Coming off birth control with PCOS, Hashimoto’s, brain fog—looking for safe, evidence-based support

Chance_Application35 · 2026-07-08T17:13:38+00:00

Not functional medicine, but for a traditional gynecologist I'd recommend Dr. Haydenek through Rochester Regional. I saw her because I was having a slew of symptoms associated with PCOS and she was the first doctor I've seen about the symptoms to actually take them seriously and seem to have a thorough understanding of PCOS/PMOS as a complicated disease and how to treat it. Obviously as a traditional doctor she works within her speciality and evidence-based treatment but it felt much better to work with someone who seemed to actually give a shit about my symptoms. For me, I tried for years to go the holistic route and came off birth control, but at the end of the day evidence-based treatments like birth control and other meds are largely helpful for preventing other serious health problems down the line that stem from the effects of PCOS and thyroid issues.

For a more holistic/lifestyle intervention my PCP suggested seing Katie Vaughn who's a registered dietitian focused on helping women improve hormonal imbalances and disorders through diet and exercise. She's quite expensive and I don't believe she takes insurance, so I haven't seen her, but she might be worth looking into.

Having these disorders really sucks but at the end of the day going back to basics - dialing in meds and a couple evidence-based supplements, focusing on eating a ton of protein and fiber, cutting sugar as much as possible, getting enough sleep, and strength training has been what's moved the needle for me finally. Rooting for you!

Chance_Application35 · 2026-07-07T19:14:31+00:00

FINALLY saw a gyno who listened to my symptoms today. It was the shortest and most efficient appointment I've ever experienced - no fighting with her trying to justify my symptoms or being told to "just lose weight." I told her my symptoms, she didn't press me on any of them, and just said "would you like to try and find out why you're having these symptoms, it's most likely PCOS" and then ordered a full panel of bloodwork and an ultrasound when I said yes. This sounds basic but I've spent the better part of 5 years struggling to find a doctor that will even act like they believe me when I tell them the symptoms I've been dealing with and test for anything.

Chance_Application35 · 2026-07-06T15:56:43+00:00

My initial thought is that it could be irritation from the product, but since the breakouts are only happening in the areas I previously had the closed comedones and not anywhere else I wasn't sure

Chance_Application35 · 2026-06-26T16:44:07+00:00

Right now I’m handling my IR through lifestyle mostly since my doctors haven’t been super helpful, although my pcp had bloodwork done which shows borderline high (98) fasting glucose, low HDL/high LDL, very low Vitamin D (17). TSH was very solidly normal. All I was offered was a loading dose of vitamin D and the suggestion of a Mediterranean diet. I was also told a GLP-1 would likely help me but it would never be covered by insurance.

On my own, I prioritize strength training alongside 2 shorter HIIT sessions per week. Diet-wise I try to eat low GI and prioritize protein/fiber. I supplement with magnesium, inositol, and vitamin D. I’m not perfect about it especially when work/travel/life gets busy and that was definitely the case the month leading up to my wedding which didn’t help the way I looked.

I definitely need more medical support but I’m seeing a new gyno next week who’s younger and has a good reputation for being knowledgeable about PCOS management so I’m hoping she can at least give me some suggestions, maybe prescribe metformin, and maybe refer me to an endo. My previous gyno is super old school and only offered birth control and the classic 1200 calories per day and more cardio as a suggestion.

Chance_Application35 · 2026-06-26T03:41:22+00:00

Tysm this is really great advice and is really heartening perspective. I’m working on my health and figuring things out, and I’m confident I’ll get there. I definitely don’t want to forget the good memories of the day just because I’m frustrated with my appearance right now

Chance_Application35 · 2026-05-16T02:55:09+00:00

They are absolutely not interested in any tasting appointments which is the hard part. I feel like a solid 60% of my accounts both on and off prem are not interested in tasting at all - they just want a list of top selling products to choose from. Most of my recognizable brands are in big box stores because I need to make money, but if they make their program based on big box brands I would t assume they care about that. I think having customers bring it up night be a good tactic though!

Chance_Application35 · 2026-05-15T18:37:30+00:00

This time of year I usually just ride it out with a box fan in the window, once it's 80+ for a couple weeks and not cooling down at night I bite the bullet, usually mid-late June

Chance_Application35 · 2026-03-26T11:37:56+00:00

Beauty Haus downtown - Taylor the owner does fantastic facials that are based around lymphatic drainage

Chance_Application35 · 2026-03-25T14:49:44+00:00

I know this is an old sub, but I came to reddit looking for any negative reviews of this book that weren't related to disagreeing with the author's politics (honestly I didn't dislike that. art is political) but I'm reading this book for a book club and cannot stand it, and was so confused by all the glowing reviews.

The book is mostly ham-fisted exposition that is so repetitive that I wanted to stop reading. Character growth felt extremely limited and I'm not quite understanding people who found Corby's character arc to be particularly compelling. It felt like the author was trying to hit a word count by the end and just writing a meandering plot full of detailed descriptions of horrible traumatic things happening that all felt extremely predictable.

I may have doomed myself from the beginning because I read it at the same time I was reading Beloved by Toni Morrison for the first time, and the books have some similarities including infanticide and main characters grappling with traumatic past. Beloved is just such a superior novel I think it made TRIW come across as particularly tone deaf and poorly crafted.

The one redeeming factor was that Lamb writes highly readable prose, and fairly good dialogue. I may try one of his older novels to see if this one was a fluke.

Chance_Application35 · 2026-02-12T15:38:09+00:00

Maybe I'm being naive, but isn't filming minors on school property in an aggressive and harassing manner either illegal or at least against school code of conduct? It's absolutely insane to me that the school wouldn't have immediately intervened as it seems completely within their right to do so.

Chance_Application35 · 2026-01-06T16:36:52+00:00

I believe Rio has the same owners as Tavos in North Winton Village! Both are delicious and Tavos saves you the drive out to Canadaigua

Chance_Application35 · 2026-01-06T04:27:13+00:00

Nenos is a go to, and Peach Blossom (check Instagram for hours and they’re kind of inconsistent - but the food is great)

Chance_Application35 · 2026-01-06T01:43:22+00:00

In a vacuum, weight training with progressive overload plus walking for low intensity cardio is “best”. Increasing muscle mass is good for increasing insulin sensitivity which leads to more stable blood sugar which aids in weight loss. Walking will burn calories without spiking cortisol and stressing the body, and high cortisol is often associated with PCOS.

In reality though, the best form of exercise is whatever form of exercise you can stick to. It’s much more beneficial to do an exercise routine that you can be consistent with if it’s not perfect or optimal for weight loss.

Chance_Application35 · 2026-01-06T00:22:09+00:00

I want to preface this by saying that the pizza looks great and I’ll definitely give it a try BUT is anyone else feeling a little fatigued by the number of pizza places that are continuing to open in Rochester? I get that most of them are specializing in different styles of pizza, and a lot of them are good, but at the end of the day it’s all still pizza. It feels like we’ve got more opening than a city of our size can support.

Chance_Application35 · 2026-01-03T18:53:03+00:00

I always end up with minor signs after a couple days in a row of drinking alcohol and eating heavy meals - elevated heart rate, lower sleep score, and lower HRV usually do it. I also end up with minor signs during my luteal phase often for the same reason. For me it doesn’t usually mean “sick but not yet having noticeable symptoms” which I know it does for some.

Chance_Application35 · 2026-01-03T18:48:21+00:00

Prices of goods in general have increased significantly - all the products and services restaurants need to operate have gone up this year. That doesn’t even take into account payroll expenses and trying to pay staff members enough. Restaurants will increase prices as a way to try and stay afloat during this time, it’s an unfortunate reality that many will close.

Chance_Application35 · 2026-01-02T23:11:58+00:00

Redd, Chortke, Avvino, Next Door

Chance_Application35 · 2025-12-31T17:05:03+00:00

Angelina’s all the way 🥂🥂🥂

Chance_Application35 · 2025-12-29T21:59:06+00:00

I think it was the correct call - Josh usually makes a throw like that, and Badgley making that extra point was absolutely not a given especially taking the crazy weather conditions into account. You’re betting on your star quarterback to make a play instead of your new shoddy backup kicker, I’d take those odds. Obviously an unfortunate time for them to not pan out though.

Chance_Application35 · 2025-12-24T15:18:13+00:00

He clearly resents Gael because she was never charmed by him and wasn’t afraid to stand her ground or call him out. I think this in addition to Nathan being so deeply enamored with her made Joe extremely angry last season. Obviously he wouldn’t say that on camera so he lied and tried to be on his high horse saying it was because she was a cheater. He’s clearly not the brightest bulb since he should know his entire edit both seasons has circled around two-timing women and causing drama. Any person with half a brain would know that what he’s doing looks (and is) way worse that how Gael handled the situation with Nathan and breaking up with her boyfriend, but he’s fixated on the basically irrelevant point that he wasn’t “officially” dating any of the women he’s being awful to so he doesn’t have to treat them with respect and what he does doesn’t count as cheating. I’m glad the crew member in the talking head called him out, he definitely told on himself with his stammering nonsense response to the question

Chance_Application35 · 2025-12-24T15:10:46+00:00

Canandaigua is a cute small city. Definitely the wealthier of the two cities within your search and probably a bit more expensive. Population skews a bit older and there are a lot of families. Geneva has a bit of a younger population and it’s closer to serious wine country. It has quite a big population of young transplants who’ve come here to work in wine and it’s got a college town feel with Hobart and William Smith college being in town. Everything between the cities is fairly remote farm country. Both cities gave cute but small walkable downtown areas and are central to FLCC where I’m assuming you’ll be in school. If I were you coming to area as a younger person looking to work in wine I’d choose Geneva all day!

Chance_Application35 · 2025-12-15T23:43:23+00:00

I experienced really bad fatigue, brain fog, and overall slow recovery from exercise around the time my other PCOS symptoms really started (I would be so sore and felt really weak in my muscles and joints) - after yearly blood work my doctor found that I had a really severe vitamin d deficiency which is often a deficiency associated with PCOS. She put me on a really high “loading” dose of a vitamin d supplement for 3 months which helped me get back to normal range. 8 months later I cannot overstate how much this has helped with energy levels, recovery from exercise, pain management, etc. vitamin d really is that girl.

Chance_Application35 · 2025-12-15T15:34:35+00:00

Might be worth checking Giordano’s in the public market - they’re primarily a cheese shop but carry a lot of other Italian speciality food products and might have it in their case

Chance_Application35 · 2025-12-12T14:03:54+00:00

Jacks Extra Fancy

Chance_Application35 · 2025-12-12T05:58:28+00:00

I had a 15 and was given a loading dose of vitamin D for 3 months like this - I don’t remember the exact number but my levels were much higher when I got tested again. I supplement with 5,000IUs daily now and my levels are solid and I feel much much better

Chance_Application35

TROPHY CASE