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-   -   Symptoms and DIET PLEASE READ!! (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=257297)

qwert123 Sun, Jul-10-05 23:14

Symptoms and DIET PLEASE READ!!
 
Hi I am pretty sure I am suffering from PCOS...The symptoms i have are acne, excess body hair and facial hair and hair thinning. I am a bit underweight....so im confused on what to do for symptoms as i have heard that symptoms improve if you lose weight. My acne HAS GREATLY improved by cutting out dairy AND I noticed when I eat too much dairy and meat I would get my periods early and have severe acne...i would get periods every two weeks and they last 5 days...then i cut out dairy and now periods r every 25 days and last 6 days...my acne is almost gone...and its completely gone when i cut out sugar...as for my thinning hair...still problem and my body hair seems to be getting worse! I dont know what to do! I can not do low carb bc it might bring my acne back...PLEASE HELP ME! Also i have read that low carbing can also cause hair loss in some people!! I am so frustrating bc i have been doing a lot of resrearch and everything and everyone says something different...its like i dont know what to follow anymore! What i do know is EVERYONE is different..but by reading and sharing posts we can learn from eachother...please respond with your imput on diet and symptoms...I am a firm believer of healing yourself the natural way...meaing no PILLS!!

foxgluvs Tue, Jul-12-05 04:55

You have all the classic symptoms of PCOS. If you want to look into it and get some good advice, then visit
http://www.soulcysters.com

and go to their message boards. You'll get some top advice from other sufferers.
xx

qwert123 Tue, Jul-12-05 21:53

Thank you for reading my post, i have checked out soulcysters before, as i have been doing tons of research..im just at loss on what to do to FIX EVERYTHING...bc EVERYONE has or says something different...like there are a lot of thigns saying how high protein low carb diets r GREAT for PCOS then i read things like Dairy and all the hormones in the meat is bad...and in a book "eat to live" Dr. Furhman says u can control insulin levels w a diet rich in greens and beans...and meat should be very limited in diet...im leaning more towards his method...as when i eat that way my skin clears...but i wany my other symptoms to go too...if my skin clears does that mean eventually my other symptoms will improve aswell???

Bandito Wed, Jul-13-05 12:12

The body/facial hair will never go away. Once the hormones have changed your hair follicles to produce courser hair, the change is perminant. As far as how long it will take to clear symptoms..... Depends. For me, it took two months for regular periods. Acne took over a year for me, and I still get a few every so often. If I eat too much friut, my periods come late again. This never "goes away," it is managed by controlling insulin spikes. Excess insulin causes your body to step up production of PCOS hormones. So what I think it depends on is how well you manage your insulin spikes. If you eat a higher carb diet, you will average more insulin in your system. This MAY cause your symptoms to take longer be relieved. Any step in the direction of reducing insulin is a step in the right direction.

Grimalkin Wed, Jul-13-05 21:25

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bandito
The body/facial hair will never go away. Once the hormones have changed your hair follicles to produce courser hair, the change is perminant.

Mine went away... I believe using natural progesterone has had a lot to do with it for me. If I don't use it for awhile, and don't always ovulate (perimenopause), the symptoms start coming back (like hair starts growing, bad PMS, other stuff). Then I supplement with a little of it and they go away again.

You should research the stuff though before you run out and buy a tube... if you have a decent doc maybe you could get your hormones tested to see if you are deficient in something? If progesterone's not your problem there's the possibility that it might make things worse. A decent book for learning more about natural progesterone is "What your doctor won't tell you about premenopause" by John Lee. Stay away from synthetic hormones like the progestins in BCPs!

qwert123 Thu, Jul-14-05 04:39

ive read some stuff on progesterone...and i bought tube in health store...but im too scared to use it...bc i dont know how much or when etc...a book gave me example..but im scared to mess w my hormones...and i tried before getting my hormones checked...and i dont even know if they checked them! I told them to and other things...and they checked a bunch and i didnt see hormones on list! stupid doctors...and every time i talk to doctor or anyone...they look at me like im crazy..my hair symptoms on not that bad yet...but slowly getting worse...like i have fine hair on my face...but up really close in a certain light u can see it..and on my chest...and bikini line is crazy...plus hair thinning slightly on top of head...acne is improving since i gave up dairy.

Shazzer Thu, Jul-14-05 21:35

Hang in there. You will eventually stumble across the best diet for your needs. It is great that you are researching and trying to find a solution. What books have you read? Would you be interested in our thoughts on the best books to read?

Here are my suggestions:
In considering what you should do, it is very important to avoid foods that spike your blood sugar and cause high insulin levels. As I'm sure you know, insulin problems lead to so many other hormonal imbalances. Secondly, your body needs animal proteins and fats for cellular growth. Without animal proteins, you will compromise your health. If you can, try to eat free range meats (not corn fed). Make sure your meat also has not received any hormone injections or antibiotics. Try finding this meat at a local health food store. It is more expensive but it could benefit you. How cutting dariy could have helped your acne is that have could have a yeast imbalance. Cheeses can cause an overproduction of intestinal flora, which can cause problems. Or, the hormones found in dairy could have affected you. Long ago, before I was diagnosed with PCOS, I had to give up milk because I found it made me very ill. I tried organic milk, and it suited me just fine. The culprit was the hormones used for dairy cattle. As with PCOS, my hormones were all out of whack and adding cow hormones just made it worse for me.

For your acne problems, have you noticed any trigger foods or trigger behaviors? You mentioned sugar, is there anything else (like corn or wheat based products) that trigger acne? (I found out my trigger food for acne is alcohol.)

As a fellow PCOSer, I'll relate my story to you. I've been on the LC bandwagon for two years (after being on Glucophage and Aldactone for two years prior). I had thinning hair, facial hair, awful periods and hypoglycemia, and fluctuating weight (My weight range was 120-140 pounds and it would swing like that in a year without me doing anything). I decided that the PCOS drugs, although they made me feel a lot better, really masked the problems. I had to get myself in order. So I decided to go LC, then later to a natural LC diet. By natural I mean I eat organic fresh foods, nothing processed or refined. I eat a lot of eggs, meat and dark green veggies, limited fruits, nuts, fish, butter, cheese, and a lot of natural fats. These are my results since going natural: my head hair has stopped thinning and I had a bit of reversal. My periods are normal. My blood sugar is stable. No more hypoglycemia. When I avoid alcohol, my face is totally clear. The only lasting effect is my facial hair. But I can live with that because I feel so much better otherwise.

qwert123 Fri, Jul-15-05 07:38

Shazzer
 
Shazzer, thank you for ur response. I have only come across PCOS books that are vague about diet..saying no refined sugars or too many complex carbs. I have been looking at a lot of books on diabetes...bc its the same thing almost..insulin and sugar problems. Its frustrating bc i used to be able to eat what i want w NO PROBLEMS!! I never gained weight....and i love FOOD. Now I have to eat to be healthy and im losing weight...ohwell..i like the extra thin look anyways. I SURE HOPE ALCOHOL does not effect my acne...i dont drink much....but when i stopped (for the summer) it had no effect at all...cutting dairy by far has had the most effect...and too much sugar causes acne on my neck and YES you are so right about the yeast problem...it makes me so ANGRY when i think about it...bc its mainly the stupid dermo fault for putting me on antibiotics and saying diet has nothing to do w it...so for one year i was on antibiotics which CLEARED ME COMPLETELY...but i started getting problesm...like feeling dizzy and paranoid...which after much research figured out was yeast problem...i got off antibiotics and now suffer dandruff, yeast infections, and at first face exploded w acne...till i stopped dairy...i used to NEVER have any dandruff, yeast problems until after antibiotics...in fact i didnt have problem w facial hair or thinning hair until a year after being on them...could that have effected it??? You seem to know a lot...please let me know what else you know on yeast...i have read an anticandida diet book so i learned that dairy aggravates it, peanuts...and those r the foods that seem to bother me..im not sure what else...oh coffee does...right now my diet consists of green veggies, sometimes other veggies, chicken, fish, beans, maybe a piece of fruit, olive oil, houmous, brown rice, whole wheat bread (want to cut that out). anyways iknow its not low carb...but i feel best w this...i dont eat so much brown rice or bread...and the other books i read...by far the best "eat to live" and you are what you eat, sugar busters, two zone books, south beach, vegetarian low carb book....its frustrating bc everyone says something different..but i like eat tolive the BEST...thanks for ur help....

qwert123 Fri, Jul-15-05 07:48

oh and another question...how do i check my blood sugar levels?? Anyways w out taking blood? I heard something about urine sample...and i cant go to doctor bc my mom just does not understand...she thinks im paranoid...in fact so does the doctor...it really frustrates me how so many doctors are uneduacted about EVERYTHING...in fact the STUPID doctor told me to add more dairy to my diet...when i told her i felt horrible like ive been hit by a train and dark circles under my eyes...which r signs of food allergy...she didnt even suggest it...i figured out from reading...now that is all better since no dairy..i learned...doctors just dont care about u...they just want to dump pills on u and do not even tell u side effects...its like they do not want u to get better...every time u have a problem...they dump MORE pills...its rare to find a good one...i know all are not bad...just all of mine!

qwert123 Fri, Jul-15-05 08:10

I READ THIS JUST NOW!!! "There are other drugs that augment the blood glucose-lowering effect of insulin, but they are less likely to interact with insulin or have less of an effect. Such drugs include tetracycline antibiotics like doxycycline (Vibramycin), etc....I was on DOXYCYCLINE FOR ONE YEAR!! That was the antibiotic i was talking about...do u think thats what started messing me up even more? Also what exactly does this mean? "augment the blood glucose-lowering effect of insulin" would this mess up your blood sugars? I got this info off of a diabetes medication interferance page...

Grimalkin Sat, Jul-16-05 10:13

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shazzer
By natural I mean I eat organic fresh foods, nothing processed or refined. I eat a lot of eggs, meat and dark green veggies, limited fruits, nuts, fish, butter, cheese, and a lot of natural fats. These are my results since going natural: my head hair has stopped thinning and I had a bit of reversal. My periods are normal. My blood sugar is stable. No more hypoglycemia. When I avoid alcohol, my face is totally clear. The only lasting effect is my facial hair. But I can live with that because I feel so much better otherwise.

I've been LC for 3 years but I still need to tweak my hormones sometimes to get rid of lingering PCOS symptoms... I have suspected that I'm very sensitive to hormones from food and other sources and that's why... I'm trying to move in the direction of clean natural foods too, thanks for posting this, it makes sense and its encouraging that it can make such a difference!

And, FOR ME, natural progesterone really DOES stop any unwanted hair from growing. It literally just stops. I wish there was more research into the stuff, but I suspect that since it's natural there's no money in it... anyway... the best information I have so far is that it opposes excess estrogen and balances other hormones and that's why it helps. But I hate to think of it as a permanent solution. Cleaning up our diets first and using supplements second sounds like a better idea to me. I wish our food supply wasn't so polluted :( By the way, I only use the cream during the latter part of my cycle, and not too much, read that book first if you are thinking of trying it.

plumtired Sat, Jul-16-05 10:53

Quote:
Originally Posted by Grimalkin
And, FOR ME, natural progesterone really DOES stop any unwanted hair from growing. It literally just stops.


Would you be willing to share what brand of natural progesterone you use? I agree that I wish there was more research on it. That would be nice. :)

Thank you for sharing your information & experience. I only lurk here, yet I enjoy reading the information threads such as this one. The one part about PCOS that drives me batty is the excessive hair growth in unwanted places. So, I am very interested in this natural progesterone remedy. Thanks again.

Grimalkin Sat, Jul-16-05 16:04

Plumtired, I use Life-flo Progestacare. I know some ladies who really like Emerita Progest, but I tried it and found it too oily-feeling for my skin, although you might like it if your skin is dry. They both work well. John Lee has a list of what he considers good products in the back of his book that I checked when I first started buying the stuff.

BTW, I've been using it off and on for three years, and so far I haven't noticed any bad side-effects.

Shazzer Sun, Jul-17-05 20:27

Qwert-
You have been through so much with your health. It just amazes me how physicians will not listen to you and insist that drugs are the cure instead of focusing on everything that can affect your health. This includes exercise, family history, sleep habits, stress levels, work habits, attitude/well-being, drugs you take, and diet. As far as books, try The Schwarzbein books. She writes a bit about PCOS. Her diet recommendations include eating a wide array of foods, but avoiding bad carbs. Dr. Atkins has good info on candida/yeasts. I would not follow anything like a diabetic diet. Doctors say diabetics should maintain blood sugar within such a wide range. And the worst advice ever is that when a diabetic or someone with any blood sugar problems feels hypoglycemic, stuff high/quick absorbing carbs into the body for a quick cure to the hypoglycemia. That advice sends diabetics on blood sugar roller coasters where they get hypoglycemic, have a high carb food (even with protein), get high blood sugar, then have a low sugar episode after the blood sugar plummets, then to eat something high in carbs again. It is insane. Avoiding quick absorbing carbs will help with blood sugar. Eating fat and protein is your best bet for sustaining blood sugar and insulin levels. If you don't feed your body stuff that is absorbed as glucose in the blood, your body will not create the excess insulin that causes all of the problems.

As for the antibiotics you were put on, it looks like they cause insulin to be quicker acting, released in higher amounts, or more effective at ridding the bloodstream of glucose. Whatever it is, it is not natural. There are so many side effects of antibiotics that it is hard to say the totality of their effects. It certainly is bizarre to be put on a non-topical antibiotic for one year. They certainly are not natural and kill off the good yeasts and bacteria in your digestive system.

For checking blood sugar, I used to have a tester. In the days before this diet, I learned to tell the symptoms of high or low blood sugar. If I felt faint, weak, got really grouchy, or couldn't concentrate, I knew my blood sugar was low. If I got groggy and slow, my blood sugar was high. I had big problems with low blood sugar so I had to deal with that frequently. My brother gets migraines when his blood sugar gets low. It took him almost fifteen years of getting migrains before he saw an endocrinologist who properly diagnosed him (and put him on drugs).

I hope I've answered some of your questions. As some of the women here have stated, maybe some hormones could help. In my opinion, you probably need to find a good stable diet that makes you feel well and alleviates your various symptoms. If you can find some sort of specialist with a clue about PCOS, that is an alternative. There is a PCOS group that has listings of doctors across the country who specialize in PCOS. This can be an expensive route. But if you find a good doctor who listens, she may be able to get you started on the right track. Go to http://www.pcosupport.org/.

qwert123 Sun, Jul-17-05 21:44

Shazzer, Thank you again for your help! I can not go to any more doctors bc my mom gets mad bc she thinks its ALL IN MY HEAD (she is asian by the way and they dont know anything about health...well at least not her family!! My dad sort of has a clue...about eating right..although he also suffers lack of self control when it comes to eating!!)....Its kind of scary how PCOS is becoming so common and so many women are not aware of what it is...i am almost 100 % sure that 4 of my friends have it (i have lots of friends) Anyways I am going to try going on a strict diet..even though its sssooo HARD for me...esp since my metabolism is fast, i get hungry and right away lose weight (im already almost under weight at being 128 and almost 5'8) Anyways im going to try a diet that i feel is right for me, after doing lots of research, and i will keep you updated. I can not go on these too lowcarb high meat diets...im going to go on a high green veg diet, w beans, chicken, fish, and limited color veggies and VERY VERY limited brown rice...i read two success stories on the web and these woman seemed to have similar diets...look up PCOS success stories and they come up...its really only the first 3 or 4 that have real success stroies...the first one is Eva...


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