Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Leading the change to better periods and hormones
Articles about common period problems including irregular periods, PCOS, endometriosis, painful periods, PMS, PMDD, heavy periods, and perimenopause. From the perspective of a women’s health specialist with more than twenty years of experience. Treatments include diet and lifestyle changes as well as simple nutritional supplements such as magnesium and zinc.
Were you told you have polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS based on a pelvic ultrasound? That may or may not be an accurate diagnosis because PCOS cannot actually be diagnosed or ruled out with ultrasound.
In episode three of my podcast/YouTube video, I discuss PCOS including topics such as: why PCOS is an umbrella term, the difference between polycystic ovaries and ovarian cysts, and why some women with undereating and endometriosis are being mistakenly told they have PCOS.
Endometriosis is not a hormonal condition. It’s affected by estrogen but is not caused by estrogen or “estrogen dominance.”
Instead, endometriosis is a whole-body inflammatory and immune disease, and possibly a microbial disease.
What does that mean for treatment?
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is not one disease. Instead, it’s “a heterogeneous disorder with different underlying biological mechanisms.” In other words, it’s a set of symptoms (androgen excess and anovulatory cycles) caused or driven by several underlying factors. To successfully treat PCOS, you need to identify which factor (or factors) is driving the symptoms. In other words, you need to know your functional type of PCOS.
The four functional types of PCOS include insulin-resistant PCOS, post-pill PCOS (which is temporary), inflammatory PCOS, and the far less common adrenal PCOS.
If you suffer hair loss, facial hair (hirsutism), or acne, then you know all about androgen excess or high male hormones.
You may have been given the diagnosis of PCOS, but there are actually several different reasons for androgen excess in women, including androgen hypersensitivity, adrenal androgen excess, high prolactin, menopause, and hormonal birth control with a high androgen index.