Here is my issue. I have been diagnosed with PCOS. I take birth control pills. When I have my cycle it is so bad I have to stop living for about ten days. I bleed so much I am weak, and almost suicidal this week. (I would never do that tho) but it is such a bad place to be. When I go off my BCP my cycle never stops and last time I had to get a blood transfusion. So it’s kind of crapped if you do and crapped if you don’t. I do realize my diet is horrendous, and I am changing that starting today. I need to lose about 100 pounds and I am hoping that will fix my problem, combines with my eating change. Has anyone delt with something like this? What foods can I eat to make this better?
P.S. I bought Alissas cohen, and a few other ebooks, and I am reading it now.

Has a gynecologist diagnosed your issue and why you're bleeding so much? Is that why you are taking birth control pills? I just looked up the situation and I see that they don't know why the women have an imbalance of hormones. Aren't birth control pills only estrogen, though? I am just wondering how that would create a balance...

I see that you want to lose a lot of weight and have linked your diet with your condition somehow. I know that if you are eating conventional dairy products, they may have hormones added.

Have you ever considered visiting a holistic MD? Also, you might want to research dong quai and chasteberry (vitex). Both are used as hormone balancers, however I would certainly not embark upon any herbal remedies whilst still taking BC!

Oh, just saw this thread in the Health forum: [www.rawfoodsupport.com]

Also this informative video by Natasha: [www.youtube.com]

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Has a gynecologist diagnosed your issue and why
> you're bleeding so much? Is that why you are
> taking birth control pills? I just looked up the
> situation and I see that they don't know why the
> women have an imbalance of hormones. Aren't birth
> control pills only estrogen, though? I am just
> wondering how that would create a balance...
>
> I see that you want to lose a lot of weight and
> have linked your diet with your condition somehow.
> I know that if you are eating conventional dairy
> products, they may have hormones added.
>
> Have you ever considered visiting a holistic MD?
> Also, you might want to research dong quai and
> chasteberry (vitex). Both are used as hormone
> balancers, however I would certainly not embark
> upon any herbal remedies whilst still taking BC!

I have to take BCP for now or it never stops and I am then in the hospital, so this is not going to happen right now. I will have to look for a holistic md, thanks

PCOS involves various hormonal changes, which can include lower progesterone levels and increased estrogen/testosterone. Losing weight should help, especially as estrogen excess can cause weight gain. Diet can help too, the phyto-estrogens that plant foods contain can help to balance estrogen levels. All plant foods are phyto-estrogen sources so increasing your plant food intake should help somewhat id have thought.

There is often also an insulin resistance component to PCOS, which should be taken care of. Diet will help there, magnesium and chromium will also help. You may be low in magnesium which can make your cycle much worse. Watch with taking in too much sugar, especially from refined carbohydrate sources.

There are herbs but you wouldn't want to start raising progesterone via Vitex etc whilst still taking birth control pills. Vitex aka Chaste Berry takes around 2 months to start working also. Supporting the liver so that it metabolizes the excess hormones has also been helpful for many from what ive read.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2012 08:30AM by powerlifer.

Not sure if it helps, but I've read about many woman posting about not bleeding on the 80-10-10 diet. I think that the diet 80-10-10 changes the hormones to that effect on women. Plus they 'may' loose weight initially. Women 'may' but men always lose weight on the 80-10-10.

I am not sure about your condition but I would never suggest a woman take birth control pills? Find a better therapy for your condition and wean yourself off birth control. I can't believe people buy into taking these drugs so easily? I have yet to see a condition that requires drugs to live a proper life, I am sure there are some though.

Hey ChellyRaw,

Here is my File Preview for my file on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome - PCOS…

...File Preview...
• My PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) has almost disappeared with a 100% raw diet. After 6 months of raw vegan, I now ovulate regularly, menstruate regularly, have no lethargy, no abdominal pain, my acne is almost gone, and body hair is lessened. I think in 6 more months this will be totally gone!!!!!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
• I was diagnosed with PCOS. I have been raw for over two years and most of my symptoms went away within the first three months of being raw. In the first month I had my first period without birth control pills, by the third month the cysts on my ovaries were gone and I started to ovulate, also facial hair decreased and so did acne and I lost 150 pounds.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
• PCOS is another woman's problem caused by high levels of estrogens in the body.
• PCOS is a leading cause of female infertility due to excessive estrogens. Excessive estrogens are often the result of the liver's failure to eliminate them efficiently.
• The elevated estrogen level caused by a weak liver may not be detected in blood tests because blood estrogen levels do not necessarily reflect estrogen levels in tissues. Estrogen levels in the tissues cannot be measured.
• ...unlike liver inflammation or infections which show elevated liver enzyme levels in blood due to enzymes released from ruptured liver cells, liver congestion or weakness cannot be detected in blood tests. ...blood tests will not reveal liver congestion or weakness.
• Chinese medicine does not address hormone problems and conventional medicine does not address liver congestion problems.
• Pain is the result of blood stagnation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
• I did not have a period before going raw that was not drug induced via synthetic hormones. I had polycystic ovarian syndrome and so it was not an indication of health that I was not having a period. Once raw, the first month I started having a regular period with no drugs. My period was quite heavy at first lasting up to four day with lots of blood and clots but not painful. Now after about 4 years it is hardly noticeable. Now it lasts about 2 days, one or two tiny clots or none at all, very light flow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A New Epidemic that Causes Infertility, Excess Hair, Acne and More
The John R. Lee, M.D. Medical Letter July 1999
• …doctors tend to prescribe two treatments, both of which affect symptoms only, and neither of which is particularly successful. One treatment is temporary chemical castration, using birth control pills, androgens (male hormones), androgen blockers, synthetic estrogens, Lupron or similar drugs that block hormone production. The other is prescribing the new oral drugs for Type II diabetes, which reduce insulin resistance. I have a much safer, simpler, more effective and less expensive approach that treats the cause and not just the symptoms of PCOS.
• PCOS refers to multiple cysts on the ovaries and a host of other problems that go along with them, including anovulation (lack of ovulation) and menstrual abnormalities, hirsutism (facial hair), male pattern baldness, acne, and often obesity.
• PCOS occurs when a woman doesn't ovulate, which causes a disruption in the normal, cyclical interrelationship among her hormones, brain and ovaries.
• But what happens to this cycle if, for some reason, ovulation is unsuccessful? For example, if the follicle migrates to the outside of the ovary, but does not "pop" the egg and release it, the follicle becomes a cyst, and the normal progesterone surge does not occur. The lack of progesterone is detected by the hypothalamus, which continues to try to stimulate the ovary by increasing its production of GnRH, which increases the pituitary production of FSH and LH. This stimulates the ovary to make more estrogen and androgens, which stimulates more follicles toward ovulation. If these additional follicles are also unable to produce a matured ovum or make progesterone, the menstrual cycle is dominated by increased estrogen and androgen production without progesterone. This is the fundamental abnormality that creates PCOS.
• But what causes dysfunctional follicles that won't release eggs? I am convinced, from wildlife studies and from what I have observed in my practice, this is due to the exposure of female embryos to xenobiotics, environmental pollutants that chemically act like estrogen on the developing baby's tissues.
• When a female embryo develops in the womb, 500 to 800 thousand follicles are created, each enclosing an immature ovum. Studies show that the creation of ovarian follicles during this embryo stage is exquisitely sensitive to the toxicity of xenobiotics. When the mother is exposed to these chemicals, she experiences no apparent damage. But the baby she is carrying is far more susceptible, and these chemicals may damage a female embryo's ovarian follicles and make them dysfunctional; unable to complete ovulation or manufacture sufficient progesterone. This damage is not apparent until after puberty.
• There are other factors that contribute to dysfunctional follicles. These include stress (leading to the production of high cortisol levels by the adrenal glands), lack of exercise, and poor nutrition. Stress alone can cause anovulatory cycles. Birth control pills shut down normal ovary function, and sometimes it never recovers when the pills are stopped. Our diets are full of petrochemical contaminants -- also xenobiotics -- that derail normal metabolism. We take prescription drugs such as Prozac that impair the functioning of our limbic brain, including the hypothalamus, which may affect the menstrual cycle.
• By far the biggest lifestyle contributor to PCOS is poor diet. Young women with PCOS tend to eat far too much sugar and highly refined carbohydrates. These foods cause an unhealthy rise in insulin levels. According to Jerilyn Prior, M.D., insulin stimulates androgen receptors on the outside of the ovary, causing the typical PCOS symptoms of excess hair (on the face, arms, legs), thin hair (on the head), and acne. Eventually, this type of diet will cause obesity, which will cause insulin resistance (the inability of the cells to take in insulin), which will aggravate the PCOS even more. The androgens also play a role in blocking the release of the egg from the follicle.
• Women, who have a high number of dysfunctional follicles to begin with, due to xenobiotic exposure in the womb, will have worse problems if their diets are high in sugary foods and low in nutrition. Since this is exactly the type of diet favored by teens and young women, it's easy to understand why there is so much PCOS in that age group. Fifty years ago, the average person ate one pound of sugar a year. Today the average teenager today eats one pound a week! Potato chips, corn chips, pasta and white rice are all highly refined carbohydrates that also act on the body much the same as sugars do.
• When you look at the whole picture of PCOS, you can understand why the hormone-blocking and insulin-lowering drugs don't work for very long. These approaches don't address the underlying cause of the problem. They only suppress symptoms. Improvement is only temporary and both types of drugs have terribly unpleasant side effects.
• I recommend supplementation of normal physiologic doses of progesterone to treat PCOS. If progesterone levels rise each month during the luteal phase of the cycle, as they are supposed to do, this maintains the normal synchronal pattern each month, and PCOS rarely, if ever, occurs. Natural progesterone should be the basis of PCOS treatment, along with attention to stress, exercise, and nutrition.
• If you have PCOS, you can use 15 to 20 mg of progesterone cream daily from day 14 to day 28 of your cycle. If you have a longer or a shorter cycle, adjust accordingly. The disappearance of facial hair and acne are usually obvious signs that hormones are becoming balanced, but to see these results, you'll need to give the treatment at least six months, in conjunction with proper diet and exercise. If your symptoms fade, try gradually easing off the progesterone (take half the dose, for example) and see how it goes. If your symptoms return, stay on the full dose for six more months. Ideally, as a young woman, you would use the progesterone cream only during the months you need it, and encourage your body to return to its own normal hormonal rhythms as much as possible. Some women with many damaged follicles may always need to supplement with a little bit of progesterone cream.
• There are several reasons why doctors don't recognize the role of progesterone deficiency in PCOS. They may not be aware that the hypothalamus responds not only to the rise and fall of estrogen, but also to the rise and fall of progesterone. Since standard tests usually indicate that a woman with PCOS has plenty of estrogen, and she is still having periods, the doctor assumes she is still ovulating and producing plenty of progesterone.
• The odds of a woman having estrogen dominance and progesterone deficiency rise to 50 percent in the female population by age 35, yet doctors rarely measure progesterone concentrations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a common cause of anovulation and infertility in women.
• There are several possible ways to attempt ovulation induction in women with polycystic ovaries. The easiest and least complicated method is the use of clomiphene citrate tablets (Clomid, Serophene).
• A relatively new method of inducing ovulation in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome is to use an oral medication called metformin with or without clomiphene citrate. Metformin has been used in the past as an oral agent to help control diabetes. Recently, it has been found to facilitate ovulation in some women with PCOS.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
• ...when women with polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition that causes an excess of insulin, were treated with the insulin-reducing drug metformin, acne was improved.
• In polycystic ovary syndrome, which is diagnosed in women who are obese and have acne, it is clear that elevated insulin levels are a major factor.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• One potential side effect in long-term users of Metformin, is that it may cause mal-absorption of vitamin B12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
•
•
...End of File Preview...

If you are interested, send me an email and I’ll send you my file.

Peace and Love..........John

Actually Chinese medicine consists of quite a few great herbs such as Schizandra Berry which are capable of not only eliminating liver congestion but supporting and balancing hormones through its adaptogenic and adrenal/endocrine support properties.

[www.vegenakingdom.co.uk]

Check out Iodine for your condition. If you put in polycystic ovary syndrome and the word Iodine in the search bars on your browser you will come up with a lot of info.

Being overweight, along with some other symptoms are likely due to an endocrine disorder.

Love,
Prism



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2012 03:35PM by Prism.

Thanks everyone. I know BCPs are not good but it is the only thing that keeps my cycle to stop. I have tried to get off them and was in the hospital the next month. My options for now are BCP or a hystorectomy, which I dont want. I am hoping to start eating raw and losing atleast 1/3 of my weight then try to go off of them. Thanks for the information.

While you are on the birth control meds, perhaps some of the info. in above posts may help to figure out what the core issues are for you.

Wishing you wellness.

Love,
Prism

ChellyRaw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks everyone. I know BCPs are not good but it
> is the only thing that keeps my cycle to stop. I
> have tried to get off them and was in the hospital
> the next month. My options for now are BCP or a
> hystorectomy, which I dont want. I am hoping to
> start eating raw and losing atleast 1/3 of my
> weight then try to go off of them. Thanks for the
> information.

Looks like you got some good info here hope you can get raw and get off the BCP's as I understand you are stuck with them for now. All in good time.

I see that John Rose has posted an excerpt from Julia Chang's site

sensiblehealth.com

I suggest you read the whole darn site; it's pretty good. I don't have PCOS but was diagnosed by a Dr. of Ch. Medicine with liver problems even though they are not serious. They can diagnose you before things get too bad.

ChellyRaw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here is my issue. I have been diagnosed with PCOS.
> I take birth control pills. When I have my cycle
> it is so bad I have to stop living for about ten
> days. I bleed so much I am weak, and almost
> suicidal this week. (I would never do that tho)
> but it is such a bad place to be. When I go off my
> BCP my cycle never stops and last time I had to
> get a blood transfusion. So it’s kind of crapped
> if you do and crapped if you don’t. I do
> realize my diet is horrendous, and I am changing
> that starting today. I need to lose about 100
> pounds and I am hoping that will fix my problem,
> combines with my eating change. Has anyone delt
> with something like this? What foods can I eat to
> make this better?
> P.S. I bought Alissas cohen, and a few other
> ebooks, and I am reading it now.

Gosh that's so alarming. May I suggest that you go to an OBgyn just so you will know what exactly are you going through? I guess you really need to be checked right away. Getting a blood transfusion is no longer normal in your case.

Thanks Horsea for that link..sensiblehealth.com

I'm just going over there to read up. I have used and I have a lot of respect for Chinese Herbal Medicine.

Love,
Prism

You're welcome, Prism. I have learned a lot from Julia & Rebecca but I must say that they are not licensed doctors of Chinese medicine. Where they recommend that you take their liver decongestant formula (a liquid called Chinese Bitters), it really is not well balanced. They know that, too, because they warn that some people (a lot, actually) have reactions. I know I did. Dr. Michael Tierra's formula Bupleurum Liver Cleanse is balanced and far more suitable.

So, anyone wishing to do their flush but needing a liver decongestant first (they discuss this), well, you can always try their "Chinese Bitters" but be warned.

In any case, their voluminous, informational site is very good and I'd recommend every word be read by people with health challenges.

When I got very ill due to black toxic mold I went to the local Chinese Herbal Medicine Clinic and I was prescribed some potent herbs to boil and drink over some weeks. During my visits there and over the weeks until I got out of the situation where I was living with the mold I boiled and drank that noxious tea..after the first week I couldn't drink it but found cutting it with concord grape juice did the trick.

Here is their website for anyone interested and one can also enroll and become a Chinese Herbalist.

[ocom.edu]

Love,
Prism

I was wondering, Prism, how long ago you were taking that hideous concoction - because they don't prescribe those much any more. The herbs have been made into instant (often concentrated) granules in little packages or sometimes a 100-gram plastic jar. You just add hot water and there's your medicine.

I've drunk some of the coarse herbs, too, having boiled them up myself. Some of the formulas are dreadful and I'm grateful for the instant herbs they have now.

So, did those herbal drinks work for you in your problems with toxic mold?

Bitters aren't meant to be a balanced formula for the liver though. Traditionally bitters are used primarily as a digestive aid, used to prevent indigestion from heavy meals and to improve digestion overall.

Where the liver comes in is that from stimulating the vagus nerve with bitters, bile is released which provides a "flushing" effect on the liver and helps to expel various toxins via bile.

Bitters are strong though especially if you are very toxic, its best to start slow as the initial "cleansing" reactions can be pretty bad or at least they were for me. Increasing water intake slightly can help. What reactions did you have out of interest Horsea?

Chinese bitters have the advantage that they contain the herb bupleurum which doesn't need to come in contact with the back of the tongue, to provide its liver cleansing properties such as bitters do.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2012 04:50PM by powerlifer.

It was only around 4 years ago that they prescribed the herbs/plant mix. I had copied down the ingredients but don't have it anymore. There was 13 different plants/herbs. Lots of twigs, leaves, and such. One was Ma Huang though..because they were careful about explaining to me the danger of it and how to prepare it.

What I believe the boiled tea did for me was gave me some little extra time of some weeks to prepare to get out of the house full of mold. When I think back to that time and the weird symptoms..it amazes me that mold can do that to a person and my pet dog too. He had lots of the same symptoms and he had a seizure (his one and only ever) also..thought he had died at the time.

When I would get checked again by the team of Chinese herbalists they said my color looked markedly improved, my pulse improved, breathing was a bit easier, and the hematomas that were on my forearms started to go away. I still had acute symptoms though, esp. at night.

The thing I think helped the most besides leaving the house and almost all my belongings and all my furnishings, was activated black charcoal slurries.

I know the history of that house and almost everyone (possibly everyone) that ever lived in it after a diy roofing job gone wrong by prior owners got very ill. One person died after 2 years of living in it from what was diagnosed as early onset Alzheimers, he was 52. His wife stayed there another 3 years and ended up with so many health problems esp. with her heart. I could go on but won't.

I don't know exactly how much toxic mold still lingers in my body/brain, but I still have some problems with balance and speech at times. I feel better as time goes on.

Love,
Prism

Good to hear your on the mend Prism either way. I had black mold growing up my bedroom wall whilst growing up and no one ever really thought much about it.

But im sure it had a role to play in my chronic health problems. What symptoms did you have out of interest?

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2012 06:02PM by powerlifer.

Edema
Cramping, back of legs, fingers, toes
Swollen and sore right thumb just before sleep. I called it my Canary Thumb.
Back of throat so relaxed I snored before I was asleep and I snorted too..even when awake. My dog had same symptoms as snoring, raspy breathing, including a seizure.
Feelings and symptoms of what could only be called Punch Drunk.
Balance problems
Slurred speech
Interrupted speech
Left eye got allergy type symptoms
Sharp abdomen pain on left side.
Bruising or hematomas on both forearms..esp. showing up in mornings after sleep.
My right arm would go to sleep and my right thumb, and 2 fingers would go numb at night mostly while just before sleep.
Confusion and foggy thinking
A very hoarse voice which was not from any cold or flu.
Swollen sinuses, and swollen glands under jaw.

There are some of the symptoms I had...I wrote them down and still keep them..'cause it's hard to believe and I went thru it! I was in that house with mold exposure for 10 long months from 9-2007 thru 7-2008

It's a whole convoluted story and one I'd rather not keep retelling to be honest.

Here's a comprehensive site about mold, and lots of other related info. including symptoms.

[www.mold-help.org]

Love,
Prism



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2012 08:08PM by Prism.

Thanks for taking the time to detail your symptoms Prism, i had many of these symptoms myself often with no attributable cause. It has got me thinking again about the black mold that i lived with for about 20 years.

Cheers for sharing.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

My God, Prism, so glad you got out of there! Hope you fully recover soon, soon!

ChellyRaw, While I didn't have that official diagnosis I went through the same and was on birth controls pills to regulate menstruation. It was a terrible ordeal. I started having terrible yeast infections and I couldn't stop bleeding and got very anemic. I stopped taking the birth control as I was bleeding for 2 months straight and the doctor said I should continue the treatment. I listened to my body rather than the doctor and didn't go back to him. I wasn't raw at that time but my periods would last 14 days or so and I would be in such excruciating pain when I had them. I would often skip a month or two and then have the onslaught of the type of period wherein I was doubled over in pain and running to the restroom every hour due to heavy flow. It was terribly uncomfortable and painful in the work environment.

I am modified raw vegan now in that while I don't eat 100% raw, I do eat vegan except for raw honey. I have been 100% raw vegan on and off over the 8 or 9 years. During this time, I have discovered that I had Celiac's Disease and low Thyroid. I work at boosting my thyroid every day and I avoid gluten like the plague. I am also anemic. I was having terrible health issues 100% raw as I wasn't supplementing with vitamins and minerals and I wasn't able to chew (TMJ) enought calories on 100% raw vegan. It wasn't affordable to do 100% juicing, either. So, now I supplement in addition to the foods that I'm eating. I found that drinking the milk from one or two Young coconuts alleviates the anemia. The inability to concentrate and the "hit by a Mac Truck" and low feeling go away in about 20 mins of drinking one. I also supplement with Iron if I dont' have access to Young Coconut. As for the periods, they went from 12 days to 10 to 8 and now they are 7. I only have one or two days with heavy flow and bad pain but no where near the pain as before. I have also released growths through my flow. The size of the growths have gotten smaller over the years. The amount of pain indicates when or not I'm releasing a growth. Extreme pain = releasing a growth. The release of growths was never the case pre-raw vegan. I imagine as I decrease the cooked vegan foods once my intestinal area is in better health (since I've now eliminated gluten), the menstruation will disappear and my reproductive organs will return to optimal health.

Hope that helps. Therese

powerlifer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> "What reactions did you have out
> of interest Horsea?"
>

Hi. My reactions consisted of feeling bad all over, really constricted and tense and wild in the mind. Signs of a poor liver being too quickly decongested and detoxed!!

On itmonline there's an article describing how bupleurum should be balanced with certain other herbs to prevent or lessen these kinds of symptoms.

Horsea Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> powerlifer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > "What reactions did you have out
> > of interest Horsea?"
> >
>
> Hi. My reactions consisted of feeling bad all
> over, really constricted and tense and wild in the
> mind. Signs of a poor liver being too quickly
> decongested and detoxed!!
>
> On itmonline there's an article describing how
> bupleurum should be balanced with certain other
> herbs to prevent or lessen these kinds of
> symptoms.

Hey Horsea,

I had similar experiences in the beginning, the detox was rough from bitters. I needed to work my way up very slowly, once a day with the bitters was enough in the beginning. 3 times was far too much and id get the racing mind, panic attacks, cold/flu type symptoms from like you say detoxing too quickly. I believe for me this was from the elimination of heavy metals through the increased bile flow, many heavy metals are eliminated via bile.

Im no herbalist but in my opinion there's nothing wrong with single herb use with bupleurum in this case and still has amazing effects on its own, in regards to liver cleansing. Although if i was designing a liver formula id want to balance it with other synergistic herbs of course.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2012 07:17PM by powerlifer.