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HPA Axis

HPA Axis

What do you do for high testosterone in PCOS?

Laura Schoenfeld: There are a lot of different things that can be done for high testosterone. With PCOS, it does...

A little off topic, but in regards to fertility, if a woman with PCOS is given all the conventional fertility tests by a doctor and they all come back normal except high prolactin, what would you think is going on? It could be a pituitary tumor, but once that was ruled out, what might you think would be causing it? She was under extreme stress at the time of the test. Could that be it?

Dr. Amy Nett: Stress could certainly contribute to it, so number one, repeat the prolactin. If she’s no longer under...

What’s your recommendation for a 55-year-old woman who would like to get rid visceral fat but severely adrenal fatigued and insulin resistant? I know intermittent fasting is a fabulous way to bring down insulin, but adrenal functions are not up to par and might take a while to address that. What’s the option for a patient like her to lose weight? She tried intermittent fasting before, and she was not able to sleep at all for two nights straight. She’s considering to get bioidentical hormone therapy. Thyroid panel is surprisingly fine, but her hair has been thinning.

Chris Kresser: Yes, it’s tricky. This is the type of case that we do see a lot as practitioners. You...

Does Relora formula that we talked about in the HPA axis unit have a specific mechanism of lowering cortisol that would specifically target belly fat? Since you mentioned Relora’s relation, in relation to belly fat, I’m wondering if it acts differently or its general possible effect as it is in other substances that may lower cortisol such as phosphatidylserine.

Chris Kresser: More the latter. I don’t know of any specific effect of Relora that would be related to body...

For children and young teens, what techniques have you used recommended for HPA-D treatment for stress reduction? I’ve helped kids learn meditation, but I’ve not had great success with some families who are already overwhelmed, and the child doesn’t have complete control over what they do. I’m encouraging lifestyle changes but would love to have something where kids see a quicker response. Perhaps bio or neural feedback.

Chris Kresser: Yeah, that’s probably a good option in some cases where the family situation isn’t conducive to meditation or...

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