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  #1   ^
Old Thu, Mar-10-05, 12:09
Jiggy Puff's Avatar
Jiggy Puff Jiggy Puff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 227
 
Plan: Ketogenic/85-90%Carnivore
Stats: 298/206/168 Female 5'7"
BF:
Progress: 71%
Location: Indiana
Default Ovarian dysfunction

Hi, Yesterday I had to go to a OB/GYN to evaluate a cervical polyp my GP found on routine pelvic exam. While it has grown and I have to have it removed.
He also said that I have high estrogen levels and have not been ovulating even though my periods are always regular

He said that I have ovarian dysfunction. I quess that is PCOS.
But my ultrsound showed no cysts. My ovaries were enlarged though. I am 48years old but have not started menopause yet. I have two children that are 10 years apart with same husband. I never concieved in those 10 years. Then when I hit 40 yrs bam... I got pregnant with my precious little girl.

only symptoms I have been experiencing is:

2-3 days of heavy periods with some cloting(though regular every month)
lightheaded sometime
tireness
some hairloss
cold all the time
insulin resistant
and increased weight loss ( I believe from the metformin I take 750mgxr at night) been taking it 5months. I can only take this much because of horrible side effects.

I have been doing lowcarb since Jan. 04.
I have lost 90lbs so far. Dr says these are all good things for my situation. So he wants me to have surgery to remove the polyp and wants to do an endomtrial abaltion.
He says I will not have any more periods after this.
He didn't mention what to do about the increased estrogen expect keep doing what I am doing.

I would appreciate anyones input on this. Has anyone experienced a polyp on there cervix? Or been DX with ovarian dysfunction?

Last edited by Jiggy Puff : Fri, Mar-11-05 at 09:42.
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  #2   ^
Old Fri, Mar-11-05, 09:44
Jiggy Puff's Avatar
Jiggy Puff Jiggy Puff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 227
 
Plan: Ketogenic/85-90%Carnivore
Stats: 298/206/168 Female 5'7"
BF:
Progress: 71%
Location: Indiana
Default

No replies yet?? Hmmmm I quess this isn't as common as he said.
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  #3   ^
Old Fri, Mar-11-05, 11:20
Ksrt Ksrt is offline
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Posts: 42
 
Plan: zone
Stats: 205/165/130 Female 5' 5"
BF:
Progress:
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HI,

I'm the person you just wrote to on the other thread defending Atkins. You just proved my point however, which was that a diet high in carbohydrates is not the only reason for insulin resistance. There are glandular dysfunctions. An Atkins diet apparently has not solved your problems and it won't because your insulin resistance is due to glandular dysfunction, I'm sure of it.

Read the book "It's My ovaries, Stupid" by Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet. In this book, she talks all about ovarian dysfunctions of every kind (there are others besides pcos). She also talks about the thyroid. I see you all through her book. Your symptoms actually sound like you have a thyroid problem (thyroid problems can cause insulin resistance, heavy periods, and being cold all the time). You will also find out from reading this book that pcos people while they might be high in the bad type of estrogen called estrone, they are really low in estradiol which is the estrogen that runs our entire system. You could be insulin resistant because of that. You might be able to work around it some by lowering your food intake and carbs to ridiculous levels but it doesn't make your cells respond better to insulin which is really what you want. You want your insulin to be low on a normal amount of food and carbs, not to have to live ridiculously and still have all these problems.

I would not do any surgery until you read this book and get a comprehensive hormone test. If you have thyroid problems and you have a hysterectomy (guaranteeing that your estradiol will be too low) you might stop the bleeding but your metabolic problems will be worse.

One other thing that Dr. Vliet points out in this book is that there are phases of menopause that start before your progesterone drops (which is what doctors are taught in medical school) where your estradiol is too low. You could be in an early phase of menopause that doctors commonly do not recognize.

I know I'm not saying what you conventionally hear, but after being in your exact place and being brainwashed into thinking I could fix everything with a low-carb diet, I finally am getting the glandular help I need. I think you need hormonal help, and while I would not try to diagnose it, I know if you get a doctor to do the tests in this book, you will at least have the knowledge you need to make good decisions. Good Luck!

KRST
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  #4   ^
Old Fri, Mar-11-05, 12:46
Jiggy Puff's Avatar
Jiggy Puff Jiggy Puff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 227
 
Plan: Ketogenic/85-90%Carnivore
Stats: 298/206/168 Female 5'7"
BF:
Progress: 71%
Location: Indiana
Default

Actually, my specialist is an Endocronologist Gynecologist.
And he said that what i am doing ( low carb ) is what he highly advises.

My carbs are not ridiculous low levels, I average anywhere from 45-65 carbs a day. Some days higher some days lower.

I have had my insulin levels checked 3 times since starting lowcarb in Jan. of 04. and where they were once extremly high levels, now are closer to getting into the normal range. I have also had follow ups on lipid profiles and my results are extremly encouraging ; Soooo much better than when I was lowfat-lowcal. It is the increase in intake of good natural fats that have allowed my HDL to increase and my triglycerides to lower drasticly. Without healthy meats , tons of green lower carb vegies, and moderate to high healthy fat intake, My blood work would be a disaster. Just as it was prior to lowcarb.

So whether the PCOS came first or the insulin resistance came first no one knows for sure. But GYN said I would have continued to get worse if I had not taken these steps to help correct the problem.


I also had the comprehesive hormonal tests that is where my high estrogen levels were DX. As well as an Ultrsound of the pelvis both abdominal and trans vaginal.

He does not suggest I have a hysterectomy ( even at my age of 48 ) That is why he suggested the Endometrial Ablation procedure. He says that accoring to my hormonal blood results I show no signs of entering into menopause yet.

It is so frustrating to think that after all of these years I have gone like this and had I known about this 30 years ago how different my life would have been.

I appreciate your suggestion of the book. I am the kind of person who rearches everything. Must be because I have been in the medical field for over 20 years. It is in my blood I quess Anyway is sounds like it is informative and I will look into it. I will evaluate it's contents and compare it to other research. Thanks
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  #5   ^
Old Sun, Mar-13-05, 13:18
Grimalkin's Avatar
Grimalkin Grimalkin is offline
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Posts: 741
 
Plan: PP
Stats: 160/149/125 Female 66 in.
BF:
Progress: 31%
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Here is another book you may want to evaluate and discuss with your doc: "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause" by John R. Lee, M.D. It is all about estrogen dominance and the use of natural progesterone cream to correct this and the associated symptoms.

Jiggypuff, my symptoms were a little different than yours: I had painful ovarian cysts, but I too was not ovulating and getting heavy periods. This book told me that my estrogen imbalance was because my ovaries were not producing progesterone - which made sense. It was almost as if he had written this book for me, it fit me so well. He also discusses cervical and uterine problems from estrogen dominance in the book. I'm afraid that my doctors were incompetent, so I carefully took my own path with this which has worked remarkably well for me. It'd been nice to have a decent doctor to work with while doing this though, and I really hope you do.

Anyway, after a few months I started feeling myself ovulate at the right time (it was a strange and unfamiliar feeling ); I am no longer using the cream at this time, I still ovulate regularly and my cysts have not recurred. He also recommends taking supplements that support the liver (like milk thistle) to help that organ break down excess estrogen. I have had terrible luck using synthetic hormones and BCPs in the past, but this natural stuff felt great, no nasty side-effects, it was just amazing.

Well it seems I am a success story; so maybe sharing this will give you another weapon in your fight to heal your ovaries. Best of luck to you.
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  #6   ^
Old Sun, Mar-13-05, 13:28
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Those also sound like hypothyroid symptoms too. You should have the following tests run: TSH (should be under 2... most people feel best around 1), FT3 and FT4. You may have to fight hard to get the FT3/FT4 (do not confuse them with TT3/TT4 or T3/T4).

If yout want more info on that, I wrote up a quick and dirty FAQ: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=238349
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, Apr-05-05, 13:28
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Maddy Maddy is offline
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Posts: 109
 
Plan: PSMF, cycling diet
Stats: 198/198/159 Female 5ft6
BF:43/
Progress: 0%
Location: England -
Default

Here's another take on the high estrogen:

Estrogen Dominance May Be Affecting Your Thyroid!

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

Some symptoms of PCOS are caused by excess estrogen and a lack of progesterone.

But here's some interesting information I found while googling today which shows it can also present as thyroid problems:

Estrogen Dominance & Thyroid Function

Estrogen causes food calories to be stored as fat. Thyroid Hormone causes fat calories to be turned into usable energy. Thyroid Hormone and Estrogen therefore have opposing actions.

Estrogen dominance inhibits Thyroid action and lowers the rate of metabolism of the Body. Natural Progesterone inhibits Estrogen action.

The symptoms of Hypothyroidism may also occur because of Estrogen Dominance (deficiency of Progesterone). Hypothyroidism, which results in weight gain and a host of other symptoms, can be corrected by the presence of Natural Progesterone in the body. Natural Progesterone levels can be enhanced in the body by supplementation of the diet with Herbal Dietary Supplement Wild Yam

Many other presumed Thyroid dysfunctions (like falling hair, water retention, loss of memory, dry skin) and Autoimmune Disorders are actually caused by Estrogen Dominance.

The crucial nutrient for Thyroid Hormone synthesis in the body is Iodine. Herbal Dietary Supplements like Kelp are a rich source of natural Iodine. Natural Iodine along with Tyrosine an amino acid can help the Thyroid manufacture normal levels of Hormone T3 and T4. In the presence of adequate levels of Natural Progesterone, Estrogen Dominance will disappear and the Thyroid Gland / Body will begin functioning normally i.e. the symptoms of weight gain will disappear.

Kelp along with Tyrosine (and Wild Yam in cases of Estrogen Dominance) can therefore increase the Rate of Metabolism of the body and result in corresponding Weight & Body Dimension reduction. Weight & Body Dimensions reduced in this manner have no rebound effect and you do not have to be on the Program for ever and for ever.
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  #8   ^
Old Sun, Apr-17-05, 17:03
Jiggy Puff's Avatar
Jiggy Puff Jiggy Puff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 227
 
Plan: Ketogenic/85-90%Carnivore
Stats: 298/206/168 Female 5'7"
BF:
Progress: 71%
Location: Indiana
Default

Maddy, this is good information. Can you give me more detail as to where you are getting this info. I would like to check them out. Thanks
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  #9   ^
Old Mon, Apr-18-05, 22:06
kuukuu's Avatar
kuukuu kuukuu is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,476
 
Plan: atkins hybrid
Stats: 210/179/150 Female 65 inches
BF:that's the point.
Progress: 52%
Location: indianapolis, indiana
Default

Please investigate the thermal ablation procedure throughly before you consent to it. Asks docs specifically what they expect to happen to you after the procedure is done. My ablation was done almost 3 years ago. I still have periods. Not quite so much blood but certainly as much fluid. Pain and cramping I experience now is much more pronounced and is only relieved by taking the natural supplement evening primrose before going to bed each night. I'm glad they did the procedure because the found an endometrial polyp. It was safely removed and I was assured that the ablation would cause enough scar tissue that another polyp could not form. Please get all the facts before they do the procedure and review them with your doc. Take care and let everyone know how you do.

Kuukuu
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