What is PCOS? Thanks.?

Question

What is PCOS? Thanks.?

Answer 1

Cagney,

   I could not have said it better!!!  I am luckier then most where I do not have the male hormone factor or weight. But I just recently was dx was insulin resistance and hypothyroidism.

I could not understand why I felt exhausted all the time. It's bad enough dealing with the infertility treatments.....now this.

Thank God I have the most supportive husband who attends all my doctors appointments.

At the beginning of my cycle and in mid cycle I am in agony from the pain. It is unimaginable at times where I feel like my ovary will explode. Surprisingly cycles when I am on clomphine citrate (always on metformin now) actually alleviates the symptoms.....go figure.

I find it disturbing that young woman, as young as their late teens, are being dx with this and then given so little information.

Answer 2

I was diagnosed with PCOS 21 years ago.  I have seen some of the best doctors in the county and it’s been to say the least a very difficult road.  After 16 years of infertility treatment and yes I did say 16 years I was able to conceive 3 times and was blessed with 1 child.  I have chosen to be a fighter and not a victim of this disease but I have had my times when I have wanted to just call it quits.  From all the research and doctors I have talked to there are three things I can pass on to you as the very best things you can do to fight back.  1) Fight the weight gain!  Watch your carbs but also watch your fat intake.  Don't become a food freak but watch what  you eat.  For people that have PCOS I have said that weight for us is like quick sand.  For a regular person to gain and lose weight it’s like steeping in a small mud puddle - sticky and dirty but a possible recovery.  For people with PCOS every 1 pound you gain its like adding an extra 5 pounds to the 1.  The more you gain the deeper you sink and the less likely for a recovery of a lighter body.  Plus the fact that your hormones become even more off balance and the more side effect begin to show like increased body hair.  Best advice is to become addicted to exercise.  The food control helps but the exercise is your very best way out.  2) I now take a drug called  Spironolactone 1 pill 25 mg a day and it has truly been a blessing to me.  I have regular periods now without having to take birth control and I just feel better.  There have been no side effect for me but side effects are listed with this drug and no one should take it without consulting their Medical Doctor and then getting a prescription from a licensed MD.  After being on the drug I have seen improvements.  3) Watch out for plastics.  There has been significant research now that has shown that some plastics leach out chemicals that causes hormone disorders.  Some doctors feel very strongly that PCOS and plastics are related.  Don't microwave in plastics and never use any plastics that have hormone disruptors.  For more information about plastics check out an article about plastic water bottles. at http://www.slate.com/id/2172541/   "Message in a Bottle

REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES YOU'LL ACTUALLY WANT TO USE."

I try to buy as much food products I can fresh, in glass or in cans and I try my best not to purchase items in plastic.  There is a ton of information out there on plastics you just have to look for it.

I hope this helps and good luck in the fight.  Just don't  you or anyone you know give up.

Answer 3

cysts on the ovaries causing fertility probs is the main prob. Took me from the age of 16 till 25 to fall preggers.

some thing that can come from PCOS-

high blood pressure, diabetis, facial hair, irreg periods, chemical imbalance, heart failure, calcium dificiancy, theres sooooooooooooo much to it though.

I was told i had this when i was 12-13... im now 25..

There is no cure - hense the cure is to have your ovaries removed...

Eat well and excercise will reduce major problems - i learnt thet the hard way.

check out google, depending on what case/level you have they may perscribe metformin... as pcos ppl are mostly insulin resistant

Answer 4

I will try to keep this as short and informed as possible.  I am a walking dictionary on PCOS, lol.  

Ok sorry obviously i couldn't keep it short and informed.  :)

PCOS~Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.  Where each month the egg doesn't mature completely.  Turning into a cyst on the ovary.  Diagnosed by a "string of pearl"  appearance of the cysts surrounding the ovaries.  These cysts can rupture, causing minimal pain compared to a larger cyst.  Often they are only pea sized.  But still quite uncomfortable.

Many of the symptoms start with a chemical imbalance in the pituatary gland in the brain.  So removal of the ovaries won't stop PCOS.  It will only stop cysts from forming, obviously because you won't have ovaries anymore.  The imbalance will still be there.

Other symptoms.  

Weight gain.  Often caused by secondary insulin resistence.  A precourser to type 2 diabetes.    The weight gain in PCOS patients is characterized by weight gain in the midsection, not in the thigh area like most women.  You can have a pregnant belly type of weight gain.  Talk about ironic.   This can lead to hypertension and congestive heart failure.

Hormone imbalance:  The FSH to LH ratios are off.  The brain signals that an egg needs to be developed.  But the LH surge often is too out of wack to signal release of the egg.  So the egg does not release and instead dies so to speak and forms a fluid filled cyst.    Often in PCOS patients the male hormones are in too high of level.  Causing secondary male characteristics to form.  Such as facial hair and male pattern hair loss.  Also dark hair will form on forearms and the stomache areas.

With the high male and abnormal female hormones even your b*****s can be affected.  Breast pain, high lactiad levels, and even failure of nipple developement past puberty can be a symptom.  So even if you become pregnant, breast feeding can be difficult.   It is thought that women with PCOS that also have a high lactaid level are more likely to develope breast cancers.  

Joint pain:  This is not a common one, but many patients with severe PCOS will have unexplained pain in the joints.  This is because of the hormone imbalances.

Infertility:  Hormone imbalances.  Usually non existant periods, but some PCOS patients are characterized by heavy painful periods also.  

When patients have a lack of a mentral cycle the endometrial lining can grow abnormal cells.  If left untreated these cells can eventually lead to endometrial cancer.

I went full circle with this.  No menstral cycle for years, finally had a regular one for 3 months and then a constant very painful menstral cycle that lasted for over a year.  Yes I had a period for a full year!  Maybe a week total where i wasn't menustrating.  Talk about making up for lost time.  I was treated for no menstral cycles for over 4 years, and still the effects of PCOS could not be stopped.  I had to have a hysterectomy at the age of 32.  I retained my ovaries, I choose not to go on hormone replacement therapy or the other issues associated with a acute menopause at the age of 32.  Health wise you want to keep your ovaries as long as possible.

Because of no ovulation, ovarian cancers are at a higher rate with PCOS women.  Along with uterine cancer.  Having ovaries or the uterus removed will only remove the symptoms that are caused to that organ.  It will not stop any other symptom from attacking the body.

Acne:  Some women have severe cases of acne that lead to scarring and pitting of the face.  

Skin issues:  Some women have skin tags.  Little tags of skin that appear.  Others have areas or patches of their skin that appear to look dirty.  The pigments in these areas usually on the face, underarms and upper arms will look unwashed or have a dirty appearance.



Anxiety and depression:  Obviously.  If you're a woman, you can't conceive, you have male secondary characteristics, are overweight and feel like c**p not only physically but mentally you can see why you'd be anxiety ridden and depressed.

My favorite:  Syndrome X.  Woman who have been diagnosed with PCOS and also have insulin resistance to go with it, are often diagnosed with this.  I have syndrome X.  How lovely is that?  My body is so out of wack that the only title they can give me is an X?  

PCOS woman can have just 1, all or any of these symptoms.  Some women are diagnosed with this and don't have a single symptom.  It has been used as a catch all.

Many aren't aware that this disease was first diagnosed in 1925.  Yes 1925!!!!  It was orginally called the Stein-Leventhol Syndrome.  How many disorders have been known for the past 80 plus years and still no one knows much about them.  There is very few studies or clinical trials.  There is no cure in sight, and there is no plans to find a cure.  Most women are not diagnosed as having PCOS until they try to start a family and fail to do so.  Often the symptoms have gone on too long for any of the ones causing the infertility to be reversed.  

I was told for 14 years i was overweight and that was my problem.  No other options or testing were offered. I was a healthy muscular active kid at 11.  I was an overweight mess at 12.  Nothing in my life or lifestyle changed in that year.  The PCOS had started it's attack on my body and had caused this in only a year's time.

Say what you want, but this is a d**n shame that so many women suffer daily with this disease.  It rips at the very core of a woman.  Nothing much is being done about it.  PCOS is now a blanket diagnosis, so many women diagnosed with it are not true PCOS patients, making research and proper treatment all but impossible.

Medications are available.  But there is no cure.  The medications can only help regulate certain symptoms.  They will not fix anything or do they work for everyone.

So i ask those who were unaware of this disease.  Yes to me it's a disease and not a syndrome.  The next time you see an overweight woman with thinning hair, acne, and facial hair, don't judge.  She might be on every medication available.  She might not be able to afford treatment.  Or she might just have said who cares this is who i am.  But the ravages this diesease can do to your mind and body can be relentless.  It could have been all she could do just to get up that morning.

***Basically if i can put it into perspective for women who do not have PCOS or those who only have a few of the symptoms.  A full blown PCOS patient over time can loose their b*****s, have no reproductive system left, have facial hair, male pattern baldness, dark skin patches, be overweight (and not in the thigh area like most women, but in the mid-section like a man would be), and become an insulin dependant diabetic.  Hard to consider yourself an actual woman at this point wouldn't it?***

Answer 5

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.  Usually catagorized by elevated blood sugar levels, weight gain, elevated male hormone levels, and possibly cysts on the ovaries.  It can make it impossible to lose weight or conceive a child unless medicated. Following a diabetes diet usually helps alleviate symptoms.

Answer 6

My PCOS story.

4.5 years ago i was told that because of pcos, i hed to have my ovaries out. The BC pill wasn't working and i had a reaction to it.

I went and had pre-op testing and that night I went home and prayed so hard. I told God that I understand if I weren't ment to give birth, and that if he chose for me to be a mother then I would be. I accepted  what ever was to come. The next day I got a call. I WAS PREGNANT!!!

I was told there was no way I could get pregnant. I changed doc immediately.

All I can say is have faith and get a second, third and however many opinions, until you feel it's right.