My LLNP wants me to see a Reproductive Endocrinologist to see if I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I have almost all the symptoms of it. But, I'm wondering if anyone thought they had this, but turned out to be symptoms of Lyme?
Thank you! Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
Don't know your age and whether you have kids or plan to in the future.
I do not have Lyme -- hubby does.
I have polycystic ovarian syndrome. This is probably something you were born with.
The main treatment is contraceptive drugs to regulate your periods and following a low carb high protein diet. The same diet you should follow to treat your Lyme!
Diet plus exercise is to help regulate insulin receptors and prevent you from developing hypoglycemia which can lead to diabetes. Also to control high cholesterol.
Cinnamon capsules work well to lower insulin levels and have helped me.
One of the main symptoms of PCOS is a "hairy chin or upper lip" from the imbalance in hormones.
In my opinion, an annual appointment with an ob/gyn is sufficient. There is no need to do expensive testing unless you are trying to have kids and then they usually prescribe fertility drugs.
If you are having severe ob/gyn issues then you might need to see the specialist.
Lyme could definitely affect your hormones, but if you have PCOS you would have probably had symptoms from puberty onwards.
Bea Seibert
Posted by tiff423 (Member # 8957) on :
Thank you! I sent you a PM.
Posted by blue23 (Member # 9080) on :
Hey Tiff- I was diagnosed with PCOS at about the time I was turning 20. I had mostly all of the symptoms of it, and was prescribed birth control pills and glucophage.
This is a drug that is prescribed to diabetics to increase insulin sensitivity.
I don't know if your doc told you, but the basic cause of the syndrome is an insulin resistance.
Anyway, the glucophage only made me feel very sick, so I discontinued taking it.
It seemed strange to me that I had ALL the symptoms of PCOS, but the standard treatment wasn't helping me.
I was diagnosed with lyme this year, and I personally believe that all those symptoms were caused by the lyme. Lyme can really affect your endocrine system, which explains all the hormone issues.
I don't know if you have been diagnosed with lyme, but if you have an LLMD, I would talk to him about it for sure.
Also, they will probably prescribe you birth control pills. Something to think about is that they can increase the risk of blood clots, and lyme patients already have "thick blood."
I obviously am not a dr., but if you have lyme I think that's definitely something to think about.
I hope you get everything worked out. PM me anytime if you have any questions.
Posted by tiff423 (Member # 8957) on :
Thank you, I sent you a PM, as well. Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
Tiff: Lyme can mess up the HPA axis (hypothalmus - pituitary - adrenal glands).
I believe the pituitary glands control, or at least affect, the reproductive hormones.
Here is an article written by a woman with reproductive issues, who had an odd "tumor" on her pituitary gland -- AND she also had Lyme Disease!
BTW, my periods were becomming irregular, but when I started Rhodiola, they went back to more normal.
Just yesterday I looked up info about PCOS, and found that "the cause is unknown." Also, something with Lyme Disease seems to cause insulin resistance, which is also connected with PCOS.
So...maybe there IS a connection between Lyme and PCOS.
[ 15. August 2006, 07:46 PM: Message edited by: Carol in PA ]
Posted by kelmo (Member # 8797) on :
A couple of medical people thought my daughter had cystic ovaries, went to the OBGYN and it turns out she didn't. It was one more specialist we could tick off our list.
Of course, you need to check because you never know. But, the disease really whacks out hormones. My daughter uses bio-identical progesterone cream to help balance things.
Better safe....get checked.
Posted by dguy (Member # 8979) on :
I believe the answer to your question is Yes.
Years ago I had an email pal with virtually the same symptom set as me. Same pains, same triggers, same odd reactions to meds, same stumped doctors, same everything, except she's female and I'm not.
Eventually her docs concluded she must have PCOS.
Her symptoms resolved during pregnancy, then returned after. I am unable to experiment to see if I react the same way. :-)
I researched it more, and learned that during pregnancy, to avoid rejecting the fetus, the mother's immune system changes and suppresses its Th1 portion.
Well, in certain infections like Lyme, the Th1 portion of our immune system is overexpressed. I suspect my email pal's symptoms were temporarily relieved because the pregnancy forced her Th1 back to normal.
Thus there are things to suggest her symptoms might not be PCOS but rather Lyme.
Posted by pab (Member # 904) on :
Check out the Research and Studies by Dr. Charles Glueck:
I've emailed him about his studies on Intracranial Hypertension. I found out about him from a Pseudo-Tumor Cerebri forum. At that forum, many of the posters have PCOS and hypercoagulation.
Peggy
Posted by rosedarling2 (Member # 4271) on :
Hi,
I also deal with Lyme Disease & PCOS.
Here's something interesting:
A lot of women with Autoimmune Diseases have PCOS.
I was on Soulcyster site last week, & I watch a talk by Dr. Katherine Sherif. She said she sees a lot of women with Autoimmune Diseases with PCOS. I don't remember if she said why.
Boy, it is not much fun is it? Anyway, I thought it was interesting.
Posted by alliebridge (Member # 9103) on :
My doctor thought I had PCOS. My pelvic ultrasound and hormone testing showed nothing abnormal.
I concluded that the symptoms of PCOS that I have are actually from Lyme. That's the only explanation.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
You may really benefit from heparin therapy.
Posted by BorreliaBrain (Member # 7603) on :
I was diagnosed with PCOS really early, when I was around 15 or so. To me, it was no big deal. I didn't have a hairy lip or anything, and no real symptoms, except that I would only get my period every four to six months or so (fine with me). I used birth controls pills on and off and had no problem with them.
Well, that was before Lyme. I got really sick with bizarre symptoms at around 24 or so... that was when Lyme symptoms started for me. Insomnia, depression, anxiety, sudden weight-gain, and the hair started growing.... my docs blamed everything on my PCOS... but I couldn't understand why it would worsen all of a sudden at 25. And why I didn't really respond to insulin sensitizing drugs, and why all of a sudden birth control pills made me suicidal... nothing made sense.
Well, those things were Lyme. Lyme neurotoxins can sit in hormone receptors and mess everything up. That's why many women get a flare of Lyme symptoms during their periods (I know I do).
PCOS means you have small cysts all over your ovaries, and don't ovulate regularly. It is connected to insulin, and is very common. I have often secretly wondered if PCOS is due to some heretofore unidentified infection (not Lyme, per se, but some bug). Just speculation.
Anyway, a simple ultrasound will tell you if you have cysts on your ovaries, but that won't necessarily tell you what causes your symptoms.
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