Hi!
At around april/may I will be starting to wean off birth control pills. Last time I quit diane 35 cold turkey, I broke out so bad and my periods never returned. I also had ovarian cysts (pcos).
I went back on diane, and switched last year to ethinylestradiol/desogestrel richter (0,02 mg/ 0,15 mg). My acne is now a little worse than when I was on diane.
While being on this pill, I tried taking DIM. I took 3 capsules a day, which was a really bad idea because I broke out crazy! Exact same thing happend when I tried maca.
Because I was once diagnosed with pcos, it means that being fertile is a lot harder for me. When I will start the weaning process, I will do a cavemen regimen, with my sensitivity foods left out. I really want to take a supplement or herb that is going to help me a bit by promoting good egg quality, but I really don't know which one to take for my situation. I never had my hormones tested, but I think that everything that has a slighty increasing work on my testosteron, my body will freak out. I seem to be so sensitive to it.
Of course, I know you guys can't read through my hormones and stuff, but I will only test my hormones if my situation is going to get bad again (no periods, lot of acne). Maybe with the help of some herb I would be able to do it on my own~!
Thanks a lot x
I didn't have issues getting pregnant, but I did have hormonal imbalances that made life pretty difficult for me, as well as PCOS. The Paleo diet/lifestyle made huge differences in my life and got my hormones aligned. Many media sources call Paleo a "fad diet" but it really isn't at all it's a lifestyle that, those who follow it, stick with it because of the changes it makes in one's life. Basically, it helps your body function the way it was meant to.
http://wellnessmama.com is a great resource for fertility health. The site author is very knowledgable regarding reproductive health, as well as promoting fertility and healthy pregnancy.
Paleo, basically eating whole, real foods and being physically active helped me have a healthy and fulfilling pregnancy, natural delivery, shortened my post-partum healing and has helped me raise a happy, healthy child. I gained no excess weight during pregnancy and had my flat tummy back within a month (it takes some time for your uterus and skin to shrink, breastfeeding helps!) Check out http://marksdailyapple.com for more info on the paleo diet and lifestyle. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/i-didn%E2%80%99t-just-%E2%80%9Cmanage%E2%80%9D-my-condition-i-beat-it-and-wiped-the-floor-with-it/#axzz2qlejt3jl
Above is a link to a specific story of a woman who used the Paleo lifestyle to overcome PCOS.
Congratulations on your journey to parenthood! What an exciting time this is :]
Thank you for your response! No no, I'm not becoming a parent yet!! Lol 
sorry if I made that look like it. I just want to function 'normal' for if I will have a baby in 8 years or so. I'm not in a relationship right now, but at the time I will be I will get copper IUD, so I would still be fertile but just not the bad hormones.
I will definitely try the paleo lifestyle when I come off the pill. It's just hard to combine with a social life... I go out to dinner a lot, to eat sushi for example, which isn't even that bad, but still not paleo proof.... I also go out at night a lot and when everyone drinks alcohol, it's very hard not to (by drinking alcohol I mean at the most 3 glasses of red wine). But okay, I will have to if I want clear skin!!
I read something online about most woman having low progesterone when they have pcos. I don't know what my situation is... all I know is that my skin respons really really well to estrogen treatments.
If you google "inositol" and "ovulation" you'll find some interesting medical studies on it that indicate its role in healthy ovulation. Women with PCOS tend to be deficient in inositol because the body can't produce adequate amounts on its own, so supplementing with it in reasonable amounts seems to be the way to go.
Great! I don't think you need anything else for ovulation/ egg quality besides inositol if you are not trying to get pregnant. Btw, I always break out from b-complexes... the % of B12 and biotin (and maybe even B6) in b-complexes is too high compared to other essential Bs like B5, so I tend to stay away from b-complexes. I tested my B12 levels because I was vegetarian for many years and my doctor thought I was deficient, but my levels were normal so there's not even need for me to take a b-complex. Also, inositol (B8) isn't usually included in b-complexes, so I take it separately and it's helped on its own. I think a multivitamin can be more useful than a b-complex, especially if it's a whole foods multivitamin. My favorite one, which kept me clear for 2 years, is solgar's earth source vitamin. After 2 years, though, it stopped working as well unfortunately but I still consider it a high-quality multi and would like to return to it once my digestive issues improve.
Thanks for that amazing tip! I just wanted to type a message about me being confused on all the supplements
what I will try: the multivitamin you mentioned, the strongest form of inositol (do you know which one that is?), omega 3 fish oil and maybe zinc... and of course paleo lifestyle! I already eat really healthy, so I don't expect any defiences at all. I hope this will do the trick! You don't think I need vitex? What's it actually doing in your body?
Btw... vit D did nothing for mty face, but it did the world for my depression and anxiety! It can get pretty dark outside here around november/december/januari, so that might have made it worse! How's your skin doing? 
Oh and I decided to wait weaning off AFTER summer holiday. I know I will have 2 vacations, so I don't want to bother eating anything... I would feel depressed again if I can't have pizza, sushi or whatever because of my diet and my friends can. It would also be pretty hard keeping those fruits and vedges fresh when you're out camping in France or Spain! I'll just wait till august, when I'm back.
Vitamin D3 helped me with depression and anxiety, but my skin got worse on it, so my doctor put me on D2 instead and it worked fine at raising my D2 levels. I wish I could take D3 without breaking out though because that's the most useful form of vitamin D...vitamin D2 is synthetic and plant-based (I can't take anything with lanolin apparently).
No, you shouldn't take any herbs unless you need them. You mentioned you were taking DIM and maca and broke out a lot....with those herbs you should never start with a high or even the normal dose (3 pills of DIM is too much, even for a normal dose for thin women), they can break you out if you don't start with a very low dose for at least a couple of weeks. But anyway, you probably won't need any herbs if the supplements work for you.
Digestive enzymes are very helpful when you want to eat things you don't normally eat....you don't have to deprive yourself all the time, it's fine to indulge once in a while.
Hi!
At around april/may I will be starting to wean off birth control pills. Last time I quit diane 35 cold turkey, I broke out so bad and my periods never returned. I also had ovarian cysts (pcos).
I went back on diane, and switched last year to ethinylestradiol/desogestrel richter (0,02 mg/ 0,15 mg). My acne is now a little worse than when I was on diane.
While being on this pill, I tried taking DIM. I took 3 capsules a day, which was a really bad idea because I broke out crazy! Exact same thing happend when I tried maca.
Because I was once diagnosed with pcos, it means that being fertile is a lot harder for me. When I will start the weaning process, I will do a cavemen regimen, with my sensitivity foods left out. I really want to take a supplement or herb that is going to help me a bit by promoting good egg quality, but I really don't know which one to take for my situation. I never had my hormones tested, but I think that everything that has a slighty increasing work on my testosteron, my body will freak out. I seem to be so sensitive to it.
Of course, I know you guys can't read through my hormones and stuff, but I will only test my hormones if my situation is going to get bad again (no periods, lot of acne). Maybe with the help of some herb I would be able to do it on my own~!
Thanks a lot x
MissC,
If you stopped bc in the past and your cycles stopped, then something is sideways. My suggestion is to wait on the supplements and correct the hormonal imbalance/deficiency first. This means complete exam, history and serum testing. Your best bet in dealing with this is to find an ob/gyn that has an interest in bio-identical hormone replacement. They are typically more sophisticated in this area of practice.
It will very difficult to correct this problem with a supplement unless you both have an unusual deficiency and stumble on the correct thing. There are also high and low quality supplements that make this piece more complicated.
My skin seems to be a little worse too... on the D3. I break out a lot all of a sudden. Might be the D3! It indeed works like crazy on depression and anxiety, the way I feel is such a difference with 2 weeks ago!!
Yeah that was a little silly... I started taking DIM and took 3 capsules right away.... also with the maca I used more than I should have... foolish girl, lol. I might try them once again. But I will add them in very slowly if I feel like I have too.
Vitamin D3 helped me with depression and anxiety, but my skin got worse on it, so my doctor put me on D2 instead and it worked fine at raising my D2 levels. I wish I could take D3 without breaking out though because that's the most useful form of vitamin D...vitamin D2 is synthetic and plant-based (I can't take anything with lanolin apparently).
No, you shouldn't take any herbs unless you need them. You mentioned you were taking DIM and maca and broke out a lot....with those herbs you should never start with a high or even the normal dose (3 pills of DIM is too much, even for a normal dose for thin women), they can break you out if you don't start with a very low dose for at least a couple of weeks. But anyway, you probably won't need any herbs if the supplements work for you.
Digestive enzymes are very helpful when you want to eat things you don't normally eat....you don't have to deprive yourself all the time, it's fine to indulge once in a while.
Try to get a D2 prescription, it helped me overall with depression...not sure if it helped with my skin as well, but it definitely didn't make things worse.
If you think you are sensitive to oils, try a dry D supplement. There are some vitamin D threads on here, you can ask the people who take D3 what form they take it in.