Hi all,


I know that LC diets improve PCOS symptoms. I was wondering if anyone had an experience where they began ovulating/cycling on their own after eating LC for awhile. If so, how long did it take before you saw improvement?



Thanks,
Bobbi

My cycle was much better after the first two weeks- More "normal." What I mean by that is it lasted 3 days instead of 1. I'm on the pill, so it's regular. Otherwise, it shows up once every few months or so. I got pregnant (with both of my kids) on day 60 something in my cycle! I also had two m/c but I'm not sure what day I got pg with those. LC definitely helps me with the cycles. As for other symptoms- not yet. I've only been at it for 4 weeks, though.

Bobbi,
I don't know about the LC yet because I am just beginning but I can say that I have noticed a difference in my symptoms just by simply adding exercise in my everyday. If I can't make it to the gym I try to walk a lot and get up and down all day long to get that extra work out in. My cycles are now normal, running about every 28 days, which has never happened to me in the past. Plus, my cycles are not as painful as they used to be and I am not on any birth control pills either so I am very happy about that. I will keep you informed about the LC eating and if I see any changes.

Prior to LC I would maybe have 1 or 2 periods per year, yes I was supposed to take provera, but shhhhhhhhh! Anyway within two weeks of starting LC I had a period. I've been at it for 2 1/2 years and in that time I've only missed 3 periods. Yep, I'm now 41 years old and regular for the first time in my life. My cycles run 32-34 days a little longer than average, but they do show up.

Within 2 months of low carbing I started bleeding. It was every 38 days which according to my endo still meant I wasnt ovulating but it was a start. Within 6 months it turned into every 29/30 days and I was ovulating on my own. I was not on any birth control because I didnt want any extra hormones screwing me up. It was all low carb. I was on a low fat diet before I switched to low carb and it made my PCOS symptoms much worse.

It was about 3 months before my skin began to glow and my hair to grow back healthier. It was about 8-10 months on low carb before I noticed a slight reduction with facial hair. Within a few weeks I noticed that I was losing belly fat. It was about 6 or 8 months that my hormone panel tests finally appeared to be almost normal and showed dramatic improvement.

Now I am getting laser for my facial hair. We shall see how well I do with PCOS.

I started "bleeding" about 10 days into LC and when I stick to it my cycles are almost normal. I acctualy guage how well I am eating by how often I am having periods. I know I have let my carbs creep up when my cycle is irregular. I have not been consistant with lc very long but hopfully the other symptoms will clear up soon as well. But I will live with facial hair and other syptoms if I can ovulate and someday give my DH a baby!

Some of my clients have PCO and DH's practice is reproductive endo - he routinely recommends a carb-restricted diet those those patients with PCO, with more carbohydrate (40-80g) if they're actively trying to get pregnant, less if they aren't trying to get pregnant and need to/want to lose weight first (20g-60g).

From my experience, every last one of my PCO clients (so far) who follow the diet I lay out with them resume menstration within six weeks of starting a carb-restricted diet, most get a period within 10 to 21 days of following the diet. Ovulation often resumes within a month or two - that first period isn't always an ovulation induced period, but sometimes from estrogen being liberated from fat stores (and is often longer than normal - this can also happen months later after starting LC) - the period that follows that one, if regular and on-time after that first one happening on it's own, is the ovulatory period and within six months ovulation-period cycle is often back on track, in both lean and overweight/obese PCO women. Some women do ovulate once they start the diet though....

DH has already had a bunch of his patients with PCO get pregnant without drug intervention because the diet effectively normalized their cycle, and in a few so far they did ovulate within the first two weeks of the diet and got pregnant.