Daughter with PCOS

I agree with the others on the natural progesterone cream. I wonder if the Dr. and your daughter would agree to try it for at least 6 months. I wish my daughter would have. What I really wish is that there would be doctors that would prescribe this as a norm and get to the root cause of things for girls and women. Its like pulling teeth to get answers from the Medical Doctors. Anyway, my daughter had to start on the pill because of menstrual problems while in high school. She had ultrasounds and her ovaries looked like they had strings of pearls in them. She wasnt ever ovulating. Her ovaries hurt and they bursted sometimes causing a lot of pain. Her moods were bad. She'd even cry when she didnt know why. She went thru a lot. The pill helped for about a year. Then it seemed her problems returned. She tried another pill. Felt bad on those. Long story short is that shes now 24 and in Grad. school and is still on the pill but has had to be on antidepressants too. I feel hormones are to blame for all this. I had hormone problems apparantly because at 38 I had a large fibroid tumor and ovarian cysts and ended up with hysterectomy. Looking back- I know I was estrogen dominant or progesterone defiecent. Anyway- seeing what my daughter went thru- I'd say it'd be well worth the try to ask the Dr. about getting her hormones balanced. And maybe a second opinion. I wish her the best. She deserves to feel good.

I am 32 years old and have pcos. At around the age of 16 I stopped having regular periods, I might have a period one month and then not have another one for 3-6 months. I didn't worry at the time, I guess I didn't know better. When I was 20 years old, I had an ovarian cyst that ruptured. I had to have emergency surgery and almost died.
The doctor that did my surgery put me on birth control, b/c he said that birth control would make me have a regular period and also control the cysts to where they wouldn't grow large.
He actually didn't diagnose me with pcos at the time though which sounds crazy to me now. As I got older and tried to get pregnant they found out I was never ovulating and that doctor had me on clomid to try and help with ovulating which never worked. He referred me to a fertility specialist to try and get pregnant. That doctor finally diagnosed me with pcos and started me on different meds. At one point they put me on metformin. Once I got pregnant they finally took me off of metformin. Metformin never really bothered me emotionally, but it did upset my stomach until I got used to the medication.
Why do they have her on it right now anyway? It seems like she should be put on something like birth control to control the cysts. What type of problems was she having to go in and get diagnosed with pcos?
I hope she doesn't have some of the same problems as I had once I got older and tried to get pregnant. PCOS is one of the leading causes of infertility. I have to say getting on birth control was one of the best things for me. I was a little uncomfortable with it at first, b/c I wasn't sexually active and didn't want people to think that I was. But once I got over that, I realized it was a good thing. Good luck with everything, it's definitely a long road.

A., I agree with Cynthia's response. I can help you get some Progesterone cream. I sell Arbonne and we have a progesterone cream that is already metered, so all she has to do is put one pump on her skin nightly. I have used it for 5 years just to regulate my period. I started to go through some premenopausal symptoms and started using the cream and it regulated my periods. I also have sold it to a girl who was getting ready to have surgery to remove her cysts on her ovaries. She used it first and it got rid of the cysts. No surgery. If you would like some more info send me an e-mail. I could even just send you more info for research if you would like. ____@____.com

www.women4balance.com is about hormone imbalance and PCOS is one of the topics. I run a yahoo group for women's health and my primary focus over the years has been PCOS. I find that natural progesterone cream works well to balance out the hormones, keep the mood swings in check, the weight down... basically makes it better all the way around. Most of the women who do what I've been doing focus on menopause but my focus has been on the younger women and teens to teach about hormone balance at an early age. I feel by the time menopause comes around it is too late and we are already suffering.

taken from the site listed above:
What Is 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. Such women may also have varying degrees of insulin resistance and an increased incidence of Type II diabetes, unfavorable lipid patterns (usually high triglycerides), and a low bone density. Laboratory tests often show higher than normal circulating androgens, especially testosterone.

PCOS occurs when a woman doesn't ovulate, which causes a disruption in the normal, cyclical interrelationship among her hormones, brain and ovaries. Normally, the hypothalamus, a regulatory center in the brain, monitors the hormone output of the ovaries and synchronizes the normal menstrual cycle. When monthly bleeding ends, the hypothalamus secretes gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which stimulates the pituitary gland in the brain to release follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones direct an ovary to start making estrogen (mostly estradiol), and stimulate the maturation of eggs in about 120 follicles.

The first follicle that ovulates, releasing its egg into the fallopian tube for a journey to the uterus, quickly changes into the corpus luteum, which is a factory for making progesterone, and raises progesterone's concentrations to 200 to 300 times higher than that of estradiol. This huge surge of progesterone simultaneously puts the uterine lining in its secretory or ripening phase, and turns off further ovulation by either ovary.

If fertilization does not occur, the ovary stops its elevated production of both estrogen and progesterone. The sudden fall in the concentrations of these hormones causes shedding of the blood-rich uterine lining and bleeding (menstruation). Then, in response to low hormone levels, there is a rise in GnRH and the cycle starts all over again.

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.

Treatment of PCOS

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.

i started the pill when i was 18 and have had yearly check ups every year and i always had irregular periods and i told my doc this and nothing was ever said. i tried to get preg with my first husband and it never happened. went thru an divorce and never though about it again. then i meet my present husband and he had children so we started trying and never would. i would go without a period but not preg. so i went thru die test and fertility drugs then went to a specialist and paid out alot of money and did the insemination and before we were to do a secong insemination the doc said i had pcos didnt tell me anything,what it was prescp. me metformin and said take 3 aday and that was it. i had to go on the computer to figure it out. come to find out you can see the cyst's on the first ultra sound he just wanted to take my money then he new the insemination wasnt going to work he finally told us what i had. we found a new gyno and he explained what we needed to do. Metformin gave me an awful taste in my mouth and made me feel really bad. sometimes sick at my stomach. some foods didnt taste good at all. mcdonalds little cheese burgers tasted awful i didnt eat another one until i quiet taking the meds. i took them for 2 years. then me and my husband started going to the gym and i started eating right and lost 20lbs i quiet taking the meds and 3 months later was preg. i didnt know i was preg until i was in my 4th month. it was nothing to skip 3 periods. we were shocked! so at 35 i had my beautiful baby girl. the medformin will also make her gain weight. because the docs didnt take time to figure out what was wrong with me when i was younger im 38 and im not sure i want another one at my age. i know people say that age doesnt matter. but it does to me ill be 39 in 2 months and my gyno said it would be real hard on me to have another at the age im at. i had trouble with my first. so its good that your daughter found out now so she can be prepaired, when it would take other people a couple of months to conceive it took me 5 years. if theres anything else i can help with just ask! good luck to your daughter!