Progress Your Health Podcast

There are three main types of PCOS that we have seen treating patients since 2004. As you have heard from the past podcasts, PCOS is a spectrum of symptoms. It is a spectrum of symptoms coming from a set of hormonal imbalances. Every woman with PCOS might have some to all to a few of the symptoms of PCOS. That is because there might be varying degrees of hormonal imbalances.  While there might be some disagreement, there are three types that we have encountered the most. And each of these three have different goals and treatment plans.   These are the main types we have seen in treating patients with PCOS. As I mentioned before, PCOS is a spectrum. There can be some women that have all the symptoms to others that have just a few. This is a key concept for treatment. Someone with many symptoms is going to have a completely different treatment plan than someone that has some of the symptoms.  The three types that we commonly see, we have named: CLASSIC, COMMON, and CONCEALED.    Classic PCOS: Honestly, this is

PCOS Testing and Diagnosis: In this episode, we talk about the testing and labs for a diagnosis for PCOS. These testing and labs are also a good way to monitor PCOS. Ultrasound: Checking for multiple cysts on or in the ovaries. It is still very common to have PCOS but have not cysts ( string of pearls ). LH: FSH ratio: 2:1 or more DHEA-S: DHEA-sulfate is the best way to test for DHEA levels in the blood.   DHEA-sulfate is a metabolite of DHEA and is much more accurate to determine DHEA levels than a total DHEA level.   DHEA levels are highest when we are young, around 25 years old. And will slowly decline with age. It is considered an androgen. The reference ranges for DHEA-Sulfate are very vast and are based on age. For example, a woman that is 35 years old gets her blood drawn for DHEA-sulfate. The reference ranges for a typical lab is 23-266 mcg/dL.   For a female that has PCOS around 35 years of age, you will see the DHEA-sulfate at 200 or above.  Commonly PCOS, the DHEA-s will show over 200 mcg/dL

In this episode of the Progress Your Health Podcast, we are going to talk about PCOS. I know our last podcast was, PCOS, Questions to Ask your Doctor. We are still going strong on our PCOS information. But we are going to do things a little different than we have. We are going to do a five-part podcast series about PCOS.   What PCOS Looks Like: What is it? (this podcast) How PCOS Can Be Detected: Testing and Diagnosis for PCOS Which Type of PCOS Am I?: Classic Which Type of PCOS Am I?: Common Which Type of PCOS Am I?: Concealed PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. It is not a disease but considered a syndrome. From the name, polycystic ovarian syndrome, it is easy to assume there are multiple cysts on the ovaries. But in fact, many women with PCOS do not have multiple cysts or any ovarian cysts. As a general statement, in PCOS, there are hormonal imbalances that can cause unwanted symptoms and conditions. That is why we consider it more of a spectrum as some women can have nearly most of the criteri

In this episode of the Progress Your Health Podcast, we want to discuss questions you might want to ask your doctor when it comes to PCOS. PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. The name can be misleading. Polycystic means, having multiple cysts on or in your ovaries. While this can be true, many women with PCOS do not have any ovarian cysts. PCOS is a collection of hormonal imbalances that may result in cysts and other unwanted symptoms.  During this episode, we talk about the diagnosis, symptoms, and questions to ask your doctor regarding PCOS. We explain that PCOS is more of a spectrum of symptoms as some women can have all the symptoms and others a few.   This is why it is important to have clear communication with your doctor on how: PCOS is affecting your life.   What your health goals are with PCOS.   The proper treatment to help with PCOS.  Before we move on, let’s understand the basics with PCOS. The common symptoms that are associated with PCOS: Common PCOS Symptoms:  Cysts: if you have not

This is one of the top concerns of women in Perimenopause. Perimenopause usually occurs in women between the ages of the late '30s to late '40s. An important note here is, Perimenopause is not Menopause. And while both Perimenopause and Menopause may have some of the same symptoms. There are also many differences between the two. It is of value to know this because treating and working with Perimenopause can be quite different from Menopause. The hormone changes in Perimenopause can cause a lot of unwanted symptoms. If you are interested in more in-depth information, and healthy options to deal with Perimenopause, check out our course, The Perimenopause Masterclass.  But for this podcast, we focused on the unexpected, unearned weight gain that can happen in Perimenopause. In Perimenopause, it is common to hear women complain of feeling like they have gained 10-20 pounds almost overnight. They are stumped because they are unsure of where his added weight came from. We have many patients exclaim tha

Kavinace by Neuroscience is no longer available as a supplement.  April 10th, 2019, the FDA issued a letter to several nutraceutical companies to discontinue supplements containing 4-amino-3phenylbutyric acid.  The FDA has determined that 4-amino-3phenylbutyric acid, also commonly referred to as Phenibut is not a dietary supplement. We published a previous Kavinace article shortly after the FDA letters were sent out.  As of the letter dated April 10th, the companies had 15 days to comply.  This left people that had taken Kavinace safely for years in a bit of a quandary.  Kavinace is, I mean, was a dietary supplement that many people took to help with staying asleep.  It contained 950mg of a combination of taurine and 4-amino-3-phenyl butyric acid HCL per capsule.   Most people did well on one to two capsules taken at night before bed.  It wasn't a sleep medication, like Ambien or Unisom but did help to raise GABA to help with staying asleep at night.  I used this myself and with patients to stay asleep a

  It is common to mistake perimenopause for menopause and vice versa.  Labs can be misleading. Doctors can be misleading in your concerns about whether you are in perimenopause vs. menopause.  Even symptoms can be misleading. In this article, I am going to explain the differences between perimenopause and menopause.  As well as information to help you determine which hormone phase you are in at the moment. Both perimenopause and menopause can start between 35 to 50years old.  As the word states, perimenopause starts before menopause. While that might seem obvious, sometimes it is hard to differentiate between them.  I have had many patients tell me they are in menopause but are really in perimenopause. You might be asking, ‘why is it a big deal to know the difference?’.  That can come down to the treatment. Treating a woman for menopausal symptoms when she is in perimenopause can not only be ineffective. But can make the symptoms worse as well as new symptoms. Perimenopause usually starts in the mid-’40s, but

In this podcast, we talk about the difference between PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and perimenopause.  We get this question all the time, Doc, I think I am going into menopause.' When really, they are nowhere near menopause, let alone perimenopause. What makes it so confusing is that there are so many similarities between PMS and perimenopause. But some distinctions are important to point out, especially when it comes to testing and treatment. PMS (premenstrual syndrome) is pretty much as it sounds.  Symptoms appear prior (pre) to the period (menses). But usually, the symptoms appear in a cyclical pattern. The symptoms will appear anywhere from 14 days to just a couple of days before the period. The distinction between PMS and perimenopause, is the symptoms are present all month in perimenopause. Perimenopause is NOT menopause.  It is the time before a woman enters menopause.  It can be anywhere from age late 30's to late 40s.  In perimenopause, you are still getting your period (it might be irreg

In this episode, we answer a reader question about her low T3. Kelli’s case is a bit complicated, but it sheds light on how important it is to address low T3 levels.  We get this question all the time about the thyroid hormone, T3. Many will say, ‘my free T3 levels are low, but my doctor will not do anything about it’. We wanted to talk about low T3 and how there are many factors that can cause a low T3.  Also on ways to increase your T3 conversion as well as some medications for low T3. We are also going to touch on autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s, Type I diabetes and Celiac disease. Question from Kelli: My thyroid labs are all within the normal range, but I FEEL so depleted. My free t3 has never tested above 2.3. I have T1D and Celiac disease already. I know my body is prone to be difficult and function lower on some levels than most. How can I fix my free t3 if it is low and if the doctor says it’s not “treatable low.” One of our most popular blog posts is, ‘Low T3 levels”.  This partly why we wan

For this episode, we wanted to answer another reader question.  We love answering reader and listener questions. Also, we understand that you might not be getting answers from your docs and feel frustrated. Honestly, we really try to go into depth on answering these reader/listener questions as we want to be as thorough as possible on conditions, symptoms, dosing, and options.   With that said, this is meant to be educational only and not meant for medical advice (there, my attorney will be very happy to have said that!).  But as mentioned above, we want to be as thorough as possible in all aspects. This question is from Nickie. We love this question and really think others can relate to Nickie's situation.  She has been told she has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and has been prescribed oral progesterone. She has concerns with taking progesterone, its side effects and the topical cream versus the oral.  Nickie also has concerns with her symptoms such as trouble losing weight and thinning hair. So we are

This episode we respond to a reader question.  Jayme had sent us a question earlier in the year based on an article we wrote.  Now she has additional questions about taking progesterone as part of her BHRT. Jayme has had a hysterectomy and wasn't sure what dose of progesterone is best for her.  Or for that matter, if she should even be taking it. Also, she has questions about her lab work and her estrogen dose.  We really like Jayme's question, because we get similar concerns often.  By answering Jayme's question, we hope to help other listeners understand a bit more about BHRT dosing, labs and progesterone with or without a hysterectomy.    Just to throw it out there, this is not meant for medical advice and intended for educational purposes only… Jayme's question:  Dr. Maki, Thank you for answering me. Recently my doctor increased my biest to 4mg twice a day. I also stopped my progesterone to see if it was making any difference and I felt exactly the same, so I have not continued it. I

In this episode, we respond to Karen.  Karen read an article of ours on BHRT and sent these concerns about her menopause and hormone dosages.  We love Karen's question because it shows how technical BHRT can be. As you will see from Karen's question, there are multiple aspects to consider when treating a woman with hormones.   Karen’s Concerns:  Her symptoms of weight gain, hot flashes, and night sweats  The many avenues of dosing such as estradiol patches, hormones creams and the combination of taking progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone. What ratio of estradiol to estriol she should be taking. And even if she should bypass the static hormone dosing and take a rhythmic dosing schedule. Lab testing and what her levels may or may not be telling us. If she can apply estriol vaginally If estriol or some of these hormones are by prescription only Not to mention, understandably she is concerned about the risks of estrogen without sufficient progesterone. Karen's Question: I am struggling to

In this episode, we answer a reader question.  This question is from Jen, responding to one of our articles. Jen's question is important because hormone treatment can often come as a prescription.  And it is important to understand our prescriptions and if they are actually going to be beneficial. Jen's question relates to her current BHRT prescription that her doctor has recently put her on.  She has side effects from her medication. Plus she is not noticing the effectiveness that she was hoping.   Question From Jenn: Hi, I stopped cycle four yrs ago- for four weeks now – I'm taking E2/E3/T 1/1/4 (1/4 gr applied morning and 1/4 gr applied at night). If I am receiving 1/2 gram a day, I am receiving .50 mg E2 and .50 mg E3 & 2 mg of Testosterone. I am getting dull headaches at the back side of head 4 to 5 hrs before the 12 hours app time, but breast tenderness which I hate. I have asked my doc to up to 1.5/1.5 per gram still applying the same quantity (1/2 gram daily)- and request Testos

When we started this podcast and writing articles, we were very naive about who would want to read this stuff. Honestly, I didn't think anyone would want to listen to a husband/wife couple-docs that only dealt with hormone balancing. Being an introvert, I am really pushing myself outside of my comfort zone with these articles and podcasts. I cannot believe how many readers and responses we have gotten. I am absolutely amazed at how many responses we have gotten from people outside of the USA. I am truly flattered and amazed that people from all over the world are reading and listening to our content. With that said, we have gotten lots of comments and questions from readers/listeners. It is hard to answer them one on one. So I wanted to write an article answering some questions that we have gotten. Some of these questions are from the states and others outside of USA. Regardless of where we are from, we still experience hormone issues. I believe these questions might help others going through the same

  Question: Hello, I am an almost 41 yr old female and I just read an article about cortisol levels (vampire, ghost, and zombie) that you wrote, and I'm curious to know more. I think that I'm like the vampire the most, but not exactly. I had a saliva test done recently and the results said that my levels were extremely low in the morning, then went to normal around noon but then by 4-5 they were dropping again. My doctor put me on progesterone because my estrogen to testosterone ratio was pretty severe (high estrogen/low testosterone). Although I take them at night because they make me extremely tired, I can't but feel the struggle even more in the morning now. Will DHEA help? Or anything? Thanks, Jaime Jamie is referring to an article we wrote about cortisol levels, adrenal fatigue, and sleeping patterns.  Cortisol is a very important hormone. Without cortisol, we cannot live. But having your cortisol levels balanced plays an important part in daytime energy and sleeping patterns at night.  Co

We have have been getting a lot of questions regarding Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy. We thought a good way to respond to these questions would be to answer them on the podcast. In this episode, we discuss a woman’s situation regarding her experience with testosterone pellets. Below is her exact email. Listener Question: Nina  Hello there, I have loved reading all your info with regards to BHRT, Hypothyroidism etc. There are two things I would love to get your opinion on. Firstly a quick background.. I am on BHRT and have had two rounds of Testosterone Pellets. The first round, within 3 weeks of having it inserted I felt awful, couldn't sleep, cholesterol reading was high, cortisol readings were off the charts… and still only managed to get to my peak of 98 at 6 weeks( I believe the aim was to get to 150)… I swore I would never have it done again… however after 2 months and things had died down I decided to give it another go… this time my lovely doc increased the dosage to get me at my peak r

In this episode, we talk about how to lose belly fat.  Belly fat is one of the most common complaints we hear from our patients and listeners.  Weight loss, especially in the stomach is very common and more of a consequence of hormones rather than food.   This episode is an extension from our article, 11 Tips on How to Lose Belly Fat in Perimenopause'. Because of the popularity of the article we wanted to expand on belly fat and ways to combat it.  This episode focuses on tips to help lose belly fat that you might not be aware of. That is because many of our tips go against the grain in the typical weight loss theory of eat less, exercise more. How many of you have gone on a diet ? I think I went on my first diet at 13 years old.  For the majority of history, it has always been reduce your calories and exercise a bunch, and you will lose weight.  While many do this over and over. The long game is, the weight might initially come off. But inevitably the weight loss will plateau and come back.  How m

This episode of the Progress Your Health Podcast is a continuation to a recent blog post: 7 Tips on How to Cope with PMS. Most women have some PMS symptoms, but there is certainly a spectrum of symptom severity. For one woman, it might just be mild bloating, but for another woman, her cramps are so bad that she has to miss work due to the pain. Unfortunately, when you go see your primary care doctor, or even your Gynecologist, the only conventional treatment option is birth control and over the counter Midol. As we discuss in this episode, there a many things you can do to help reduce PMS symptoms. If you break down the word, Premenstrual Syndrome, it refers to the collection of symptoms that tend to show up prior to menstruation. It is common for PMS symptoms to show up somewhere in the 7 to 10 days before your period. This is time frame usually between ovulation and menstruation. As you might be aware, PMS symptoms can range from physical symptoms such as cramping and breast tenderness to emotional sympt

When it comes to hair loss, the first question women ask is, “can thyroid problems cause hair to fall out?” The answer to this question is an obvious yes. The next question women will ask is, “can hair loss from thyroid problems be reversed? Again, the answer is yes, your hair will grow back, but the underlying hormone issue needs to be addressed. Something to keep in mind, hair loss is not always just a thyroid issue. When it comes to hormones, when one is out of balance, other hormones are also out of balance. For hair loss. this would include the major metabolic hormones and sex hormones. The hormones include cortisol, insulin, DHEA, Testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. In this episode, we discuss ways to help hair loss from thyroid and other hormonal imbalances. For more information, you can read our article: Guide on How to Stop Hair Loss from Hypothyroid.   We have seen many patients over the years and hair loss ranks towards the top of the list of importance. Women are so scared and desperate not

Uterine Fibroids are benign growths inside the uterus.  Some people do not know they even have fibroids and others have significant symptoms that can impact their quality of life. For more information, you can read our blog post about Uterine Fibroids. This podcast discusses: What are uterine fibroids? Typical physical and mental symptoms of fibroids. Causes of uterine fibroids What causes uterine fibroids to grow larger Uterine fibroids can be genetic, and you seem them run in families.  Or it can seem out of the blue, and no one in the family has them except you.  Either way, remember that uterine fibroids are not cancer. Uterine fibroids are benign growths. While fibroids are not cancer-causing, they can still affect a woman's quality of life.  Fibroids can have many symptoms from minor to excruciating. Symptoms of Uterine Fibroids:  Terrible period cramping.  Seriously a 15 out of 10 on a pain scale.  I have had some women that bring heating pads to work.  Some women take so much Tylenol and ib