Perth PCOS Naturopath
Do you have PCOS?
Never know when to expect your period?
Difficulty falling pregnant after stopping the Pill?
Hair where it shouldn’t be or thinning where it should be?
Painful pimples that finally subside, only for new ones to erupt?
Belly fat that seems impossible to shift?
If you have answered yes to any of the above questions, you could have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Perth naturopath Tara Ross can treat your PCOS to help regulate periods, optimise fertility, banish facial and body hair, have clear skin, and lose your spare tyre.
-
PCOS affects one in five Australian women and is caused by elevated levels of androgen hormones, which can result in difficulty ovulating.
Untreated PCOS can also increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
-
PCOS symptoms include:
acne, often found on the jawline, neck and chest
thinning hair around the crown and temples, known as androgenetic alopecia
excess facial or body hair (hirsutism)
apple shape weight gain around the waist that is difficult to shift
irregular or absent periods
difficulty falling pregnant due to erratic ovulation or failure to ovulate.
-
You may have been told your pelvic ultrasound showed polycystic ovaries and were subsequently diagnosed with PCOS.
However, the term polycystic in PCOS can be misleading. ‘Poly’ means many and ‘cystic’ means ovarian follicles.
Ovarian follicles contain your developing eggs that are each waiting their turn for ovulation. These normal follicles should not be mistaken for abnormal ovarian cysts that often require medical intervention.
If you ovulate during a menstrual cycle, one of the ovarian follicles becomes larger in the lead up to ovulation and then releases an egg. If you don’t ovulate during a menstrual cycle, you can have multiple small, undeveloped follicles on your ovaries show up on an ultrasound.
This does not necessarily mean you have PCOS though. It only means that you did not ovulate during that cycle. The ultrasound cannot predict whether you will ovulate in your next cycle or show why you are not ovulating.
PCOS should only be diagnosed if you have:
absent or irregular periods and/or polycystic ovaries
plus elevated androgens on a blood test and/or symptoms of androgen excess, like hirsutism, which cannot be ruled out by other causes.
-
If you do not have elevated androgens, it is unlikely that you have PCOS.
Elevated androgen levels can also be caused by:
high prolactin
congenital adrenal hyperplasia
certain types of oral contraceptive pills
Absent or irregular periods can also be caused by:
functional hypothalamic amenorrhea
primary ovarian insufficiency
thyroid conditions
All the above need to be ruled out before you receive a PCOS diagnosis.
-
The four types of PCOS are insulin resistant, post-pill, inflammatory, and adrenal PCOS.
As a naturopath I can help to identify which one of the four different types of PCOS you have.
-
Commonly prescribed pharmaceutical medications such as the oral contraceptive pill and spironolactone, are band-aid approaches that only mask your symptoms whilst you take them and can have unwanted side effects. They also do not treat the most common type of PCOS, insulin resistant PCOS.
Metformin does treat insulin resistant PCOS. However, it can have uncomfortable side effects and does not treat other types of PCOS.
As a naturopath, I can treat your type of PCOS with natural alternatives to commonly prescribed pharmaceutical medications.
How can naturopathy treat PCOS?
To treat your PCOS effectively, it is important to know what type of PCOS you have. All four types of PCOS respond well to naturopathy. However, each type requires different treatment, and even within that type you could have differing health needs than others.
Naturopathy treats:
insulin resistant PCOS with diet and lifestyle modifications to balance blood sugar levels which increases insulin sensitivity
post-pill PCOS with herbs and nutrients that help to decrease androgen levels to promote regular ovulation
inflammatory PCOS by removing causes of inflammation such as toxins and inflammatory foods, and treating autoimmunity, if present
adrenal PCOS by balancing the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
I can develop a personalised treatment plan for you to treat your type of PCOS to help you:
have a more predictable menstrual cycle
optimise your fertility so you can increase your chances of falling pregnant
reduce facial and body hair
clear acne
shift abdominal weight.
Want a treatment plan for PCOS, tailored to your health needs?
What to expect during a hormone health consultation
Initial consultation - $195
During your initial 1-hour consult I will:
undertake comprehensive case taking of your health history and current symptoms so I can identify your individual health needs
discuss your health goals and life priorities so I can devise a treatment plan that is realistic, practical, and sustainable for you
analyse any recent test results and/or request functional pathology testing to help find the cause/s and most effective treatment options for your hormone health issue
provide you with a treatment plan including dietary and lifestyle advice, as well as evidence-based herbal and nutritional medicine, that is tailored to your unique health needs and goals.
Follow up consultations - $115
During monthly 30-min follow up consults I will:
review any functional pathology test results and monitor your progress to refine your treatment plan
provide support and guidance to keep you motivated and on track to reach your health goals
provide ongoing health education to give you the tools to manage your own hormone health once you have achieved your health goals.
Let’s identify and treat your type of PCOS
I can help to assess if you have one of the four types of PCOS, or if another underlying health condition is causing your symptoms.