Are Those Pearls on your Ovary?

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a problem of hormonal imbalance that creates sputtering ovulation and hyperandrogenism (too much male hormones, which causes increased male-pattern hair growth and acne). Most important in the diagnosis is exclusion of other causes, as no single lab result leads to the diagnosis. Over 6-10% of women have PCOS.

Other findings include multiple cysts on the ovary (called the “string of pearls” sign on ultrasound - see image below), overweight or obesity, high blood pressure, and acanthosis nigrans – a weird skin finding of darker, velvety skin on the back of the neck.



While the cause is unknown, we mostly consider PCOS to be a metabolic problem. About half of women with PCOS have high insulin levels (or hyperinsulinemia). Lowering insulin levels with exercise, eating low-glycemic foods, and other measures can correct erratic ovulation. Some of the natural therapies that have been shown to be helpful in PCOS include bioidentical progesterone use and cinnamon. Tieraona Low Dog, MD, showed in a small study published in Fertility and Sterility in July 2007 that cinnamon (0.5 teaspoon per day) lowers insulin resistance in PCOS.

I want to emphasize the role of exercise – it’s essential in PCOS, no exceptions! I recommend 30 minutes per day, 4 to 5 days per week, of cardio exercise at a minimum as the primary treatment.

One of the findings of PCOS is estrogen dominance – too much estrogen versus progesterone. Reducing estrogen levels can be very effective and I suggest the following measures:

• Meat/Dairy: avoid conventionally raised meat and dairy products, which contain growth promoters that act as xenoestrogens - these stimulate estrogen receptors in the body and disrupt normal hormonal signaling. Omnivores should choose organic products.

• Cruciferous Veggies: increasing consumption of cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and brussel sprouts, which increase metabolism of estrogens.

• Gluten-free: reducing gluten lowers your estradiol levels by 30% or more.

Finally, natural progesterone, prescribed and monitored by a knowledgeable provider, can also help balance estrogen dominance.

Women with PCOS are at greater risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and should be additionally screened with glucose testing and a full fasting lipid profile.

Hormone Imbalance: Symptoms

After many requests, I am re-posting this from my other blog as it is consistently the most popular and my patients seem  to love it. It does not include enough questions related to leptin- and insulin-resistance... more on this in future blogs.

-- SG

How do you know if your hormones are out of balance? I combine a careful history of what my patients are experiencing, their nutritional status, level of activity/lifestyle and sleep along with symptom questionnaires and testing. If any part is left out, we may miss the root cause of the hormone imbalance.  Dr. John Lee's books are helpful with understanding symptoms, and I will provide those below with some modifications I've made.  If you are taking the questionnaire, check off any symptoms that you experience from each symptom group, then we'll integrate at the end.

Symptom Group 1: 

PMS?

Anxiety?

Cyclical headaches (menstrual or hormonal migraine)?

Insomnia?

Early miscarriage?

Lumpy or painful breasts?

Infertility?

Symptom Group 2:

Vaginal dryness or irritation?

Painful sex?

Bladder infections?

Night sweats

Hot flashes

Poor memory?

Depression, especially with lethargy?

Low libido?

Symptom Group 3:

Bloating and/or puffiness?

Abnormal paps?

Rapid weight gain?

Breast tenderness?

Mood swings?

Heavy bleeding?

Depression with anxiety?

Migraines?

Insomnia?

Brain fog?

Red flush on face?

Gallbladder problems?

Weepiness?

Symptom Group 4:

Number of checked symptoms for Group 1 & 3 combined

Symptom Group 5:

Acne?

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?

Excess hair on face/chest/or arms?

Hyper- or hypo-glycemia and/or unstable blood sugar?

Thinning head hair?

Infertility?

Ovarian cysts?

Midcycle pain?

Symptom Group 6:

Low libido?

Debilitating fatigue?

Unstable blood sugar?

Brain fog?

Low blood pressure?

Thin or dry skin?

Intolerance to exercise?

Brown spots on skin?

For assessment, tally the total number of symptoms in each category.  If you have 2 or more symptoms from a grouping - you may have the following diagnosis. I recommend you sort this out with an integrative physician.

Group 1:  Progesterone deficiency.  This is the most common hormone imbalance of all ages.  Best approaches are to optimize diet, reduce synthetic hormones if you are taking any (including birth control pills) and add bioidentical progesterone if appropriate.

Group 2:  Estrogen deficiency.  This is most common in menopausal women, especially skinny minnies.  Dietary changes and herbal therapies are often helpful as a first approach.

Group 3:  Excess estrogen. We see excess estrogen when women are taking synthetic estrogen, too much bioidentical estrogen (estradiol, estriol, tri-est), or are exposed to environmental xenoestrogens.  Xenoestrogens refer to the 700+ chemicals in the environment that act like endrocrine disruptors in the body, usually by binding the estradiol receptor.  Xenoestrogens have estrogen-like effects such as fertilizers, pesticides and lauryl sulfates.

Group 4:  Estrogen dominance.  Usually caused by not having sufficient progesterone to balance estrogen.  Causes vary from not enough progesterone to too much estrogen, or as is common in premenopause (age 35-50):  low estrogen but superlow progesterone.

Group 5: Excess androgens or male hormones.  Often this is caused by insulin and/or leptin resistance, and we can reverse this with dietary changes and supplements, but other approaches are effective as well.

Group 6:  Cortisol excess or deficiency.  Most people need a laboratory test to differentiate.  This is caused by adrenal fatigue which results from chronic stress.

I find very few women survive work and kids without some degree of adrenal fatigue.

There also is interdependence among these different hormonal systems with each other as well as with neurotransmitters.  For instance, estrogen acts like a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and helps mood in many women.  Also, if adrenal hormones are off, this can interfere with conversion of T4 (inactive thyroid hormone) to T3 (active form of thyroid hormone).

For all of these conditions or for further information, I recommend consulting an integrative physician in your area such as those in this database.

Xenoestrogens, Killing Us Softly

I love the wry yet educational voice of the following author. It's about the 700+ known xenoestrogens that are creating estrogen dominance in us, and perhaps contributing to our epidemic of breast cancer. I found the following article, Killing Her Softly, on a Yahoo Natural Hormone usergroup as well as other places. I don't know the author- let me know if you do. I plead with you to green your home, life, health and planet. The least expensive way I've discovered is with Shaklee products and have decided to set up a website for you to have access to this (see end of article for more information). Other options are to use certified organic products for the home, the face, the body -- especially makeup and sunscreen. And drink from a stainless steel bottle. Get one from Whole Foods or REI. SG

Killing Her Softly… When the alarm rings she slowly gets out of bed, turns on the shower and under the steady stream of warm water, she gently scrubs her body with Ammonia, Formaldehyde and Phenol. Next, she shampoos her tinted hair with mutagenic DEA and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Rinsing the shampoo, she applies more mutagenic DEA & Propylene Glycol and lets it penetrate while she pops the top on the shaving cream and shaves her legs with A-Pinene. The shower finished, she towel dries and spreads on an even coat of Contaminant, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PHAs) and a dusting of an Asbestos Substance over her skin. She sprays the scented Aluminum under her arms, brushes her teeth with FD&C Blue#1 & Resorcinol, Saccharin, and Fluoride. Then she rinses and gargles with Ethanol and Phenol Alcohol. She combs setting gel through her hair then blows it dry and sprays it with polyvinylpyrrolidine (PVP). Sitting at her vanity, she carefully applies a thin film of Phenol Carbolic Acid, Dioxin and Propylene Glycol, over her face to reduce the fine lines. Today, she'll wear foundation and a little FD&C Red #3. And, better add some eye-Iron Oxide for today is a special meeting and a little Toxic and Mutagenic Ascorbyl Palmitate to line her lids and a stroke of Bacteria & Polyvinylpyrrolide (PVP) to her lashes. A dab of Benzo-A-Pyrene and Benzo-B-Fluroanthene to color her lips, a spritz of her favorite scent, Toluene and Benzaldehyde, and a little Carcinogenic Nitrosamine, NMPABAO on her face arms and legs to block the suns rays and she is set for the day. She looks radiant and healthy.. but her looks are killing her! If you are wondering if these poisons are being absorbed through her skin go cut open a clove of garlic and rub it on the bottom of your foot and see how long it takes to taste it in your mouth.. about 3 seconds! What have these product brands exposed her to in a matter of minutes? Read on to learn about what it is that we are really putting on and in our bodies every day. *Bar Soap has a pH of 9, which removes the protective acid mantle of the skin making it more alkaline and therefore, more vulnerable to penetration. It also contains ammonia, formaldehyde and phenol, known carcinogens and triclocarbans. *Shampoo contains cocamide DEA, which is associated with carcinogenic nitrosamines and sodium lauryl sulfate, a known mutagen. *Hair Tint contains quaternium-15, which releases carcinogenic formaldehyde and the carcinogen, phenylenediamine. *Conditioner contains DEA & Propylene Glycol both known mutagenic carcinogens *Shaving Cream contains a-pinene, a chemical that damages the immune system. *Body Lotion contains mineral oil, which, as a cosmetic grade petroleum product, includes the contaminant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAs) known as xenoestrogens that can mimic estrogen in the body. *Dusting Powder contains talc, a substance like asbestos. When talc was combined with a common air pollutant, benzo(a)pyrene, it induced tumors in 80% of the animals tested. Many scientists believe talc should be placed on the "known carcinogens" list. *Deodorant has aluminum, which is being tested in connection to Alzheimers. *Toothpaste contains saccharin and FD&C Blue#1, which are carcinogens. It also contains resorcinol, which can cause a blood disorder (methemoglobinemia), convulsions and death. Fluoride is also a known carcinogen. *Mouthwash contains 27% ethanol, which is suspected of causing esophageal cancer. It also contains phenol, which can cause fatal poisonings through skin absorption. *Hair Spray contains polyvinylpyrrolidine (PVP) and reports show that it may cause harm if the particles are inhaled. Modest intravenous doses fed to rats caused tumors. *Skin Moisturizer contains phenol carbolic acid, which can cause circulatory collapse, paralysis, convulsions, coma and death as a result of respiratory failure. It also contains PEG-40, which contains dangerous levels of dioxin and propylene glycol, which studies show can negatively alter brain waves and cause liver and kidney disorders. *Blush contains FD&C Red #3, which caused human breast cells to grow, mimics the effect of natural estrogen at the molecular level and damages the genetic material of human breast cells. *Eye shadow contains iron oxide, which is a suspected carcinogen, teratogen or toxin. *Eyeliner, contains ascorbyl palmitate, and studies suggest that the palmitates are to be considered carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic. *Mascara may be contaminated with bacteria.It also contains polyvinylpyrrolide (PVP), a carcinogen. *Lipstick contains paraffin, which is a mixture of hydrocarbons and is derived from petroleum. It is known to be contaminated with the carcinogens, benzo-a-pyrene and benzo-b-fluroanthene. *Perfume contains toluene, a suspected potent carcinogen that was found in every fragrance tested, and benzaldehyde, which is a central nervous system depressant that may cause kidney damage. *Sunscreen contains padimate O and the preservative, BNPD, which together create the carcinogenic nitrosamine, NMPABAO. To green your home cleaning products with the world's first and best biodegradable, natural cleaner, to replace your soaps and shampoos and toxic makeup, and to find a healthy way to support your health with supplements, visit my website: www.shaklee.net/DrGottfried