An absolute staple for PCOS
"PCOS has to be one of the most under researched , dismissed and mistreated conditions affecting women today. Anyone who has it knows the struggles of dealing with the symptoms but also the frustrating advice to “Just lose weight”. After months of struggling, starving, and exercising we find ourselves feeling more defeated than ever.
If we are lucky we might hear the buzz surrounding Inositol or myo d-chiro inositol. It’s claims boasting to help improve insulin resistance, improve quality of eggs, and restore monthly cycles better than metformin. There’s no doubt that it is a staple. However there’s one supplement that should receive just as much if not more credit as inositol, and that’s Berberine HCL.
During the height of the pandemic when we were all staying home I threw myself into getting my pcos under control. I adopted an anti-inflammatory low GI diet, and began taking inositol. Unlike the times I tried other diets like Keto, paleo , clean eating and exercising, my symptoms began to dramatically decrease within weeks. I saw a reduction in acne,hirsutism, fatigue and my cycles returned. I also lost about 12 pounds within the first month without exercising, counting calories, managing point systems, fasting, starving, experiencing painful sugar withdrawals or hunger headaches.
Excited that this advice was working for me, I decided to add
Berberine to my PCOS regimen. Berberine is known for its powerful anti-inflammatory properties as well as management of blood sugar levels, both which are big components in PCOS.
As soon as I added it to my regimen, I noticed yet another cluster of symptom improvements. To start, when My PCOS was at its worst my face began to get really puffy and tired. I looked older and tired all the time. My jawline was almost nonexistent. After adding Berberine, that all dramatically declined. I could see my jaw and cheeks bones again, my skin didn’t look tired or distressed anymore. The acne that I was still getting around my cycle also completely stopped. I didn’t realize how much my pcos was aging my appearance until I was looking at a brighter eyed, rejuvenated younger looking version of myself in the mirror again. An unexpected improvement was I was no longer experiencing aching joints. I also managed to lose another 20lbs in the next 5 months still without any other changes to the regimen I described above.
During the last two years I had a time lapse where I was between moving which made it difficult for me to maintain my diet. Out of convenience I made poor food choices. And then I just got complacent. I thought, “I’ll just go back to it all when I’m ready.” When I ran out of supplements I didn’t repurchase. My symptoms all began to come back and before I knew it I had undone all my progress. I had decided to get back on the wagon and start everything up again. At first I thought I’d tackle it aggressively and by investing in ovasitol which is probably the most expensive inositol out there but it’s supposed to be the mother of all pcos supplements. Since I splurged on that I decided to skip the Berberine to save money and to decrease the amount of supplements I had to take. 3 months passed without losing a single pound. I saw improvements in my skin, energy and cycles but not much else. I began to worry that I had caused too much damage to my body during the time I fell off my regimen. I decided to re-add the Berberine anyway. As soon as did, within that same week things were moving again. I’m 9lbs away from being where I was before falling off the wagon. The acne is gone, the joint pain is gone. All the benefits I noted the first time are there. It made me realize that I need to not take those two little capsules for granted. In the grand scheme of things I’d rather buy a cheaper inositol brand like I was before and get the Berberine. I can’t deny that Berberine plays an essential role in managing my pcos. If you are desperate and struggling with pcos and a clean diet and exercise aren’t doing it for you, try it!"
Better than expected!
"Highly recommended by healthcare providers and I was totally skeptical of the taste, size of capsules etc. Zero powder residue on outside of capsules. These capsules aren’t any larger than an average capsule size. If anyone has issues with swallowing a larger/longer capsule or other pills a bit of applesauce helps greatly with swallowing pills easily. I didn’t have to do this. The dosage is 2 capsules in morning with meal for the 1200 mg dose. I was advised to try one capsule first to see how it went. Well, I took both and only 2 days so far. No I’ll side effects which is great. I like to nibble instead of 3 meals and this has helped me to actually not do this and eat a proper meal. If this is the most it’s going to do it’s a win for me. I’m hopeful that the benefits will be great as time will tell in about a month. Bottle has a non childproof top(screw on cap) which was fantastic as I normally have to use a hammer to crack them open! There no odd odour either from the bottle also. Another plus as I’m not too happy taking pills and any “taste/odour” makes it difficult for me to continue taking them on a daily basis."
