PCOS: A Personal Management Guide (Part 3)

Supplements

The world of supplements and ‘wellness’ is frankly overwhelming. When it comes to PCOS, the type of PCOS and your specific symptoms will dictate which supplements may be helpful for you. As I have insulin-resistant PCOS, I can only speak from my experience but if you have lean PCOS or pill-induced PCOS, for example, you may need to explore other or additional options.

Conventional medicine generally dictates the use of a hormonal pill to induce bleeds (which are not real periods, and effectively suppress your natural hormonal system), or the even generic advice of ‘just lose weight.’ People with PCOS will know that losing weight is definitely easier said than done, and that the pill (I was prescribed a combined pill), just didn’t fix the underlying issue - as someone who has developed an innate sense of what my body wants and needs, I stopped taking the pill and decided to tackle my PCOS my way.

Supplements should not be your first port of call. They are generally useful as an additional helping aid, but they are not there to replace the work you need to be doing with your diet and exercise. I would suggest giving yourself at least 3 months of having made diet and exercise changes, before starting supplements. It will give you a good baseline to start from, and to really understand the effects of any supplements you do take.

The supplements that I take are:

• Inositol

• Berberine

• Zinc

• Vitamin D3

• Mushroom complex

• Omega 3, 6, 7 and 9 complex

• Vitamin B complex

• DIM

• Saw palmetto

I have deliberately not included information regarding dosage or frequency beccause this is generally very personal and what works for me, may not work for you. I would encourage you to research as deeply as possible before making any decisions, and to speak with PCOS focused doctors / practitioners. In the world of social media, I have found people like Dr Jolene Brighten and Shahzeen Baig (@the.pcos.nutritionist on Instagram) to be knowledgable and helpful.

Additional lifestyle changes I have made are:

• drinking two cups of spearmint tea per day (it has to be specifically spearmint - not regular mint tea or peppermint)

• consuming one teaspoon of soaked fenugreek seeds per day (add the seeds to a glass with water for at least 5 hours or so until the seeds have plumped up. I drain the water and swallow the seeds instead of chewing).

• taking one teaspoon of black seed oil - this is an old home health hack I have been doing for years but I do notice the effect when I stop so it’s part of my daily routine to have this too)

• yoga / meditation - one chronic issue which makes PCOS symptoms exponentially worse is the effect of stress on the body. Increased stress has a physiological impact on hormones - specifically cortisol. Keeping this well-managed is key to acheiving maximum impact from all the other changes you may wish to make

• waking / sleeping cycle. To regulate cortisol levels, go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day. Aim to be up and having eaten breakfast by 9am at the latest.

• get 15-20 mins of sunlight before 9am to help regulate cortisol levels
  
  

Disclaimer: I am not a health professional of any description. The content of this article is based purely on my personal experience and research. Whilst this may be helpful as an overall guide, it is not intended to replace any medical advice. Please speak to your doctor before making any changes.