I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome about 10 years ago, when I was having some "female" issues. At that time, information about the syndrome was scarce, and doctors hadn't really made the connection between insulin resistance, type II diabetes and pcos. I was basically told that it would be more difficult for me to get pregnant and to take the pill to regulate my menstrual cycles, then sent on my way.

I scoured the internet for more information and found some scattered newsgroups related to pcos. Eventually, I found some posts about a possible link between insulin resistance and pcos and how some doctors were prescribing glucophage (metformin) to treat it. I was lucky enough to find a doctor who knew what pcos was and how to treat it. She prescribed metformin and tested me for diabetes. I was not diabetic at this point in time.

Meanwhile, my quest to lose weight continued, separate in my mind from the pcos. I bounced around from diet to diet. I had the most success on the Zone Diet but found the diet incredibly difficult to adhere to. In retrospect, it was probably the dramatic lowering of my carb intake and increase in fat that caused this diet work for me (though the carb percentage is still too high, it's much lower than the typical American diet) . I knew a couple of people on the Atkin's Diet but was still brainwashed into believing that this diet was incredibly bad for you and would kill you if you tried it. At that point in time, I didn't know a lot about insulin, blood sugar, and how carbohydrates play their role. I knew I should stay away from sugar but never truly made the connection between sugar and other carbohydrates.

The next 5 years of my life skipped by. I moved, settled into a new job and found a new doctor. When she did my initial blood work, she again said that the numbers indicated I wasn't diabetic, but she felt that this was only because I was taking metformin, and it was keeping my blood sugar under control. She recommended a low carb diet, and this is when I went on Atkin's for the first time. I stuck with it faithfully for about a year, and I lost about 40 lbs. Everything was going great, and my bloodwork (HDL, LDL, Triglycerides, etc) dramatically improved.

And then I leaped off the Atkin's wagon and flopped face down back into carb addiction. I can only make lame excuses as to why, but the main reason was that my Better Half and I moved in together, and he is lean, fit, a carb lover, AND a pretty picky eater. The stress of trying to continue eating low carb while cooking food he would like got to me (not to mention the upheaval of trying to live with someone when I'd been used to living on my own for so long). Because of this, I allowed the carbs to start creeping back into my diet. For a few months, everything was okay, my A1C tests remained normal, but then slowly things started falling apart.

My inner nagger kept telling me I had to go back on Atkin's. I just never got my mind wrapped around the idea. Meanwhile, my doctor had to keep prescribing me more medicine and in higher dosages, but my A1C number crept higher and higher. About a year ago, I started taking Januvia, and it seemed to be a life saver. My numbers improved, and my blood sugar stabilized. I even lost a little bit of weight. Alas, it didn't last. I started the roller coaster climb upward again around January of this year. It seemed that the Januvia just wasn't working anymore.

During my last visit in June, my current doctor told me that if I didn't get my blood sugar under control I would have to take insulin. That thought sobered me up. How had I allowed things to get so bad? I had been unhappily shuffling through my life with blinders on as far as diabetes and my weight was concerned. I knew what I had to do and that was to switch to a low carb lifestyle permanently. Luckily for me, my doctor agrees with the low carb lifestyle (though he'd prefer it if I did Southbeach but isn't completely anti-Atkins), so I don't have to worry about convincing him I'm not killing myself with the diet.

It's taken me a couple of months to really psych myself up for the full jump back into Atkins induction. As with all addictions, you have to truly be ready to make the lifestyle changes or you will not be successful. For me, I feel that that time is now, and I will be successful this time.

Better Half supports me, but he will not give up carbs (he doesn't have any health or weight issues so sees no need to), so I still struggle with meal plans that will satsify us both. In general, I try to make a meat and vegetable for us both. I add some type of potato to his plate and a salad or fauxtatoes to mine. Otherwise, he might make himself something like hamburger helper while I eat my own meal. We will see how this strategy works in the long term.

Phew, that was longer than I expected, and I tried to condense it as best I could!