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Hormonal imbalance - PCOS
I am 37 and over the past six years I have developed facial hair and much more muscular upper arms, shoulders and calf muscles. I have never done any weight-lifting and so this must be due to a hormonal imbalance. If it is, what can I do about it?
The condition you are suffering from is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) which affects up to one in 10 women - many of whom never even know they have it until, for example, they run into problems trying to have a baby.
A hidden hormonal disorder, it can be difficult to diagnose since half of all sufferers have almost no symptoms while others must put up with a range of embarrassing, often seemingly unrelated problems, including unexplained weight gain, skin problems, excess facial hair and bloating.
The result of too much testosterone and an inability to control blood sugar levels, PCOS is inherited and there is no cure. The conventional treatment was always to put women on the pill to control the more obvious symptoms - including heavy periods and adult acne - but some practitioners now believe this can actually make the condition worse.
With PCOS, the ovaries are covered with a string of tiny, fluid-filled cysts which make the excess testosterone. This hormone is usually carried in the bloodstream by a substance called sex hormone-binding globulin. Without it, there are runaway or “free” testosterone molecules which then bind in the wrong places, including under the skin where they cause acne and excess facial hair. One of the most common symptoms of PCOS is a tendency to put on weight and when your weight increases, the amount of sex hormone binding globulin, which is made by the liver, decreases. This why reducing your weight is so crucial.
You may not be able to cure PCOS but you can certainly manage the symptoms using a combination of natural remedies and dietary changes and I have been banging on about this for years. Start, for example, by eating less carbohydrate in your diet and by eating smaller, more frequent meals.
Your next step should be to buy a copy of Colette Harris’s new and groundbreaking book on PCOS. Colette, a PCOS sufferer who is also the assistant editor of Here’s Health magazine, has done more to bring this condition out of the shadows than anyone else.
Now invited to speak on this long-ignored subject all over the world, her efforts should be applauded not least because it has now been shown that women with PCOS are seven times more likely to suffer from cardiovascular problems and diabetes which means it is not a condition that should be ignored.
*PCOS - A Woman’s Guide to dealing with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome by Colette Harris with Dr Adam Carey is published in paperback by Thorsons, £9.99. A medically qualified herbalist can tailor a treatment plan that includes the hormone-balancing (adaptogenic) herb, Agnus Castus. Contact the National Institute of Medical Herbalists on 01392-426022 .For online information and to talk to other PCOS sufferers, visit www.pcosupport.org.