Facts about PCOS Written by Kirsty Chaisiri-Clark
I first met Kirsty at an essential oils workshop and was so impressed with her knowledge and the research she had undertaken as part of her journey with PCOS. I admire you Kirsty for looking outside the square, questioning everything and listening to your body. You a truly inspiring and so ready to share your wisdom. I hope lots of other women reading your article with find answers and explore natural options that they haven’t ever considered or didn’t know were available to them. You will touch lives and create a difference. You are amazing! You are a living example of how persistence, gaining a second opinion and looking after yourself will lead to results and joy! Tahlia xo
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Facts about PCOS!
Just diagnosed with PCOS? Struggling with your PCOS? Need help to understand the condition? Lets keep the facts about PCOS brief so I don’t bore you to death!
What is PCOS
Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a condition in which your hormone balance is disrupted in your body affecting various aspects of your life and putting you at risk of Insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure amongst other conditions.
Diagnosis
The only reliable way to diagnose PCOS is having the two below diagnosis tests, ultrasound to view the ovaries for cysts and a blood test. The two combined help to show your gp if you have PCOS. So what’s caused my PCOS?
Cause
PCOS is caused by hormones disruption in the body additional resources. This is because testosterone levels which are known as male hormones are high and estrogen and progesterone levels are low. The reason that the estrogen and progesterone are low is because the testosterone being high put the female hormone out of balance and your body doesn’t know how to correct it so it becomes sluggish and then affects your metabolism and pituitary gland.
Other common causes are:
- Genetics (only comes down genetically from the maternal side)
- Inadequate levels of physical activity (exercise)
- High insulin levels
- Thyroid disorders
- Daily use or exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals
- Not being within the appropriate weight range, underweight, overweight or obese
So what are the symptoms?
Symptoms
Depression and anxiety, fatigue, hirsutism, dandruff and oily skin, Irregular periods or absent periods, acne, trouble conceiving, low sex drive. So how do I treat this condition?
Treatment
In terms of treatment it all depends on what you are trying to achieve however at the forefront of this should always be how can I improve my health not just put it on hold.
When I say not just put it on hold i am referring to really taking a look at your diet and lifestyle changes you could make to be more healthy. If you are not trying to conceive then the GP may request you go on the birth control pill to correct the hormones, the problem with this is its a band aid solution and only masks the symptoms which in turn could be damaging your health and you don’t realise.
If you feel you are in a position to think about starting a family request your GP to complete a AMH (anti mullarien hormone) blood test pathology form for you so you can investigate how your egg supply level is for your age and then evaluate what’s important to you.
If you are trying to start a family… first of all reduce your stress levels!
PCOS is know to be the number one cause of infertility for women. This does NOT mean you cannot have a baby and the family you want!
Reduce your stress levels and maintain this whilst trying and when stressed cortisol levels increase which disrupt the hormone levels growing as they should. Look into something like meditation, reading, yoga. Anything that can keep you calm and centred.
Another important fact about PCOS is to take a look at your diet, you really want to be eating healthy fats each day and eating high protein fish twice a week minimum salmon is perfect. Ensure you cut out bad fats, sugary food and processed foods. Add in plenty of fresh fruit and vegetable but ensure they are low GI.
Stone fruit or berries, kiwi fruit are low in fructose and an excellent choice, avoid bananas. Broccoli daily is great because broccoli sprout is great for rebalancing hormones. Kiwi fruit I recommend because it can help egg health. Also look into chromium which is known to curb sugar cravings.
Vitex or chasteberry is a herb that is known to regulate your cycle and help to promote proper progesterone levels. You can take up to 4000mg a day.
Look into cinnamon as much as half a tsp per day is known to boost your metabolism promoting you metabolism to Kickstart and assist your body to work faster to correct the issues with your hormones.
Facts about PCOS – Alternative therapies
Some people feel that acupuncture or reflexology help, something that is often overlooked is fertility massage. This can be done at a few select chiropractors or remedial massage places in Perth. You can complete this yourself though, google or you tube to view video on how to do it correctly as its fantastic at promoting blood circulation to the uterus.
If you do try fertility massage you may want to use clary sage essential oil with some carrier oil, the reason behind this is clary sage contains vitex, which will assist the correct hormones to balance and when placing pressure at the same time may make your fertility massage more successful.
Facts about PCOS – Why is the health system failing us?
To much emphasis is placed on western medicine. The short term sure it can help but long term its a big no no for your health. I.e. the doctor will advice you to go on the pill to control your PCOS if you are not trying to conceive as they will want to ensure you are having regular periods to avoid the lining of your uterus building and leading to cancer. NOW WOW lets stop a minute! Sure cancer is dangerous however if you control your health with lifestyle changes and taking some Chinese medicines or naturopathic medicines you can promote you body to regulate itself.
If your trying to conceive people often see a fertility specialist who will recommend you take clomid to induce ovulation. BIG side effect! Clomid can dry up your cervical mucous, you don’t want this at ovulation as it defeats the purpose of what your trying to do. More often than not clomid doesn’t work and after a few cycles you are referred to iui or ivf which can be scary as hell…. its over rated and not often needed.
Try naturally and if after 6 months you don’t have any luck go and see a naturopath, give the herbs at least a minimum of 3 months to get into your system. Keep in regular contact with your naturopath as the treatment may need to be adapted over time.
What essential oils can help us?
ClaryClam is a perfect essential oil to help boost your hormones. Geranium also has some excellent benefits to promoting fertility however I am a firm believer in less is more until you find what works for you. Start with one essential oil first and use it over a month allow yourself to feel the benefits or find the side effects to it that help you view that’s not the right oil for you.
As a base I would always start with ClaryCalm because of the fact it contains vitex. Vitex is the strongest herb in the form of an oil at this stage, with proven results its definitely one that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Do you research, yes google is sometimes called Dr google however there is a lot of relevant information available online about the benefits of each individual essential oil.
Facts about PCOS – **Caution**
Fertility massage should be started the day after the bleeding of your period has completely stopped and fertility massage should be stopped the day of ovulation.
Some research advises that vitex can cause birth defects if taken during the two week wait. Vitex is perfectly safe to use if you use it from day 2 of your cycle and stop the day of ovulation.
What Steps to take:
- Look at your lifestyle choices. Are you getting 8 hours of sleep each night? Are you exercising? If not add 30 minutes in each day. Are you getting out and about enough each day?
- FOOD. What is your diet like? Cut out the sugar, gluten, processed food, and limit dairy.
- Water intake. Are you drinking a minimum of 2 litres a day?
Where to now?
Stand your feet flat on the ground and make the choices you need to, to make your health better for yourself!
Kirsty xo