Polycystic Ovaries

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

Dopers, I need your help. My very best friend in the world is dealing with polycystic ovaries and having a very tough time.

I don’t know the whole medical story, but it includes:
[ul]
[li]Not having her system produce enough estrogen and the problems that causes for a woman[/li][li]Trouble with the medications the doctor put her on (birth control - giving her migraines. Doctor took her off cause she was afraid it would give her a stroke - something showed up on the MRI during one of her migraines). She was also taking something called spyronolachtone (sp), which I guess the extremely dangerous if you get pregant (hence the BCs)[/li][li]The related emotional upheavals via hormonal imbalances for an already fragile ego [/ul][/li]
She’s only 30 years old and would like to have kids someday and surgery isn’t really any option…yet, but she’d rather avoid that. Has anyone had experience with this and, specifically, any of the natural products (soy isoflavones, wild yam) that might help? She is not going to drop any of her doctor’s recommendations but wanted to know of other alternatives that might not be as toxic or dangerous to her system as the chemicals that Western medicine generally prescribe. I’m going to do a Google search, but wanted to hear something from the horse’s mouth.

Mods, if this is in the wrong forum, I apologize. It’s not really a GQ since I’m looking for opinions and personal experience, but then again…maybe it is. Move it, please, if you think it’d be better somewhere else! Thanks!

#2

try this web site

Web site: http://www.pcosupport.org/

good luck

Qadgop, MD

#3

There are definately some of us here. This thread will point you the way to several of us, and our experiences.

#4

Thanks to you both! Q, I checked out the site and printed some stuff off for her and Lsura, I’ve printed off that entire thread for her. Maybe it’ll give her some encouragement that others are going through it too!

Thanks again.

#5

Hi BunnyGirl,

You should have her check in with Phouka to get on our email list. We aren’t terribly active, but it’s nice to know everybody is an email away if we have a question or story.

As far as non-medical things you can do for PCO, low carbing and regular exercise will do her a world of good.

And BG, if she’s shy and doesn’t want to get involved with us, please feel free to email me if you have any questions about it.

#6

My wife has this condition, which for her manifests in infertility, weight gain, and unwanted body hair.

Since our biggest obstacle was the infertility, we concentrated on that. She first had a capsule punture, where basically the doctor poked holes in the covering of the ovaries. Didn’t work. Then we went to a RE, who put us on a $1000/month drug regemin to get her to ovulate. It worked the second month, but my sperm (put in via IUI) didn’t make a baby.

Then we took a break until my insurance at my new job was straightened out. But before that happened, we conceived naturally. :):):):):slight_smile:

My wife – still nursing – doesn’t want to start on any drug treatment for her PCOS. One treatment is glucophage, because one of the symptoms or causes (the causality is still in question) is insulin resistance. This resistance means her body makes more insulin to act on the sugar in her system. Then this excess insulin ends up making her store too much fat as well as produce excess testostrogen, which gives her the excess body hair.

Maybe once we’ve had our second child she’ll go to agressive treatments for her PCOS.

#7

AWB, you should have your wife check into Actos instead of Glucophage when she’s ready. It hasn’t gotten as much press, but it has none of the nasty side effects that come with Glucophage or Rezulin. I’ve been on it for about 6 months now and am really happy with it. When I was on Glucophage I lost a lot of weight, but it was because I had diarrhea every hour on the hour 5 days out of 7, and from what I’ve heard my experience was fairly average.

Congrats on the kid! It is good to know that it is possible.

#8

Thanks, you guys! I appreciate all the info. I highlighted the web addresses and email stuff in that thread that Lsura had me check out and I’m going to be sending her a bunch of web info along with the thread this week.