List everything you are doing/taking to help your PCOS

Suzanne74 · 04-22-2008, 11:04 AM

I am fairly new here. I am currently on Met but are starting to looking into other ideas/herbs/medicines to help treat my PCOS. I am very curious what other people here are taking and if you think it really works. I am also curious if there are things in the past you have tried and didn't seem to work at all.

So please list it all here:

WORKS:
meds and amount you take
any herbs and/or supplements taken and amount you take
any food changes (besides the basic decrease in bad carbs)
any alternative non-pill changes (meditation, accupuncture, etc...)

DOESN'T WORK:
meds, herbs, and/or supplements that didn't seem to work
Why (too harsh of side effects, didn't give desired effect, etc...)
anything alternative that was also seem to be a waste of time
food changes that did not agree with you

Thanks so much. This forum is great!

avenue · 04-23-2008, 05:00 AM

Okay so although I am not perfect my Dr said a few days ago that I O'd this cycle and have perfect ovaries (yay!). They used to be enlarged and cystic. Heres a few things I added to my regimen in the last couple months, Im not sure which worked so Im just staying on them all.

What worked for me:
-metfomin 1000mg/day &synthroid 25 mg (I have a subclinical thyroid problem)
-Red raspberry leaf 2 times a day
-Minerals, prenatal vitamins
-A herbal capsule containing (soy, burdock, black cohosh, vitex, wild yam)
-Basically just stopped eating the bad carbs
-I started drinking a lot more teas containing spearmint/greentea. I drink like 5 cups a day.
-I also tried my crazy theory. I posted it earlier, about how in my nursing endocrinology section I learned that melatonin supresses LH and melatonin is released when its dark. My Lh was high, many pcos'ers are that way. So I stopped taking naps and started a more regular sleeping cycle. Also tried to get light during the day and dark during the night.
-Excersising 3 times a week for 30 minutes.
-Spironolactone (I used to be on it) and its great for excess hair, oily skin, thinning hair, high androgens. But can cause deformities if your ttc.

The only things I can think of that were a waste are:
-NPC. For me in one cycle it didnt work how I thought it would, but it also made other things work better. AKA I didnt get a period after stopping it but I did O after stopping it. Maybe coincidental? So it wasnt a waste at all really, just different. Im sure I would use it when I become pregnant, but not until then

-Parsley tea. It didnt bring on AF, but maybe AF wasnt ready to come
-Opks. One brand didnt work for me, another did. Its almost better to choose better known brands.

Ok now heres the weirdest part!!! I dont know if this is connected but on March 6th I had an infection and took tylenol 2s with codeine, next day I was spotting. A few days ago I had a tooth ache so I took a Tylenol 2 with codeine. Next day I got AF. anyone hear of this??

beekerbutt · 04-23-2008, 05:41 AM

I worked up to 1500mg of Met over several months. I quit at 12 weeks pregnant and haven't gone back yet. My son is only 4 months.

I also did the low gi (glycemic index) diet and about a 30-40 minute walk 5 days a week. I ate peanut m&m's and had chocolate milk just about every day while on the diet and allowed small "cheats" throughout the week. I lost 40 pounds and got pregnant in less than 4 months.

Good luck!

Happy2006 · 04-29-2008, 12:44 AM

I am new here, but wanted to post - because I have had such tremendous results in a "cure" of so many of my problems - and due mainly to my ability to switch to a different physician - who suggested Aldactone to me in the first place.

I was VERY skeptical to try it, because it seemed quite honestly to be too simple of a cure - but I have been so happy with my results.

I used to have to shave very dense dark thick hair from my upper lip and chin (two or three times a day), and it was starting to grow on the front of my neck... when I met my new doctor. She listened to my symptoms which included... shrinking breast size over the years, as well as the facial hair (which was only slightly decreased by very expensive laser hair removal treatments over a six months span of time)... I also had very large painful cyst type things that would come up on my scalp, my back, everywhere - and my periods were so very painful - and the flow would be so heavy that i would not be able to leave the bathroom for a two hour span of time some months. I used to take many many many prescriptions for the pain, and when doctors didn't believe me and i lost the ability to get codeine type medicine, I'd take 4 -6 aleve pills and still not get enough pain relief, I'd sit with a heating pain pressed to my abdomen for hours - the skin would burn before the cramping would stop.... after my new doctor started me on the aldactone - and monitored my levels of testosterone... so many wonderful things started happening. I was able to go 24 hours and only shave once... it got better and better, so now I'm able to go for 2 and 3 days and only pluck a few tiny light colored hairs from my upper lip and ... the chin hair has virtually stopped... there is only a hair or two on my neck that continues to spring up. I am in heaven. The cysts have stopped, the cramping has stopped the heavy bleeding has stopped. I feel like a normal person... My breasts even feel a bit more like they used to a few years ago before they started shrinking. The other thing I noticed recently is that my receding hairline - isn't receding any more - I used to have very thin hair at both side of my head... as of my last hair appointment, my stylist noticed that i have all these "baby" hairs growing in at my temples ... where I used to have hair a long time ago - but it's been slowly but surely disappearing.

Hormones seem to be a very powerful thing and I'm so amazed at what the high testosterone levels were doing to me - if my other doctors had only been more interested in helping me - I might not have had to go through all the misery I've gone through over the years fighting with all these symptoms.
I'd encourage ANYone to go ahead and give this drug a long trial of at least six months - in order to see how your body handles it - the best bet is to start slowly like 25 mg and work your way up to 100 mg... and the dosages can go higher if necessary - everyone's body is different in how it responds to the testosterone.

Good Luck to everyone... hopefully my experience can help someone else to see what benefit could possibly be out there for them!

lynaeducky · 04-29-2008, 01:52 AM

i take 3 different kinds of vitamins-fenugreek, black cohosh and a multivitamin everyday
my kidneys are doing bad so i can't take any medication for pain so the vitamins help me
i also have prescription acne medication that i wash my face with and a cream that i put on at night
i recently quit jenny craig and lost 40 pounds it's really good because i felt so accountable and had to go every week
i really like using natural vitamins to help my pcos i feel better when i have cramps that are really bad i switch from a heating pad to and ice pack and sleep is very important for pcos

yentl22 · 04-30-2008, 11:53 PM

what low GI diet is there?

beekerbutt · 05-01-2008, 04:45 AM

My nurse practitioner that diagnosed PCOS suggested the Glycemic Index diet. She told me to eat things with a low gi rating of under 50. You would have to look up the glycemic index to understand it. Basically, more natural foods, whole grains, proteins, fruits and veggies. They are tested and given a rating according to how fast and how high they make your blood sugar go. It's hard to explain here. It has worked for me!

NYER · 05-02-2008, 10:31 PM

Works:

Spearmint/peppermint tea for 5 days (follicular phase)
Saw Palmetto till ovulation
Maca till ovulation then 3dpo

I was also on Hyponidd for 2 mos. (previously on Met). I had pre-diabetes, and after being on hyponidd, my blood sugar swung the other way (hypo).
So now I'm on L-carntine (Acetyl) and it keeps my glucose up, and really helps with insulin resistance. Diet was doing nothing for me to avoid highs & lows in regard to blood sugar. Not even cutting out most carbs.

Which just goes to show, what works for me & others, may not work for you & visa versa! It takes alot of trial and error.

Also getting my body PH balanced (right now with organic Black Cherry jce.) seems to reduce my hirtuism when I'm not taking the saw palmetto. I wasn't doing it for PCO, but for autoimmune issues. Happened to be a side benefit.

And can't forget NPC, and lunatherapy. Cutting out the lights at night was the main thing that got my cycles back to normal again. My LP has been longer than ever, and higher temps than I've ever had. Extremely stable temps too.

What didn't work for ME:
Soy
Cinnamon/turmeric/any bitter herb - lowers my blood sugar too much.
But bitter herbs (like bitter melon which is in hyponidd) are definately potent stuff & can really help with PCO. I just get strange reactions to things.

mcp16 · 06-07-2008, 11:20 PM

Flutamide worked great for my hair loss. Finasteride (propecia) worked great for my hair loss. You have to be pre-menopausal for finasteride to work though.

mutantfrog · 10-10-2008, 09:37 AM

Works:
1000mg metformin 2x day
.5mg propecia--I was told that with hormones, it can take up to 3mo before you really start seeing results. This was true for me with propecia. Acne cleared up overnight and has mostly stayed gone. My hair has started getting thick enough that I can grow my hair back out (I cut it pixie short when I coudl start to see the shape of my skull through my hair).
BCP--I've been taking Yasmin for about 6 years now. It's the only pill that didn't make my skin go nuts.
I actually eat more carbs now than I did before taking the metformin--have lost about 35lbs in 10mo! I have found that cutting calories and staying away from the pasta and white bread have been the 2 biggest helpful diet changes.
I exercise (and have always exercised) about 6-7 hours a week. Some yoga, some weight lifting and a lot of cardio.
Have taken steps to control my sleep problem. Used to take ambien till it lost effectiveness...tried several other meds but now take modafinil and melatonin (just started on that this week).

DOESN'T WORK:
High protein just made me gain weight. I think (IMO, for me, YMMV) it comes down mostly to calorie count. I shoot for about 1500-1600 a day.
Spironolactone at 25mg and 50mg was GREAT for my skin. Unfortunately, it made me bleed constantly. I was on it for 3mo (DR said I needed that much time to see if it really worked) and bled the entire time. Not spotting, but bleeding. Felt PMS-ish the entire time, too. I also have low blood pressure, and just that minute amount of spiro made it difficult for me to get up stairs, workout, etc.

Hope this helps.