PCOS manifests itself physically but also emotionally.

This syndrome has been described by many as being on an emotional roller coaster. Normally, teenage girls at thirteen are trying to fit in and feel accepted, while experiencing hormonal and body wide changes. With all that's already happening, it's the worst possible time for a body to go insane.

What is Insulin Resistance?

Insulin resistance happens when the body's cells stop responding to insulin like they were designed to do. Consuming foods that are loaded with sugar and/or starches (that turn to sugar in the body) cause a surge of insulin from the pancreas. With the overload of circulating insulin constantly knocking on the door of the body's cells with a load of sugar to drop off, eventually the muscle cells (and other cells) get tired of the noise and stop listening. It doesn't take long after this cycle begins that the body goes hormonally haywire.

When your body can't use sugar for energy because insulin can't get it where it needs to go, it gets stored as...guess what.... fat. The cycle begins to snowball from there. Controlling what we eat has a positive effect on this snowballing cycle. Avoiding sugar and getting adequate exercise are two tools that must be utilized.

Diseases caused by Insulin Resistance:
Obesity
Type 2 diabetes
High blood pressure
Abnormal cholesterol levels
Heart disease
Polycystic ovarian syndrome

These were my symptoms at thirteen:
Overweight
Hirsutism
Acne
Irregular period (none)
Mood swings
Depression

Later on in life I added these to the list:
Infertility
Thinning hair
Hypothyroidism (after 40)
Irregular menstrual cycle
Anxiety
High cholesterol
High blood pressure

Nothing on this list is fun but it can be managed and in some cases reversed.
When you are young is the best time to stop PCOS because you see what happens as you get older. Get the insulin resistance under control is the way to avoid disease as you age.

PCOS in teen girls: How to deal with PCOS

First of all, take control of your health. PCOS doe not have to control your life. Realize that getting your body back on track, before it's too late, is in your hands. Nobody else can do it for you. Knowing that insulin resistance leads to diabetes 2 sooner or later should be an adequate motivator.

Be tough on yourself. Be strict with what you put in your mouth. Pretend you're Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser! Refuse to eat sweets, carbohydrates or processed foods; they are your enemy. Eat whole, natural foods, vegetables, good fats and lean meats such as organic chicken and wild caught fish. Fruits have their good points but when you are insulin resistant, even natural sugar can be a setback in your efforts. Your body might be able to handle the natural sugar, but fruit caused me to crave sweets.

I recently read 'The Rosedale Diet' from cover to cover. It's a plan for correcting leptin and insulin resistance. Dr. Rosedale mentions PCOS in his book. It's a moderate protein (not high protein), low carbohydrate and high fat diet. The fats in this diet are good fats, such as the fats in nuts, fatty fish, avocados and olives.

Jillian Michaels book, 'Master your Metabolism', is another good book to read about how to lose weight, get control of your body and which foods to eat.

It's very important to simply move, every day. I took up archery when I was sixteen. I had always been interested in archery, so I bought a used longbow from a friend, a target from Wal-Mart and five arrows. An activity so simple gave me huge results.

I lost forty pounds over the summer because I was moving and sweating everyday. I got outside in the sun, away from food and the couch. Just walking to the target to get the arrows, bending down and going back to a distance to do it all over again, was enough for me at that age.

Exercise is key in regaining your health. Adequate exercise (along with dieting) burns the excess sugar so there's less need for so much insulin. When insulin finally stops screaming at the cells to take the sugar, the cells have a chance to become sensitive to insulin again.

Surround yourself with a support system. Kids can and will be cruel. They won't let you get away unscathed when you have more hair on your face than you should from PCOS. They won't know what insulin resistance is or care about your struggle.

That's when you will need a support system to fill the gap created by those who don't know what you are up against. Recruit family members and friends you can talk to. Other than parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents and aunts who genuinely love you are the best support system you can ask for. Look to the many online forums for support as well. My favorite PCOS forum is soulcysters.com.

Controlling hirsutism

Hirsutism was my most obvious symptom of insulin resistance. When I was diagnosed, my doctor made an appointment for me with an electrologist. Electrolysis worked well while I was taking birth control. The insulin resistance was still there but the birth control helped to control the wild hair growth by balancing my hormones. When I stopped birth control to start a family, electrolysis turned into a waste of money.

Now I use a combination of tweezing and Moom. Using Moom gets the medium and fine hairs and tweezing gets the thicker hairs. Applying Moom is similar to waxing but the result is more efficient and less painful than waxing.

Stay positive; believe in yourself

PCOS is a monster of a syndrome but as I was often reminded, there are worse things out there. Be grateful insulin resistance is all you have to deal with because it is manageable. Lose weight; control what you put in your mouth and exercise. Work on those few things and you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sources:

http://diabetes.webmd.com/guide/insulin-resistance-syndrome
Personal experience