Living with P.C.O.S

Polycystic ovarian syndrome , also very commonly known as PCOS, is an hormonal imbalance or hormonal disorder and the leading cause of female infertility. Out of one in every ten women of reproduvctive age of any ethnicity is struggling with this syndrome. The actual cause of this hormonal imbalance is still not discovered. Although, there are several symptoms that shows one is having PCOS wihtout having an ultrasound done.

SYMPTOMS:

• - Irregular or missed period 
• - Unwanted facial hair ( hirsutism )
• - Acne and thinning of scalp hair
• - Mood swings
• - Weight gain/ obesity

If you visit your gynaecologist or endocrinologist they will either perform the ultrasound,which will show them the ring formation of cysts around the ovaries or they will detect it through the blood test.The blood test will show them if the testosterone, luitenizing hormone (LH) and follicale stimulating hormone (FSH) are alleviated or not.

Many women have trouble conceiving because if they are the one with PCOS their ovaries will have cysts, and they around the time of ovulation, starts to produce more testosterone (male hormone) affecting the ovulation. No ovulation means no pregnancy.Women still can have periods but those are known as anovulatory cycle in which periods happens but no ovulation.

As this is one of the very common cause in women to cause infertility, having PCOS does not mean a women is barren, infertile or can never have a baby of her ownself. All a person need to do is to talk about their condition to their healthcare provider. 

Irregualr or missed period

   

 

Any menstrual cycle that is ranging between 28 - 32 days is considered as normal or regular. If you have months without periods you should go to your doctor to find out the cause until you were not trying for the baby. 

There are other factors that contribute towards irregular or missed periods like stress, anxiety, depression, excessive workout, drugs intake and menopause.

Usually doctors prescribe birth control pills for the patients in order to regulate their cycles.

Unwanted facial hair (HIRSUTISM):

Hirsutism or excessive unwanted facial and chest hair (male pattern), is one of the very prominent signs of your androgens (male hormones) kicking in. It is usually self-diagnosable, however, this condition  sometimes can be inherited or a result of some other medical conditons.

Acne and thinning of scalp hair:

Acne can be one of the very visible signs of hormonal disturbance. Although there can be different underlying causes to it. The hormonal acne is not only limited to your face, but it can be on your chest, back of your shoulder  (neck) and around your belly. Usually your doctors will get some of your blood samples to check the hormonal levels, and then they'll prescribe you the medicine as per required. 

Disturbed androgens can bring into the normal range by taking the right diet. Avoid dairy and sugary items completely, as they agrravate the testosterones in the body, causing acne and sebum on face.

Increased androgens affects the scalp hair too. It reduces hair thickness ultimately, and in worse cases, it can cause male pattern baldness. Women initially start loosing hair around the hair line and from the middle of scalp.Various treatments are available to treat hair loss.

Mood Swings:

Brain is the center of entire body functions, so if there is a hormonal disturbance in the body, it will affect the mental health of a person. It can cause the mood instability, depression, and anxiety.

Weight gain/ obesity:

PCOS is not an illness that affects certain part of the body, its a syndrome package that comes with many topics to be addressed. Weight gain, weight stuck (weight plato), and obesity are the factors that highly contribute in this disease.

Weight gain has to do directly with the hormones because PCOS causes the insulin resistance. Eating more carbohydrates, sugary food, and processed food increases the amount of insulin production in the body to meet the need of glucose conversion. Increased amount of insulin increases the production of androgens. The more insulin produced at one time will cause more insulin resisitance the next time. Deduction in metabolic rate causes obesity and difficulty in weight loss.

Althought there are other important things that can be appended in this article, making it look much more complicated, but every disease and complication can be acheived in a positive and motivated manner, and so can be PCOS.

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly."

~ Buddha