PCOS Relief
The statistics are that Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) affects 5-10% of women of childbearing age, personally I think the numbers should be much higher. I think current diets and lifestyles are making the condition more prevalent. Higher than normal blood sugar levels interfere with normal egg development each month. These improperly developed eggs can remain on the ovary as a cyst. Since ovulation is either delayed or doesn’t occur at all, the hormone progesterone is either reduced or absent in that cycle, leading to many of the symptoms of PCOS. Lack of progesterone leads to a relative imbalance between estrogen and progesterone so that estrogen’s activity isn’t balanced out properly by progesterone; this is referred to as estrogen dominance. The two hormones tend to have equal and opposite functions: estrogen causes proliferation of the lining of the uterus, while progesterone helps maintain it, estrogen causes proliferation of breast tissue while progesterone keeps it healthy, estrogen tends to provoke emotions like sadness and progesterone had anti-depressant qualities. Progesterone reduces spasm of smooth muscle, normalizes clotting and vascular strength, helps thyroid function and bone building and helps prevent endometrial cancer. PCOS women have more circulating, active testosterone to cause problems like anovulation, infertility, acne, excess body and facial hair growth and loss of head hair. Regulation of dietary starch and sugar intake can greatly improve symptoms of PCOS including infertility, hair loss, weight gain, absence of regular periods, lack of ovulation, and facial hair growth. PCOS is not an infertility sentence and can be treated naturally through diet, exercise and nutritional supplements.
Because of the hormone imbalances associated with PCOS (high insulin, high androgens, low progesterone, and imbalanced ratio of estrogen to progesterone), women can suffer from the following symptoms:
· High levels of male hormones, androgens
· An irregular or no menstrual cycle
· There may or may not be many small cysts in ovaries
· Infertility or inability to get pregnant or maintain a pregnancy
· Acne, oily skin or dandruff
· Pelvic pain
· Weight gain
· Lack of ovulation
· Heavy painful periods
Naturopathic treatment of PCOS focuses on:
· Regulating blood sugar and insulin levels
· Decreasing excess male hormones and hormonal activity and so therefore improving acne, oily skin, excessive hair growth, hair loss
· Improving progesterone production
· Ensuring regular ovulation and menstruation and improving fertility
· Weight loss and regular exercise
Because most women are poorly educated with regards to what’s healthy with regards to menstruation and fertility, because of this, many will make some wrong assumptions with regards to menstruation, fertility and PCOS:
Myth #1: I don’t plan to have children so it doesn’t matter if I don’t ovulate
Truth: it doesn’t matter if you plan on having children or not, if you don’t ovulate each month, your body is deprived of a vital hormone, progesterone, which means you may be more susceptible to estrogen dominance conditions like fibroids, breast cancer and endometriosis.
Myth #2: I get a period regularly so I must be ovulating
Truth: Having regular periods does not mean that you are ovulating. It just means that estrogen production increases and decreases each month to signal development of the uterine lining and subsequent shedding. Regular ovulation is vital to healthy hormone balance regardless of parenthood plans.
Myth #3: The ultrasound showed no cysts on my ovaries so I can’t have PCOS
Truth: The name is misleading, people with Polycystic ovarian syndrome, do not have to have cysts present on the ovaries. The body breaks down and resolves cysts regularly so cysts can come and go. The syndrome is diagnosed on the basis of the presence of a collection of symptoms that can include some (but not all) of the following: head hair loss, excess facial/body hair, weight gain, insulin resistance, poor glucose tolerance, irregular menstrual cycles, anovulation, infertility, acne and oily skin.
Myth #4: The blood tests were fine so there’s nothing wrong hormonally
Truth: Hormone blood tests are notoriously poor predictors of health or disease. The reference ranges are incredibly broad (eg. for and are set based on an average of the values measured amongst the general population. Reference ranges for hormones should be set by health screening the people being used to set the range for any reproductive disorders such as fibroids, breast cancer, endometriosis, PCOS, irregular menses, heavy menses, painful periods, infertility, anovulation etc. Select only those who have perfectly regular periods, who ovulate every month at midcycle, have no evidence of fibroids or endometriosis, no history of reproductive organ problems etc, then use those people to set a healthy range.
Myth #5: If I have endometriosis, PCOS or fibroids, I can’t have children or I can only have children if I undergo aggressive fertility treatments like In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
Truth: You can have children with any of these conditions, they do not automatically spell infertility. Depending on the severity of the condition, the best course of action may be either combination conventional therapies like drugs and surgery with naturopathic treatment or naturopathic treatment alone may be sufficient to solve the problem.
Myth #6: If there was something that could help with my problem, my specialist would know about it
Truth: Unfortunately not. Most medical doctors have quite enough on their plate to keep abreast of the latest drugs and surgical options and see a wealth of patients every day. They have neither the time nor the interest in investigating naturopathic treatments for disease.
Myth #7: There is no research to support naturopathic therapies
Truth: There is plenty of research to support acupuncture, herbal medicine, vitamins and nutritional supplements. There was a time as little as 10 years ago when research was sparse. Public interest in using more natural therapies has sparked interest in researching remedies that have stood the test of time for hundreds if not thousands of years.
Dr. Pamela Frank, ND maintains a busy, diverse naturopathic practice with a special interest in women’s health and fertility. Pamela was twice voted “Best Naturopath in Toronto” by the readers of NOW magazine. She has been the clinic director at Forces of Nature in Toronto ON for the past 9 years and is a member in good standing of the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors and Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors. Pamela can be reached at Forces of Nature at 416.481.0222 or by email at PFrankND@ForcesofNature.ca
For more information visit http://www.ForcesofNature.ca or http://www.NaturopathToronto.ca
Pcos And Your Daughter — A Mom’s Steps After The Diagnosis
Years ago, when your four year old daughter told you she liked the little boy named Brandon in her preschool class at your church, you smiled and enjoyed having a little girl. The joy and excitement of seeing your beautiful daughter in that cute little stage of her emerging womanhood was enough to make you blush when you shared your daughter’s “secret” with her daddy (your husband).
Years have passed now, and your sweet daughter is still your sweet daughter, and perhaps that sweet daughter has liked a few other boys along the way too. Now though, the complete innocence of your daughter’s developing womanhood may seem a little nerve wracking, a little more wobbly. You may have just heard your daughter’s doctor tell you your daughter has the symptoms of PCOS, otherwise known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
PCOS is not a disease nor is it a simple health problem you can pinpoint, evaluate, and cure accordingly. While doctors seem to agree that Polycystic Ovary Syndrome evolves from a woman’s natural hormone levels being out of whack, doctors also agree that they are not completely sure yet as to WHY a girl’s or woman’s hormones get disproportionately out of place to begin with, or even if it was the hormones that aggravated the PCOS or if something else may have actually offset the PCOS which then affected the hormones. Doctors also go all ways as to why insulin levels in women with PCOS seem to be higher then normal, here again debating which came first, the PCOS or the higher insulin levels.
The basic point all doctors seem to agree on though, is that the male hormones (which we all have, men and women alike) seem to be higher than they should be in women and girls with symptoms of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. They also agree that Polycystic Ovary Syndrome can cause serious health problems and diseases such as beast and endometrial (uterus) cancer, high cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases, insulin resistance or diabetes, and even possible infertility problems in the lives of those who have PCOS if the metabolic disturbances of the PCOS are not corrected or managed properly. By the way, any extra weight your daughter may be carrying can contribute to many of these same problems as well as aggravating the PCOS symptoms which lead to
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those diseases.
Of course, hearing this as a normal mom who just cares about her daughter and her daughter’s overall well being (and chances of being a mom someday herself), you don’t care as much about the different professional medical debates as much as you do about what you need to do to help your daughter – to make sure she receives the help she needs so that she can go on to live a long and happy life as a woman, as a wife, as a mother someday herself. You might even be thinking about your daughter’s chances of having a four-year-old daughter someday too, one telling your daughter about the crush she has on a little boy in her preschool class at her church. You want those beautiful things for your daughter, and you want to make sure the steps you take right now are ones that are going to help her the most – now and in her future.
I have a daughter that tells me, from time to time, that I am being “overly dramatic” about something or the other. Now, perhaps I might be just a teeny bit overboard sometimes, but then again, I’m a MOM! Moms care for their children. They love their children, and they want the best for them. That good side of motherhood now established, we now also need to admit that when things don’t go well for their children, mothers can either step up to the plate (which is hard to do sometimes) or be overly dramatic (which is too easily done sometimes).
Listening to a doctor talk about a condition that, left unchecked, could cause cancer or diabetes, heart disease or infertility is enough to make a mom get a little dramatic on the inside. Then, hearing a doctor talk about raging male hormones in mom’s little girl (no matter how old or young she might be at the time) is certainly a good start to adding that “overly” to the “dramatic” part. However, when a doctor has the serious task of telling a young lady and her mother that this young lady has Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, it takes a mother of strong character and love to help her daughter at that very moment of her life. It requires mom to step up to the plate.
Your first order of business as a mom is to:
1.) Remain calm. There is no need to panic over this. PCOS is a very common imbalance of hormones that is shared by many other girls and women. Most sources say that 5 to 10 percent of females of child bearing age have PCOS. Some researchers are beginning to think perhaps up to 33% of women and girls have PCOS. Doctors are also diagnosing more and more teenagers with PCOS. You are not alone, and there are wonderful treatments out there, from traditional medicine practices to diet and exercise programs to herbs and natural progesterone creams which help to balance the hormonal imbalances that your daughter has been found to have.
PCOS does not have to be life threatening nor debilitating, and when treated, most women go on to have healthy and normal “womanly” lives, complete with children with smiling faces and runny noses like everyone else’s kids!
Don’t panic about the raging male hormones in your daughter’s body either. That does not make your daughter any less of a woman! She is still beautiful. She is still that same daughter you knew yesterday. AND she is still a girl! Let’s just say in fact, she is still a woman! It might even make you feel better to know her female hormones (the estrogen) is higher than normal too. Now, I really don’t think you need to know that to realize your daughter is still that sweet young lady you have always loved, but just in case that helps knowing that, well, there it is.
Your next steps should be as follows:
2.) Before you decide on a specific course of action with your doctor, go home and do some research. Find out more about the different theories about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Do some internet searches like “PCOS and herbs”, “PCOS and prognosis”, “PCOS and natural remedies”, “PCOS and medicine”, “PCOS and natural progesterone cream”, “PCOS and nutrition”, “PCOS and low carb”, or “PCOS and c
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arbohydrates”. (Weight can play a big part in women and girls diagnosed with PCOS as does just plain eating too many unrefined carbohydrates.)
You might also look up “Hormone imbalances in women” to get a larger view of how hormonal imbalances affect women of all ages and not just those with PCOS. You can probably think of a few other good searches, but those are provided to give you a start on how to think like a person who wants to know all the different ways that PCOS can be treated. Know what PCOS is, and then get a good idea of all the different things that can help either before you consider traditional routes or in addition to the traditional medical routes. You should not have to start with birth control pills to cause your daughter’s body to have unnatural periods when there are so many other things that could help your daughter in a more natural way first.
3.) After you have a good idea of what PCOS is, what different people are doing to control PCOS, and what less-intrusive, and perhaps more-natural, steps are available to help get or keep your daughter’s hormonal balance in line and her body’s insulin levels and usage working correctly, developing a good relationship with your daughter’s doctor can then be your best next step. Tell your doctor what other steps you can help your daughter with and be prepared to support your stand with your daughter’s doctor if needed. Chances are they will be informed themselves already, but if they are not, they will want to know how they can best help your child in the least intrusive and least offensive way. Doctors will almost always pick trying good lifestyle changes over pumping medicine into a person as a first defense, so don’t hesitate to share your desire and determination to help your daughter in this way. If your doctor is a good doctor, he or she will appreciate that. If your doctor has a problem with that, it might be time to ask him or her for a referral, or you might just need to look up other traditional doctors in the phone book (or a friend’s little black book). Some people with PCOS have found great companions and help working with naturopaths (natural or complimentary health care doctors) as well.
4.) Regardless of any traditional, nontraditional, complimentary, or natural health care options you choose, the biggest and most helpful step a mom can take with her PCOS daughter is to help her eat healthy foods, lose weight if needed, and excise some if she is not doing so. Having too many pounds can trigger hormonal imbalances just like the hormonal imbalances that caused the PCOS to begin with. Being overweight can also cause insulin resistance and other insulin disturbances as well, leading to continued problems with the PCOS as well as adding fuel to the fire by putting your daughter at even more risk for diabetes and other “bad things” like that. In fact, being, or staying, overweight can cause more damage to your daughter than any good things you or your doctor could do otherwise!
Eating more foods that are lower on the glycemic index (check out Good Carbs / Bad Carbs and the “glycemic index” on the internet), substituting refined carbohydrates with whole foods and grains, researching and finding a good diet that has a lower or controlled carbohydrate intake that will help control your daughter’s insulin production and levels, and eating more fresh fruits and vegetables are all good and IMPORTANT steps to helping your daughter lose weight if she is carrying any additional pounds that can be creating other problems with her health.
When you have had the wisdom, insight, character and determination to understand what your daughter is dealing with and to “step up to the plate” with your head high and your heart set on being the mother your daughter needs right now, you can then take your last step which is to:
5.) Enjoy being a woman with that young woman you know as your daughter. Having PCOS doesn’t have anything to do with her womanhood, and the two of you have a long life a
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head of you to enjoy all the “womanly” things in life together. You’ll be sharing shopping sprees, walks around the lake, boy talks, wedding preparations, and even sharing baby stories someday.
Discovering the fact that your daughter has Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is not too much unlike hearing about the four year old boy your daughter liked in her preschool class at your church. It’s all about learning more and more about your daughter and then loving her more and more each day.
By: Chris Stevens
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Chris Stevens writes and speaks about parenting and family relations with a focus on healthy lives and happy times together. She and her husband have led Christian marriage and family seminars, and both have been featured at home school conventions and curriculum fairs. If you or someone you love could benefit from weight management, see Chris’ weight management website at: www.your-apple-patch-diet.com
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If I have Ovarian cysts (but not diagnosed with PCOS), will that affect fertility chances?
I went to my OB and had a sonogram done due to some pain and tenderness – they saw fluid around my right ovary and figured I had burst a cyst. But they did not see any cysts on my ovaries. I also had other symptoms indicative of ovarian cysts over the last few months such as pain during exercise, so I think they have been there for awhile now – coming and going, and possibly bursting. I've had two very excrutiating painful experiences over the last 3 years that I think were due to cysts bursting.
My doctor said that the only thing that will help is birth control pills, but that technically I didn't need to be on them. I'm wondering though if this will affect my fertility later on? I have one young child already but want at least one more. I'm in the process of going to school and we struggle with day care options as it is with one child, so having two would be very very difficult if not impossible right now — that being said, I had wanted to wait a little while longer to try for another until we could figure out how our jobs/schedules would be like. But now I'm nervous that if I wait TOO long, I will screw up the chance. I'm 28, turning 29 this year. My doctor didn't seem to be too concerned about fertility risk – maybe because he didn't diagnose me with PCOS. But should I be concerned??
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Tags: Ovarian Cysts Pcos, Pcos Symptoms
