Oily and Sticky scalp, coarse beard like hair

[tasneem]

Dear Dr Sari,
I'm new to this forum and I was diagnosed with PCOD 7 yrs ago. I had all the major symptoms like oily thinning hair, dark facial and body hair. I was very frustrated with all the doctors I consulted. The only answer I receive was to loose my weight and not to worry about the symptoms because infertility is the only problem that can be treated. None of the doctors prescribed metformin or any anti androgen medicine besides BCP's that did not help with my problem. Hair getting coarser after each wax and loosing hair in bunches everyday.
I'm thinking of laser treatment for facial hair but is there any way I can control the male hormone level to maintain a hair free life and also control the sebum production on my scalp?
Thank you in advance

[drsari]

Dear Dr Sari,
I'm new to this forum and I was diagnosed with PCOD 7 yrs ago. I had all the major symptoms like oily thinning hair, dark facial and body hair. I was very frustrated with all the doctors I consulted. The only answer I receive was to loose my weight and not to worry about the symptoms because infertility is the only problem that can be treated. None of the doctors prescribed metformin or any anti androgen medicine besides BCP's that did not help with my problem. Hair getting coarser after each wax and loosing hair in bunches everyday.
I'm thinking of laser treatment for facial hair but is there any way I can control the male hormone level to maintain a hair free life and also control the sebum production on my scalp?
Thank you in advance

Hello, thanks for your post. I can imagine how frustrating it must have been to hear those remarks from your doctors! There is in fact a lot you can do to help improve the symptoms of PCOS, including hair growth. Infertility is only one of the many symptoms that can be treated... although conventional medicine is somewhat limited in terms of treatment options. Natural medicine on the other hand provides many options for helping PCOS, including diet, exercise guidelines, herbs, and nutritional supplements. All of these can help control male hormone levels, along with improving the insulin resistance that underlies PCOS. Check out www.pcos.insulitelabs.com to learn more about this.
Briefly, herbs like vitex and saw palmetto, along with flax seed, and pumpkin seed are among the things that can help androgen (male hormone) levels and insulin resistance. Something as simple as eating a quarter cup of pumpkin seeds a day can help with testosterone levels. Another key is to eat a low carb, whole foods diet (drastically reducing refined carb intake) and yes, to exercise and lose weight.
I hope this helps point you in the right direction. Please check out that website I posted above, and do write back any time!

[tasneem]

First of all thanks a lot for your kind answer dr.sari. Along with the physical condition I'm also going through depressions and anxiety. Most of the time I feel very tired . Are these the symptoms of PCOS too?
According to you herbs like vitex, saw palmetto, along with flax seed, and pumpkin seed will help to reduce the male hormone, as I'm in Asia, is it possible to find it here? or is there any other medication which contains these herbs available in market? thank you

[drsari]

First of all thanks a lot for your kind answer dr.sari. Along with the physical condition I'm also going through depressions and anxiety. Most of the time I feel very tired . Are these the symptoms of PCOS too?
According to you herbs like vitex, saw palmetto, along with flax seed, and pumpkin seed will help to reduce the male hormone, as I'm in Asia, is it possible to find it here? or is there any other medication which contains these herbs available in market? thank you

Yes, depression and anxiety are quite common in women with PCOS. This may be because of both the imbalanced hormones (since hormones can have an effect on mood) and also the social distress caused by dealing with unwanted hair growth and acne. If you participate in any support groups or online forums for women with PCOS, you will probably find many discussions about PCOS and mood!
I am not sure if you could find those herbs locally in stores where you are (Bangkok?). You can definitely find them on the internet and possibly have them shipped to you, unless Thai customs are particularly picky. We at Insulite Laboratories have many customers around the world and usually there are no problems with customs, except sometimes I believe customs in India can hold onto packages for some time before releasing them. The Insulite PCOS System, which you can read about at the website I gave before (www.pcos.insulitelabs.com) contains many of the herbs I mentioned above, and also provides diet and exercise guidelines for PCOS.

By the way, these are not pharmaceutical medications, rather they are herbal and nutritional supplements.
I wish I knew of some local herbs to you that would have the same effect but my herbal education is fairly limited to Western European and native American plants! Perhaps an herbalist in your own city would have other ideas.
You could contact Insulite Labs from that website to see about shipping costs of the Insulite PCOS System to Thailand. (Keep in mind when you write to them that it is usually much cheaper to buy in bulk rather than just do month-to-month.)
I hope this helps!!!

[tasneem]

Thank u Dr. Sari for the info regarding the herbs. I'm considering Insulite system as well. Btw, is laser treatment for hirsutism for pcos patient worth trying? As the hormones are still untreated is the any chances for the hair to grow back? Laser treatment here costs a lot and I'm really interested but not sure about the results. Pls advise.

[drsari]

Thank u Dr. Sari for the info regarding the herbs. I'm considering Insulite system as well. Btw, is laser treatment for hirsutism for pcos patient worth trying? As the hormones are still untreated is the any chances for the hair to grow back? Laser treatment here costs a lot and I'm really interested but not sure about the results. Pls advise.

Great question about laser hair removal. Yes it is effective in removing hair that currently exists, but you are right that the hair will eventually come back if the underlying hormone imbalance (insulin, and the male hormones testosterone and DHEA) is not corrected. One approach to dealing with the present excess hair growth is to do something like laser hair removal or Vaniqua while at the same time using low carb diet, increased exercise, and herbs & nutrients to prevent future unwanted hair growth.
In other words, lifestyle changes (diet and exercise) and natural supplementation may not remove the hair that currently exists, but it can prevent future hair growth.

[vervena]

There is in fact a lot you can do to help increase the symptoms and symptoms of PCOS, such as new hair growth. Lack of ability to consider is only one of the many symptoms that can be managed... although conventional solutions is somewhat limited with regards to therapies. Natural solutions on the other hand provides many solutions for helping PCOS, such as diet, exercise recommendations, herbs, and balanced nutritional supplements.