PCOS-DIET Messages for September, 2003: Re: I cured my PCOS! CURE?? hold up! TO JO!

Re: I cured my PCOS! CURE?? hold up! TO JO!

From: Claire (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon, 1 Sep 2003 07:51:29 -0500 (CDT)

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At Tue, 19 Aug 2003, anonymous wrote: >
>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

-- Hi there!

According to Webster's dictionary: CURE: a means of healing or restoring to health; remedy; a means of correcting or relieving anything troublesome or detrimental.

PCOS must be one of the most emotional disorders you can get, and I'm very keen to help anybody that I can. I call my way of getting rid of PCOS a cure, apparently this caused a bit of controversy. I recieved a wonderful response from many people on the forum and I think it's great that so many people are taking the time to question and investigate alternative options to their healing process.

Let's not worry about definitions shall we? The fact is, all my symptoms have disappeared and I'm not on any medication. I will admit that this course of action is a lifetime commitment, but it's worth it! It's a very healthful way to live.

I believe from all my research that the cause of PCOS is insulin resistance and from a bad definition of what. healthy eating is. I believe you remove the cause of PCOS by eliminating the excess insulin in your blood. If you would like to call this a cure or a reversal of the condition or whatever you like - i'm not fussed. The point is I no longer have PCOS.

If i went back to eating a fat-free and high carb diet, given my insulin sensitivity, I would not argure that I might experience problems again. I believe very strongly that if you have an insulin problem, a low carb diet is essential.

Anyway, I wish everybody the best of luck in whichever method they choose to deal with PCOS. And whether you are cured or (for for politically-correct's sake)perhaps if your symptoms just go away, I hope that I helped most of you!

Best wishes,

Claire

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