Guest guest Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Hello everyone from snowy West Yorkshire! I would appreciate some advice. I have in the past been quite successful with treating this condition. However, I'm having no success restoring any menstrual cycle in this case. 25year old teacher, first came to see me May last year. Took OCP aged 16 for one year, no menses for 2 years on stopping OCP, ultrasound scan revealed cysts on left ovary, re-started OCP for a further 3 years, stopped OCP in Jan 2011 (doesn't wish to take it anymore) and no menses since stopping OCP. Has oily skin, spots on jaw line and in hair line. Fairly dark, thick hair on arms and around nipples, downy hair on face, no discharge from nipples, waist:hip ratio just over 80%, exercises regularly. No FH of PCO. Aware of importance of low GI diet. Good energy. Quite a laid-back person, not unduly stressed, generally happy and outgoing. Menarche aged 11 or 12, thinks menses were fairly regular, quite light with gradually increasing dysmenorrhoea over years. No natural menses since aged 15. Not currently wishing to conceive. MH of note - couldn't give blood in Autumn 2010, found to be anaemic though asymptomatic, took ferrous sulphate, re tested and Hb normalised but found to have very low B12, given injections. Coeliac test negative. still occasionally gets angular cheilitis. History of repeated ear and throat infections in childhood and teens - regular antibiotics at that time. We worked on diet and reduced wheat/grain to minimum. Removed sugar. Made sure adequate protein with each meal. Regular snacks. Plenty of veg. She was due to go travelling for the 6 weeks of her summer holiday and didn't want to take herbs with her, so initial herbal treatment was from May to end of July. Then we re-started in September until Christmas. . . I gave a variety of the usual herbs including at various times, Vitex, Paeonia, sinensis, Cinnamomum, Berberis aquifolium, Serenoa, Schisandra, Urtica rad, Cimicifuga. She also took Lamberts Multiguard Control, Omega 3 oils and a good probiotic. Blood tests in October 2011 as follows HbA1c - 5.2% (normal range 4.0 - 6.5) IFCC standardised 33mmol/mol (20.0 - 42.0) Serum LH 20.0 Serum FSH 5.2u/L Serum testosterone 2.5nmol/L Serum SHBG 27nmol/L (normal range 28 - 146.0) below range Free androgen 9.3 (normal range <=4.5) above range It was after these results that I introduced the Urtica rad and Serenoa. Her GP is wanting to give her hormone treatment to force a period, but she doesn't want to do this. She had a break from the herbs after Christmas but has just re-booked and would like to start treatment again. How at risk is this patient re unopposed acyclic oestrogen? What other strategies/herbs would be helpful? Could the lack of success with re initiating a cycle be due to the stop/start nature of her herbal treatment? I would appreciate any advice. Thank you Sue Salmon, Huddersfield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Hi Sue, I have successfully restored regular cycle to a 46 year-old woman with PCOS since her late teens. use many of the herbs you have tried but I gave liquorice with peony (which I found recommended somewhere) and carduus for liver (rather than berberis) and chionanthus for the blood sugar - if I was starting again I might have given tarax root for liver and blood sugar. Full rx was: 10 Chionanthus virginicus 25 Carduus marianus 5 Serenoa serrulata 10 Vitex agnus-castus 15 Paeonia lactiflora 10 Glycyrrhiza glabra 25 Urtica dioica Haven't seen her for 6 months but at that time was treating her for normal menopause. a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Paeonia and Glycyrrhiza in combination are specific for PCOS. (Big doses of Paeonia are often required, at least 30-45 ml per week of 1:3. I find Avicenna's is the best out of those I have tried), with usual doses of Glycyrrhiza. Chamaelirium can also be helpful to encourage the follicles to erupt. I have not found Vitex to be particularly helpful, and in fact I expect it could be counterproductive given that it can raise LH, which is already very high. I would favour herbs such as Achillia and Alchemilla, which encourage progesterone synthesis and reduce LH by negative feedback. Hello everyone from snowy West Yorkshire! I would appreciate some advice. I have in the past been quite successful with treating this condition. However, I'm having no success restoring any menstrual cycle in this case. 25year old teacher, first came to see me May last year. Took OCP aged 16 for one year, no menses for 2 years on stopping OCP, ultrasound scan revealed cysts on left ovary, re-started OCP for a further 3 years, stopped OCP in Jan 2011 (doesn't wish to take it anymore) and no menses since stopping OCP. Has oily skin, spots on jaw line and in hair line. Fairly dark, thick hair on arms and around nipples, downy hair on face, no discharge from nipples, waist:hip ratio just over 80%, exercises regularly. No FH of PCO. Aware of importance of low GI diet. Good energy. Quite a laid-back person, not unduly stressed, generally happy and outgoing. Menarche aged 11 or 12, thinks menses were fairly regular, quite light with gradually increasing dysmenorrhoea over years. No natural menses since aged 15. Not currently wishing to conceive. MH of note - couldn't give blood in Autumn 2010, found to be anaemic though asymptomatic, took ferrous sulphate, re tested and Hb normalised but found to have very low B12, given injections. Coeliac test negative. still occasionally gets angular cheilitis. History of repeated ear and throat infections in childhood and teens - regular antibiotics at that time. We worked on diet and reduced wheat/grain to minimum. Removed sugar. Made sure adequate protein with each meal. Regular snacks. Plenty of veg. She was due to go travelling for the 6 weeks of her summer holiday and didn't want to take herbs with her, so initial herbal treatment was from May to end of July. Then we re-started in September until Christmas. . . I gave a variety of the usual herbs including at various times, Vitex, Paeonia, sinensis, Cinnamomum, Berberis aquifolium, Serenoa, Schisandra, Urtica rad, Cimicifuga. She also took Lamberts Multiguard Control, Omega 3 oils and a good probiotic. Blood tests in October 2011 as follows HbA1c - 5.2% (normal range 4.0 - 6.5) IFCC standardised 33mmol/mol (20.0 - 42.0) Serum LH 20.0 Serum FSH 5.2u/L Serum testosterone 2.5nmol/L Serum SHBG 27nmol/L (normal range 28 - 146.0) below range Free androgen 9.3 (normal range <=4.5) above range It was after these results that I introduced the Urtica rad and Serenoa. Her GP is wanting to give her hormone treatment to force a period, but she doesn't want to do this. She had a break from the herbs after Christmas but has just re-booked and would like to start treatment again. How at risk is this patient re unopposed acyclic oestrogen? What other strategies/herbs would be helpful? Could the lack of success with re initiating a cycle be due to the stop/start nature of her herbal treatment? I would appreciate any advice. Thank you Sue Salmon, Huddersfield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 I also meant to say that liver support is important, and that it might take 3 months for symptoms to improve. Hello everyone from snowy West Yorkshire! I would appreciate some advice. I have in the past been quite successful with treating this condition. However, I'm having no success restoring any menstrual cycle in this case. 25year old teacher, first came to see me May last year. Took OCP aged 16 for one year, no menses for 2 years on stopping OCP, ultrasound scan revealed cysts on left ovary, re-started OCP for a further 3 years, stopped OCP in Jan 2011 (doesn't wish to take it anymore) and no menses since stopping OCP. Has oily skin, spots on jaw line and in hair line. Fairly dark, thick hair on arms and around nipples, downy hair on face, no discharge from nipples, waist:hip ratio just over 80%, exercises regularly. No FH of PCO. Aware of importance of low GI diet. Good energy. Quite a laid-back person, not unduly stressed, generally happy and outgoing. Menarche aged 11 or 12, thinks menses were fairly regular, quite light with gradually increasing dysmenorrhoea over years. No natural menses since aged 15. Not currently wishing to conceive. MH of note - couldn't give blood in Autumn 2010, found to be anaemic though asymptomatic, took ferrous sulphate, re tested and Hb normalised but found to have very low B12, given injections. Coeliac test negative. still occasionally gets angular cheilitis. History of repeated ear and throat infections in childhood and teens - regular antibiotics at that time. We worked on diet and reduced wheat/grain to minimum. Removed sugar. Made sure adequate protein with each meal. Regular snacks. Plenty of veg. She was due to go travelling for the 6 weeks of her summer holiday and didn't want to take herbs with her, so initial herbal treatment was from May to end of July. Then we re-started in September until Christmas. . . I gave a variety of the usual herbs including at various times, Vitex, Paeonia, sinensis, Cinnamomum, Berberis aquifolium, Serenoa, Schisandra, Urtica rad, Cimicifuga. She also took Lamberts Multiguard Control, Omega 3 oils and a good probiotic. Blood tests in October 2011 as follows HbA1c - 5.2% (normal range 4.0 - 6.5) IFCC standardised 33mmol/mol (20.0 - 42.0) Serum LH 20.0 Serum FSH 5.2u/L Serum testosterone 2.5nmol/L Serum SHBG 27nmol/L (normal range 28 - 146.0) below range Free androgen 9.3 (normal range <=4.5) above range It was after these results that I introduced the Urtica rad and Serenoa. Her GP is wanting to give her hormone treatment to force a period, but she doesn't want to do this. She had a break from the herbs after Christmas but has just re-booked and would like to start treatment again. How at risk is this patient re unopposed acyclic oestrogen? What other strategies/herbs would be helpful? Could the lack of success with re initiating a cycle be due to the stop/start nature of her herbal treatment? I would appreciate any advice. Thank you Sue Salmon, Huddersfield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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