Healing PCOS. Amy Medling

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СКАЧАТЬ body image, eating disorders (21 percent)

       Sexual dysfunction

       Thyroid disorders

       High levels of androgens (60–80 percent)

       Irregular menstruation (75–80 percent)

       Male-pattern hair growth (70 percent)

       Skin tags

       Sleep apnea (8 percent)

       Gray-white breast discharge (8–10 percent)

       Scalp hair loss (40–70 percent)

       Darkening skin areas (acanthosis nigricans), particularly on the nape of the neck (10 percent)

       Pelvic pain

       Hidradenitis suppurativa (painful boil-like abscesses in the groin)

       Some of the Most Common Symptoms

      The most common symptoms of PCOS are insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, hormone imbalances, and chronic inflammation.

       INSULIN RESISTANCE AND HYPERINSULINEMIA

      Insulin resistance, when cells fail to respond normally to the hormone insulin, and hyperinsulinemia, chronically high levels of insulin in the blood, are both symptoms with which I struggled all my life. Unfortunately, as is probably the case with many of you, they went undiagnosed for many years.

       I remember fainting multiple times in sixth grade. The nurse didn’t know what was wrong. My mom took me to doctors, who also found nothing and finally referred me for psychiatric evaluation. Imagine being twelve years old, feeling horrible, and being told it is all in your head. Many years later, still undiagnosed, I remember feeling baffled when every Sunday morning, after my fiancé and I had our traditional waffle breakfast complete with syrup and orange juice, I would get woozy in church. Little did I know, it was the waffle breakfast throwing my blood sugar out of whack and giving me hypoglycemia! Since then, I have learned to interpret my body’s signals. Now when I feel that way, I know exactly what to do.

      Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia are conditions in which the body becomes less and less efficient at processing and managing levels of sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream. This has serious overall health consequences. In the short term, insulin resistance is at the heart of most PCOS symptoms, including infertility, obesity, hirsutism, hyperandrogenism (elevated androgen levels), chronic fatigue syndrome, immune system defects, eating disorders, hypoglycemia, gastrointestinal disorders, depression, and anxiety. In the long term, when insulin levels rise too high, type 2 diabetes may result. Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) is a common result of insulin dysfunction and may lead to an increased risk of high blood pressure and stroke.

      Symptoms of Insulin Resistance

       Weight gain

       Sugar cravings

       Skin tags

       Hypoglycemia

       Rough or red bumps on upper arms

       Dark skin patches on neck, knees, elbows, knuckles, chest, or groin

      In a healthy system, insulin plays an important role in metabolism. This powerful hormone is produced by the pancreas and enters the bloodstream after a meal. Its main function is to transport glucose to cells throughout the body to be used for energy. When there is excess glucose, insulin delivers the glucose to muscles, fat, and the liver, which helps to lower the blood glucose levels by storing it and signaling the body to slow production of insulin. But in an unhealthy system, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia may result.

      Between 50 and 70 percent of women with PCOS have some degree of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance may be caused by poor diet, ethnicity, certain diseases, hormones, steroid use, some medications, older age, sleep problems, and cigarette smoking. Although insulin resistance is often associated with obesity, research indicates that lean PCOS patients are also prone to insulin resistance. Research also indicates that the birth control pill may cause insulin resistance in all women, particularly those with PCOS.

      Insulin resistance occurs when a person’s body does not react properly to the amount of insulin in the bloodstream. In a healthy system, after a meal, the pancreas creates insulin to balance the glucose in the blood. Ideally, the body detects if the level of glucose in the blood is still too high and signals the pancreas to create more insulin. The hope is that since there is more insulin, more glucose will be picked up.

      Insulin in large quantities can be toxic to cells, so when there is too much insulin in the body over time, cells become insulin resistant in order to protect themselves. Alternatively, the hypothalamus may become insulin resistant and continue to send signals to the pancreas to create more insulin unnecessarily. When insulin resistance occurs, the insulin does not pick up or cannot deliver the glucose to the cells that need it. Glucose levels in the blood remain high, and diabetes and other serious health disorders may result.

      Hyperinsulinemia results when more insulin is present in the bloodstream than is considered normal, usually as a result of insulin resistance. Although it is associated with diabetes, someone with hyperinsulinemia does not necessarily have diabetes.

      Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia create a self-perpetuating and destructive cycle called the insulin resistance cycle. Insulin resistance creates chronically high levels of insulin, and those chronically high levels bombard cells, forcing them to protect themselves, thus perpetuating insulin resistance. Eventually, your pancreas can no longer keep up with the insulin demand. This means there is less insulin in the body to store and regulate glucose levels, and the result is diabetes.

      In addition, high levels of insulin and insulin resistance sometimes pave the way for hyperandrogenism, excessive levels of male hormones. This may be the cause of missed periods and infertility in some women with PCOS. The relationship between hyperandrogenism and hyperinsulinemia in women with PCOS is unclear. Researchers disagree about whether hyperinsulinemia causes hyperandrogenism, hyperandrogenism causes hyperinsulinemia, or a third cause is responsible for both. One way or the other, we have a destructive cycle: insulin resistance leads to hyperandrogenism, which increases insulin levels.

      A top priority of the Healing PCOS 21-Day Plan is to get your insulin under control.

       HORMONE IMBALANCES

      When my hair started falling out during high school, my mom took me to a dermatologist who did a scalp biopsy. When it came back negative, the hair loss as well as other symptoms such as fatigue, acne, and sporadic periods were written off as a result of stress. Things got worse as I grew older. I began gaining weight, СКАЧАТЬ