2nd October 2004
To see an endo some require referrals and others don't. they cost between $150 - $350 for an intial visit. I'm not certain if that visit would include the price of tests, but I would assume not as a female panel alone runs $200 - $400. Not to mention allll the other tests they would run. However to get dx as Insulin Resistance you would get the GTT test but, if you want to know if you have high androgen levels you would get a Female Panel run too. They could test you for several things, but based on what you had as a kid, yes Hypoglycemia results from High Insulin levels...in other words Hyperinsulinemia. Hyperinsulinemia can promoted Hyperandrogenism for some people which is why Insulin Sensitizers and/or Low Carb like Diets work because they help reduce the amount of insulin our body produces.
Yasmin isn't quite the same as Diane-35. Yasmin has an antiandrogenic progesterone, where as Diane-35 has Cyproterone Acetate (CPA). Studies have revealed that Spiro is stronger long term than CPA or Flutimide (bad side effects) as anti-androgens. You probably won't need Spiro if you are taking Avandia or Metaformin and/or have altered your diet to improve your skin. However if you suffer from excess facial or body hair, you will still need Spiro (or saw palmetto or beta sitosterol or green tea) as this physically BLOCKS the androgen receptor (so DHT won't be produced), where as the others methods only reduce your production of androgens. Hair follicles are more sensitive to DHT than our "skin" is in terms of acne production. I don't understand why, but you can get clear and still produce lots of unwanted body hair at the same time.
Also spiro may affect your cycles, but if you go on a drug like Avandia (metaformin made me sick), it can help regulate your cycles so that you won't have to go on birth control. Unfortunately, there's only a few methods to treat our problems, in terms of Insulin Resistance Syndrome: Estrogen, Progesterone (or vitex), Insulin Sensitizers, Low-Carb Diets, and Anti-androgens/DHT inhibitors. Of course, depending on your other symptoms you may need a combination of these.
Best of luck =)
Yasmin isn't quite the same as Diane-35. Yasmin has an antiandrogenic progesterone, where as Diane-35 has Cyproterone Acetate (CPA). Studies have revealed that Spiro is stronger long term than CPA or Flutimide (bad side effects) as anti-androgens. You probably won't need Spiro if you are taking Avandia or Metaformin and/or have altered your diet to improve your skin. However if you suffer from excess facial or body hair, you will still need Spiro (or saw palmetto or beta sitosterol or green tea) as this physically BLOCKS the androgen receptor (so DHT won't be produced), where as the others methods only reduce your production of androgens. Hair follicles are more sensitive to DHT than our "skin" is in terms of acne production. I don't understand why, but you can get clear and still produce lots of unwanted body hair at the same time.
Also spiro may affect your cycles, but if you go on a drug like Avandia (metaformin made me sick), it can help regulate your cycles so that you won't have to go on birth control. Unfortunately, there's only a few methods to treat our problems, in terms of Insulin Resistance Syndrome: Estrogen, Progesterone (or vitex), Insulin Sensitizers, Low-Carb Diets, and Anti-androgens/DHT inhibitors. Of course, depending on your other symptoms you may need a combination of these.
Best of luck =)