High testosterone levels and PCOS

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High testosterone levels and PCOS

by Heather
(San Diego, CA)

Hi Amelia,
How are you? My name is Heather and I live in San Diego, California. I've been enjoying reading your website over the last week and I wanted to write and ask you a question about drinking wine and acupuncture.

I've been seeing an acupuncturist that I really like here in San Diego. I recently completed a comprehensive female hormone panel saliva test and it showed that I have high testosterone levels. I was told that I have too much sugar in my diet with possible PCOS.

I think it may have to do with my wine consumption. I have a 2, sometime 3 glasses of wine just about every day (sometimes more on the weekends.) I just wanted to get your thoughts on drinking and acupuncture/fertility. Could this what could be causing my problem?

I'm 37 and have been trying for 3 years. There is no explanation for my infertility, and I'm not overweight (well, maybe 10 pounds.) My husbands sperm test was as follows: high viscosity and 40% motility, rapidly progressive was 30, sluggish 10, ph was 8.5, morphology was 76, concentration was 30. He doesn't drink alcohol at all.

I appreciate any advice you could give me.

Thank you so much!
Heather

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High testosterone levels and PCOS

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Alcohol and Fertility
by: Amelia Hirota

Hi Heather,
It's amazing to me how many women (and men) are consuming alcohol when trying to conceive. Of course, it's common knowledge to stop once a pregnancy test comes back positive. However, it's extremely important to realize that the egg that will be ovulated this cycle has been maturing for the past 4-6 months in the matrix of fluid in the ovaries.

What is this matrix of fluid? It's composed of everything that we consume in our diet, apply to our body and breath in the air. That's why smoking is so damaging to the ovaries. If you charted your cycle with a BBT thermometer, you'd see little peaks in your chart after a night of drinking. Even a glass of wine will cause this temperature surge. Many of my patients are amazed when I ask them if they had alcohol on Friday night, as it's just obvious from looking at their chart.

I recommend for my patients to stop all alcohol, caffeine, decaf products, artificial sweeteners, and processed foods. These things do nothing to nourish the genetic material in our bodies. If you're having a problem conceiving, you want to stack the cards in your favor by doing everything to nourish your eggs and sperm.

Your husband's sperm seems to be a bit below what is needed for natural fertilization, unless his count (which wasn't included) is extremely high. I would recommend that he also see an acupuncturist and take Chinese herbs. His sperm morphology is good, so he would probably see an increase in count and motility after about 2 months of weekly treatments.

Red wine and coffee seem to be the big addictions right now. My patients often ask me why their doctors don't tell them to stop drinking alcohol and coffee and I respond that doctors don't have the time to debate the issue with patients. Also, modern medicine doesn't focus much on nutrition.

It saddens me to be meeting with a patient for our initial consultation and we spend 30 minutes debating the alcohol/ coffee issue. Try charting your cycle and completely cleaning up your diet. I'm sure that you'll see an improvement in your BBT temps and your menstrual cycle overall.

Take Charge of Your Fertility!

Amelia Hirota
Licensed and Board Certified Acupuncturist and Herbalist

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Submitted by: Amelia Hirota

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Hi Heather, It's amazing to me how many women (and men) are consuming alcohol when trying to conceive. Of course, it's common knowledge to stop once a pregnancy test comes back positive. However, it's extremely important to realize that the egg that will be ovulated this cycle has been maturing for the past 4-6 months in the matrix of fluid in the ovaries. What is this matrix of fluid? It's composed of everything that we consume in our diet, apply to our body and breath in the air. That's why smoking is so damaging to the ovaries. If you charted your cycle with a BBT thermometer, you'd see little peaks in your chart after a night of drinking. Even a glass of wine will cause this temperature surge. Many of my patients are amazed when I ask them if they had alcohol on Friday night, as it's just obvious from looking at their chart. I recommend for my patients to stop all alcohol, caffeine, decaf products, artificial sweeteners, and processed foods. These things do nothing to nourish the genetic material in our bodies. If you're having a problem conceiving, you want to stack the cards in your favor by doing everything to nourish your eggs and sperm. Your husband's sperm seems to be a bit below what is needed for natural fertilization, unless his count (which wasn't included) is extremely high. I would recommend that he also see an acupuncturist and take Chinese herbs. His sperm morphology is good, so he would probably see an increase in count and motility after about 2 months of weekly treatments. Red wine and coffee seem to be the big addictions right now. My patients often ask me why their doctors don't tell them to stop drinking alcohol and coffee and I respond that doctors don't have the time to debate the issue with patients. Also, modern medicine doesn't focus much on nutrition. It saddens me to be meeting with a patient for our initial consultation and we spend 30 minutes debating the alcohol/ coffee issue. Try charting your cycle and completely cleaning up your diet. I'm sure that you'll see an improvement in your BBT temps and your menstrual cycle overall. Take Charge of Your Fertility! Amelia Hirota Licensed and Board Certified Acupuncturist and Herbalist

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High Testosterone Levels and PCOS
by: Heather

Hi Amelia,
Thank you so much for your detailed answer to my question. I was reading some of your other answers about PCOS and noticed that you recommend an hour of cardio per day?

I am slightly overweight but only by around 10 pounds or so and it is on my hips and tummy mostly. My periods are regular; every 26 to 28 days. What is the other more rare type of PCOS? And what about the testosterone that is a symptom of the PCOS?

Thank you!
Heather

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High Testosterone Levels and PCOS
by: Amelia Hirota

Hi Heather,
Exercise has been shown to be more effective than Metformin for encouraging ovulation in women suffering from PCOS. That's why I recommend exercise to all of my patients with even slight PCOS or sluggish ovulation.

One of the possible symptoms of PCOS is elevated testosterone levels. This occurs because of the polycystic ovary making more testosterone than estrogen, which makes it even harder for the ovary to ovulate.

Many women with PCOS are insulin resistant, which means they have to make more insulin to get the glucose into their cells for energy. These high levels of insulin promote more testosterone in the ovaries, further inhibiting ovulation.

The high insulin levels promote weight gain and make it difficult to lose weight. A vicious cycle is created as overweight women make more insulin and then become even more insulin resistant. Women with PCOS, especially women that are overweight have an increased risk of diabetes. I realize that you're not really overweight, so this factors are probably only slight, if any for you.

Hope that you're doing well without the wine!

Sending healing energy your way,
Amelia Hirota, Licensed and Board Certified Acupuncturist and Herbalist

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My name is Nicole and I started working with Amelia after not getting my period for several months after going off birth control pills. I had been on and off birth control pills for 10 years and was ready to start trying for a baby.

At 28 years old (and my husband was 29) we could not imagine that we would have problems conceiving. After 3 months and lots of tests with my OBGYN, I was encouraged to try acupuncture because there were no "medical" reasons why I wasn't getting my period.

After just one appointment with Amelia I got my period and after just 3 or 4 months, I was pregnant. I am now 32 weeks and due in September. We are so excited to meet our baby boy!

I would strongly encourage any woman to give acupuncture a try if they are having trouble conceiving or even just having trouble getting their body ready for conception. Best of luck to all of you!
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