PCOS

[Carina]

I was diagnosed with PCOS a couple months ago. I'm going to get very personal here. Just a warning because I'm really not feeling well and I need some advice and recommendations. I've felt fine during my previous menstruation cycles, but the one that's happening right now has been taking a real toll on me. I get tired very often and I never used to feel tired, I've been breaking out a lot on my face, neck, and back, my mind feels cloudy, I've been having digestion problems that I didn't have before, and I've feeling sick on and off. For the past few weeks I've been in the mood to eat, and my skin is prematurely aging since I'm 23 and I've developed lines on my neck and my smile lines have gotten deeper.

I do eat based on Ray Peat's recommendations, but I know there's something missing supplement-wise or maybe I'm not eating enough of a certain food group or food in general. I'm trying to lose weight as well. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Vida]

Hi @Carina Sorry to hear that you dont feel well, a few questions. How long have you been peating, were you diagnosed with PCOS prior or after peating? How is your thyroid levels? Dairy and sugar intake? Lenght of your cycle?

 

[Carina]

Hi @Carina Sorry to hear that you dont feel well, a few questions. How long have you been peating, were you diagnosed with PCOS prior or after peating? How is your thyroid levels? Dairy and sugar intake? Lenght of your cycle?

I've been peating for about half a year, but I didn't get really serious about it until I was diagnosed. That was when I added liver and carrots into my diet, which really helped me stop bleeding and regulate my period again. I was diagnosed after peating. I don't know my thyroid levels yet, but I'm going to see an endocrinologist in a couple of weeks. I don't eat much sugar, but I've been trying to add more of it into my diet for the past couple of days. I drink 1-2 glasses of milk a day, and I also add milk into my coffee. I don't eat much cheese. I emailed Ray Peat recently and he told me that I need to increase my calcium, salt, and vitamin D intake. The length of my cycle is every 32-35 days.

 

[Ella]

Are you also eating seafoods like oysters and shellfish? Has your cycle always been over 30 days? Are you eating regularly (set times) not all over the shop or skipping meals meals? What about sleep hygiene. Sleeping between 10pm-2 am? PCOS is due to sugar regulation and yes calcium and salt should be optimised. Perhaps an electrolyte solution throughout the day.

Are you exercising heavily???

 

[meatbag]

Here is some info from Peat

"By stimulating the adrenal glands, estrogen can increase the
production of the "male" hormones that are associated with whiskers and
chest hair. [E. C. Ditkoff, et al., "The impact of estrogen on adrenal
androgen sensitivity and secretion in polycystic ovary syndrome," J. Clin.
Endocrinol. Metab. 80(2), 603-607, 1995.] This usually happens when a
progesterone deficiency is combined with an excess of estrogen, as in the
polycystic ovary syndrome and sometimes at menopause in animals,
polycystic ovaries are caused by a deficiency of the thyroid hormone, and
the same regulatory mechanisms seem to operate in women. The
polycystic ovary syndrome is the most common endocrine disorder in
women during the reproductive years, and may occur in 10% of them. [A.
Dunaif, et al., eds. The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Cambridge, MA:
Blackwell Scientific; 1992.]" - RP, PMS to Menopause

"In the polycystic ovary syndrome, an excess of estrogen
stimulates the adrenal glands to produce a large amount of the androgenic
steroids, probably to balance estrogen in the way progesterone does when
the ovaries are functioning properly. These anabolic/androgenic
hormones apparently have some of the good effects of progesterone, such
as reducing the incidence of cancer, but many women are disturbed by the
increased growth of body and facial hair; facial features also tend to be
masculinized. In France, progesterone lotions have been in use for several
years for reversing some of these effects of the adrenal hormones, and for
balancing estrogen." - RP, PMS to Menopause

"The conversion of 16-hydroxy
androstenedione and 16-hydroxy-DHEA into estriol by the placenta
(Vega Ramos, 1973) would also cause fetal exhaustion or death to result
in lower estriol production. But a recent observation that a surge of
estriol production precedes the onset of labor, and that its premature
occurrence can identify women at risk of premature delivery (McGregor,
et al., 1995) suggests that the estriol surge might reflect the mother's
increased production of adrenal androgens during stress. (This would be
analogous to the situation in the polycystic ovary syndrome, in which
excessive estradiol drives the adrenals to produce androgens.)"
Ditkoff, E. C., et al., "The impact of estrogen on adrenal androgen sensitivity and secretion
in polycystic ovary syndrome," J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 80(2), 603-607, 1995." - RP, PMS to Menopause


"One injection of estrogen can induce a large increase in the number of sympathetic nerves in the ovaries. At menopause, a similar “invasion” of sympathetic nerves occurs. The polycystic ovary (which is even more common after menopause than before, and some studies have found the condition in 20% of premenopausal women) responds to estrogen by producing nerve growth factor(s), and growing a large number of new sympathetic nerves. Although the hyperestrogenism associated with the polycystic ovary syndrome has many harmful effects, the invasion of the ovary by adrenergic nerves apparently protects it from the development of cancer.

Parasympathetic nerves, pituitary hormones and mast cells activate the ovaries. The number of mast cells in the ovaries is increased by the pituitary hormones (including the thyroid stimulating hormone), and by estrogen (Jaiswal and Krishna, 1996). Estrogen is the most potent of these hormones in causing the cells to release histamine. The overgrowth of the sympathetic nerves in the polycystic ovary causes the number and activity of mast cells to decrease, possibly as a protective adaptation against excessive stimulation from the many pro-inflammatory factors. The mast cells are needed for the follicles to rupture, so their suppression prevents ovulation."
- Autonomic systems

" “Similarly patients with polycystic ovary disease, hyperthecosis and lipoid cell tumors of the ovary demonstrate androgen excess with extraglandular conversion to estrone (2). 4. It has become apparent that the principal estrogen in the postmenopausal patient is estrone and that the estrone-estradiol ratio in the serum is higher in postmenopausal women with corpus cancer than similar patients without cancer (135).” “5. With the lack of ovarian estrogen there is a relative excess of adrenal testosterone, dihydrotestosterone and delta4 androstenedione, the available precursors of extraglandular estrone"
- Obstet Gynecol Surv 1977 May;32(5):267-81. Estrogen and endometrial carcinoma. Knab DR.

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Functional Performance Systems also has a good page on the association between estrogen and PCOS;

Estrogen and PCOS
Quotes by Ray Peat, PhD:
“Besides providing new insights into biological energy and aging, the recognition that estrogen activates the stress hormone system–the pituitary-adrenal system–also provides clear insights into other problems, such as the polycystic ovary syndrome, hirsutism, adrenal hyperplasia, Cushing’s disease, etc.”


“If your thyroid is working efficiently, your pituitary doesn’t have much to do and you’re not likely to get a pituitary tumor, your adrenals don’t have much to do, and your ovaries don’t get over stimulated. The other glands have an easy job when your thyroid is working right. If your thyroid gets interfered with, you have to rev up your adrenals and your pituitary becomes commander in chief and tells everyone what to do.”


“PCOS can be produced in animals by removing the thyroid gland. The inability of ovaries to make progesterone without thyroid causes the adrenals to be overstimulated, and they are the source of increased DHEA and other androgens and estrogen.”

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Also check out this podcast with Danny Roddy and haidut;

 

[meatbag]

I've been having digestion problems that I didn't have before

Also check out this study from Danny Roddy about the link between PCOS and digestion issues;

Danny Roddy on Twitter

"Women with PCOS have a higher prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) compared to healthy controls." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19697132

Also these;

"Women with PCOS particularly those with insulin resistance present a significantly decreased basal metabolic rate." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18678372
"Excessive estradiol secretion in polycystic ovarian disease."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8238188