INTRO Hello from a first responder! New here, learning, & healing my gut/hormones and PCOS

B

Bundabaddie

New member
Joined
Aug 20, 2026
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Location
Imported archive
Hi everyone,

I am brand new to the forum world and feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, but I wanted to drop in, introduce myself, and start getting my feet wet!

A little about my background:

Profession: First responder by trade.

Context: I actually used to work in this industry/space, but I left due to a toxic work environment. Now, i’m approaching this strictly from a personal standpoint zero interested in working in this world, just genuinely interested in my own health, recovery, and education.

My current health goals:

Gut & Hormones: I'm currently working to heal a destroyed gut and PCOS with the help of modern medicine, but I want all the information and extra tools I can get.

Skin: Dealing with persistent acne driven by these underlying hormonal imbalances, as well as the aftermath of multiple rounds of antibiotics I took trying to clear it up.

Where I’m at with compounds:

Tirzepatide: Tried it previously, but it made me awfully sick, so thats off the table but very interested in RETA.

BPC-157: Currently running this and having good luck so far. I have a few other compounds waiting in the cabinet, but I'm holding off on starting them until I feel completely educated and comfortable with how they work.

My main goal is to learn as much as possible, put my mind at ease regarding specific compounds, and understand the science and protocols behind gut repair and hormonal support. I just want to be as educated, safe, and proactive as possible with what I put into my body.

Looking forward to diving into the threads and learning from everyone's experiences! Thanks for having me!
 
Just A Cat said:


I would be interested in your side effect from tirz, if you are comfortable discussing them.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Of course!

I’m super sensitive to even OTC meds so it wasn’t a shock.

But I had been microdosing. I can’t remember exact dosing (over 2 years ago) but it was minimal 5u every other day or something close to that. I only did 2 doses, woke up on day 4 technically, horrible headache, nausea like you wouldn’t believe, and aversion to any food. Well due to that I hadn’t eaten all day, worked out and proceeded to my overnight shift. When I got in I was sitting with one of our RN’s chatting and all of a sudden I blacked out, got super dizzy and heart started racing as if I were in an SVT episode. She said I went ghostly white and then lobster red within a matter of seconds. I speculate this was due to low blood sugar. I forced myself to have a plate of pasta but that was the last time I took it. And to think I’m interested in any kind of GLP again is crazy lol. But I want to fix this adult acne and I’m grasping at straws to try to make it happen. I have a feel a lot of these effects were due to user error especially because I was under the care of physicians due to working in the space at the time.
 
Just A Cat said:


I would be interested in your side effect from tirz, if you are comfortable discussing them.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Same. My impression is it has the lowest incidence of intolerable sides. How much did you take to begin with, and could the dose have made the poison? Also, welcome!
 
Wow. Not what I expected.

For what it is worth. If this was my situation and I wanted to restart a GLP... I would start at a really low dose (below normal starting does) and then increase that dose very slowly, no matter which GLP I used.

Actually I would work on my microbiome health first. I would look into what little can currently be done for the PMOS second and worry about the GLP after that. Working on the first and the second could possibly help with the acne as a happy side effect.

Don't give up on the PMOS. The renaming is going to help a lot. Read up on current research and find out what is being done on the cutting edge and what is showing results. This field will change a lot in the next decade.

As for other things, I would spend a few weeks tracking my nutrition completely. That means you need to accurately weigh and log everything you eat for those weeks, a major pain for sure. If you can honestly do that for two weeks, you will probably find some nutritional holes to fix. Cronometer is the best app if your goal is to track all your nutrients. Some use a nutritionist, some use AI with the prompt tell me how a nutritionist would view this data, but you will need to have your nutrition reviewed. Fixing those nutritional holes can often go a long way toward improving your health.

Good luck on your journey.
 
deleted.user.27 said:


Welcome here. Relax we're only toxic here on rare occasions. 😆

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
That’s what terrifies me lol. I’ll probably just start crying. So I’m trying not to ask dumb questions before really exhausting every post

Just A Cat said:


Wow. Not what I expected.

For what it is worth. If this was my situation and I wanted to restart a GLP... I would start at a really low dose (below normal starting does) and then increase that dose very slowly, no matter which GLP I used.

Actually I would work on my microbiome health first. I would look into what little can currently be done for the PMOS second and worry about the GLP after that. Working on the first and the second could possibly help with the acne as a happy side effect.

Don't give up on the PMOS. The renaming is going to help a lot. Read up on current research and find out what is being done on the cutting edge and what is showing results. This field will change a lot in the next decade.

As for other things, I would spend a few weeks tracking my nutrition completely. That means you need to accurately weigh and log everything you eat for those weeks, a major pain for sure. If you can honestly do that for two weeks, you will probably find some nutritional holes to fix. Cronometer is the best app if your goal is to track all your nutrients. Some use a nutritionist, some use AI with the prompt tell me how a nutritionist would view this data, but you will need to have your nutrition reviewed. Fixing those nutritional holes can often go a long way toward improving your health.

Good luck on your journey.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Thank you! I’m super fortunate that my only really PMOS symptoms seem to be painful periods, heavy periods and acne. So the GLP would really only help the insulin resistance that comes with PMOS. If I do indeed start again I would do like a quarter dose to start.

I’ve been on a very limited range diet for going on 4 months now because we’re trying to also figure out if I’m having histamine intolerance which could also be leading to acne. There’s a lot of things at play, so my game plan is to heal the gut first. I have a feeling thats going to fix a lot of the issues I’m having. But because I’ve been tracking food, adding/subracting with little to no improvement, here I am. I have also stopped all skincare and now am being treated by a holistic aesthetician. Otherwise I’m pretty healthy and take fairly good care of myself.
 
Sorry to hear about your tirz experience, I have PCOS too and it finally brought me to a healthy BMI. What's crazy is all my pcos symptoms are still present ! No improvement at all. I'm interested to hear if any non glp peps are helping people like us
 
Sounds Promising. Just I case I was not clear enough, the reason to track with cronometer was not for the macros. Macros, that is the easy part. On the Macro side, I have found that once I fixed daily protein that my muscle synthesis improved. The resulting raise in base metabolic rate is also nice. I needed to actually increase daily calories a month after fixing my protein intake.

You can imagine that conversation with my AI nutritionist when it proposed that "an increase in calories will help accelerate your weight loss at this point."

I am suggesting that we basically track not only the macros, but everything in the rda database. A 2 week window would give you great data. I had to make alterations due to low... magnesium, potassium, multiple vitamin b, vitamin d. Also daily choline is low. Oxalate is too high. Daily level of glycine is only 1/3 of rda.

And If you are not ready for this, that is ok. Feel free to just say that it's too much right now. It is a lot of work and a royal pain, honestly.

People think I'm a little crazy, perhaps a little nuts, but this insane nutrition tracking is helping my weight loss so much. Hopefully I will only need it for a crutch for a little while and eventually I will stop tracking and weighing food. I will close by saying that I have learned more about nutrition in the last few months than in my entire life and it is helping me.

A little overview you might find interesting.

Core Shifts in Understanding & Treatment of PMOS

  • Upstream Metabolic Interventions: Medical focus has moved away from just masking symptoms with birth control. Providers now aggressively target insulin resistance using advanced therapeutics and lifestyle changes to stop the ovaries from overproducing androgens at the source.
  • GLP-1 and Targeted Therapeutics: Medications like GLP-1 receptor agonists are heavily studied and utilized for their ability to correct hyperinsulinemia, reduce systemic inflammation, and aid metabolic regulation in PMOS patients.
  • Personalized Fertility Protocols: Fertility care has shifted from a generic approach to phenotype-driven IVF, utilizing customized strategies like freeze-all cycles to dramatically reduce the risk of dangerous Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS).
  • Cardiovascular Risk Awareness: Because PMOS is tied to long-term systemic health, research strongly emphasizes lifelong cardiovascular surveillance to actively monitor and prevent elevated risks for heart disease and metabolic syndrome.
  • Brain-Gut-Endocrine Connection: Scientists are exploring how the brain's signaling and the gut microbiome interact with endocrine pathways, shedding light on why mood changes, fatigue, and cognitive fog are core components of the condition.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
.
 
Bundabaddie said:


Hi everyone,

I am brand new to the forum world and feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, but I wanted to drop in, introduce myself, and start getting my feet wet!

A little about my background:

Profession: First responder by trade.

Context: I actually used to work in this industry/space, but I left due to a toxic work environment. Now, i’m approaching this strictly from a personal standpoint zero interested in working in this world, just genuinely interested in my own health, recovery, and education.

My current health goals:

Gut & Hormones: I'm currently working to heal a destroyed gut and PCOS with the help of modern medicine, but I want all the information and extra tools I can get.

Skin: Dealing with persistent acne driven by these underlying hormonal imbalances, as well as the aftermath of multiple rounds of antibiotics I took trying to clear it up.

Where I’m at with compounds:

Tirzepatide: Tried it previously, but it made me awfully sick, so thats off the table but very interested in RETA.

BPC-157: Currently running this and having good luck so far. I have a few other compounds waiting in the cabinet, but I'm holding off on starting them until I feel completely educated and comfortable with how they work.

My main goal is to learn as much as possible, put my mind at ease regarding specific compounds, and understand the science and protocols behind gut repair and hormonal support. I just want to be as educated, safe, and proactive as possible with what I put into my body.

Looking forward to diving into the threads and learning from everyone's experiences! Thanks for having me!

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Hellow there fellow first responder. Fire? Ems? Officer? Well I’m on the fire side and have some commonalities you mentioned. My inventory is currently running Reta, cjc/ipa, NAD. Stuff waiting for my next cycles after these are kisspeptine, HCG 5000, selank and Semax.

Reta has helped me begin loosing weight again after I felt stuck around 180 (now 175) My research is mainly to get me of TRT after 9months and want to go back to natural and stay that way hopefully. Also looking foward to get off vyvanse and manage my attention span and brain fog. Hope you find some good advise here to help with your journey! 🤘
 
orngcatbox said:


Sorry to hear about your tirz experience, I have PCOS too and it finally brought me to a healthy BMI. What's crazy is all my pcos symptoms are still present ! No improvement at all. I'm interested to hear if any non glp peps are helping people like us

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
From my experience working in the space GLP are incredible for helping with insulin resistance which is exactly what PCOS is. A “disease” of insulin resistance. I’ve seen it do some pretty incredible things. But without healthy diet and regular exercise a lot doesn’t change. My sister and mother (who both have PCOS as well) have been on GLP for some time. But my sister still has a lot of symptoms because she doesn’t workout regular. It’s just another tool in my experience but I’m at my wits end trying everything under the sun except for that.
 
Just A Cat said:


Sounds Promising. Just I case I was not clear enough, the reason to track with cronometer was not for the macros. Macros, that is the easy part. On the Macro side, I have found that once I fixed daily protein that my muscle synthesis improved. The resulting raise in base metabolic rate is also nice. I needed to actually increase daily calories a month after fixing my protein intake.

You can imagine that conversation with my AI nutritionist when it proposed that "an increase in calories will help accelerate your weight loss at this point."

I am suggesting that we basically track not only the macros, but everything in the rda database. A 2 week window would give you great data. I had to make alterations due to low... magnesium, potassium, multiple vitamin b, vitamin d. Also daily choline is low. Oxalate is too high. Daily level of glycine is only 1/3 of rda.

And If you are not ready for this, that is ok. Feel free to just say that it's too much right now. It is a lot of work and a royal pain, honestly.

People think I'm a little crazy, perhaps a little nuts, but this insane nutrition tracking is helping my weight loss so much. Hopefully I will only need it for a crutch for a little while and eventually I will stop tracking and weighing food. I will close by saying that I have learned more about nutrition in the last few months than in my entire life and it is helping me.

A little overview you might find interesting.

.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
I find this fascinating actually. I don’t have any issue tracking anything. How does one get started with that? What AI nutritionist are you using? I’m literally open to everything. I too have been called insane on one or more occasions but for other things. Like I got rid of every single thing in my home that had any traces of toxins in it, down to paint and such. I did it not only for myself but my husband and cats lol. I also joke about everything in my home having a shelf life. We live a semi minimally existence, but this comes down to OCD and such. So if I can channel that into my diet I’m game.
 
Bundabaddie said:


From my experience working in the space GLP are incredible for helping with insulin resistance which is exactly what PCOS is. A “disease” of insulin resistance. I’ve seen it do some pretty incredible things. But without healthy diet and regular exercise a lot doesn’t change. My sister and mother (who both have PCOS as well) have been on GLP for some time. But my sister still has a lot of symptoms because she doesn’t workout regular. It’s just another tool in my experience but I’m at my wits end trying everything under the sun except for that.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
I lift 4x a week and eat well and still got all the symptoms, and on anti androgenic bc, its so frustrating! Had dexa and ultrasound too to check for visceral fat and ovarian cysts, all good apparently. Yet my FAI is a massive 10.0 in bloodwork! I actually have regular periods too but very strong hyperandrogenism symptoms, super deep voice, back acne, oily skin, excess facial hair and body hair etc etc

It seems to be so different in everyone, I was really hoping a lifestyle change would improve it
 
LadderCo5 said:


Hellow there fellow first responder. Fire? Ems? Officer? Well I’m on the fire side and have some commonalities you mentioned. My inventory is currently running Reta, cjc/ipa, NAD. Stuff waiting for my next cycles after these are kisspeptine, HCG 5000, selank and Semax.

Reta has helped me begin loosing weight again after I felt stuck around 180 (now 175) My research is mainly to get me of TRT after 9months and want to go back to natural and stay that way hopefully. Also looking foward to get off vyvanse and manage my attention span and brain fog. Hope you find some good advise here to help with your journey! 🤘

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
EMS!

I just started glutathione last night and have been on BPC for around 2 weeks. I’ve got some others sitting in inventory waiting. GHKCU and KPV. I just looked up semax and selank just now, although I’ve been hearing about them for a while. I could probably benefit from selank. I would be curious to know if it helps you at all! Are you experiencing adverse reactions to TRT? That’s what I specialized in when working in the space. My husband has been looking into it, but he’s only 33 and worried about possible fertility down the line, although there’s some great research showing TRT doesn’t dimish fertility all that much.
 
Bundabaddie said:


EMS!

I just started glutathione last night and have been on BPC for around 2 weeks. I’ve got some others sitting in inventory waiting. GHKCU and KPV. I just looked up semax and selank just now, although I’ve been hearing about them for a while. I could probably benefit from selank. I would be curious to know if it helps you at all! Are you experiencing adverse reactions to TRT? That’s what I specialized in when working in the space. My husband has been looking into it, but he’s only 33 and worried about possible fertility down the line, although there’s some great research showing TRT doesn’t dimish fertility all that much.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
I’m 35 and only been on it about a year and a half. I’m not consistent with my trt injections so the symptoms come and go. I did take a break and was given clomid so my wife and I can have a baby ( due next week!!) and It worked. So I’m curious to see if HCG and kisspeptin can help me get off trt and be natural again, especially since I changed my health around. Hopefully my research can also give someone else guidance
 
Bundabaddie said:


I find this fascinating actually. I don’t have any issue tracking anything. How does one get started with that? What AI nutritionist are you using? I’m literally open to everything. I too have been called insane on one or more occasions but for other things. Like I got rid of every single thing in my home that had any traces of toxins in it, down to paint and such. I did it not only for myself but my husband and cats lol. I also joke about everything in my home having a shelf life. We live a semi minimally existence, but this comes down to OCD and such. So if I can channel that into my diet I’m game.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
There are plenty of food tracking apps available but the one that goes into the micro nutirents is the app cronometer. To start the process, you weigh and enter everything you eat into the app.

Cronometer attempts to track everything but once you get out of the items that have usda recommended daily allowance (rda) amounts, the data is less dependable. Most of that part seems to consist of tracking individual amino acids intake. That is ok because almost everything you ever want to know will be under the rda banner.

There are plenty of cronometer tutorials online. Articles, YouTube, you name it. The AI can even help explain how cronometer works.

As far as AI, just pick. You can use one AI or compare multiple AI models to see how the answers come out. For what it is worth, Gemani and ChatGPT seems to be the most popular.

Download and use the free version of cronometer for a few days. If you find it works for you, you can then go further down the rabbit hole.
 
orngcatbox said:


I lift 4x a week and eat well and still got all the symptoms, and on anti androgenic bc, its so frustrating! Had dexa and ultrasound too to check for visceral fat and ovarian cysts, all good apparently. Yet my FAI is a massive 10.0 in bloodwork! I actually have regular periods too but very strong hyperandrogenism symptoms, super deep voice, back acne, oily skin, excess facial hair and body hair etc etc

It seems to be so different in everyone, I was really hoping a lifestyle change would improve it

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
I lift 3-6 days a week, work permitting. It really is so so so different in everyone. I see it just in my mom and two sisters in how we all show different things. I have a very regular period, although VERY painful. Had a cyst rupture last cycle. But my sisters have never had that issue and occasionally have irregular periods. But both struggle with the weight. Me not so much, but as I get older (currently 31) I do notice my system slowing down a bit. But lifestyle changes really haven’t done a whole lot to help, food changes either. I can’t continue to be on the super limited diet. That’s why I have a feeling a lot of my issues like my acne, and histamine intolerance (if that’s what it is) are gut related. The amount of targeted supplements I’m on right now too is wild.
 
Back
Top