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81 " Checklist for inflammatory PCOS Avoid wheat and cow’s dairy. Identify and avoid other food sensitivities. Fix any digestive problems. Consider taking a zinc supplement. Consider an additional anti-androgen supplement, as discussed later in the chapter. "
― Lara Briden , Period Repair Manual
82 " The steroid drugs in hormonal birth control work extremely well to clear acne. Both ethinylestradiol (synthetic estrogen) and the progestins drospirenone, norgestimate, and cyproterone strongly suppress sebum (skin oil). In fact, cyproterone suppresses sebum to “childhood levels,” [35] which is a bit unsettling when you think about it. Adults are supposed to have more sebum than children, so it’s an abnormal situation. In response to the drugs, your skin has to up-regulate sebum, and that upregulation will continue even once you stop the pill. The result can be more sebum than you ever had before. "
83 " post-pill acne is the result of a double-whammy of rebound sebum as you withdraw from a sebum-suppressing drug, and rebound androgens as your ovaries become active again. "
84 " Many things can impair ovulation and promote excess androgens. They include: Thyroid disease, because hypothyroidism impedes ovulation and worsens insulin resistance. [212] Vitamin D deficiency, because your ovaries need vitamin D. Zinc deficiency, because your ovaries need zinc. Iodine deficiency, because your ovaries need iodine. Elevated prolactin, because it increases DHEA. Too little food or too few carbs, because you need carbs to ovulate. If you’re undereating, then you’ve slipped into HA. "
85 " Post-pill acne typically peaks after about six months—just when you might be ready to give up. After that, your skin should start to improve. "
86 " How can temperature tell you about ovulation? It can detect progesterone, which, as you may recall, is the ovarian hormone you make after ovulation. Progesterone has many effects on your body, but it has the one very handy effect of raising your body temperature. "
87 " before ovulation, your waking temperature is between 97.0°F (36.1°C) and 97.7°F (36.5°C). After ovulation, progesterone increases your waking temperature by about 0.5°F (0.3°C), and maintains it at that higher level until your period. "
88 " A few consecutive days of a small but significant increase in temperature is enough to know that you ovulated and cannot become pregnant for the rest of that cycle. "
89 " Your temperature goes up after ovulation, which makes it easy to identify your post-ovulation infertile or safe days. "
90 " With the right training, you can predict your pre-ovulation safe days by interpreting your cervical fluid "
91 " you track your cervical fluid because it’s the sign of ovulation that occurs before ovulation. Cervical fluid, also called cervical mucus or fertile mucus, is a unique type of vaginal discharge that looks and feels just like raw egg white. It is clear, stretchy, and slippery. You will see it on the toilet paper after you wipe or feel it at your vaginal opening. "
92 " Why monthly? The timing of a healthy cycle is determined by three important events in your ovaries. First, your ovarian follicles enter a final race to ovulation. This stage—called your follicular phase—takes approximately two weeks, though it can be shorter or significantly longer. Then, you have ovulation, which takes about one day. Finally, you have your luteal phase, which takes pretty close to 14 days. "
93 " the follicular phase, which can last anywhere from 7 to 21 days ovulation, which lasts one day the luteal phase, which lasts 10 to 16 days. "
94 " As an adult, it’s normal to have a cycle of anywhere from 21 to 35 days. "
95 " A healthy period starts with healthy follicles. Your follicular phase begins when a few follicles (usually six to eight) enter the final days of their race to ovulation. It’s important to understand that the total lifespan of each follicle is much longer than just the two or three weeks of your follicular phase. Your follicles actually started their race to ovulation months before. "
96 " An ovarian follicle is a sac that contains one egg (oocyte). It is the part of your ovary that produces estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. "
97 " It takes 100 days for your follicles to mature from their dormant state all the way to ovulation. If your follicles were unhealthy for any part of that maturation process, the result could be a period problem months later. "
98 " Estradiol is your happy hormone or “yang hormone.” It stimulates mood and libido because it boosts the neurotransmitters serotonin (which promotes feelings of well-being and happiness) and dopamine (which is associated with motivation and pleasure). "
99 " One of estradiol’s main jobs is to stimulate your uterine lining to grow and thicken and prepare for a baby. It’s quite simple: the more estradiol you have, the thicker your uterine lining, and the heavier your period will eventually be. "
100 " As your follicular race proceeds, eventually, one (or more rarely, two) of your follicles reach the finish line. Your winning, dominant follicle swells, and then—triggered by luteinizing hormone (LH)—finally ruptures to release its egg. "