PRESCRIPTIONS AND HOME REMEDIES PCOS patients benefit from trendy weight-loss medicine

Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is a hormonal imbalance that interferes with menstrual periods and fertility. It is called “polycystic ovary syndrome” because the ovaries are enlarged and contain numerous fluidfilled cysts. Women with PCOS may also struggle with too much androgen and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance, often a feature of Type 2 diabetes, can make it difficult to control weight.

You are not the first person with PCOS to report positive results with semaglutide (Wegovy). One small study found: “Treatment with semaglutide, at low doses, significantly reduces body weight in almost 80% of obese PCOS patients who were unresponsive to a previous lifestyle plan.” We hope that researchers will undertake more trials to see how best to use semaglutide for people like you.

Q: Over a year ago, my wife began to get canker sores, which she hadn’t had since her youth. It wasn’t an occasional one; she had two or three at a time, and before they healed, there were two or three more!

Her dentist suggested hydrogen peroxide rinses, but they were ineffective. Her doctor prescribed doxycycline, but that was also ineffective. I looked on the internet and got several suggestions. She was in such distress that we tried them all at once:

Vitamin D3 (enough to keep her level around 70 ng/dL)

L-Lysine 1,000 milligrams daily

Zinc 50 milligrams daily Folic acid 800 micrograms daily

Vitamin B6 100 milligrams daily

Vitamin B12 1,000 micrograms daily

I have proposed dropping the items one at a time, but my wife is reluctant to change a winning solution. Last night, she mentioned that the canker sore outbreak started while she had COVID-19. When I searched online for COVID-19 and canker sores, there were numerous hits.

A:

We, too, were surprised to find many articles on this topic in the medical literature. Canker sores are somewhat mysterious, with a range of triggers.

We have heard from other readers that vitamin B12 supplements can help prevent recurrent sores. Some readers also find that consuming either sauerkraut or kiwifruit helps them heal quickly.

Thank you for sharing your wife’s cocktail. She would be smart to follow your suggestion to gradually reduce the doses of her supplements with a goal of phasing some of them out.

Q: The hole in my ear lobe had closed, and I wanted to wear earrings again. I visited a piercer, who reopened it. When it became uncomfortable two days later, I was advised to apply brewed chamomile tea to the area several times a day. This offered amazing relief. What else can this brew be used for?

A:

We were fascinated by your report. Chamomile tea has been used topically to treat eczema, but we did not know it could provide pain relief. A search of the medical literature revealed that chamomile has long been used to treat wounds, bruises, burns and other skin irritations (Molecular Medicine Reports, Nov. 1, 2010).

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Send questions to them via www. peoplespharmacy.com.

Q: Those of us with PCOS have tried the “normal” way to lose weight: eat nothing, exercise and don’t lose a pound. Yes, it’s real! That’s why drugs like Wegovy have been the only thing that helps us. Traditional advice does nothing and there have been no People with PCOS have found that semaglutide, known as Wegovy or Ozempic, helps them lose weight.