PMOS: The win we've been looking for.
- Krystal Daubenspeck
- May 30
- 3 min read
1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome.
As someone who paid for high res photos of their insides, it's more than just the gnarly looking cysts that come and go. It's more than abdominal pain and tough menses. It's fatigue and sweating. It's nausea and skipped plans. It's burning through personal time every month because work is impossible. It's gaslighting yourself into going to work because surely you're just being dramatic.
To be officially diagnosed with PMOS, one needs to meet two of the three following criteria:
Irregular or absent menstrual cycles
Clinical or biochemical signs of high androgens
Polycystic ovarian morphology
PMOS is being found to be caused by a variety of factors including hormonal dysfuntion, metabolic health, insulin resistance, ovulatory dysfunction, just to name a few.
It can be adult acne, or excess body hair.
It can be weight gain and type 2 diabetes.
It can be depression and anxiety.
It can be sleep apnea.
It can be the other 'odd' things women confide in each other, wondering if they're losing their minds.
For me, surgery was the tip of the iceberg, it took away the crippling pain. It took away having to skip work, stay home and sleep with a heating pad set to the flames of hell. It took away the acute symptoms but the chronic symptoms lingered.
Everyone deserves relief, even if you don't have an official diagnosis. Even if you can't afford the testing. Even if you can't quite define what's wrong. Maybe you don't want to do something as dramatic as removing organs. Maybe you live in a healthcare desert and don't have access to the resources to really hit the nail on the head. Maybe you want to take control of your own life and your own health and start making changes.
That's what I wanted to do, I wanted to find a way to manage symptoms without spending thousands of dollars, countless hours fighting with doctors (because mental health matters too), or buying a new car with supersonic heated seats. Down the rabbit hole I went, which prompted my journey into therapeutic ketogenic diets and Primal living.
Keto has been shown to cause relief from PMOS. In a 24 week study conducted by John C Mavropoulos 1, William S Yancy 1,2, Juanita Hepburn 1, Eric C Westman 1,✉
Hyperinsulinemia (chronically elevated blood sugar) increases androgen secretions and decreases SHBG. Which tracks with what we know about the human body; excess carbs cause excess cell turnover; if your blood sugar is high the body HAS to find something to do with it. There is no back door exit. Something has to be produced. Testosterone in women causes cell growth. We begin to see how this snowballs from a simple issue to something much more complex. The truth of the matter is that elevated blood sugar has far reaching affects on the body. While some people may not show outward signs of the effects until later in life, for some of us, that bell tolls much earlier. For some people, it doesn't manifest until they begin showing signs of Type 3 Diabetes, some people never know they're suffering, they just assume they are stuck with the status quo. They believe that the brain fog, inflammation and needing to snack every few hours is normal. It doesn't have to be, this is a problem you can fix. At home. For free.
You can be your own best friend. You can have a hand in your own health. You just need the right goals.
Want to set some goals with me? email me at krystal@luxuryofthesunwv.com and we'll get you on the path to long term health.
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