help for a friend?
 

A coworker has just been diagnosed with PCOS and put on Metformin.

She's in a lot of pain and only gets relief from pain meds.

She's not terribly receptive to low carb, so I hesitate to send her here.

Any suggestions?

I feel bad as her doc isn't much help, just giving her the meds. She had tried Medifast (I think that's what it's called) at her doc's suggestion, which was low-moderate carb....but the "food" was so bad she couldn't stick with it.

She doesn't eat a lot of sweets as far as I can see....but does have fried chicken sandwhiches, MacDs, Cook-out, etc. Her doc just tells her to stick with low fat and doesn't mention the carb content.

PCOS & Vitamin D to regulate cycles

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this study researchers examined a small group of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome and found that they were low in vitamin D levels.

Normalization of vitamin D levels normalized menstrual cycles in over half the women in two months. Two patients became pregnant and four others maintained normal menstrual cycles.

=====
Below is the abstract from the study...I have BOLDED the interesting part:
=====

Vitamin D and calcium dysregulation in the polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Thys-Jacobs S, Donovan D, Papadopoulos A, Sarrel P, Bilezikian JP.

Department of Medicine, St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY 10019, USA.

Over the past 30 years, numerous studies in invertebrates and vertebrates have established a role of calcium in oocyte maturation as well as in the resumption and progression of follicular development. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCO) is characterized by hyperandrogenic chronic anovulation, theca cell hyperplasia, and arrested follicular development. The aim of this observational study was to determine whether vitamin D and calcium dysregulation contribute to the development of follicular arrest in women with PCO, resulting in reproductive and menstrual dysfunction. Thirteen premenopausal women (mean age 31 +/- 7.9 years) with documented chronic anovulation and hyperandrogenism were evaluated. Four women were amenorrheic and nine had a history oligomenorrhea, two of whom had dysfunctional bleeding. Nine had abnormal pelvic sonograms with multiple ovarian follicular cysts. All were hirsute, two had alopecia, and five had acanthosis nigricans. The mean 25 hydrovitamin D was 11.2 +/- 6.9 ng/ml [normal (nl): 9-52], and the mean 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D was 45.8 +/- 18 pg/ml. with one woman with a 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D <5 pg/ml (nl: 15-60). The mean intact parathyroid hormone level was 47 +/- 19 pg/ml (nl: 10-65), with five women with abnormally elevated parathyroid hormone levels. All were normocalcemic (9.3 +/- 0.4 mg/dl). Vitamin D repletion with calcium therapy resulted in normalized menstrual cycles within 2 months for seven women, with two experiencing resolution of their dysfunctional bleeding. Two became pregnant, and the other four patients maintained normal menstrual cycles. These data suggest that abnormalities in calcium homeostasis may be responsible, in part, for the arrested follicular development in women with PCO and may contribute to the pathogenesis of PCO.

PMID: 10433180 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

cool...thanks! I'll send it to my friend.