Monthly Archives: October 2014

Keeping Your Breasts Healthy Naturally

In light of breast cancer awareness month I’d like to talk a little bit about keeping your girls healthy and happy and cancer-free. The fact is that there are lots of simple things you can do to stay healthy and help prevent breast cancer.  Simple changes can really add up – but don’t forget the most important thing you can do, which is monthly breast self-exams.  As with any cancer, breast cancer is easiest to treat if you catch it early and take definitive action and so checking regularly is just great self-care. Here’s my favorite way to remind myself:

Keeping Your Breasts Healthy Naturally:

  1. Manage your estrogen – One of the biggest contributors to breast cancer is estrogen dominance, which means that your estrogen levels are too high relative to progesterone levels. We’ll talk about this in more detail because managing estrogen dominance is one of the most important considerations in keeping your breasts healthy naturally.
  2. Don’t take extra estrogen if you’re high risk – if you have genetic risk or a family history of breast cancer than just don’t use birth control or HRT that adds estrogen into your system.  That means no birth control pills, no implants, no shots, no patch.  If you really need a birth control method that isn’t condoms, then consider an IUD – the Mirena IUD actually secretes a small amount of progesterone and so would be very balancing for a woman who normally has high estrogen.  The copper IUD lasts longer (about 10 years for one IUD) but can cause heavy bleeding.  Talk with your doctor to find a solution that is right for you.
  3. Help your Breast tissue – dense or fibrocystic breasts are one of the precursors to breast cancer and also make early detection more difficult. Dense, disorganized or cystic breast tissue may indicate an iodine deficiency. Iodine helps your tissues to grow smoothly and in an organized pattern and so when tissues start to form nodules or changes in density patterns it’ may be an indication that iodine levels are low. Iodine deficiency can also affect thyroid and other hormone levels so this can be a complex problem.  It’s really important to check with your doctor or practitioner if you have thyroid problems before you start taking iodine.  GLA, the beneficial fatty acid from Borage or Evening Primrose Oil can also be extremely helpful for fibrocystic breasts and for keeping your breasts healthy in general. Breast tissue can change and soften with the right nutritional influences and this will help you with both prevention of breast cancer (which is more likely to appear in fibrocystic breasts) and also easier detection. Also for some women caffeine consumption contributes to breast density, sensitivity and nodularity and so limiting caffeine can be beneficial.
  4. Limit the estrogenic chemicals in your life – cut out the phthalates (the chemicals that make plastics soft), the BPA in hard plastics (and if you don’t know about the horrible substitute they’re using called BPS then read up here), the chemical cleaning products, the pesticides and herbicides.  All of these chemicals mimic estrogen in your body and so have the same potential cancer causing effects. Switch to organic foods when you can, especially in meat, milk, butter and eggs. The reason these categories are so important is because antibiotics and hormones are not permitted in organic meat animals or organic dairy animals, but are widely used in conventionally raised animals. If you’re high-risk then this is especially important but I believe every woman should protect herself and her children.
  5. Exercise – This really does make a huge difference in every aspect of your health, especially your risk for chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. In terms of keeping your breasts healthy, exercise increases circulation, increases the rate of lymphatic detoxification in breast tissue and also reduces the total estrogen burden.
  6. Breast self-exams – Breast self exams, as explained by the hunky gentlemen in the previous video who really just want to take care of your breasts (thank you god), help you to ensure  that no lumps pop up quickly.  You can use circular motions to feel the whole area of breast tissue, including under your arms on both sides.  Look for lumps or knots.  Also make sure you look at your breasts in the mirror – dimpling, puckering or inverted nipples can indicate a problem – especially if it starts suddenly.  Also watch for sores or ‘bug bites’ that don’t go away – it is much more rare but there is a form of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer that just looks like a sore or an itchy rash-like spot on the breast that doesn’t heal. Although, I’d suggest watching the video a few times to ensure you have it right. 🙂
  7. Lose Weight – I know. I say that like it’s simple, right?  The issue with carrying extra weight is that fat tissue generates its own estrogen and so carrying extra fat means you are also dealing with extra estrogen – and extra estrogen is the biggest and most important risk factor for breast cancer outside of the BrCA gene.
  8. Eat your veggies and cut down on the meat and dairy – a more plant-based diet helps to reduce your risk and protect your body from many types of cancers, including breast. This diet gives you higher fiber (which helps detoxify estrogens) and more antioxidants and complex polyphenols that reduce your risk even further.
  9. Screening – mammograms are suggested for women over 40 and although there is some radiation exposure they also help with early detection so talk with your doctor about what is right for you.  For women who are truly high risk having a thermogram, or thermal imaging, of the breasts done yearly can be extremely helpful.  Thermal imaging will show problem areas far before you would be able to feel a lump or find anything on a mammogram, although if a spot shows up you will still need to get a mammogram to pinpoint the exact location.  Thermal imaging essentially acts as an early warning system that shows you what to watch.  It also gives you the opportunity to take more aggressive steps if something does show up to prevent it from growing into cancer.




Managing Your Estrogen and Recognizing Estrogen Dominance

Estrogen in women is responsible for all kind of issues and generally it promotes cell growth, weight gain, and moodiness if it’s out of balance or present in high doses. Estrogen dominance is one of the major factors in breast disease including fibrocystic breasts and breast cancer.  Keeping your breasts healthy means recognizing estrogen dominance when it is happening and working to reduce your estrogen burden. Some of the symptoms or indicators that you may be prone to estrogen dominance include:

  • Fibrocystic breasts
  • Breast tenderness and heaviness
  • Water retention in hands and feet
  • Irritability, mood swings
  • Depression
  • Uterine fibroids
  • PMS
  • Severe cramping
  • Heavy bleeding and clotting
  • Endometriosis
  • Family history of breast cancer
  • Breast cancer
Keeping your breasts healthy means reducing estrogen when it's overloaded, and I'm guessing this woman is overloaded. SCREAMING © Erik Reis | Dreamstime.com

Keeping your breasts healthy means reducing estrogen when it’s overloaded, and I’m guessing this woman is overloaded. SCREAMING © Erik Reis | Dreamstime.com

Reducing your estrogens:

30-50 g fiber daily
Exercise – at least 10 minutes daily
Magnesium supplement
B complex supplement
DIM or I3C
Lots of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kale
Reduce caffeine
Reduce calorie intake or portion sizes to help yourself lose weight
Boost your water intake to flush out excess estrogen.

Broccoli, cabbage and kale may seem like a strange step, but there is a supplement with the active ingredient from cruciferous vegetables taken out and concentrated. You can find it under two different names.  One is DIM (Di-indole Methane) or I3C (Indole 3-Carbanol).  These are essentially the same thing, just at different points in the metabolic pathway.  Cruciferous vegetables and both of these supplements are powerful estrogen “chelators”, which means that they bind to estrogen to help your body eliminate them.

Fiber and water are both important for this elimination pathway as well because estrogen binds to fiber in your digestive tract which stops it from being reabsorbed.  Water helps to flush everything out of your system, estrogen included. Fiber and water are two of the most important steps towards keeping your breasts healthy naturally.

Losing weight is one of the most important steps you can take to balance your estrogen, simply because your fat tissue makes it’s own estrogen.  How terrifying is that?  In both men and women, fat cells actually make estrogen.

All of these seem like small steps, and it’s true they won’t change your estrogen levels overnight, but sadly, nothing will short of drugs like tamoxifen that are used in breast cancer. Still, taking these steps for three months will produce noticeable results in your PMS, mood swings, estrogen related weight gain and cycle. Also, if you happen to be using tamoxifen then it is imperative that you read this article about preventing tamoxifen resistance using melatonin.

Take care of your breasts ladies – it’s incredibly important.  These days it seems like everyone knows and loves someone who has been touched by breast cancer. We all have mothers or aunts or sisters or friends who have faced this beast, but together we can help to protect ourselves and our loved ones.  Make sure your friends know how to take care of themselves, raise your children doing breast self-exams and practicing good eating habits.  It is never too early or too late to start keeping your breasts healthy naturally.



Johns Hopkins Scientist -Shocking Report on Flu Vaccines |REALfarmacy.com | Healthy News and Information

Just a quick update – great information on the hype surrounding the flu vaccine.

Johns Hopkins Scientist Reveals Shocking Report on Flu Vaccines |REALfarmacy.com | Healthy News and Information.



The Best Alzheimer’s Supplements

The last post talked a lot about healthy-living strategies for Alzheimer’s prevention, but it’s also important to know about the best Alzheimer’s supplements – especially when there are so many products to choose from. There is a limited body of research for natural supplements in Alzheimer’s disease, but some of the strategies are promising, and could often be used alongside conventional drugs for memory loss and dementia.

Ketogenic diet, Coconut Oil and MCTs

Perhaps the best known alternative therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, these three therapies are just different ways of skinning the same cat.  The theory behind this therapy is that while your body can use many fuel sources, your brain is limited to glucose, or sugar, as a fuel.  In order for your cells, including your brain cells to use sugar they have to be able to respond effectively to insulin signaling.  If your diet has always been a little higher in sugars or starches, or if you have a genetic tendency towards blood sugar abnormalities including diabetes then you may not have good insulin signaling.  The first sign of this is usually something called metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance.  Insulin resistance is the first step along the path towards both diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Coconut oil or MCT oil - one of the best supplements for Alzheimer's disease. Photo by Aravind Sivaraj.

Coconut oil or MCT oil – one of the best supplements for Alzheimer’s disease. Photo by Aravind Sivaraj.

In good news, even if your insulin signaling isn’t so good, there is a back-door to brain fuel, which allows you to bypass both glucose and insulin.  This back-door is called ketones. Ketones are made when your body breaks down fats for fuel instead of sugar and they can feed your brain even when glucose can’t. Ketogenic diets have been used to help children with epilepsy that is uncontrolled by drugs alone to reduce their seizure frequency and evidence with Alzheimer’s suggests that this could potentially be a good diet for neuroprotection in general.  Ketogenic diets generally have a 4:1or 3:1 ratio of good dietary fats: proteins and carbohydrates (including starches and sugar) combined.  There are urine test strips, called keto-strips, that you can use to test your urine to see if your body is in ketosis. Obviously this isn’t the easiest diet to maintain long-term so using fats that are more ketogenic, like coconut oil or MCT, can help.

Coconut oil is unique in that it contains a high proportion of a type of fat called medium chain triglycerides, or MCTs.  Most of the fats that we eat in our diet are made of long-chain triglycerides, but the shorter MCTs are more efficient for your body to convert into ketones, and so are more able to fuel your brain if glucose isn’t working. If a full ketogenic  diet is too difficult then using raw coconut oil, or the extracted MCTs from coconut oil can help boost your brain power.  In fact, five tablespoons of coconut oil or MCT oil spread out through the day is one of the best Alzheimer’s disease supplements that we know of. In fact a pilot study published recently in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease indicated that neurons treated with amyloid-beta (which induces the changes of Alzhimer’s disease) were actually protected by the addition of coconut oil.

Antioxidants – Some of the Best Alzheimer’s Supplements Around

One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is extensive oxidative stress throughout the brain and neurological system. This includes the typical free radical formation, as well as protein and lipid oxidation (which means free radicals steal electrons from proteins and fats), DNA oxidation (scary thought – stealing electrons from your genes), and neuron death. Many antioxidants have been studied (here, here, here and many other places too) to help prevent or reverse this type of damage including:

We should all age so well. The best Alzheimer's supplements for this Female Buddhist lay rununciant at en:Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia (January 2005). Photo by Peter Rimar.

We should all age so well. The best Alzheimer’s supplements for this Female Buddhist lay rununciant at en:Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia (January 2005). Photo by Peter Rimar.

  • CoQ10 – This substance acts as an antioxidant and also stimulates energy production at a cellular level. Not only that, it helps protect your heart.
  • Vitamin E – especially the gamma-tocopherol form, which is more fat soluble and crosses into the brain more effectively.
  • Ferulic acid – this is a phenolic compound found in flax seeds, coffee beans, apples, artichokes, peanuts, fennel and other plants. It is a strong anti-oxidant and in animal studies has shown direct effects against breast and liver cancer.
  • Polyphenols – including quercetin (from many foods) and resveratrol (from red grapes or red wine). These are good anti-inflammatories and anti-oxidants.
  • Alpha-lipoic acid – this fat-soluble (so brain-friendly) antioxidant will also help to lower blood sugars so that makes it one of the best Alzheimer’s supplements out there. It’s a double-whammy.
  • N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) – this amino acids helps your body to recycle glutathione, which is your master antioxidant. It also helps to break up mucus and congestion, which can also be helpful in an elderly population.
  • EGCG – this is the most-researched antioxidant from green tea and has shown benefits to brain health, heart health and aging generally.
  • Curcumin – this strong anti-inflammatory from turmeric has shown a tremendous preventative effect in Alzheimer’s disease and helps to protect your brain from oxidative damage as well as inflammatory changes.
  • Melatonin – this is your natural sleep hormone, which has the added bonus of helping Alzheimer’s patients to sleep more soundly – which is usually one of the worst issues for both caregivers and patients in late-stage Alzheimer’s disease.



The research evidence shows that each one alone has significant benefits, but that combining a variety of different antioxidants is the best strategy for Alzheimer’s disease.  My favorite combination of supplements to start with would be alpha-lipoic acid 600 mg per day (take this one with food because the blood sugar drop on an empty stomach can be significant), CoQ10 400 IUs, and an antioxidant combo with vitamin A, E, and C in it at the minimum but look for some of the others as well.  Also a cup or two of green tea daily and melatonin, 3-20 mg at night for sleep. Of course you should talk with your doctor before starting this or any other suggestion.

Magnesium for Alzheimer’s Disease

Magnesium levels in the brain help to increase the density and plasticity of brain synapses. This means your brain cells can connect to each other more frequently and with more flexibility – changing more effectively as you learn new skills. Unfortunately keeping magnesium levels high in the brain, or even in the body, can be a challenge with modern diets – here is my recent post on Magnesium in general.  There are a couple of types of magnesium that might help with this:

  • Magnesium threonate – has been shown to be effective in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s.  It improved brain levels of magnesium and prevented and reversed cognitive defects as well as synaptic loss. This form of magnesium is taken orally so the dose is limited by bowel tolerance because any magnesium that you take orally will cause loose stools if the dose is higher than your body can absorb at one time.
  • Magnesium Oil – this form of magnesium, which is usually magnesium chloride, is applied topically so there is no trouble with the bowel tolerance issue.  There aren’t any research studies specifically about topical magnesium in Alzheimer’s disease, but logically this could be a good addition to the magnesium threonate to help restore magnesium in the brain and body. Magnesium oil can be applied several times per day and allows magnesium to absorb directly through the skin. Use caution on cuts or scrapes (or newly shaved skin) because it burns like salt water would.

Huperzine A – Best Alzheimer’s Supplement mimicking drug activity

Huperzine A, which is an Alzheimer’s drug in China, is sold over the counter in the US as a nutritional supplement.  It is a plant sourced compound that has strong acetylcholinesterase inhibiting activity in the brain – just like the most common class of drug used to treat Alzheimers, which are cholinesterase inhibitors. This includes the drugs Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne, Cognex and Namenda. Huperzine A has also shown neuroprotective effects as well as the surprising ability to reduce iron levels in the brain – and this may also be beneficial in Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s Disease is debilitating and tragic, but there is so much we can do to both prevent it as well as to slow down the progression. The products that I consider to be the best supplements for Alzheimer’s  is not a complete list of everything out there, but they are the supplements that I feel have the most credible research behind them.  As a starting place the lifestyle steps in the prevention article should be priority one, followed by the addition of useful supplements including  coconut oil, a mix of antioxidants, magnesium and huperzine A.  Above all, it is helpful to work with a practitioner who can help to guide you in these times and make sure any supplements or nutritional changes you make will work well with any pharmaceutical medicines you are taking.



Protect Your Brain – Seven Things You Can Do To Prevent Alzheimer’s

Learning to prevent Alzheimer’s is a topic near and dear to my heart, simply because I have seen exactly how destructive it can be to both those who are struggling with it and to their family. There is a common misconception that Alzheimer’s will neatly eat away at your memory and leave other things intact, but it actually degrades your brain globally destroying memory, personality, skills and social functions. Alzheimer’s destroys everything about the person in a slow, systematic downhill slide.  It’s horrible for the person who is struggling and equally hard for their loved ones. Nobody knows exactly what causes Alzheimer’s disease, but there are clearly both genetic and lifestyle components. The great news is that there are many steps you can take to keep your brain healthy and sharp into old age.  There is no guarantee that you will be protected, but certainly you can reduce your risk.

Alzheimer's disease brain comparison

Normal brain (left) vs. Alzheimer’s brain (right). Notice the similarities between these pictures and the alcoholic brain pictures below.

Proven Measures to Prevent Alzheimer’s: The Seven Foundations of Good Health.

1. Active body

  • Physical exercise reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s dementia by 50% – that is a dramatic difference. Also, if cognitive decline has already started then getting more exercise can slow to progress of the condition.
  • Aim for 30 minutes of activity that increases your heart rate (or aerobic activity) 5 times per week.
  • Building strong muscles helps maintain brain health as well. Adding 2-3 sessions of resistance exercise like lifting weights not only increases muscle mass but also makes your brain healthier.
  • Exercises or activities that increase balance and coordination such as tai-chi, yoga, qi gong, or even stand up paddle boarding can help your brain to develop new connections, strengthen your body and even prevent head injury, which is also a contributor to Alzheimer’s and other forms of memory loss.

2. Active Mind

  • It makes sense that exercising the brain will help to keep it stronger and more active as you age.
  • Learn something new, take up a new hobby, or try strategy games, puzzles, riddles or memory games.
  • Do the same old thing in a different way – take a new driving route to the grocery store, try writing with the other hand or rearrange your kitchen.  Doing something a new way pushes your brain to create new neural pathways.

3. Active Social Life

  • Research shows that the more connected you are to your social group and to other people, the more likely it is that you will do well on test of memory and cognition.
  • It is easier with age to become more socially isolated so take care to cultivate and maintain healthy friendships and relationships.
  • If you are in a position with a recent move or transition out of the work force and don’t have great social connections then it is time to build some. Volunteer, take night classes, join a club or social group, visit a community or senior center, get out and about, or get a small part time fun job.

4. Healthy Diet

  • Alzheimer’s is highly linked to heart disease so adopting a heart-healthy diet will also help you to prevent Alzheimer’s long term. It is also highly linked to diabetes, so managing healthy blood sugars in key in keeping your brain functioning at its best.
  • Eat plenty of good quality fats and oils like olive oil, grass fed butter, fish oil, coconut oil and avocados.  Decrease the amount of fatty or processed meats, shortening, and especially trans fats.
  • Increase the amount of vegetables and fruits that you eat every day especially the darkly or richly pigmented veggies and fruits like blueberries, pomegranate, beets, carrots, raspberries, elderberry, and blackberry.
  • Minimize the candy, cookies, sweets and also breads in the diet.  Alzheimer’s is closely related to diabetes and involves an insulin-resistance within the brain itself so it is important that you maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
  • Eat small amounts regularly – for brain health, 4-5 small meals daily is better than 2-3 larger ones.
  • A daily cup of green tea has also been shown to reduce your risk and promote brain health.




5. Healthy Sleep

  •  Sleep can be a struggle with age so it is important to create a good sleep environment. Make sure to use good sleep hygiene with a totally dark room, no background noise and a regular sleep schedule.
  • Use melatonin if you have difficulty falling asleep or sleep lightly. Melatonin by itself has shown great benefit in protecting the health and function of the brain so this could be a double-whammy.  Also in a senior population melatonin at high dose, like 20 mg nightly,  is safe and possibly advisable because research is showing benefits with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
  • The average person needs 8 hours of sleep to peak creativity and productivity.

6. Healthy Stress Levels

  • Every life has challenges, but worrying has never actually solved any of them.
  • Undue levels of stress create changes in your body that then change your mental functioning.
  • Breathe – stress reduces the amount of oxygen in your brain, so deep belly breathing for a few minutes a couple of times a day can help to re-oxygenate and re-energize your brain.

7. Stop With the Self-Harm.

  • Avoiding some of the major triggers of Alzheimer’s disease will obviously keep you protected longer.
  • Quit smoking – smoking has been shown to lead to earlier onset of dementia.
  • Drink in moderation – excessive alcohol also speeds up the onset of memory loss and dementia, some of which is entirely alcohol related.

    Normal brain vs. an alcoholic's brain.  Notice any similarities to the Alzheimer's brain pictures? Drinking only in moderation helps you prevent Alzheimer's disease.

    Normal brain vs. an alcoholic’s brain. Notice any similarities to the Alzheimer’s brain pictures? Drinking only in moderation helps you prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

  • Protect your noggin – head injury is strongly linked to Alzheimer’s and protecting your head can help your brain to stay sharp.

As the US population ages the rates of Alzheimer’s disease are rising.  Protect your brain and adopt an anti-Alzheimer’s lifestyle.  It is literally never too late to make positive change – even if it’s walking around the block every day. There is always something you can do to change your health and well being and to change your disease risk – you can delay or even prevent Alzheimer’s even if you have a family history of the disease. Look to future posts to talk about some of the supplements and specific activities that can be helpful for Alzheimer’s disease.



Is it Your Thyroid or Could It Be Undiagnosed PCOS?

Everyone knows that if you’re tired, sluggish, gaining weight or can’t lose weight, depressed and losing hair that you have thyroid problems – except that in reality it could also be undiagnosed PCOS. So frequently I have women come into my office who are concerned that they have thyroid disease but the blood tests come out normal – even optimal.  This can be so frustrating, because these women aren’t finding help and while they’re searching they continue to gain weight, have irregular menstrual cycles, have a hard time getting pregnant and inch closer to diabetes and heart disease.  An estimated 50-70% of women who have PCOS remain undiagnosed, making this a silent killer.

Normal ovary vs. polycystic ovary from womenshealth.gov

Normal ovary vs. polycystic ovary from womenshealth.gov

What is PCOS?

PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and is the most common endocrine disorder in women, affecting between 5-10% of the female population. Nobody is really sure why PCOS exists, although there seem to be both genetic and lifestyle contributors, similar to obesity or type II diabetes. PCOS affects only women (we being the ones with the ovaries), although men can carry the gene and notice some symptoms. Because of the genetic link if someone else in your family has it, you are more likely to have it too.  This is considered a multi-endocrine disorder because it changes levels of your sex hormones, but can also influence thyroid function and has a strong effect on your insulin. This means that PCOS and other hormone diseases like thyroid conditions or  blood sugar issues go hand-in-hand. There is no one test for PCOS, which is part of the reason it is so commonly undiagnosed.




You Should Be Checked for Undiagnosed PCOS If:

  • Other women in your family have PCOS
  • You have low thyroid symptoms but your thyroid tests normal
  • Your menstrual cycle is irregular, you frequently skip periods, have more than 35 days between periods on average, or have abnormally long periods with either very heavy or very light flow.
  • You have had a hard time getting pregnant
  • Your hair is thinning, especially in a more typically male pattern
  • You have signs of masculinization or excess testosterone including facial hair growth, excess body hair in general, severe acne, deepening voice, or even excessive muscle development in a woman.
  • You are a woman diagnosed with diabetes or glucose intolerance between the ages of 20 and 50 (because according to the PCOS foundation, 40% of the women who meet those criteria have diagnosed or undiagnosed PCOS.)
  • You have easy and excessive weight gain or difficulty losing weight
  • You have non-specific symptoms such as anxiety, depression, or pelvic pain
  • You have blood sugar issues including insulin resistance, type II diabetes, or hypoglycemia (meaning if you get overly hungry you get tired, shakey, angry, irritable, sad, or sick feeling).
  • You have strongly decreased or strongly increased sex drive
  • You have other unexplained symptoms such as sleep apnea, skin tags, and darkened skin patches.

Can Men Get PCOS?

Technically no – because you guys don’t have ovaries, but you can still carry some of the genes for PCOS and pass it on to your daughters.  Also having some of the genes may increase your risk for things like early male-pattern balding, high blood sugars, metabolic syndrome and acne. So even though you don’t have ovaries that can become cystic you may still have some of the features of PCOS.

Low Thyroid vs. PCOS

Is it any wonder undiagnosed PCOS is often confused for thyroid dysfunction?

Is it any wonder undiagnosed PCOS is often confused for thyroid dysfunction?

If I Suspect PCOS How Should I be Evaluated?

If this sounds like it might be you, the best thing to do is talk with your gynecologist. They will want to ask you about your menstrual history, probably do hormone and blood sugar testing, and may do an ultrasound to see if they can see any cysts on your ovaries.  PCOS is manageable if you know you have it, but undiagnosed PCOS can be frustrating and is easily confused with other conditions, like low thyroid.  Getting the diagnosis right is a big deal, so try to give your doctor the most accurate and complete picture of your symptoms possible. Keep looking back in the next few weeks for information about what you can do naturally for PCOS.