All you need to know about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

What does Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) mean?

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder prevalent amongst women of reproductive age. Women with PCOS may have infrequent or delayed menstrual periods or excess male hormone (androgen) levels. The ovaries may evolve many small collections of fluid (follicles) and fail to routinely release eggs.

The exact cause of PCOS is still not known. Early treatment and diagnosis along with weight loss may lower the risk of long-term complexities such as heart diseases and type-2 diabetes.

Common signs and symptoms of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

1. Menstrual complications: PCOS leads to amenorrhea (complete absence of monthly period cycles), oligomenorrhea (less than the normal number of monthly cycles), and both types of complications may occur with the same woman.
2. High level of masculine hormones (hyperandrogenism): Familiar signs are acne, hirsutism (male pattern of hair growth on chin or chest), hypermenorrhea, androgenic alopecia (diffused hair loss or hair thinning), and hyperandrogenemia.
3. Metabolic disorder: It emerges as a tendency towards central obesity and other symptoms correlated with insulin resistance, tripled appetite, and an inclination towards junk foods such as chips, burgers, pizza, fries, etc.

Other familiar symptoms consist of skin tags, oily skin, acne, dandruff, pelvic pain, hair loss, male pattern balding, high levels of triglycerides in the blood, and infertility.

Causes of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

The specific cause of PCOS isn’t yet known. Factors that might play a role in the same include:

1. Low-grade inflammation: This term is used to depict white blood cells’ production of substances to resist infection. Women with PCOS have a type of low-grade inflammation that prompts polycystic ovaries to make androgens, which can lead to heart and blood vessel complications.
2. Heredity: Doctors indicate that certain genes might be associated with PCOS.
3. Excess androgen: The ovaries form abnormally high levels of androgen, which results in hirsutism and acne.
4. Inordinate insulin: Insulin is a hormone formed in the pancreas that permits cells to use sugar, your body’s prime energy supply. If your cells become resistant to the reaction of insulin, then your blood sugar levels can surge and your body might form more insulin.

Complications faced in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

1. Pregnancy-induced high blood pressure or Gestational diabetes.
2. Serious liver inflammation is known as Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis induced by fat accumulation in the liver.
3. Metabolic syndrome: A chunk of conditions incorporating high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and unnatural cholesterol or triglyceride levels that significantly increase your risk of cardiovascular disease
4. Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes
5. Premature birth or Miscarriage
6. Anxiety, Depression, and eating disorders
7. Abnormal uterine bleeding
8. Sleep apnea
9. Infertility
10. Endometrial cancer(cancer of the uterine lining)
11. Obesity is correlated with PCOS and can aggravate the complexities of the disorder.

Treatment for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

The primary treatment focuses on reforming lifestyle and eating habits.

Aims of treatment can be classified as follows:

1. Reducing the insulin resistance level
2. Reclamation of monthly cycles and normal reproductive activity.
3. Prevention of endometrial hyperplasia
4. Cure of acne and hirsutism
5. Rehabilitation of fertility
6. Prevention of endometrial hyperplasia
7. To lower the risk elements of endometrial cancer

There is still no precise and guaranteed cure or treatment for PCOS. But a balanced diet, weight loss, yoga, and exercise can make the symptoms better.

Myths about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

1. You Did Something to Cause It

As the specific cause of PCOS is still unknown, one thing is sure that you are not to blame. However, considerable factors consisting of genetics are generally believed to play a role.

Male hormones (Androgens) control the development of male traits. Although all women produce a small volume of androgen, women with PCOS have more androgen as compared to normal women. This can restrict ovulation and make it troublesome to have regular menstrual cycles.

The follicles develop and build up fluid, but the eggs don’t get released. Hence, Ovulation does not occur, and the follicles might convert into cysts. If this happens, your body might fail to make the progesterone hormone, which is required to maintain your proper cycle.

Hormone insulin may play a major part in the body’s increased androgen formation. Several women facing PCOS have insulin resistance. This is more natural in women who are obese or overweight, have an unhealthy diet plan and no exercise habits, or have a type-2 diabetes family history.

2. Only Overweight Women face complications of PCOS

It is accepted that several women who have PCOS are obese or overweight and it’s also correct that obesity can make PCOS symptoms adverse. However, PCOS does not segregate and can affect women of all sizes and shapes. The connection between PCOS and weight has to do with the body’s inefficiency to use insulin properly, leading to weight gain.

That’s why adopting the habit of eating healthy and exercising frequently is prescribed as part of most women’s treatment plan.

3. PCOS is a Rare Condition

It is examined that between five to ten percent of women of childbearing age are suffering from PCOS, which makes PCOS one of the most usual hormonal endocrine disorders amongst women of reproductive age. According to the PCOS Foundation, less than half of all women with PCOS are diagnosed accurately, which means that millions of women are probably unaware of their condition.

The PCOS Foundation evaluates that this condition is the cause of fertility problems in women who have difficulty with ovulation over 70 percent of the time.

4. If You Lose Weight, You Can Get Rid of PCOS

Unluckily, there is no accurate cure for PCOS, but obese and overweight women can help stabilize their hormone levels by dropping weight. Otherwise, treatment for PCOS is focused on managing symptoms. A wide spectrum of treatment options can help prevent any potential problems. Changes in lifestyle, such as regular exercise and healthy eating, reform the way your body utilizes insulin and, thus, regulates your hormone levels better.

Fertility medicines also can help prompt ovulation if you are planning to get pregnant. In a few cases, that may be sufficient to spur the process for women with a lack of ovulation.

A surgical procedure recognized as ovarian drilling can also broaden your chances of successful ovulation. While the operation can lower your androgen levels for a limited time, it does pose the risk of developing scar tissue.

By disconnecting fact from myth, you can empower yourself to live a complete, healthy, and happy life with PCOS.

PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) vs PCOD (Poly Cystic Ovarian Disease)

Are both of these same? Many women use both, PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) and PCOD (Poly Cystic Ovarian Disease) interchangeably where both are very contrasting conditions. While both the situations are associated with the ovaries and both create hormonal disturbances, there are many compelling differences.

What is PCOD?

PCOD is a condition where the ovaries hold many partially mature or immature eggs. They, ultimately, convert into cysts. Being overweight, stressing a lot, consuming excessive junk food and hormonal disturbances give birth to this condition. Natural symptoms of PCOD are abnormal periods, infertility, abdominal weight gain, and male pattern hair loss. The ovaries commonly become swollen in this problem and secrete large amounts of androgens that create havoc with the woman’s fertility and her body.

What is PCOS?

PCOS is a metabolic disturbance that is more complicated than PCOD. In this condition, the ovaries develop a larger quantity of the male hormone, which leads to the formation of more than ten follicular cysts in the ovary every month. This breaks the release of the egg causing anovulation. Symptoms consist of obesity, hair loss, and infertility.

How Are They Different?

1. PCOS is a complicated condition. It is a metabolic disorder. PCOD is not been studied as a disease, with regular exercise and the right diet, the situation recovers.
2. PCOS has a less number of patients compared to PCOD. PCOD is more prevalent. Almost a third of the women across the world suffer from PCOD.
3. PCOS has severe complications. Women who suffer from PCOS are at risk of developing diseases like cardiac-vascular issues, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and even endometrial cancer.
4. PCOS is noticeable early in life. Girls who suffer from PCOS start showing symptoms of the disease from their teenage years. Excessive hair growth, acne, and weight gain are apparent from a younger age because of metabolic disturbances.
5. Women suffering from PCOD don’t have compelling fertility issues. With a little medical assistance, they can conceive successfully. Women suffering from PCOS, on the other hand, face complexities with infertility. They even have higher chances of miscarriages.
6. Women with PCOD can still ovulate in a routine. They may have identical symptoms as PCOS, but they retain the strength to ovulate periodically and therefore, can conceive successfully. However, women with PCOS do not ovulate because of a serious hormonal imbalance that disturbs the ovulation process.

In both cases, i.e., PCOD vs PCOS, taking a healthy diet that is free of processed and junk food, losing weight, and engaging in regular exercise, can show incredible improvements. It is imperative to catch the disease as early as possible to handle the damage with proper medication and lifestyle changes. If you are facing irregular periods, excessive facial hair growth, or acne it is advised to get yourself checked.

Read Full Issue: The 10 Most Advanced Healthcare Solution Providers Of 2020