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I haven’t officially been diagnosed with PCOS, but I have been dealing with several of the symptoms for the past few years, mainly excess facial hair and irregular periods. I am seeing an endocrinologist in a month who will hopefully be able to give me more information about hormone levels.
I began following Eat For Heat protocol about two months ago, and would estimate I’ve gained 15 pounds in that period of time (I don’t own a scale), moving up a size in everything. My temps are now ranging from 97.3 to 98.3, and eating the food has felt very nourishing. However, I’m noticing that the facial hair is becoming more thicker and covering more of my chin and neck, and the weight gain has all been around my abdomen. My periods have still come rather irregularly.
I’m no expert in this, but it seems as though my body isn’t figuring out how to balance itself out. Anyone have suggestions for how I can help jump-start a regular hormonal balance? I’m not sure what the endocrinologist will say, but I’d like to avoid medication/synthetic hormones if I can.
Well, there are always bioidentical hormones. Or maca or something like that. If it were me, I would probably give chinese medicine or homeopathy a try first.
Thanks The Real Amy, I’ve definitely been considering some kind of homeopathic supplement. I guess I was surprised that the symptoms seemed to be worsening, as I had hoped they could be resolved by nutrition alone. I know diet is an important factor in this, but is it unrealistic to think that the condition could be resolved just through food?
My personal approach is: I think it’s always best to try lifestyle modifications first, like diet, sleep, stress reduction and exercise. Then if those don’t work you try things like supplements, accupuncture, or homeopathy. Then if those don’t work, there are the medical options like hormones.
If you do homeopathy, however, my best suggestion is to work with a good, trained and certified classical homeopath (there are some quacks out there). There are some great remedies for PCOS-type conditions, but it’s often necessary to take one first, and then another after some of the conditions clear up, etc. I wouldn’t just shoot around in the dark. Possibly you could figure out the right remedy for yourself with a lot of research, but it’s riskier.
As a practioner fresh out of college, I second the Chinese medicine recommendation. Herbs and acupuncture can help you balance out the hormones.
As to why the symptoms get worse with re-feeding, I don’t know, other than it probably has to do with testosterone. However, in metaphoric Traditional Chinese Medicine terms, it has to do with yin-yang balance. Hirsutism is a manifestation of too much yang (“male”) energy relative to yin (“female”). (Yang includes the androgens, but not exclusively.) Eating for Heat increases both certain aspects of yin (nourishment) and yang (heat and energy), but in your case they have not yet balanced out properly. In other words, the ratios have increased, but you still have unbalanced yin, yang, qi and blood. A good TCM practioner would probably give you herbs and needles/moxibustion to balance all this.
Diet-wise, I see alot of similarities in the 180 Degree Health approach and Chinese medicine dietetics. TCM diet therapy, however, individualizes the diet treatments according to disease patterns. I’ve been thinking that maybe those who have most success with RRARF, Eat for Heat etc. are those with the “Kidney” type TCM patterns. Those who experience the most weight-gain, loose stools, acne, etc. are probably those with “Spleen deficiency” patterns. PCOS consists of several patterns, so that might be why your case needs some extra diet “tweaking” so to speak.
Thanks eto! I actually talked with my brother the other day, who is also a certified practitioner of chinese medicine, and we are discussing acupuncture/herbal options. And your idea as to why the symptoms would be getting worse with re-feeding makes sense. It seems like I need to give the body a jump-start, help it figure out how to function properly on its own again.
Thanks for everyone’s help!Usually you see all things related to insulin resistance worsen initially. That would be an increase in belly fat, an increase in blood pressure, an increase in blood sugar, fatigue, etc. As the belly fat stops coming on as your temperatures peak you should see everything start moving back in the other direction. Weight, blood pressure, PCOS symptoms, and so forth. Just follow the high metabolism where it leads. If something is making you warmer, sleep better, hands and feet warmer, body temperature climb… don’t back away and give up on it too soon. You want to give this a fair trial before clinging to the next form of magic cure or therapy.
Sound advice Matt, thank you. I certainly have no intention of backing away whatsoever, as this way of eating and treating hunger feel truly intuitive. It’s a much kinder way to treat my body, even with my wacky hormones. But, I’m also happy to hear why the symptoms would get worse before they get better. I’ll see what happens as I continue on!
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