supplements for hormones - not birth control
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free skin care · Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:13 am

I'm really not interested in restarting birth control. I'm wondering if anyone has had luck with hormonal supplements - I have determined my clogged pores are hormonal acne (jaw line and right under the jaw line - deep suckers, too!). Getting the hormonal acne under control is the main goal but there's other "signs" that my hormones may be a little out of wack (including some irregularity, heightened sense of moodiness around that TOTM, breast tenderness, etc). I have been to my OBGYN numerous times, mainly for the spotting and irregularity, but she says there's nothing wrong and to "monitor the situation". Well, I've been "monitoring" it for nearly a year so I'm not really sure when she's actually gonna give me some real advice (other than going on the pill again). I also wonder if this hormonal disturbance could have possibly been activated by a large weight loss? Anyways, I'd like to experiment with the supplement route before signing up for the pill again. FYI: I've been off the pill for nearly four years, so this isn't an immediate consequence of that.

I've been reading up on a variety of supplements, including:
-Krill Oil
-Evening Primrose Oil
-Fenugreek (although it really seems like this should be more for strictly lactating women)
-Saw palmetto
-Flax seed oil
-about a million other things

But you know how the internet goes ... there's so much disinformation and a LOT of what's out there fully admits to being "folk medicine" and not scientifically proven. So, anyone tried any of the above?

I'm curious if anyone has tried to regulate their hormones naturally and had any success?

free skin care · Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:19 am

Murray,

since i'm nor personally familiar with acne...i'm wondering which hormones you are trying to regulate..and in what kind of way are you trying to regulate them. for example, do you believe/feel/intuit you are too high/low in estrogen in relation to progesterone, etc.

there are hormonal tests you can take to determine this scientifically...but that is only the 'beginning'of finding the solution..since then, imo, it is holistically important to ask 'why is my hormonal balance off' which could be caused by many factors, both from a western perspective (here, i would say a western style naturopath would be trained/schooled to look for/comprehend these kinds of causes..rather than an allopathic style physician/gynie) or from an eastern perspective (for example a TCM..tradition Chinese Medicine...practitioner)

because our endrocine system is delicate and the organs associated with them are so intricately interconnected..and respond so sensitively to emotional issues as well as physical issues..many factors could be operating to cause your hormonal imbalance.

to go back to some of the natural hormonal 'adjustors' you listed, from a TCM prospective, fenegreek seeds for example, are heating to the system, and I have heard that acne ( from a TCM prospective) is cause by an overheated condition (i'm not sure in what orgns/systems though) so won't be appropriate even though they may contain botanical hormonal substances that you may be lackiing or imbalanced in

i'm going to see my TCM prsctitioner in the next few days..so i'll ask him to give me a 'snapshot' of what causes acne from a TCM prospective..but everyone is still individualized according to TCM, so best to see a practitioner yoursef..rather than just looking up TCM herbs healing for acne on the internet, for example..although, from my prospective it would be still be safer/wiser than taking birth control pills.

free skin care · Thu Feb 18, 2010 10:26 am

Evening Primrose oil helped me with breast tenderness. You have to stay on it for awhile though, you won't notice anything right away.
I don't know your age but Vitex(chasteberry) is helpful during perimenopause.

free skin care · Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:02 pm

Maca root has helped me.I was suffering from some odd acne issues as well which is unusual for me because I am dry.

free skin care · Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:02 pm

Ask your GYN to test your hormones. This will help you in determining which supplement to choose.

free skin care · Thu Feb 18, 2010 5:24 pm

I have PCOS and i get exactly the same kind of acne as you..rest of my face stays clear while the area around me jawline and upper neck gives me a very hard time.

i am seeing a naturopath currently and here is a list of supplements she has prescribed to balance my hormones out
EPO 3000mg
Chromium 200mg
B complex 2000mg
Magnesium 2000 mg(she prescribed 3000 mg but it made me dizzy)
vitex 800mg
Apart from this i am taking two homeopathy tinctures. one is Black cohosh and one is some hormone balancing mix.

The naturopath i am seeing is very good and has very extensive knowledge. Earlier she was giving me some herbal mix instead of the homeopathy stuff which was a mix of 5 herbs and tasted very bad but seemed to work better...anyway for the sake of sticking to the topic...hope this helps a little

free skin care · Fri Feb 19, 2010 4:04 am

jasminerosey wrote:

there are hormonal tests you can take to determine this scientifically...but that is only the 'beginning'of finding the solution..since then, imo, it is holistically important to ask 'why is my hormonal balance off' which could be caused by many factors, both from a western perspective (here, i would say a western style naturopath would be trained/schooled to look for/comprehend these kinds of causes..rather than an allopathic style physician/gynie) or from an eastern perspective (for example a TCM..tradition Chinese Medicine...practitioner)

To be completely honest, I think my hormones went wacky when I lost a lot of weight (approx 35 lbs now). I've had the hormonal acne for many years but the menstruation effects have most definitely been heightened since the weight loss (for example, I went from being a pretty consistent 26-28 day cycle to some months as short as a 14 day cycle). I know that if women get too low of body fat they can lose their periods altogether (amenorrhea) so that's sort of what's leading me in this direction (my body fat is down to 16.8%, which, while low, is still considered "healthy" and "athletic" and isn't below the minimum required bodyfat level for a woman).

I guess if I could sum up how I'm feeling it'd be this: I feel like I am PMSing for two weeks out of the month; partially because my periods are so frequent and partially because the PMS stage seems to last longer than it used to. And by "PMS stage" I'm referring to: bloating, breast tenderness, increased irritability, spotting, etc.

I actually did have my hormones measured by my OBGYN when I went in for a CT scan (due to the frequent spotting). The CT scan came back A-OK and the hormones measured all came back "within the normal range." But I never got my hormones measured before, so how do I know that they're within MY normal range? Maybe they've fallen a ton? Maybe someone else's "normal" isn't my normal? I really wish I had gotten tested a lot earlier ... of course you don't think about getting that sort of screening and preventative care done before something goes wrong ... whoops.

mithai wrote:

I have PCOS and i get exactly the same kind of acne as you..rest of my face stays clear while the area around me jawline and upper neck gives me a very hard time.

i am seeing a naturopath currently and here is a list of supplements she has prescribed to balance my hormones out

Mithai, I'm not really familiar with PCOS. Can you describe what sort of differences you've noticed in your body/hormones/feelings since starting on your naturopath routine?

free skin care · Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:51 am

Thats one thing I hate about blood work in general. When you fall within 'normal range' dr's say you are ok but it may not be normal for you.

Did you get a copy of your blood work? I always do and research it myself.

If I were you I'd seek out either another gyn's opinion and/or a dr who deals in bioidential hormones. Everyone seems to have different opinions on them but I dont think it hurts to get the info. And those dr's seem more open to looking at things 'out side of the box'.

free skin care · Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:32 am

I've been in Peri Meno for at least 8 years. Dealing with it pretty well until some wierd chest and upper back pains came and went at different times in my cycle. Had all the usual tests done, EKG, blood work ect. and was diagnosed with Gastritis. Thought ok maybe? Went along with their protocol, the usual meds, but the pain didn't go away. Found a young female GYN thinking I could make her understand that this pain seemed to be related to my cycle. Talked with her about estrogen levels, progesterone levels dipping at certain times ect. I had really done my research. She seemed to understand and ordered bloodwork. Within a week I got a letter in the mail that said, and I'm not kidding! "Your FSH? levels are normal, you are still menstruating"!! DUH!!!! I paid 250$ for them to tell me I was still having a period? It's so hard to know who to trust, regular Docs just don't seem to be into the subtle changes that can really effect our daily lives.!! LD

free skin care · Fri Feb 19, 2010 9:00 am

Murray, allopathic physicians/gyns (unless incoporating a paradigm from a more holistic tradition) only know and can function within what the allopathic paradigm conceives of/comprehends healing to be.

unfortunately, imo, due to worldly influences, allopathic medicine is popularly conceived of (at least in the USA) to be 'medicine' itself....whereas it only has a lmited amount of tools in it's toolbox (metaphorically speaking)..and just can't travel beyond the limitation of what it has at it's disposal.

adding this or that ingredient/supplement may or may not shift the internal balance or dis-ease regarding your cycle..imo, if you're open to it, best to explore another paradigm to get more systemic healing

free skin care · Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:22 pm

murray28 wrote:

Mithai, I'm not really familiar with PCOS. Can you describe what sort of differences you've noticed in your body/hormones/feelings since starting on your naturopath routine?

My blood work also came all within normal range but my LH FSH ratio was 1:3...which is very typical of PCOS. I dont mean to imply that you have PCOS...just agreeing that your acne is 99% hormonal...and it is the most difficult to treat in my experience...even accutane doesnt work on this kind!!

After my older daughter's birth, I have very rarely gotten periods without help...but taking my supplements have resulted in some regular(!!!) periods...my mood has improved and so has my breakouts...

but all of it takes time and patience..a virtue i am short on!

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