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  #16   ^
Old Mon, Jul-21-03, 14:41
drchickon's Avatar
drchickon drchickon is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 268
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 252/230/165 Female 5'6
BF:
Progress: 25%
Location: Sacramento, Ca
Lightbulb wow

Wow, I had never even thought about that. As a matter of fact, the Atkins site has a survey up asking what health condition you are most concerned about, and PCOS was listed. I couldn't figure out why. I started Atkins to lose weight and feel more confident that I am doing something good for myself, but now to hear that it will help my PCOS too!!!??!! Fantastic! I actually had noticed a difference in my leg hair especially, but now I will pay more attention to the rest. Thanks for sharing everyone, you totally made my day!
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  #17   ^
Old Mon, Jul-28-03, 22:01
jordy05's Avatar
jordy05 jordy05 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 273
 
Plan: Dr Atkins
Stats: 268.4/207.9/154 Female 160cm
BF:
Progress: 53%
Location: Australia
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I am 30 knew I had PCOS when i was 15 as I had a cyst removed off my ovaries, I had one child through IVF and desperate for another I went to the doctors and she told me to buy the atkins book (as I am also IR, just found out,,, i know falling apart,lol)
In 15 years and millions of doctors i have seen and in all those years I have never really found out much about the disease,, amazing since i went through IVF and no one ever said i could have or needed meds for the condition,,,, untill now I have been in the dark,, thanks to you guys and this forum I have learnt more in 10 days than I have in 15 years,,,, keep going and reply to my journal if you want to keep in touch,,,and wish me luck conceiving baby number 2,,,, bye
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  #18   ^
Old Thu, Oct-09-03, 11:13
Leanna Leanna is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 29
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 160/156/135 Female 5'7
BF:
Progress: 16%
Location: BC, Canada
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I'm so glad to have read this thread! I thought I was crazy thinking that the Atkins diet was improving my hair growth. I've been doing this wol since May/03 and I noticed a difference immediately. I went from waxing my face every week to now just once a month. I'm still losing handfuls of hair on my head every morning but I have lots of regrowth now too so I'm hoping that it will quit falling out so fast after I've been doing this longer. My periods also regulated themselves too. I seem to have to stay in 20-30 grams carbs a day though for it to work. I was hoping i could go a bit higher for maintenance but as soon as I do the hairy lip returns. Maybe after a year or so my body will be fixed enough that I could up the carb level? Oh well, I'm just happy not shaving my toes every morning now!
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  #19   ^
Old Wed, Oct-29-03, 12:28
Haltam Haltam is offline
New Member
Posts: 1
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 210/173/140 Female 62 inches
BF:
Progress:
Location: Chico, CA
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Hello. I have had PCOS (diagnosed in 1982) most of my life and have very dark, fairly thick and virulent hair growth on my chin, upper lip, sideburn area, etc. and have lost 40lbs. on Atkins so far, am taking Spironolactone and Glucophage and have noticed no difference in my hair growth. I had hoped that between the weight loss and the Spironolactone I would start to see a decrease but it hasn't happened for me. Very depressing.

I just wanted to share my story but hopefully someone else out there has more upbeat news or other options. My hair is even resistant to waxing. It's very coarse. I hate it!!

Good Luck with yours.
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  #20   ^
Old Sat, Jan-10-04, 15:06
DevonGalxx's Avatar
DevonGalxx DevonGalxx is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 48
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 175/148/140 Female 173.7cm
BF:
Progress: 77%
Location: Devon
Default Wow

WOW, i can't tell you how excited i feel lol , i've just joined this board today and already found this board on pcos....then i find out that low carbing may reduce some effects of pcos, i've been diagnosed pcos for about 5 years and if i'd known all this before i would have LC'd years ago lol
Better late then never , i'm on day 5 of induction and feeling "ok", and even happier now i've read this post, T your reply sounded alot like mine, i am also awaiting Af (cycle) to come back and possibly ovulation, and maybe even pregnancy but 1 thing at a time for me i'd just be happy losing a few pounds.
I'm going to avoid the metformin for a while now after reading another post but just to hear that the hair growth may slow/fade makes me want to leap around and sing lol
Bye for now Tracey xx
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  #21   ^
Old Sat, Jan-10-04, 19:44
ItsTheWooo's Avatar
ItsTheWooo ItsTheWooo is offline
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Posts: 4,815
 
Plan: My Own
Stats: 280/118/117.5 Female 5ft 5.25 in
BF:
Progress: 100%
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Though I was never officially diagnosed I am sure I had pcos as I suffered from all hallmark symptoms (high testosterone levels exacerbated by insulin resistence).

After being on low carb for 10 months, I can share with you the following improvements, all of which I attribute to normalizing my testosterone and hormone levels from lowering my insulin production:

1) Moods have become stabilized, I don't feel as tempermental and aggressive as I did before. I also do not feel as prone to depression.
2) The excess hair growth has stopped forming a new, but the existing hair has thinned out considerably. My arms are no where near as hairy as they were before, the hair there is barely noticable now. Also when I wax or tweeze the excess hair which is still noticable (such as on the sides of face or under the chin), it grows in finer and slower than before.
3) The acne I suffered with my whole life cleared up almost entirely within a few days of starting LC. This amazed me. I now have flawless skin that never breaks out, even though I am still overweight.
4) The greasyness of my skin has decreased considerably.
5) Before I started low carb I never had periods. I now have them regularly every month. I also ovulate every month.

So there you have it folks. LC pretty much drastically improved or totally reversed all of my PCOS symptoms. Of course, if I overdo it with high GI carbs (such as maltodextrin abuse i.e. eating too much splenda), all my symptoms return. But sticking faithfully to controlled carb has helped me keep the insulin and other hormones in check.

My only complaint is the hair on my head is still thin, and has still been falling out a lot. However, I attribute this hairloss to weight loss induced stress, and I assume it will stop (and grow in a little thicker) once weight loss is stopped. I was born with very thick hair, however due to the PCOS my hair is now on the thinner end of average. I am hopeful that in maintenence it will grow back in a little thicker, although because many of the hair folicles were killed by the high extra testosterone I am not expecting my natural thickness back.

Last edited by ItsTheWooo : Sat, Jan-10-04 at 19:48.
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  #22   ^
Old Sun, Jan-11-04, 17:19
Grimalkin's Avatar
Grimalkin Grimalkin is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 741
 
Plan: PP
Stats: 160/149/125 Female 66 in.
BF:
Progress: 31%
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Well, I think I could have written ItsTheWoo's post up there. Except that I've been on moderate-carb for 7 months, and then Atkins for the last 4 (got best results for PCOS here). But yes, the nasty symptoms of PCOS do go away in time. I have also noticed skin tags shrinking; those seem to take awhile longer as I've heard does Acanthosis Nigricans.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ItsTheWooo
My only complaint is the hair on my head is still thin, and has still been falling out a lot. However, I attribute this hairloss to weight loss induced stress, and I assume it will stop (and grow in a little thicker) once weight loss is stopped. I was born with very thick hair, however due to the PCOS my hair is now on the thinner end of average. I am hopeful that in maintenence it will grow back in a little thicker, although because many of the hair folicles were killed by the high extra testosterone I am not expecting my natural thickness back.


Mine is thinner too, but I'm not giving up hope entirely. I'm not sure testosterone kills follicles (in fact I think the alopecia is called "nonscarring" for that reason), and if it did treatments like Rogaine wouldn't work at all. Also maybe the reason people who use it usually get only partial regrowth is because they haven't really addressed the underlying insulin disorders as we are doing. Maybe it'll all come back, who knows? Consider how doctors usually treat PCOS, how unsatisfactory the results often are, and the miracles we are experiencing here through simple diet modification (a diet many of them would discourage!).
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  #23   ^
Old Mon, Jan-12-04, 20:44
MyJourney's Avatar
MyJourney MyJourney is offline
Butter Tastes Better
Posts: 5,201
 
Plan: Atkins OWL / IF-23/1 /BFL
Stats: 100/100/100 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 34%
Location: SF Bay Area
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Quote:
as I've heard does Acanthosis Nigricans


you mean these horrible discolorations will eventually go away?

I am so self conscious because I have it around my upper inner thighs and I thought they would never leave me. I have tried creams and even stuff like coco butter and nothing seemed to help.

The hair on my face is still going strong but the hair on my head seems to be getting slightly better.

After I get to my goal I will laser it all anyway.

I want to get to the point where I dont pull away every time my boyfriend tries to touch my face because I am paranoid about them feeling some stubble or a stray hair I missed.
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  #24   ^
Old Tue, Jan-13-04, 09:39
Grimalkin's Avatar
Grimalkin Grimalkin is offline
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Posts: 741
 
Plan: PP
Stats: 160/149/125 Female 66 in.
BF:
Progress: 31%
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MyJourney
you mean these horrible discolorations will eventually go away?

Well, I have some darkish areas on the backs of my knees that are lightening up. A Google search will show you similar testimony from other women with different degrees of AN, many of whom are seeing it get better from LC. But I haven't heard anyone yet say it goes away entirely, nor that it improves to a point and stops, so I guess we'll see.

Quote:
After I get to my goal I will laser it all anyway.


There may not be much left to laser by the time you get to goal. My unwanted hair just stopped growing back within a period of months.

I just want to add, I've been using natural progesterone cream in addition to low carbing and it has worked well for me. You should check with your doctor first, but it can be used to suppress ovulation so that your ovaries have a chance to heal up the little cysts while your hormones get balanced. After years of anovulation I was in dire need of the stuff anyway, and it may have accelerated the healing a bit for me.
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  #25   ^
Old Tue, Jan-13-04, 20:32
zedgirl's Avatar
zedgirl zedgirl is offline
Say cheese!
Posts: 555
 
Plan: Carb'n negative + IF
Stats: 123/106/111 Female 163
BF:
Progress: 142%
Location: Western Australia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MyJourney
After I get to my goal I will laser it all anyway.



These days they use lasers for getting rid of all sorts of things like freckles, birth marks, spider veins and tattoos so when you look into laser hair removal ask them about your skin discoloration.....I'm sure there'll be a laser treatment for that too.
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  #26   ^
Old Fri, Jan-16-04, 13:51
ItsTheWooo's Avatar
ItsTheWooo ItsTheWooo is offline
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Posts: 4,815
 
Plan: My Own
Stats: 280/118/117.5 Female 5ft 5.25 in
BF:
Progress: 100%
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Oh yes, I forgot to mention the skin tags... before LC i had slightly dark patches on the sides of my neck and very dark patches on the insides of my thighs. Today, the ones on my neck have completely vanished and the thighs have lightened to the point of being barely noticable.
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  #27   ^
Old Sat, Jan-17-04, 06:56
Squid's Avatar
Squid Squid is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 479
 
Plan: general LC
Stats: 195/142/148 Female 65
BF:
Progress: 113%
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I have been low carbing for about 10 months now. But for about 6 of those months I wasn't as strict as I could be. After reading these posts I'm going to get more serious and see if some of the side effects of PCOS I'm having might go away.

I have stopped growing skin tags and all but two have disappeared. The AN seems better too. Unfortunately, my acne is as bad as ever (bad!) and the hair growth on face is bad.

I've had PCOS for 20 years. About 15 years ago my hair really thinned out a lot and then stopped and I haven't had trouble with it since.

And the best thing is that I'm finally able to lose weight.

Oh yeah, and my mood!!! Huge improvement there.

I read something interesting a few years ago about PCOS. They believe there may be a counterpart to it in men which causes balding and stoutness. I wonder if this might account for the trouble it seems a lot of us are having with thinning hair.

Squid
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  #28   ^
Old Sat, Jan-17-04, 12:52
DevonGalxx's Avatar
DevonGalxx DevonGalxx is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 48
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 175/148/140 Female 173.7cm
BF:
Progress: 77%
Location: Devon
Post

I read a similar thing a while back , that if there was early balding in the men in your family , Dad, Grandad or uncles then it may be passed down as the results we get with pcos. I've not read much on this but it rings true slightly with me as my grandad started balding at young age, although my father has a full head of thick hair and he is in his late 50's.
Also my mum was only 8 stone when she married dad and when she had us kids she started getting the effects i have , facial hair, larger belly and a few other things, although she has always kept a regular menstrual cycle where as mine stopped completly over a year ago she doesn't want to be checked out for pcos but i have my suspicions lol. My sister also has pcos although she still has her menstrual cycle etc.
I guess i drew a short straw somewhere lol but i rather i had it this bad then any other member of my family.
I've been Lc for nearly 3 weeks , and have already noticed a differance in Mood , i think my hair growth is slowing and i feel a whole lot better alot more energy.
Bye for now Tracey x
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  #29   ^
Old Sun, Jan-18-04, 11:54
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odyssey odyssey is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 812
 
Plan: my own
Stats: 35/35/22 Female 5'5.5''
BF::(/:(/:)
Progress: 0%
Location: South West, Kentucky
Default

i spoke with my doctor about this the other day.
He said the glucophage i take will help with this though it might take six months to a year to notice. Also weight loss will as well.
i've also known some women who take spironolactone(sp)-a mild time released diuretic- with varying degrees of success.

i think i would have a full beard if i didn't shave almost daily(not to mention my chest and stomach). i also have skin tags on my arms and neck and dark patches on my wrists, inner thighs and breasts(which look like finger print bruises). i seem to have just about every one of the "classic" symptoms, including the cysts. It would be lovely if some of them began to abate a bit.
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  #30   ^
Old Fri, Jan-30-04, 16:13
Leanna Leanna is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 29
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 160/156/135 Female 5'7
BF:
Progress: 16%
Location: BC, Canada
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I'm so glad to hear low carbing is helping others too. I've tried to tell others in my family how much Atkins has helped my PCOS symptoms but they never believe me. It is so great to have stable moods now and not always yelling at everybody! Before Atkins I didn't even realize how moody I was. My 7 year old asked the other day why I don't yell anymore? It made me teary eyed to think I could have gone on forever without low carbing. I'm so thankful for my "mustache" now because if it wasn't for that I would never have stumbled on to Atkins looking for a cure. I've been doing it for 9 months now and I'm still amazed at all the good results. I only wax once a month now and I can do it at home. I'm up to about 50 grams of carbs a day now and still hair free so my body is definately healing! The hair regrowth on my head is at least 6 inches long so I'm almost out of the fuzzy head stage! Thank-you Dr. Atkins!

Leanna
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