Inositol
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Hello fellow Canadians
Here are a couple of Canadian websites that I found that carry Inositol. I haven't ordered from either yet. I got my first bottle of Inositol powder about 5 weeks ago through Amanzon.ca but it shipped out of the US (no duties or import taxes though - it just took a while).
Please let me know if you've found a good Canadian supplier! I'll need to order soon!
https://well.ca/products/now-foods-inositol-powder_18788.html
http://www.nationalnutrition.ca/SearchResult.aspx?KeyWords=Inositol&All=True0 -
I found some Inositol at a local health food store, so if you're an old-school shopper like me, then those kinds of shops are worth checking out!
It was $15 for roughly 100g of the powder.0 -
I think I am going to ask my doc about myo-inositol-- I am on metformin now but it doesn't help with sugar cravings or energy level. I think I want to add this to my regimen0
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The NOW brand of inositol is myo-inositol (it doesn't say on the bottle), I checked the NOW website info today to confirm... I got 100 caps of 500 mg for $6.29/bottle.0
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I think I am going to ask my doc about myo-inositol-- I am on metformin now but it doesn't help with sugar cravings or energy level. I think I want to add this to my regimen
@blukitten When I went on Metformin, until I dropped my carbs below 50 grams for day, I didn't get the full efficacy of the Met or the ease in cravings or boost in energy. So if you carbs are higher than 100 grams per day, I would highly recommend dropping them by 10 daily grams once per week. So each Monday, lower your goal to 10 less grams than the previous week - until you find your sweet spot of eased cravings and boosted energy.
Remember, too, that as you lower carbs you must up fats for balance (carbs are fuel and fat is fuel, but protein is NOT fuel, so you need to up fats, even if you up your proteins a little, because otherwise you are cutting your body off from fuel...)....1 -
When I asked my nurse practitioner about Inositol she looked at my like I had three heads. Never heard of it! She really wanted me to go back to Metformin but I refused. I'm curious to hear what your doctor says about combining the two.I think I am going to ask my doc about myo-inositol-- I am on metformin now but it doesn't help with sugar cravings or energy level. I think I want to add this to my regimen
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When I asked my nurse practitioner about Inositol she looked at my like I had three heads. Never heard of it! She really wanted me to go back to Metformin but I refused. I'm curious to hear what your doctor says about combining the two.I think I am going to ask my doc about myo-inositol-- I am on metformin now but it doesn't help with sugar cravings or energy level. I think I want to add this to my regimen
My endocrinologist had heard of it, but if you follow the research, it is considered a pseudo vitamin or some nonsense, because our body produces some levels of it naturally. Just like with everything else PCOS screws up, with those of us who suffer it (PCOS, that is), our body generally does not produce ENOUGH of it (Inositol, that is!), and therefore, we need to supplement. It also may be covered under some of the B-Complex formulas, as it is also known as B8.1 -
When I asked my nurse practitioner about Inositol she looked at my like I had three heads. Never heard of it! She really wanted me to go back to Metformin but I refused. I'm curious to hear what your doctor says about combining the two.I think I am going to ask my doc about myo-inositol-- I am on metformin now but it doesn't help with sugar cravings or energy level. I think I want to add this to my regimen
Ugh, this just happened to me today. My Endocrinologist's office called me about some blood work, and I mentioned to her (whoever she was, his secretary I think) that I've started taking Inositol and thought I should pass it on just so it's on my chart or whatever (can you tell how much I'm not impressed with doctors?), and she paused, asked me how to spell it, and then condescendingly asked me what it does and why I'm taking it. I tried to tell her, in a polite way, that there's a good amount of clinical research to support it's use for those with PCOS symptoms, but I was so thrown off by her attitude that I didn't really express myself very well, I don't think.
All I can say is I'm thankful for forums like this, because every doctor I've seen over the past few years has been virtually useless, I usually just end up feeling hopeless and generally worse. Not once have any of them seemed interested in anything other than giving me a medication or a bandaid solution for an individual symptom and then sending me on my way, rather than trying to actually address root causes. Just venting, sigh.
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When I asked my nurse practitioner about Inositol she looked at my like I had three heads. Never heard of it! She really wanted me to go back to Metformin but I refused. I'm curious to hear what your doctor says about combining the two.I think I am going to ask my doc about myo-inositol-- I am on metformin now but it doesn't help with sugar cravings or energy level. I think I want to add this to my regimen
Ugh, this just happened to me today. My Endocrinologist's office called me about some blood work, and I mentioned to her (whoever she was, his secretary I think) that I've started taking Inositol and thought I should pass it on just so it's on my chart or whatever (can you tell how much I'm not impressed with doctors?), and she paused, asked me how to spell it, and then condescendingly asked me what it does and why I'm taking it. I tried to tell her, in a polite way, that there's a good amount of clinical research to support it's use for those with PCOS symptoms, but I was so thrown off by her attitude that I didn't really express myself very well, I don't think.
All I can say is I'm thankful for forums like this, because every doctor I've seen over the past few years has been virtually useless, I usually just end up feeling hopeless and generally worse. Not once have any of them seemed interested in anything other than giving me a medication or a bandaid solution for an individual symptom and then sending me on my way, rather than trying to actually address root causes. Just venting, sigh.
Unfortunately, this is quite common. I hope you can find a doctor that will at least work with you.
One thing I've done to help myself on this front is to look less for a doctor that understands PCOS (if I find one, great), and look more for one that's willing to listen to and work with me. Finding one that's willing to run the blood tests and write the prescriptions when necessary is a good stop gap.
It does mean that you can't rely on them to educate you about PCOS, but frankly, you couldn't rely on them for that to begin with, so nothing's really changed. What has changed is that by doing the above, you take your healthcare into your own hands and go from a passive recipient of doctor advice, to an active participant in your healthcare. This is often called "patient centered health" or "participatory health," so it might help to search for doctors off those keywords and see if you can find anyone that way.
It does take some practice, though, and a doctor willing to have that kind of relationship. Don't be afraid to drop your current one like a sack of bricks and find someone else until you find a good fit.1 -
The healthcare system works a little differently in Canada than it does in the states because of universal healthcare - if I want to see an endocrinologist, my GP has to refer me to one, and I don't really get to choose, I don't have too much experience with going beyond that and trying to seek out other doctors as I think it's a difficult process. My GP referred me to a dermatologist in the past and then more recently this endo, both were bad referrals in retrospect but I didn't really know enough at the time to know that, especially for the derm (spent about 40 seconds with me, seeemed sympathetic but ultimately dismissive in terms of testing and treatment options). I could be wrong on this though, if any other canadians out there have some more experience with this, I'd love to hear about it!0
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I was looking up some of the potential things that inositol helped with and I saw one was panic disorder. Does anyone here have panic attacks that it might have helped with? I wasn't really wanting to be on SNRI's again just because I forget to take pills a lot and that can cause some pretty severe issues.0
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leahraskie wrote: »I was looking up some of the potential things that inositol helped with and I saw one was panic disorder. Does anyone here have panic attacks that it might have helped with? I wasn't really wanting to be on SNRI's again just because I forget to take pills a lot and that can cause some pretty severe issues.
My husband takes it for his anxiety. He's only ever had one panic attack that I know of, but his GP prescribed him xanax for occasional use, particularly for flying (pretty bad phobia). He takes 12g a day, and within about 3 weeks, he had a 180 turnaround on it. He literally just woke up one morning about bouncing off the walls with happy energy.
It's definitely worth a try, though it's good to take it regularly to allow it to build up in the system. We take it at night, right before bed.0 -
@42carrots I'm Canadian too, and you can ask for a new referral if the specialist you're seeing isn't a good fit. I've had to do that before. Basically the office assistant chooses the one that's physically closest to their office as their default choice IME. Go to https://www.ratemds.com, look up the specialists in your area and read through the reviews, then make a new doctor's appt and request a new referral to the one you want to see.0
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leahraskie wrote: »I was looking up some of the potential things that inositol helped with and I saw one was panic disorder. Does anyone here have panic attacks that it might have helped with? I wasn't really wanting to be on SNRI's again just because I forget to take pills a lot and that can cause some pretty severe issues.
Coincidentally, I've had anxiety since I was 15. I've noticed a considerable difference taking Inositol. The fact that it helps with both the PCOS sugar cravings and anxiety is amazing. Definitely worth it for me. My energy levels have increased and I feel much more "with it" and clear headed in regards to anxiety. I do still take medication (Effexor XR 225mg/day) but have never felt as "normal" as I do while taking the Inositol to supplement.1 -
What's a good dose to start with?
And this might be a stupid question to ask, but since it sounds like such a benign supplement and one that many drs may not have heard of anyway, is it a bad idea to start taking it without checking with your dr first? My ob/gyn was never that concerned about treating my PCOS, my PCP quit (still looking for a new one) and I'm not sure if my MS specialist or cardiologist would know anything about this. Since there are no side effects from what I've read, it's probably OK to just start? No known drug interactions?0 -
macchiatto wrote: »What's a good dose to start with?
And this might be a stupid question to ask, but since it sounds like such a benign supplement and one that many drs may not have heard of anyway, is it a bad idea to start taking it without checking with your dr first? My ob/gyn was never that concerned about treating my PCOS, my PCP quit (still looking for a new one) and I'm not sure if my MS specialist or cardiologist would know anything about this. Since there are no side effects from what I've read, it's probably OK to just start? No known drug interactions?
500-600 mg is generally a starting dose. I've done 500 mg in pill form, 600 mg in powder form which even half of was twice as intense for me personally as the pill, though I don't know if it was a better quality or bio-availability or what.
It should not interact with anything. The only things I've personally encountered (which I've not heard anyone else having issues with) is that when I take my BCP constantly to not have any cycles at all (some do once a quarter, etc., I am not needing to have any anymore ever as long as my uterine lining does not build up and become unhealthy), that inositol at anything higher than the 500 mg pill form kept trying to "FIX" me by giving me a cycle... But I felt it was only because I wasn't having any cycles...if that makes sense.0 -
thank you for all of the info- I take metformine and progesterone and I am going to start trying the inositol powder. I have anxiety and depression so that would be awesome if it helps that as well.0
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Something else a friend of mine mentioned is that she's found unconventional success to her anxiety and depression through drinking Kombucha. She's on disability for the mental issues, and started drinking the kombucha for gut health, and ended up having the side effects of reduced mental issues. I don't know if it would work for you, but it was a pleasant surprise for her.
I started with this for gut issues, as well, regarding vitamin absorption and all manner of nonsense. It is said that IR can even start with poor gut health, so I'm hoping long term for a reduction there, too... It's a naturally fermented tea that works with probiotics and such. I started buying mine at WM, then started brewing my own. It's kind an acquired taste, but it nicely replaces my desire for fizzy stuffs, like soda, except on the rare occasion.1 -
Thanks for the info, @knitormiss!0
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »Something else a friend of mine mentioned is that she's found unconventional success to her anxiety and depression through drinking Kombucha. She's on disability for the mental issues, and started drinking the kombucha for gut health, and ended up having the side effects of reduced mental issues. I don't know if it would work for you, but it was a pleasant surprise for her.
I started with this for gut issues, as well, regarding vitamin absorption and all manner of nonsense. It is said that IR can even start with poor gut health, so I'm hoping long term for a reduction there, too... It's a naturally fermented tea that works with probiotics and such. I started buying mine at WM, then started brewing my own. It's kind an acquired taste, but it nicely replaces my desire for fizzy stuffs, like soda, except on the rare occasion.
She might have serotonin issues. The gut actually produces most of the serotonin in the body. Healthy gut = healthy serotonin production (maybe). I don't think there's much information on that, though, it's not well-studied yet, but from what we do know, it stands to reason that the Kombucha corrected something that was dysfunctional in her gut and as a result, corrected dysfunctional serotonin production.2
