Herbal ways to bring back periods

[assilembob.livejournal.com]

first off - i have the angry for a reason blog bookmarked.

My friend is a military spouse currently stationed in Germany. They want to have thier first child together and her first child period (he has 2 from a previous relationship, one of which they have custody of).
She went off HBC in April of 06 and has not had a period since. She had them the whole time she was on HBC. The military doctors said they wouldn't discuss fertility problems with her until it had been at least a year since going off HBC.
Now her doctor is telling her that she has no estrogen in her system at all and it's because she is diabetic from polycystic ovaries (which she NEVER was diagnosed with before). The doctor gave her stuff to "check her blood levels"and pushed her out the door, without explaining how to do that.

She has to wait til Sept. to get another doctor. In the meantime (and while she is pushing charges on this woman) is there anything she can to to help bring her levels back in check? Can PCOS really cause diabetes (I have it and have never been told that)?

Anything I am forgetting? Anywhere else I can look?

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[steppinrazor.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure PCOS can and will make you highly insulin resistant and can certainly lead to diabetes.

http://www.4women.gov/faq/pcos.htm#k

I read a bit of this book http://www.amazon.com/PCOS-Protection-Plan-Increased-Diabetes/dp/1401905382/ref=sr_1_15/103-5301695-8983858?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185388726&sr=8-15 (sorry for the long URL), and there are ways to try and regulate your symptoms through what you eat, but if she has full-blown diabetes already, I'm not really sure what the options are.

Also worth checking is www.pcosupport.org.

[assilembob.livejournal.com]

i didn't know there was a site like that for PCOS. When I google I get pages of medical explainations and i am impatient to go through so many pages.

Thanks for those links. I will be passing them on!

[miss-heni.livejournal.com]

I suspect that if she did have full-blown diabetes the doctor wouldn't have been quite so dimissive? However, it is true that there's a very strong link between PCOS and regulation of insulin levels, and hence diabetes. As the poster above says, there are ways to regulate insulin through what you eat - a book I found useful was 'The low GI guide to managing PCOS' by Dr Jennie Brand-Miller, Prof. Nadir R Farid and Kate Marsh.

However. Before jumping to any conclusions I suggest she a) wait another couple months, because hormone levels can commonly take up to 6 months to regulate themselves again after coming off HBC anyway b) get a definitive diagnosis of PCOS and c) get a definitive diagnosis of diabetes. In terms of herbs, I know of quite a few women who use agnus castus to regulate their periods and other symptoms of PCOS - don't know too much about it, though, or whether it'd be appropriate here.

[assilembob.livejournal.com]

well it's been over a year since she went off HBC. She's quite anxious to get pregnant as she had that "must have kids before 28" thing in her head and she turns 26 in august. With the stress they went through getting his youngest daughter out of CPS custody, I think she is more stressed...

on the diabetes - thank you so much for the links to the books.
And I will get her the name of this herb.

Thanks!

[miss-heni.livejournal.com]

Oops, sorry, didn't read april *'06*. duh :-)

[polymexina.livejournal.com]

well, since PCOS is a three prong thing (insulin resistance, hormonal levels, weight issues) then i imagine if she lost weight just regularly, it mgiht help her estrogen level.

[polymexina.livejournal.com]

um, i realized i was speaking from my own experience. by this i mean that some of my symptoms lessened (like my low estrogen levels) when i began eating more healthy and working out more. i had to work out a lot b/c i was basically kickstarting my metabolism, but it def helped some.

[assilembob.livejournal.com]

that's very helpful to know. she's always had difficulty with weight (as have I) and hasn't found that balance. I will have to keep on her about it ;-)

[polymexina.livejournal.com]

okay. but keep in mind, i had to do a lot -- like an hour of cardio almost everyday, because you're trying to kickstart your metabolism. u could also see if she can talk to her primary care physician about getting on metformin.

[ktnzgtklws.livejournal.com]

PCOS doens't cause diabetes... technically. It's insulin resistance that's the issue.
The BEST things for insulin resistance is to exercise (and if she's already resistant, then start slow, but what I found for me was that it does need to be worked up in length and intensity so that she's doing about an hour a day.) avoid any and all processed sugars, and loose weight. The South Beach Diet (phases 1 and 2) is really stellar for those who suffer from insulin resistance.
You can also take metformin, an isulin-sensitivity increasing drug.