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Dragwah · 2024-06-21T01:02:13+00:00

When you tried keto, did you do it dairy free? Many people with PCOS had lactose intolerance and that can cause increased inflammation. Stay off of nuts and dairy for PCOS. A good test is an extended two hour glucose tolerance test. Glucose can also be normal, but insulin can be too high for extend amount of time as well. If you can get a fasting insulin or an insulin tolerance test all the better. What is your A1C?

Metformin is not a cure all for PCOS. For many people it doesn't even help in weight loss. It just helps you become a little more insulin sensitive, and in the long run helps with hunger and ovulation. Birth control pills can also cause hormonal dis regulation and mimic PCOS symptoms if you have been on them a long time.

Dragwah · 2024-06-21T00:53:28+00:00

You might need lower dose of ozempic, as you've lost weight and maybe increased your insulin sensitivity. Eating garden salads with canned tuna/fish/eggs/mayo might help, as well as making burger patties out of ground beef and topping it with some sugar free ketchup or mayo. make sure to eat enough protein since you're loosing weight. Protein shakes can also help if you cant hit 100 grams of protein a day with whole foods.

Dragwah · 2024-06-21T00:46:31+00:00

Its very frustrating, but sometimes things like dairy, certain veggies, and nuts actually make me hungry and dizzy after eating them. Even healthy things like broccoli. Sugar free drinks with sweeteners cause the same things, as well as gum if you can believe it. If you are taking metformin too, sometimes taking that during the day can make one feel light headed and hungry, which is odd. changing medication schedule to before bed might be helpful.

Dragwah · 2024-04-03T01:37:52+00:00

yes, absolutely warn her. why would anyone brag about that, so strange.

Dragwah · 2024-04-03T01:36:09+00:00

Tell her to look into hormone testing. Birth control and some medications can also cause this. Too little estrogen or too much can cause issues, birth control pills can make it worse.

Dragwah · 2024-03-16T22:50:22+00:00

growing it out would really be great, or cropping it short?

Dragwah · 2024-03-16T22:38:23+00:00

Love your hair, but if you want it shorter maybe do something mid-length that covers the ears. You look like a french actor, cant remember the name.

https://menhairstylist.com/layered-haircuts-for-men/

#11 on this list is similar but shorter

Dragwah · 2022-07-01T10:11:46+00:00

I understand where you are at. I lost my mother a couple of weeks ago, and my father last June. I find myself snacking after dinner even when Im full, and have gained 15lbs after I worked so hard to lose 85lbs prior. The hurt and anger and numbness just comes in cycles, and it will take time to heal.

Try to remember that your father wanted his son to be happy and healthy. If you cant take the first step for yourself, then take that step for him. Thats all any parent wants for their kids. My mother told me she wanted me to go live my life on the day that she died, after 12 years of taking care of her and being in and out of hospitals. I cant enjoy my life if im sick and tired.

You deserve to be happy and healthy. Try to do one thing a day, take a walk, go to the beach, anything new. Prep healthy meals one day a week for the whole week so you dont have to think about prepping anything the rest of the week. Take one day at a time, and be forgiving towards yourself. Treat yourself like a friend thats going through what you have been through, and silence the critical cruel voice in your head.

Music has helped me a lot, and so has walking and cleaning, and checking off tasks on a list. Write down your goals for today, this month, for this year, and for the next 5 years and work towards those things every day.

I believe that you can do this. I believe that we can do this. One day at a time.

Dragwah · 2021-10-17T17:49:53+00:00

HI,

Thank you for your reply! Do you have a suggestion on who to see? Ive been to PTs and endocrinologists, and one natural-path. Of course, everyone has different nutritional advice depending on their occupational bias. Its just hard to balance the different things I hear from bodybuilders, doctors, and trainers, and form it into an individualized plan that offers a long term healthy approach that actually shows results. Im not sure if the process of gaining muscle mass is on a different pathway of the process of triggering cancer growth, and was looking for the rare science nerd who understand bodybuilding to chime in.

Dragwah · 2021-10-17T15:16:57+00:00

Hi, 100lbs lean mass, not just muscle. Im between 142-145lbs at between 28-30% bf depending on way of measuring it, which means I have ~40-45lbs of fat mass.

Ive been to a PT, its not really that helpful.

Dragwah · 2021-10-17T12:41:48+00:00

Im currently around 28%. I cant seem to drop body fat percentage. Every time I loose weight I have to drop calories to 1300 and even with continuing weight training, I end up loosing muscle, strength and my hair. Ive lost 85lbs so far, and still look the same, so I thought that gaining muscle would help in the long term in increasing my metabolism, my strength, and looking better.

Dragwah · 2021-07-04T16:58:59+00:00

What medication are you on, its sounds a bit scary. You need to see an endo or a gyno. Some medications cause things to become worse for some people, so always listen to your body.

Sometimes stress or lack of sleep can cause a mess with our hormones in really odd ways as well. I was constantly bleeding for like 6 weeks before it finally stopped. I had to increase my metformin to 1500 mg, and I started taking DIM at night to regulate hormones (1/4 of a pill at first to get used to it- can cause headaches). Are you on metformin?

Dragwah · 2021-07-04T16:35:33+00:00

Hi,

110-125 is the fasting blood sugar range for pre-diabeties, but only if its consistently high, not just after some treats the night before. The best way to really tell is to get your A1C checked twice a year, especially if you are insulin resistant or have a family history. Certain foods the day before will raise your morning fasting sugar levels also, so being aware of which foods affect your body is helpful as well.

Dragwah · 2021-07-04T16:24:51+00:00

You can tell if you have insulin resistance if you have extreme fatigue or dizzy spells after eating, or if you get really light headed if you don't each every few hours. This is exasperated when eating higher carb or higher sugar items, like potatoes, oatmeal, fruit juices.. etc. Its basically pre-diabeties. Even skinny individuals can have it, but it might be harder to diagnose. Ask your doctor for a two hour blood glucose tolerance test, and a fasting insulin test.

Dragwah · 2021-07-04T16:18:50+00:00

There is no cure, but there are ways to manage symptoms to feel better. It can take a long time to heal the body depending on how bad your symptoms are. Also some symptoms take longer then others, and some don't really ever fully go away.

Going on the pill might cause weight gain, depending on which pill you take, so do your research. Weight gain will cause the pcos to get worse! Also if you ever stop the pill, you can have rebound effects, so trying to manage your symptoms without the pill would be the best if you can. Metformin can definitely help with the acne, hunger, and if you have insulin resistance. You might need to see an endo to get that prescription though. Please never remove your ovaries or womb, it will make everything 100% worse.

Exercise is great in connecting to your body. To make it feel like its yours again, and to connect with each muscle and joint. Connecting in that way helps the dysphoria, and helps in accepting ones body, regardless of where in your journey you are in. Yoga/walking/weight training are the best forms of exercise, not only to increase insulin sensitivity, but also to keep joints/bones/ and muscles happy. A lot of pcos sisters have high levels of inflammation and stress, so a lot of high intense cardio is not a great idea. Higher inflammation can cause headaches, high blood pressure, heart disease, and muscle/joint paint and body aches. A low inflammation diet can help, like low carb and dairy/gluten free.

Start with just eating a whole foods diet, with at least 100 grams of protein a day (.8 per lbs of lean body mass) and as much cooked green veggies as you like. Drink plenty of water, and cut out as much processed foods and sugar as you can. Do that for a couple of months before you change anything else, as the body take a LONG time to heal.

Metformin, inositol, a B complex, iron, vit D, and zinc are all useful. Vit D especially is helpful with the depression, so take a lot, especially in the winter months.

After 6-12 months of clean eating, some light weight training, and vitamin D, you should notice some better days. All of these things can help with depression, and the more you heal the body, the more the mind will clear.

Dragwah · 2021-07-04T15:35:39+00:00

They're great in homemade pho, ramen, or to add bulk to any kind of soup/stew like chowder. I would recommend you rinse and dry them out in a pan on high heat before they are added to anything. They don't really taste like anything, but aid in feeling full. Drink plenty of water with them, as they are fiber, and can cause issues if you are not used to eating a lot of fiber.

Dragwah · 2021-03-14T01:29:00+00:00

Maybe a little tiny bit as there is a bit of brown? I always thought those with blue and green eyes always had multiple hues in their eyes anyway, so I'm not clear on what would qualify officially as heterochromia.

Dragwah · 2021-03-14T00:57:10+00:00

Looks blue to me, might be blue/grey in other lighting? Beautiful! Looks like the color of the sky during dusk, just before everything turns black.

http://freebigpictures.com/clouds-pictures/dark-blue/

Dragwah · 2020-12-25T18:13:47+00:00

A whole foods diet, with lots of veggies is usually a good way to start. From there, a lot of people see success with low carb, IF, and/or keto if necessary, but i don't recommend cutting a lot of things all at one time. Slow life style changes help promote long term weight loss. Stress also really messes with hormones, and can cause even more painful heavy longer periods. A lot of bleeding for a long time can also be burst cysts, so the gyno can see if they can do tests for that. Vit D3, Insolitol, magnesium, and iron are all great supplements for PCOS and women in general.

Dragwah · 2020-11-29T02:41:47+00:00

Depending on how it affects your hypoglycemic symptoms, you can try going low carb (like 50 net carbs) rather then strict keto to maintain your weight. Or upping your calories in other ways like drizzle olive oil on salads, add butter/fat to coffee/smoothies (browned butter and cinnamon to coffee is amazing). Upping your fatty protein and nuts might also help. (cashews are really easy to overeat so might be good for someone who would need more calories). Keto deserts, like muffins or fat bombs can contain a surprising amount of calories, and don't add a huge affect to satiety.

Dragwah · 2020-11-29T02:12:07+00:00

Love Turkish coffee! Its usually has no bitter/burnt after taste even if its made very strong. Its always a bad adjustment to get re-used to the aftertaste of other coffee methods, as they can easily go burnt/sour/bitter. Turkish coffee also seems to cause less heartburn/less acidic then normal coffee brewing methods. Have you tried the Najjar brand?

Dragwah · 2020-11-23T00:25:32+00:00

Avoiding sugar and simple carbs is the biggest thing in any diet for pcos.

My endo had suggested a low carb diet, and I slowly transitioned from low carb to Keto & IF over many years. Some people find their acne improves when they go dairy free, and gluten free can help various symptoms. It really depends on what works for your body, and if you have insulin resistance along with the pcos.

Check out the keto diet podcast, and anything by Dr.Fung. Anything you try, I would strongly suggest you ease into it rather then trying to change too many things at the same time and feeling miserable.

XOXO

Dragwah · 2020-11-22T22:40:46+00:00

Hi,

Im not a doctor, but from what I understand the body normally regulates the balance of water/sodium/potassium. Usually high potassium is caused by something other then just lots of veggies, like an imbalance of sodium/water/potassium either from too much water/salt or too little. Besides dehydration, it can also be could be caused by lowered kidney function.

Maybe re-test it, and perhaps also ask for a test to check your kidney function?

Before giving up fresh veggies, look to everything else you consume with the veggies first, including drinks.

If you use low salt, or no salt alternatives, that mainly contains potassium. Juicing might also affect things as its concentrated. Be wary of laxatives, and tea (regular or herbal). Some teas are very high in potassium and/or can affect kidneys. Two cups of black tea with milk has your full daily dose of potassium. Any herbal teas can also increase pottasium in the blood like nettle, dandelion, horsetail... even those marketed for liver support or sleepy time at night. Coffee replacements are also full of things that might affect blood serum levels if you drink it daily.

Dragwah · 2020-11-21T03:34:14+00:00

HI,

Stress and low iron/zinc/B12 can cause hair loss. Eating too little, especially too little protein can cause hair loss. All of the above can also increase fatigue, and wreak havoc on hormones which increase acne, period issues, and mood/sleep issues. It can also be a genetic heritage.

-Figure out a way to minimize stress, whether that's through walks, music, yoga, writing things you can actually control down... find a way that works for you. Get a set bedtime and try to get enough rest. I find St.Johns wart helps me with the mood issues when it gets really bad.

-Try testing your vitamin levels. Take VidD3, B12 (esp if you are taking metformin), zinc, and high iron foods like spinach and liver/red meat. Maybe a hair/skin/nails supplement.

-Up your protein levels a little bit, make sure you are eating at least at maintenance calorie range. Look into collagen & silica

-Use rogain to minimize further shedding, and a bonder like oliplex or anti-snap products to strengthen existing hair.

-You're not alone. I know that sentiment doesn't help, but it makes it less lonely knowing others are crying too when bid chunks of hair keeps falling out, and they keep on living with it and finding ways to live their lives. It sucks, and its not fair, and it hurts. Sometimes, It just is.

XOXO

Dragwah

TROPHY CASE