the menstrual cycle. Treatment needs to address not just the ovaries but the entire metabolic picture including the thyroid and the whole hypothalamus / pituitary / adrenal axis.
The focus of treatment for a woman with polycystic ovaries will depend on whether she is currently wanting to conceive or not. If she is not currently wanting to conceive, orthodox medicine will often prescribe the oral contraceptive pill and the woman will be told her cycle will be regulated and the issue will go away. This isn’ t exactly true as her cycle isn’ t regulated, but rather she will have a regular monthly withdrawal bleed due to taking hormones then withdrawing those hormones( sugar pills) for the‘ period’ part of the pill packet cycle. For some the issue can worsen when they come off the pill and for others they’ re ok. Either way, the underlying causes need to be addressed if healthy fertility is to be achieved long term.
A naturopathic approach to treating a woman with PCO / S will not be as easy as just taking a pill to temporarily deal with the issues, but rather time will be taken to address the underlying cause of the issue. Many people and especially teenagers, are not willing to invest the time, effort and sometimes cost to do this and may prefer to simply take the oral contraceptive pill. The naturopathic approach involves educating the woman about the underlying causes of the condition and then addressing these underlying causes, often with a combination of nutritional and lifestyle advice, as well as herbal medicine when required. It is about creating balance back into the body.
The most common issues to be addressed include insulin resistance( in both overweight and lean women) and / or poor glucose metabolism, address hyperandrogenism( excess male hormone
World wide 1 in 5 women are diagnosed with polycystic ovaries and in Australia 12-21 % of women are diagnosed with polycystic ovaries.
production) and improve the balance of healthy female hormones. Hormones can not simply be treated like nutrient deficiencies, as hormone systems in the body intricately rely on various self regulated feedback mechanisms. Some of the things that can impact hormones include ongoing stress, exposure to endocrine( hormone) disruptors and other toxins( pesticides, plastics etc). If these things are conscientiously addressed, improvement can be seen in 6-9 months. Some of the nutrients currently showing promise in improving ovarian, metabolic and hormonal parameters include myo-inositol and
N-acetylcysteine. In the case of women with PCO / S wanting to conceive now, orthodox medical intervention usually involves the drug Clomid which has an anti-estrogenic effect and stimulates ovulation. Ovulatory rates can increase by up to 85 % but there is a much lower successful pregnancy rate. Obese women can often be resistant to Clomid and if it doesn’ t work in the first couple of cycles, it’ s not likely to. It makes sense to take the time to address the underlying causes of the hormonal imbalance and then if Clomid is required in the future, there is likely to be a better response rate. Orthodox and naturopathic medicine can work so well together like this.
Clomid may be used in conjunction with Metformin which is an insulin sensitiser and can decrease fasting insulin levels and improve ovulation but not necessarily improve pregnancy rate. The combination of the 2 drugs has shown to improve ovulation and early pregnancy but not live birth rate( unless the female was resistant to Clomid). In any case, when a couple is trying to conceive, it’ s important to consider both the female and male fertility factors.
Ovarian drilling is often reserved for severe cases of PCO / S and as with any surgery there can be consequences, and once again there is a need to address the underlying cause if recurrence is to be avoided.
Diana Arundell is a university-qualified naturopath and consults from her Avoca Naturopath clinic. She has a special interest in fertility and pregnancy health, digestive health, immune function and family wellness programs. She was a nutrition lecturer at Macquarie University for 10years, and is an accredited Journey Practitioner.
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