Maca+Birthcontrol+Hypothyroid+HELP!

[pittypat12345]

Hello all!

I have a slightly complicated question, but maybe some of you out there have experience with similar issues. Okay, so I am a female with hypothyroid issues that caused polycystic ovarian syndrome. My side effects are hair loss, hirsutism, heavy & irregular periods, potential fertility issues, occassional cyst-like acne on my jaw line and neck, and a few other things not pertinent to this question. A lot of these symptoms are from the hormonal imbalances caused by the 2 disorders, specifically elevated testosterone levels.
I've been on birth control for the past 6 years to treat the hormone imbalances and I hate it. The BC did slow my hair loss and correct my periods, but I'm very concerned about the side effects such as cancer that BC is known to cause. I've tried taking myself off of the birth control a few times and inevitably, my hair starts to fall out again, I freak out, and start taking the BC again. No doctors are able to give me a clear exit strategy for getting off birth control, so I've decided I'll have to figure this out myself.
I want to come off the birth control soon, because of the awful health effects and because my boyfriend is becoming interested in having kids some day, so I know I need to tackle my fertility issues now as opposed to when we actually want to get pregnant.

My question is: When I come off the birth control, I plan on using Maca to help regulate my thyroid and prevent a spike in my testosterone levels. I am scared I will revert back to the way things were before I started birth control. Does anyone know what steps I should follow for coming off the birth control and controling my thyroid, hormones, periods, etc? When should I start taking the Maca? Are there other natural substances that would help regulate the thyroid and PCOS issues and side effects? I am most concerned about preventing sudden severe hair loss from a spike in testosterone levels.

Thanks to anyone who can help me out with this issue.

[rawstrength]

"I want to come off the birth control soon, because of the awful health effects and because my boyfriend is becoming interested in having kids some day, so I know I need to tackle my fertility issues now as opposed to when we actually want to get pregnant."

I've never been in your situation, so unfortunately I can't offer you any concrete advice. But hopefully I can offer you a bit of emotional support. My advice is to go off the BC pills, because it sounds to me like you really want to!

It seems to me like you are struggling between your desire to get healthy and your fear of losing your hair. If you know in your heart that you will be healthiest off of the pill, then you don't have to fear losing your hair. Hair grows back. I've suffered with anorexia a few times. Each time that my weight got really low, I lost my hair. When the body is starving, it doesn't make the right amounts of hormones, and hairloss ensues. Hair grows back. Hair loss won't kill you. Cancer can kill.

Raw foods are so healing. I'm sure that if you go off of the BC pills and give yourself a few months, then your hormones will balance out. Lucy, aka Veganforlife, can testify that raw foods, especially green smoothies, enabled her body to balance out hormone levels. I'm sure she'll be chiming in any minute with her recommendations to drink a big green smoothie :D .

In the meantime, have fun buying lots of beautiful hats and scarves to cover your head. Postive thoughts and a happy outlook will do you wonders. You can also massage your scalp with tea tree oil to get your hair to grow faster. I did that when I lost my hair, and it grew back amazingly fast once I started eating better. Plus it feels super good to have a nice scalp massage.

Wishing you all the best!

[Veganforlife]

You bet! My two famous words:

GREEN SMOOTHIES

Raw IS so very healing. You can read my testimony in my signature line below. I am living proof how healing it is.

As far as regulating your thyroid - sea veggies - they are the key. I use a tablespoon each (daily) of dulse and kelp in my green smoothies - BUT I had to work my way up to drinking them. If you start off making an icky tasting GS? You're not gonna want to drink it. AND I eat as many sea veggies as I can weekly.

[pittypat12345]

Hi

Thanks for your suggestions. I really appreciate the encouragements. Rawstrength, you are so right. I guess losing my hair is nothing compared to losing my life from cancer.

I went off birth control 5 days ago. I'm going to wait about 2 weeks before starting on maca. also, i'll start incorporating more green smoothies and sea veggies. when you say "Sea Veggies," does that mean dehydrated or fresh? I guess I mean, can you get fresh sea veggies in the produce section, I remember ever seeing those. If they are available, I'd love to try them. I do add dried dulse to my salads, when I eat them at home.

Also, does anyone have experience with using Maca to regulate their hormones? Does anyone know how long it took for their hormones to regulate themselves? I guess I'm just looking for a-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel for when my hair might start growing back and stop falling out.

Thanks to all posters

[Veganforlife]

I use dulse and kelp powder from www.mountainroseherbs.com
I also take blue/green algae daily (tablet form).
By sea veggies, I usually eat rehydrated in salads or even just by themselves I've been known to carry around like a packet on Kombu and break off chunks and chew on it.
My latestest love is the Sea Tangle kelp noodles.
www.seatangle.com. I get both the mixed sea veggies AND the kelp noodles. Mix them and simply cut up a tomato and some onion and I have a dish my thyroid will thrive on.
As far as the maca goes - I use this more in the winter (colder) months. I would suggest doing some research on it. Figure out what works for you. Also, I'm sure there are others that have had success w/it and may pipe in here...

[Clare]

I would really recommend that you find a good integrative M.D. to help you through this if you experience rough patches. Mine, for example, tests patient's hormones with saliva as well as blood tests and uses only natural thyroid and hormones. For me, he "prescribed" chaste tree (vitex) herb to balance my pituitary. It is gentle and works slowly but it definitely has helped me, as has some thyroid which I hope to get off of by being raw. Not that you would need any of this, ideally, but just in case it is so nice to have a good doctor order bloodwork, etc. He doesn't have experience with maca (I asked) but uses vitex and blends including vitex all the time for women.

Also, since PCOS has an insulin resistance component, you might want to eat a very balanced raw diet, with plenty of greens (see message above :-) and some healthy fats. Alissa talks about some needing (at first) to regulate insulin levels by not eating loads of sweet fruit by itself. Once your body has healed of course this won't necessarily be an issue ever again.

Good for you for getting off BCP! They don't heal anything, they only mask symptoms. Doctors are so lazy - they never want to get to the bottom of women's problems, they just want to throw every woman from 12-50 on the pill. OK i need to stop venting I am just so anti-BCP. Oh, you can look up a doctor that can treat female issues without BCP at www.omsoul.com but they are not necessarily into nutrition - just trying to solve the underlying imbalances/impaired fertility without suppressing your natural cycles.

[pittypat12345]

Hey all

These responses have been really helpful. Clare, you're thoughts on BCP are exactly like mine. I am borderline hostile concerning the use of BCP by doctors as a catch-all cure for women. When you specifically point out the harmful effects to them, they act like they have no idea what you're talking about, it's not a big deal, you're over reacting (because you're a female), and generally being a pain in their rear end. that's my rant and now I wil stop.

I have investigated the chaste tree also and have taken it off and on. Started it a few days ago and will continue, since it sounds like you had good results. I never took it long enough to really see any results, plus I was on the BCP so I'm sure that complicated things. What form do you take? Pill, liquid, tea?

Thanks. Am going to start Maca in about 1 week and will let you all know if I have any significant side effects.

[Clare]

I take chaste tree in capsules. Several years back when I hadn't had a period in 6 months it helped bring back my cycles in about a month. My bottle now(which was only a few dollars on iherb) says to begin with 2-3 per day and that after a a few weeks go down to 1 per day maintenance. It works very slowly and gently so give it time. Fortunately it's cheap and free from side effects.
-I don't know how young you are but if you want children, don't put them off too long. Give your body time to balance and heal, prepare emotionally and spiritually, then jump in. It's like having living a whole new life :-)

[tepiglet]

Hi pittypat12345!

I'm sorry to hear that you're going through all this,but it seems like you're
on the right path.
Everyone else made wonderful suggestions.

The one thing I want to add/suggest,is that you might want to look into
seeing a Naturopath.

I finally made an appointment with one after a long time of procrastinating(I'm embarrassed to say how long:o )-since after having surgery awhile back,
I generally avoid mainstream doctors if I can help it.

My hair has been falling out a lot lately(although this could be partially explained by fast weightloss),and has thinned considerably over the past
couple of years-it's getting scary.
And like you,I'm getting noticable facial hair(and in other places).
Not to mention symptoms of depression/anxiety/panicky feelings,
general overall just plain exhaustion/sluggishness,and freezing hands and feet.
These are obviously signs of either hypothyroidism and/or other major hormonal imbalance,and am kicking myself for not seeking help years ago-
but better late than never.

I almost considered going on the pill to regulate my hormones and symptoms-
even though I'm dead set against it-simply because I'm getting desperate,
and just want to feel better.

However,after reading this very timely thread,
I'm realising that isn't the right way to go.
The Naturopath that I'll be seeing in a couple of weeks specialises in helping
women with hormonal imbalances/issues and related depressions.

Anyways,sorry for the novel of a response.
Thank you for starting this thread,Pittypat12345,
it helped more than you know,
and I hope that you find the help that you need as well.
I'm sending positive vibes your way.
And thank you ladies for all your wonderful help and suggestions-you rawk!:D

[pittypat12345]

thanks tepiglet for your encouraging words. for sure do not go on to BC because you'll just be putting off the inevitable task of bringing your body back into balance naturally and holistically. BC will just complicate your situation more. good luck with your journey. keep me updated on how your progress is coming along.

will be starting maca soon. am taking chaste tree now. also, taking wheatgrass everyday to every other day. when i can't take wheatgrass, i load up on raw chlorella tablets. juice in the mornings, but haven't gotten into the habit of making a green smoothie. am using a green powder in the meantime.

[tepiglet]

Thanks for your encouraging words also.
I'm definitely staying off BC and am going to try a more holistic approach.
I'll keep you posted on my progress,and you can keep me updated with yours.
I wish you luck on your journey as well.

Let me know how the maca,wheatgrass,chlorella and other supplements work
for you.