I have always been super skinny all my life, until about age 42 (I'm currently 45) when almost overnight I gained 45 lbs mostly in stomach. My stomach looks 9 months pregnant! I did not lose ANY weight on Atkins diet, while all my friends lost tons. Also, I quit having periods about 1-1/2 yrs ago, which I assumed was menopause (having ALL the classic symptoms). Well, gyno ran test..said my FSH is normal (NOT in menopause) and thyroid is normal (although I was on thyroid pills when I was age 12, for periods lasting 3 weeks). Gyno said not to worry about no periods, and weight gain is just part of aging! I eat very well, and go to a gym 5 days a week..no results! WELL...just when I thought my life was over at age 45...I found Suzanne Somers cassette tapes in a 2nd hand shop....suzanne talks about Dr Schwarzbein alot, plus hormonal imbalance. I CRIED the whole time I listened to that tape on hormones!! It describes me to a "T" !!! Finally, I'm hoping I found the answer to this pregnant stomach! So I found another doctor who will HOPEFULLY will listen and run the correct tests (I live in a small town, gotta travel 1 hr just to see THIS dr). Financially & mentally, i can't afford to keep going to drs, so I'd like as much info/experiences...whatever you all can offer, so I'm prepared for this appointment. WHY IS IT SO HARD TO FIND DRS WHO ACTUALLY LISTEN??? I'm thinking my estrogen is low (or imbalanced) because of my age, plus I am on progesterone only bc pills & testosterone cream (gyno prescribed for diminishing sex desire, but he never even ran tests). Plus I am under extreme amounts of daily stress (husband is legally blind & I have 3 kids, etc), and the tape said "Stress Blocks Estrogen Reseptors", plus I've read about Cortisol levels. I plan to ask this dr to test those levels, as well as additional thyroid tests. I'm reading posts here about POCO's ?? What is that and how common is it? And I've read about natural HRT, opposed to synthetic ones. It's crazy for me to have to "research" for this dr, but that seems to be the way to get results! Sorry so long, but I am DESPERATE...any info, experiences, advise is welcomed!!!

Cadillac,

For a lot of really great information on PCOS go to www.soulcysters.com there is lots of well researched information. PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrom. Here are just a small sample of symptoms you can have one or several.
*Midsection fat or overweight
*unwanted facial hair
*soft patches of discolored skin near armpit
*may have problems getting pregnant
*cysts on ovaries
*Irregular or nonpresent periods
It is my understanding the root problem is due to insulin resistance, that's what my doctor told me anyway.

Sounds like you have an incredibly stressful life! Schwarzbein Principle may help with some of that and some of the hormonal imbalances too.

Pianobeiner (Maxima)

Thanks I will check out that website, and will also bring this up to the dr, as possibly these symptoms fit me. Yes, I'm under alot of daily stress, and although I've tried relaxation techniques, the stress keeps up on a daily basis. I'm so excited to find Dr Schwarzbein's info, and this board is excellant!
If I'm reading your stats correctly, you've lost a lot of weight!
WAY TO GO...CONGRATULATIONS on the great success!!

Hi Cadillac:

I'm so sorry to hear of all your troubles. It sounds like SPII is the program for you. It's hard not understanding why we suddenly start gaining weight without any known reason. When I improved my diet 2 years ago (coming off low-fat, vegetarian, high-carb), I couldn't understand why I was having difficulty controlling my weight. Since reading SPII, it's made so much sense.


That's the only way you'll ever understand your body. My DH is a doc, but I still had to do my own intensive research into my own health problems. I am not one of those people that responds well to conventional medicine so I had to find natural means of healing. Unfortunately, most docs don't want to understand natural healing.

Good luck in your journey and welcome to the forum.

Wanda