Healing PCOS

I knew that if I wanted to feel better, I had to adopt a different approach. I found a naturopath to help me get to the root of my symptoms instead of trying to put a Band-Aid on each one. At thirty-two years old, I found the right person. She guided me in selecting supplements that could naturally balance my hormones. Maybe most important, she taught me to how to use a glucometer. Thanks to this tool, I made the connection between what I was eating and how I was feeling. I had empirical evidence to help make sense of my symptoms. Glucometer in hand, I began to experiment with my diet. As I mastered this piece of my life, my energy returned, my hair slowly began to grow back, I lost weight, and my menstrual cycles began to regulate.

In working with my naturopath and doing my own research and experimentation, I realized that I had the power to take control of my health. No one else could do it for me. I couldn’t take advice at face value and continue to think and act like a victim.

I scoured the internet for information and read books about PCOS and holistic medicine by pioneers like Samuel Thatcher, Walter Futterweit, and Nancy Dunne. I went back to school to learn from experts about nutrition and healing. After hundreds of hours and tons of trial and error, I developed a protocol that allowed me to thrive. I changed my diet and lifestyle and, most important, my mindset. I started taking care of myself. My husband noticed the shift and declared me a “diva.” At first, I was offended, until I realized that in order to be my best and give my best to my family, I did have to be a PCOS Diva.

When my reproductive endocrinologist started seeing my success and sending women with PCOS who also couldn’t tolerate metformin or the pill to me for help, I knew I was onto something. I received my health-coaching certificate and began to formally coach women one-on-one with great success. Soon I realized that the small, manageablesteps of what is now my Healing PCOS 21-Day Plan could help the millions of other women struggling to alleviate their symptoms with medicine and advice that didn’t help. Now sharing what I know about PCOS is my passion and career. And, despite what doctors warned all those years ago, I conceived my third child, an amazing girl, naturally. She’s the direct product of the PCOS Diva lifestyle I forged.

I want you to know that you are not a victim. Struggling with PCOS is not your fate. There is no magic pill, but you can thrive with PCOS when you embrace the power of knowledge, diet, and lifestyle.

What Is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)?

You are not alone. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common (#litres_trial_promo) endocrine system disorders found in women and the most common cause of infertility in women. As calculated employing the widely used (#litres_trial_promo) Rotterdam Criteria, PCOS affects approximately 15 to 20 percent of women worldwide (#litres_trial_promo), of whom less than 50 percent are diagnosed. It is present throughout a woman’s life (#litres_trial_promo) from puberty through postmenopause and affects women of all races and ethnic groups.

As an endocrine disorder, PCOS disrupts hormone balance, negatively impacting many bodily functions including insulin levels, cell and tissue growth and development, metabolism, fertility, and cognition. A diagnosis is often difficult to obtain because PCOS is a syndrome, a collection of symptoms. It affects many different hormones, resulting in an array of symptoms that may seem unrelated and vary from woman to woman. Some symptoms include obesity (#litres_trial_promo), irregular menstrual cycles, insulin resistance, infertility, depression, male-pattern hair growth, acne, and hair loss.

In addition, women with PCOS have (#litres_trial_promo) a four to seven times higher risk of heart attack, and 50 percent will develop prediabetes or diabetes before age forty. They are also more likely to develop (#litres_trial_promo) endometrial cancer. The increased risk of these serious health issues makes managing symptoms even more imperative—and stressful.

What Are the Symptoms of PCOS?

You may have one or two of these symptoms or a dozen. Although some symptoms are more common than others, there is no single model for PCOS.

Oligoovulation (irregular ovulation) or anovulation (absent ovulation)

Polycystic ovaries (#litres_trial_promo) (20–39 percent)

High levels of insulin, insulin resistance (#litres_trial_promo) (30–50 percent)

Easy weight gain (#litres_trial_promo) and/or obesity (55–80 percent)

Fertility issues (#litres_trial_promo)

Acne (40–60 percent)

Cardiovascular issues

Type 2 diabetes

Depression (28–64 percent)

Anxiety (#litres_trial_promo) (34–57 percent)

Poor body image, eating disorders (21 percent)

Sexual dysfunction

Thyroid disorders

High levels of androgens (#litres_trial_promo) (60–80 percent)

Irregular menstruation (#litres_trial_promo) (75–80 percent)

Male-pattern hair growth (70 percent)

Skin tags

Sleep apnea (#litres_trial_promo) (8 percent)

Gray-white breast discharge (#litres_trial_promo) (8–10 percent)

Scalp hair loss (40–70 percent)

Darkening skin areas (#litres_trial_promo) (acanthosis nigricans), particularly on the nape of the neck (10 percent)

Pelvic pain

Hidradenitis suppurativa (painful boil-like abscesses in the groin)

Some of the Most Common Symptoms

The most common symptoms of PCOS are insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, hormone imbalances, and chronic inflammation.

INSULIN RESISTANCE AND HYPERINSULINEMIA

Insulin resistance, when cells fail to respond normally to the hormone insulin, and hyperinsulinemia, chronically high levels of insulin in the blood, are both symptoms with which I struggled all my life. Unfortunately, as is probably the case with many of you, they went undiagnosed for many years.

I remember fainting multiple times in sixth grade. The nurse didn’t know what was wrong. My mom took me to doctors, who also found nothing and finally referred me for psychiatric evaluation. Imagine being twelve years old, feeling horrible, and being told it is all in your head. Many years later, still undiagnosed, I remember feeling baffled when every Sunday morning, after my fiancé and I had our traditional waffle breakfast complete with syrup and orange juice, I would get woozy in church. Little did I know, it was the waffle breakfast throwing my blood sugar out of whack and giving me hypoglycemia! Since then, I have learned to interpret my body’s signals. Now when I feel that way, I know exactly what to do.

Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia are conditions in which the body becomes less and less efficient at processing and managing levels of sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream. This has serious overall health consequences. In the short term, insulin resistance is at the heart of most PCOS symptoms, including infertility, obesity, hirsutism, hyperandrogenism (elevated androgen levels), chronic fatigue syndrome, immune system defects, eating disorders, hypoglycemia, gastrointestinal disorders, depression, and anxiety. In the long term, when insulin levels rise too high, type 2 diabetes may result. Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) is a common result of insulin dysfunction and may lead to an increased risk of high blood pressure and stroke.

Symptoms of Insulin Resistance

Weight gain

Sugar cravings

Skin tags

Hypoglycemia

Rough or red bumps on upper arms

Dark skin patches on neck, knees, elbows, knuckles, chest, or groin

In a healthy system, insulin plays an important role in metabolism. This powerful hormone is produced by the pancreas and enters the bloodstream after a meal. Its main function is to transport glucose to cells throughout the body to be used for energy. When there is excess glucose, insulin delivers the glucose to muscles, fat, and the liver, which helps to lower the blood glucose levels by storing it and signaling the body to slow production of insulin. But in an unhealthy system, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia may result.

Between 50 and 70 percent of women with PCOS have (#litres_trial_promo) some degree of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance may be caused (#litres_trial_promo) by poor diet, ethnicity, certain diseases, hormones, steroid use, some medications, older age, sleep problems, and cigarette smoking. Although insulin resistance is often associated with obesity (#litres_trial_promo), research indicates that lean PCOS patients are also prone to insulin resistance. Research also indicates that the birth control pill (#litres_trial_promo) may cause insulin resistance in all women, particularly those with PCOS.

Insulin resistance occurs when a person’s body does not react properly to the amount of insulin in the bloodstream. In a healthy system, after a meal, the pancreas creates insulin to balance the glucose in the blood. Ideally, the body detects if the level of glucose in the blood is still too high and signals the pancreas to create more insulin. The hope is that since there is more insulin, more glucose will be picked up.