PCOS-DIET Messages for February, 2001: Re: will low carbs alone work? How low to go?

Re: will low carbs alone work? How low to go?

From: Leslie (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu, 08 Feb 2001 16:41:59 -0800

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Hi Laurie, Sorry it is taking me so long to reply to the various posts. I've been preoccupied by life (yet again!). I promise, I'll send another post soon about my low carb diet.

Meanwhile, to quickly answer your question, vitex, also known as chastetree berry, is a herb that looks a bit like a peppercorn. It helps the body learn how to regulate the amount of estrogen it produces after it goes out of sync. Using herbs can be frustrating, for it can take quite a while to see any results. For some women, it can take up to 6 months for them to see any results from vitex. Because its effects depends upon the consistency of use (the effects build in the body slowly, but much more gently than most medicines used by doctors) it is important that the same dosage be taken every day. The good news is that once the body gets the hand of things for a couple of years, many ladies are able to stop taking the herb without their periods disappearing once more. I have been on it for several months now, and my periods are now fairly regular. I had been not too regular with the dosage over the last two months, and my cycle was almost 3 weeks late. I attribute that to my not being consistent, since it is the first time in 6 months that it has missed the beat. (Oh, to be human and wanting to NOT have to take any more pills! :)

For facial hair there are two treatments I know of. One is medical - a cream that is placed on the face that retards the hair growth (Vanquia is the name, I think. Is anyone using this? Or know if I got it right?). Means you still have to pluck or shave, but it slows it down. I get concerned because this is another way of masking the problem! Doesn't make it go away at all (although it might be an option to use in the in term). I began using saw palmetto after doing a little research (am now taking about 200mg/day). How I understand the facial hair growth thing is that we have too many (I call them toxic - how scientific :) androgens that get excited and turn into a type of testosterone that causes the hair balding pattern and facial hair growth. Apparently, saw palmetto helps block the conversion of free testosterone in our systems from being able to make any new facial hairs. This is something that I began taking almost a year ago, when I had severe hair loss and was sprouting whiskers. I have found that as of this month, my hair is noticeably thicker (as in more of it) and I definitely have less whiskers. I still have to occasionally pluck, but much less often.

I hope this helps a little. It took a long time to really see results from using these, but for me, it was really worth it, as I have hope again.

If you have more questions (comments) feel free to ask, or send a private email if you prefer. I will get back to questions asked; it just may take a little while. I apologize for the lengthy missive here - thanks for putting up with me ladies!

Leslie

Next message: hf: "Re: pcos&high cholesterol- how much flax seed oil do you take?"
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Maybe in reply to: laurie: "will low carbs alone work? How low to go?"
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