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[Kathleen]

Hello ladies

I've been wanting to post about this topic for a few days but I wasn't sure if it was relevant. I've decided to give it a go and see what you all think.

I was looking on the YouTube channel of Mic the Vegan and watched a video he did about how a plant based diet has helped women suffering from PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). It occurred to me that young women with this condition have similar issues to some of us meno ladies. For example acne and hair loss is common along with mood changes and depression.  It seems that being overweight is a factor in PCOS but is not always the cause but large amounts of testosterone and lower than normal oestrogen are a feature meaning periods stop. Mic also mentioned that PCOS sufferers have a high level of Sex Binding Globulin Hormone and I know the role of this hormone has been discussed in relation to the menopause.

I don't have any great insights  but I thought some of you might want to look at Mic's video and see what you think? Could the information about managing PCOS also apply to us meno ladies?

I look forward to reading any comments and I wish you all well.

K.

[Viwi]

Kathelen - I will not agree.
I had PCOS for 22 years and it didn't always looked so bad. I didn't had mood swings - more like sometimes I was really pissed that the pain don't want to go away,  like "why it's me!?" but it was more from helplessness than mood swings. About acne... I had this problem only in winter when air was too dry and my diet was more fatty. Depresion... as I said before - it's not from hormonal problems as from feeling helpless. Beeing unable to conceive or unable to keep pregnancy - can make a purre from your brain. A friend of mine also have PCOS and she is vegetarian - she had exactly this same problems like me - even thou her diet was totaly diffrent from mine.
In my case PCOS was a result of my broken immunology system. I could conceive without any problems - even when I had huge cysts, but I couldnt keep my pregnancies. My friend - oposite - she couldn't conceive but she never lost her baby. I had huge cysts - she don't. I had polips on cervix but she got a cervix cancer. I had horrible heavy bleedings with 21 days cycles - she had normal 28 cycles with 3 days normal bleeding.
Putting this all together - every single woman is totaly diffrent - having this same health problems don't mean that they are similar or one thing will help them all. About Sex Binding Globulin Hormone - I always had rather low lvl of those hormones That is why now when I'm using patches "50" - they are too strong for me - but my GP is strict that 50 will help to protect me from osteoporosis so I'm not arguing much
 - Could the information about managing PCOS also apply to us meno ladies?
Yes - rules like - eat healthy, excersise, pay attention to your health and do everything what you can to be healthy - applies to every human beeing - regardless their condition
J.

[Saffy]

I thought PCOS is due, in most cases, to insulin resistance and is usually associated with low SHBG. Don't know where Mic got his information  . Insulin resistance is what generally causes the weight gain and the PCOS rather than the weight gain causing the PCOS. In menopausal women, low oestrogen levels also predispose to insulin resistance hence the weight gain.

[Viwi]

I heard about insulin resistance that is common for PCOS, but personaly I don't know even one girl with PCOS and weight problem True - sometimes hormonal pills to treat PCOS can create weight gain but not PCOS itself
Well - another point on list "why you shouldn't belive in everything that you find in the internet"

[Saffy]

That's what makes insulin resistance so insidious - many people don't appear to be overweight, particularly in the early stages - the classic TOFI, thin on the outside, fat on the inside scenario. I remember reading that Prof Tim Noakes, an eminent sport scientist, didn't develop type 2 diabetes (as shown by his glucose readings/HBA1C) until his sixties but discovered that his insulin resistance had showed up in some student studies he'd participated in when he was in his late twenties  . He remained slim most of his life, only starting to gain a little weight in his 50s.

[Donnadoobie]

My daughter has PCOS and is on the pill to control very heavy bleeding, flooding, must like when I was peri menopausal.  She has gained lots of weight since being diagnosed and it shifts very slowly.

I was almost diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 5 years ago and have been in a low carb diet ever since.  I was insulin resistant for many years, I have discovered, and have shed 3 stone following this way of eating and have almost normal blood sugar levels ( just tipping into pre diabetes).

These conditions, I have since learned are part of the umbrella of ‘metabolic Syndrome', and are probably the cause if my high blood pressure diagnosis at 23, when I was a tiny dancer/gymnast!

Anyway.  My daughter loses more when following a low carb diet, which helps insulin resistance but her main problem will be when she tries to conceive.  Infertility or difficulty conceiving is common, as is miscarriage.  It is a very difficult thing for a young woman to live with.  She has had it for 8 years and is still only 25.  It makes her quite angry with life sometimes.

[Viwi]

Donna - I feel sorry for your daughter - I felt like that many times - why me?! I had great ginekologist in Poland and he helped me with keeping my pregnancies safe - I have 2 girls - but he told me when I was 15 - the sooner the better - I was 22 with older one and 24 with younger. As with PCOS the older you get - it will be only worser. Well - I'm 33 and I will never have this problem again - but the cost... I'm not saying it wasn't worth it, but menopause at 32...

Low carbon diet is good but with this diet woman should have regular blood tests. Sadly for me it's not helping