What is PCOS?
This has always been a difficult question for patients and practitioners alike, as it’s such a complex condition with so much variability between patients. As a result, I’m very excited to share my simplified concept of PCOS with you all! It came to be after many years of practice and studying hormones (including metabolic hormones), integrating research from endocrinologists like Dr. Jerilynn Prior (the modern master of progesterone) at CeMCOR.
I presented this concept twice at the 2020 PCOS Awareness Symposium and will do the same at the 2020 British Columbia Naturopathic Association and Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors Conferences.
PCOS is a cycle of hormonal blockage between the ovaries and the brain.
Insulin is a powerful force in perpetuating that cycle. Ultimately, insulin resistance comes from androgen excess, however it can also CREATE androgen excess.
Pathophysiology of PCOS
1. High levels of androgens (ie: testosterone) within the ovary delay ovulation. This due to overactivity of the theca cells in the ovary.
And so the PCOS cycle continues.
And yes, there are answers! To learn more, check out my book “8 Steps to Reverse Your PCOS” and/or see one of our NDs.
At the clinic we treat many, many patients with PCOS with supplements, nutritional plans, Cyclic Progesterone Therapy and other natural therapeutics.
This diagram may be shared with attribution to Dr. Fiona McCulloch ND.
