What blood tests should I get for PCOS?

Refer to the Evidence Based Guidelines & our 12 essential PCOS blood tests post for more details on this.

Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH)

Total and Free Testosterone or Free Androgen Index (FAI)

DHEAS (Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate)

Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin (SHBG)

Prolactin

LH, FSH, and Estradiol (optional, not diagnostic)

TSH (Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone)

Free T4 (if thyroid dysfunction suspected)

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)

HbA1c

Fasting insulin and glucose (for HOMA-IR)

Lipid Profile (Total Cholesterol, LDL, HDL, Triglycerides)

The recommended daily dose for women with PCOS is 4 grams per day. This can be taken as 1 x 4g dose in the morning. Or as 2g with breakfast in the morning and 2g in the evening with dinner.A 4 gram serve is a not quite flat metric teaspoon. A 2 gram serve is a not quite flat metric 1/2 teaspoon. We now provide a 2g scoop in our Natural Myo Inositol Product.

It is recommended that you don’t take inositol with a lot of coffee as too much caffeine reduces the positive benefits. There isn’t a negative health effect rather just the reduction of positive effects.

How much is a lot? Depends on your body size and other factors but 3+ cups of coffee a day is a good place to start.

The inositol problem in PCOS is that the body over converts Myo Inositol (MI) into D Chiro Inositol. (DCI) Adding more DCI isn’t the answer.

In PCOS patients with hyperinsulinemia, increased epimerase activity leads to excessive conversion of MI to DCI in the ovary, resulting in MI depletion and DCI overproduction (Nestler & Unfer, 2015; Unfer et al., 2014). 

This imbalance may impair FSH signaling and oocyte quality (Nestler & Unfer, 2015). Studies have shown that the MI:DCI ratio in follicular fluid drops from 100:1 in healthy women to 0.2:1 in PCOS patients (Unfer et al., 2014). 

The altered MI:DCI ratio may contribute to pathological steroidogenesis in PCOS, with DCI promoting androgen synthesis and reducing estradiol production (Unfer et al., 2020). 

Restoring the appropriate MI:DCI ratio has shown efficacy in PCOS treatment, and MI supplementation may improve oocyte and sperm quality in assisted reproduction (Facchinetti et al., 2016).

In addition D-Chiro has negative long term effects.

Please read:

Nordio, M.; Bezerra Espinola, M.S.; Bilotta, G.; Capoccia, E.; Montanino Oliva, M. Long-Lasting Therapies with High Doses of D-chiro-inositol: The Downside. J.Clin. Med. 2023, 12, 390. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12010390

R. GAMBIOLI, G. FORTE, C. ARAGONA, A. BEVILACQUA, M. BIZZARRI, V. UNFER. The use of D-chiro-Inositol in clinical practice European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences 2021; 25: 438-446

Inositol is a very safe food supplement. It is naturally found in mothers breast milk and often used in infant formulas and baby foods.

For a small percentage of women there is an adjustment process. This may mean headaches, dizziness, stomach ache or more frequent urination for the first few days or even weeks.

If this is the case for you, then we recommend you take your regular over the counter headache tablets and or start on a smaller dose and build up to the recommended dose slowly.

So rather than 4 grams per day you might take 1g in week 1, 2g in week 2, 3g in week 3, 4g in week 4.

It may also be helpful to split the daily dose into a morning and evening serving.

If problems persist stop taking inositol immediately and talk to your GP.

Inositol is recommended by some GP’s to women who are pregnant as it reduces the risk of gestational diabetes.

There are a number of peer reviewed studies where there has been no adverse effects from near conception through to delivery.

Always check with your GP if this is right for you.

We have not found a study to say that inositol in breastmilk causes problems for breastfeeding infants.

There are studies to support some positive benefits but there isn’t a lot of research on this.

We recommend that you make your own searches using the above provided sources.

If you do find something that we haven’t seen please let us know.

The planting area for corn in Australia averages 160,000 hectares and produces around 440,000 tonnes.

In China the area planted for corn is 76,000,000 acres producing 257 million tonnes.

This is well over 500 times more corn grown than in Australia.

Inositol production is a small fraction of this large quantity.

We haven’t found an Australian grown Inositol supply and suspect that the Australian industry is too small and serves other higher yield markets

Yes. It is GMO Free, Plant Based and Vegan safe. It is made from corn.

Depends on advice from your doctor. We cannot give medical advice and this is even more specialised as it is a toxicology question relating to your personal circumstances which we are not qualified to know.

Yes inositol is recognised as generally safe when used in recommended doses.

Compared to other products, the adverse events per 100,000 users is nearly 100 times lower than other common treatments like MF.

References:

• Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. (n.d.). Database of Adverse Event Notifications (DAEN). Therapeutic Goods Administration. https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/database-adverse-event-notifications-daen

• Cavicchia, M. L., et al. (2019). Safety and tolerability of inositol supplementation in clinical practice: A systematic review. International Journal of Endocrinology, 2019, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/2532583

• Kennedy, D. O. (2016). B vitamins and the brain: Mechanisms, dose and efficacy—A review. Nutrients, 8(2), 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8020068

• Ernst, E. (2002). Adverse effects of herbal drugs in dermatology. British Journal of Dermatology, 146(6), 929–936. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2133.2002.04770.x

• Nathan, D. M., et al. (2006). Medical management of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes: A consensus algorithm. Diabetes Care, 29(8), 1963–1972. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc06-9912

Inositol is a sweet carbohydrate powder food supplement used for treating PCOS, fertility, certain cognitive and insulin resistant health conditions. You are best to read the wiki page for a more technical explantion. Link here.

It reduces the hormone imbalances acting as a regulator of levels. It may help reduce hormone levels rising too high or falling too low.

Every women’s body and body chemistry is different. For some women Inositol works in days and for others not at all. The best approach is to test this out for yourself. If you don’t see benefits inside 60 days then this may not be a treatment for you.

We are most often asked just if our product is a 40:1 blend of Myo and D-Chiro inositols. The answer is no.

We only sell 100% pure Myo Inositol for four reasons.

1. The body converts Myo Inositol to D Chiro & other Inositols as it requires in a one way process. (Other inositols can’t convert to Myo Inositol). Myo Inositol is the primary building block for up to 8 different Inositols.

2. Myo-Inositol is more flexible treating both hormonal and reproductive symptoms alone than D-Chiro Inositol.

3. Too much D-Chiro inositol may be harmful in fertility applications. This risk is unacceptable to us.

4. The dose for D-Chiro is really small 0.1g per day. You are likely getting this from food already.

5. There are long term effects of too much D-Chiro inositol Please read: Nordio, M.; Bezerra Espinola, M.S.; Bilotta, G.; Capoccia, E.; Montanino Oliva, M. Long-Lasting Therapies with High Doses of D-chiro-inositol: The Downside. J.Clin. Med. 2023, 12, 390. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12010390 | R. GAMBIOLI, G. FORTE, C. ARAGONA, A. BEVILACQUA, M. BIZZARRI, V. UNFER. The use of D-chiro-Inositol in clinical practice European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences 2021; 25: 438-446

See more in our blog post on this including journal references.

The easiest way to take inositol powder is to mix it in a 250ml glass of water or juice and drink it.

The taste is sweet, not bitter.

This is why it is added to some carbonated drinks and often used as a food additive.