What is there to do?

by Elizabeth
(Melbourne, FL)

Hi everyone!

I'm 17 years old and I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 15, along with that I've never had a period.

Yet every month for a few days I go through typical menstrual symptoms. Sometimes it was so bad that I would end up in the hospital due to the unbearable amounts of pain.

Here's the real kicker - NOTHING helped with the pain. That led to insomnia, migraines, extreme weight gain, depression, acne, the works.

I've seen 9 different doctors, all dealing with separate symptoms.

I've been on numerous types of birth control and all they seem do is make another one of my symptoms worse.

Eventually, I will need to have surgery done but for the time being I need to find some ways to cope with the pain.

I've tried baths, herbal teas, I even went to a dietitian/nutritionist to experiment with different diets and try to pinpoint foods that could have made me feel worse.

What I need are suggestions that may have possibly helped you!

I'm open for anything. Thank you soo much!

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Editor's comments: I might suggest a few things you can do.

1) Purchase the Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine book. It's an excellent resource for helping you to understand female-related health problems and what to do about them.

2) Find out if there is a licensed naturopathic physician in your area. If so, pick one and have him or her help you figure out what to do. They are quite good at dealing with complex chronic health problems for a holistic perspective.

3) Are you sure you don't have endometriosis? If so, Dr. Amy Day is a specialist in treating endometriosis. Endometriosis can be difficult to manage.

4) I remember attending a seminar by Dr. Devaki Berkson. She referred to the "3 Musketeers" for dealing with menstrual dysfunction: magnesium, vitamin B6, and essential fatty acids (such as fish oil).

5) You don't say, but I hope at least one of the nine doctors has run a female sex hormone panel to get some idea of which and to what extent your hormones are out of balance.

The use of synthetic hormone analogs such as birth control pills creates side effects. You may discover that bio-identical ("natural") hormone therapy is just as effect but has no side effects.

Whatever you decide to do, you must find out the CAUSE of the pain. I'm afraid you'll have to keep looking for doctors until you find one who can figure out what the cause of the pain is so that it can be effectively reduced. Treating symptoms may be necessary but is not the solution to your problem.