|
Re: I cured my PCOS! CURE?? hold up! TO JO!
From: anonymous (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Tue, 19 Aug 2003 19:30:53 -0500 (CDT)
Look up the definition for cure. I was a healthy eater and very active
and slender when I started getting symptoms..and there are skinny women
who eat well with it as well....
At Wed, 13 Aug 2003, Jo wrote:
>
>Wjy wouldn't it be a cure. I'd be willing to bet that a large reason
>for this disorder is lifestyle to begin with..too much junk food and not
>enough excersize as kids. I got pregnant with this disorder once, after
>a major, unintentional lifestyle change. I was healthy for six months,
>totally eating right and physically fit, when I came back to the
>civilized world, back to all the bad habbits, boom, back came the
>syndrome. The syndrome is not a natural state, the healthy diet and
>excersize are. For most people. I'm sure there are cases severe enough
>to really need to relly on the medication. For me, i am trying to get
>back to healthy eating and kick long term med use.
>At Tue, 12 Aug 2003, anonymous wrote:
>>
>>First of all..there is no known cure for PCOS...I am very happy that you
>>have done what you have, but a cure would mean a permanent solution ...
>>where as: if you went off the diet and stopped your supplements and
>>exercise..you would probably still have the PCOS (and the symptoms would
>>return). So we need to be careful when saying cure. It sounds like you
>>have found a good way to CONTROL the PCOS (as long as you keep up what
>>you are doing you would have a PERMANENT CONTROL OVER your symptoms),
>>and that is wonderful..and it offers alot of hope for other women out
>>there struggling, but like I said..there is no known CURE.
>>
>>At Mon, 4 Aug 2003, Claire wrote:
>>>
>>>To anyone interested in curing their PCOS and insulin resistance,
>>>
>>>A little background on me
>>>
>>>My name is Claire Oosthuizen, I am twenty years old and I am currently a
>>>student at Rhodes University in South Africa. I understand that a huge
>>>percentage of the American population has PCOS (I believe about 10
>>>percent of women), but only a tiny percentage of people are ever cured.
>>>Hopefully, reading this will inspire women with this disorder to take
>>>their health into their own hands. I am proud to say that I USED to
>>>have Polyciystic Ovary Syndrome. Today, my hormones are completely
>>>normal, I am ovulating normally, my weight is normal (although I would
>>>still like to lose a bit more), my skin isn’t perfect but I’m only
>>>twenty and it’s a huge improvement on what my skin used to look like!
>>>
>>>Two years ago, I was overweight, I had terrible acne - the crater
>>>causing kind on my cheeks that usually only boys get- and I started to
>>>notice an increase in facial and body hair. (You are supposed to be at
>>>least somebody’s mother before you have to worry about hairs on your
>>>chinny-chin-chin!) I went to my GP to speak to him about referring me to
>>>a dermatologist about my skin. I thought the weight was just due to my
>>>lack of will power, and the extra hair was just due to an unfair serving
>>>of bad genes! My GP was clever enough to perform the correct tests and
>>>sent me off to a Gynecologist who diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovary
>>>Syndrome (PCOS) and Insulin resistance (which is apparently the main
>>>cause of PCOS).
>>>
>>>I was put onto a contraceptive pill (Diane-35 and Androcure) to treat
>>>the PCOS as well as Metformin to treat the Insulin Resistance, however,
>>>my understanding of these medicines is that they subdue the symptoms of
>>>the disorder so that no more damage is done to the ovaries, but as soon
>>>as you come off these medicines you are back to square one: the symptoms
>>>reappear! So for me this solution was not a treatment, it was a way to
>>>protect my ovaries while we tried to find a cure. By “we” I mean mainly
>>>my mother who tirelessly searched the Internet for possible cures.
>>>
>>>The only case studies we found where the women successfully began
>>>ovulating again, were where the drugs were kicked out the window and
>>>huge lifestyle changes were made. I found one diet that was formulated
>>>by a gynecologist that consisted of eating plenty of phytoestrins such
>>>as soya and chickpeas as well as a whole concoction of herbs and
>>>supplements. But the main course of action that seems to be successful
>>>is converting to a low carbohydrate diet! Simple as that!
>>>
>>>I had read over and over that a low carbohydrate diet was the way to go!
>>>I resisted this option for months as I love my bread and rice and
>>>deserts and chocolate etc. I was also concerned about picking up weight
>>>if I ever went off the diet. Dr. Leslie Pleass, an Osteopath and
>>>Naturopath in Johannesburg, who I admire very much, advised me to avoid
>>>carbohydrates and prescribed various supplements. Eventually, the fears
>>>of possibly never having children kicked me into action. The decision
>>>to eat that way is big because it means that this is how you’ll eat for
>>>the rest of your life, it is not a quick fix, but it works. So I
>>>weighed up all my options: I could either be fat, pimply, hairy, have
>>>heart disease, thrombosis, eventual diabetes, infertility (the list goes
>>>on) while taking strong drugs every day, or I could give up
>>>carbohydrates! So I gave up carbohydrates and it’s really a lovely way
>>>to eat – very luxurious! Even if you love all of those unhealthy breads
>>>and deserts, trust me you get used to anything!
>>>
>>>Here is what I did to cure myself step-by-step:
>>>
>>>- I don’t think that being on the Pill for a short period is a bad idea
>>>as it is a quick way to fix acne, hirsutism, as well as protect your
>>>ovaries until your hormones are correct – as long as when you come off
>>>the Pill you are already doing the right thing so you don’t
>>>backtrack!!!!! I was on the Pill for about a year but I came off
>>>Metformin very quickly since it made me feel terrible and I don’t
>>>believe it is a cure anyway.
>>>
>>>- When I came off the Pill I started to take natural progesterone for
>>>two weeks out of the month - I stopped this after six months.
>>>
>>>- I took a range of supplements, here is a list: GTF chromium, zinc,
>>>calcium, magnesium, selenium, essential fatty acids, vitamin C and E,
>>>vitamin B comlex and Alpha lipoic-acid (I found that I felt best on
>>>FoodStateTM products). I also took a herb called Milk Thistle to aid
>>>liver function as the liver needs to get rid of all old hormones
>>>effectively.
>>>
>>>- I react badly to stress and I’m no doctor but I’m sure I gave myself a
>>>cyst from stress once. One thing I know is that your body can’t heal
>>>itself properly if you are very stressed – the best way to put natural
>>>sedatives into your body is via endorphins i.e. exercise is very
>>>important!
>>>
>>>- I had my amino acids checked out and I was found to be hugely lacking
>>>in fifteen out of twenty of the essential amino acids. The doctor who
>>>interpreted my results said that I couldn’t possibly be producing proper
>>>insulin which is a protein and that my body was probably producing a
>>>“pseudo-insulin” which is why it couldn’t be recognized by my cells and
>>>hence the insulin resistance. A possible cause of the whole mess?
>>>Anyway I also took an amino acid replacement supplement.
>>>
>>>- But the main thing that I did was follow the Dr. Atkins low
>>>carbohydrate diet and I’m positive that even if you didn’t do all the
>>>other things I did this would do the trick!
>>>
>>>My two cents about Low Fat diets
>>>
>>>It makes so much sense to me that a high carbohydrate/low fat diet is so
>>>dangerous! If you think about the whole hunter-gatherer theory, our
>>>bodies have evolved to deal with foods you can find on the ground or
>>>things that you could hunt so theoretically, we should only eat
>>>vegetables and meat. Processed, massed produced food is a relatively
>>>new concept. It is only recently that most people believe that
>>>overloading your body with sugar (via fat free bread and pasta and rice
>>>etc.) is healthy is it also recently that diabetes and insulin
>>>resistance and such have reached epidemic proportions, coincidence?
>>>Also, your cells need fats and oils to survive and in particular, you
>>>need to have plenty of good oils to produce hormones. If you have a
>>>hormone imbalance and you are following a low fat diet , from what I’ve
>>>learned this is a really bad idea! Again, I’m no doctor and any
>>>academics would find many gaps in my research, this is all just my two
>>>cents worth!
>>>
>>>Conclusion
>>>
>>>I have no medical qualifications and I all I know is what I have read
>>>and experienced, however, I have cured myself from PCOS and insulin
>>>resistance and as far as I’m concerned I deserve a medal! After I
>>>converted to the Dr. Atkins diet my hormones were completely normal
>>>after four months! I wish I could have been cured earlier so that I
>>>could address this to Dr. Atkins himself to tell him how grateful I am,
>>>I was very grieved to find out about his death – he was a truly great
>>>man and I owe my life to him!
>>>
>>>Good luck!!
>>>
>>>Regards,
>>>Claire Oosthuizen
|
|
![[ PCOS Discussion Forums ]](../../images/pcos_at_obgyn.gif)