PCOS – Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in Women

PCOS – Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a hormonal condition that affects many women of reproductive age. It is a hormonal disorder that women might develop during the age of 11 to 50 years. Women having PCOS may have abnormal or extended menstrual cycles apart from other symptoms which may vary in intensity.

PCOS leads to the Following –

1. Interrupt your regular period cycle.
2. Acne on Face and Body
3. Excessive Facial and Body Hair
4. Loss of Hair on the Head
5. Developing other health issues such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
6. Weight Gain
7. Difficulty in Weight Loss

PCOS – The Dreaded Disease:

PCOS is a hormonal condition that affects women during their fertile age. According to a study PCOS affects around 26.7% of women in this age category.

Most women suffer PCOS but are unaware of it. PCOS is a disorder that many people are still unfamiliar with. Women do realize that there is something not normal with their bodies. However, they fail to understand the exact reasons for this abnormality. Sometimes even health care professionals can overlook this condition while making a diagnosis. Hence it is extremely necessary to get yourself checked for PCOD if you experience any of the symptoms.

Causes of PCOS – Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome –

Though there is no one cause for the onset of PCOD, below are some of the causes which are known to worsen the disease.

Insulin Overdose:

Insulin is a hormone that permits cells to breakdown sugar. Sugar is your body’s principal energy source. If your cells develop resistance to insulin’s activity, your blood sugar levels may rise. Your body may create more insulin. Excess insulin may boost testosterone production resulting in ovulation problems.

Low-level Inflammation:

It refers to the production of anti-infective chemicals by white blood cells. Women with PCOS have a sort of low-grade inflammation. According to research, it drives polycystic ovaries to generate androgens. This can lead to heart and blood vessel issues.

Genetics:

According to numeric studies PCOS is also found to run in families.

Excess Androgen:

Women with PCOS have higher androgens than usual. In PCOS, the ovaries generate excessively high quantities of androgen, Higher than normal testosterone levels in women can inhibit the ovaries from producing an egg. It can happen in each menstrual cycle. Male attributes such as excessive hair growth and acne are results of high androgen.

SYMPTOMS OF PCOS – Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome:

Some women have symptoms around the time they get their first menstruation. Others find they have PCOS after gaining a lot of weight or having difficulty becoming pregnant.

The following are the most prevalent PCOS symptoms:

Skin Colour Change:

Sudden changes of colour like converting into dark or brown skin. Extra skin on the neck or in the armpits is a common example of skin changes in PCOS.

Mood Swings and Irritability:

Women who are suffering from PCOS have a lot of mood fluctuations and are very irritable.

Irregular Period:

Ovulation failure stops the uterine lining from shedding every month. Some PCOS women have fewer than eight period per year or none at all.

Heavy Bleeding:

Because the uterine lining accumulates over a longer length of time, your period may be heavier than usual.

Undesired Hair Growth:

Hirsutism refers to excessive hair growth. More than 70% of women with this disorder have hair growth on their face and body, including their back, abdomen, and chest.

Acne:

Male hormones can cause the skin to become oilier than usual, resulting in outbreaks in places such as the face, chest, and upper back.

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Weight Gain:

Up to 80% of women with PCOS are obese. Not only do they gain weight faster, but also have extreme difficulties in losing weight. It is believed that women with PCOS have to work three times harder to shed their weight.

COMPLICATIONS OF PCOS – Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome:

If you have PCOS and your androgen levels are excessively high, you are more likely to have a variety of issues –

Difficulty becoming Pregnant:

Ovulation can be hampered by ovarian cysts. Each month, one of your ovaries releases an egg. You cannot become pregnant if a healthy egg is not accessible to be fertilized by a sperm. If you have PCOS, you may still be able to conceive. However, you may need to take medication and work with a fertility doctor to make it happen.

Metabolic Syndrome:

Up to 80% of women with PCOS are overweight or obese.

Obesity and PCOS both raise your chances of:

• Increased blood glucose levels
• Extremely high blood pressure
• Low “good” HDL cholesterol
• High “bad” LDL cholesterol

These variables, when combined, are known as metabolic syndrome, and they raise the risk of:

• Heart Disease
• Diabetes
• Stroke

Endometrial Cancer:

The uterine lining dissolves during ovulation. The lining might thicken if you do not ovulate every month. Endometrial cancer risk is increased by a thicker uterine lining.

Endometrioid adenocarcinoma is the most common kind of endometrial cancer. Postmenopausal vaginal bleeding is common.

According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 3 out of every 100 women will be diagnosed with uterine cancer at some time in their life. More than 80% of patients with uterine cancer live for 5 years or more after being diagnosed.

TREATMENT OF PCOS – Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome:

A variety of factors influence PCOS treatment. These might include your age, the severity of your symptoms, and your overall health.

Treatment – If Pregnancy is Desired

If you do decide to get pregnant, your therapy may involve the following:

1) Nutrition Change:

A change in nutrition and physical exercise. A nutritious diet and increased physical exercise can assist you in losing weight and reducing your symptoms. They can also improve the efficiency with which your body uses insulin, reduce blood glucose levels, and perhaps help you ovulate.

2) Clomid Drug:

Clomid is a drug that is usually prescribed by a doctor for women who want to get pregnant. As in PCOS, the chances of getting pregnant are lowered so this drug is so effective in PCOS. Clomid is also called clomiphene citrate.

Clomid works by confusing the body believing that your oestrogen levels are decreasing. It causes the pituitary gland to secrete more FSH or LH. Increased FSH levels drive the ovary to generate an egg follicle, which develops and is released during ovulation. Ovulation is stimulated by high amounts of LH.

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Treatment – If No Desire to Get Pregnant

If you do not intend to become pregnant, your therapy may involve the following:

Birth Control Pills:

These aid in the regulation of menstrual cycles, the reduction of testosterone levels, and the reduction of acne.

Hormonal birth control can help women who don’t wish to get pregnant by:

• Increase the regularity of your menstrual period.
• Reduce your chances of developing endometrial cancer.
• Supports in the treatment of acne and the reduction of excess hair on the face and body

Diabetes:

Diabetes medication is frequently used to reduce insulin resistance in PCOS. It may also help to lower testosterone levels, limit hair development, and make you ovulate more frequently.

Metformin:

Metformin is a type 2 Diabetes medication. It also helps with PCOS by increasing insulin levels.

One research discovered that using metformin together with diet and exercise increases weight loss and reduces blood sugar. Thus restoring a regular menstrual cycle is better than any diet or exercise.

Anti-Androgen Drugs:

These medications inhibit the action of androgens. Through it, you can reduce the production of scalp hair loss, facial and body hair growth, and acne. They are not often recommended by doctors to treat PCOS symptoms. These medications can also create complications during pregnancy.

Surgery:

Where other options fail to increase fertility then surgery is the only possible answer. Surgery is done by a process called ovarian drilling. Ovarian drilling is a technique that uses a laser or a thin heated needle. It produces microscopic holes in the ovary for regular ovulation.

Ovarian drilling reduces the quantity of testosterone produced by the ovaries. It is done by breaking through the thick outer surface. This can support the ovaries in producing an egg each month, Initiating regular monthly menstruation cycles. This may make it simpler to conceive.

PCOS is a difficult disease to live with. It is advisable for women to get some form of treatment to manage the disease. Though this problem will never go away in the fertility years, it can be controlled to a large degree. Proper nutrition, regular exercise and guidance from your doctor is the key to manage this dreaded disease.