Polycystic Ovary Syndrome – Symptoms and Treatment of PCOS

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Polycystic ovary syndrome presents in a way that may not be indicative of a disease. Do you have oily skin and acne appeared on it? Have you noticed that despite exercise and a proper diet, you are gaining weight? Check, perhaps these are the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome – what does it mean?

The cause of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS – Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) are hormonal disorders that negatively affect the functioning of the ovaries.

Although numerous follicles are formed in them, in which the egg cell matures, but usually it does not reach the fallopian tube (where, for example, fertilization could occur). The vesicles themselves die and turn into small cysts. Polycystic ovary syndrome is also called polycystic ovary syndrome, small cystic ovary syndrome or Stein-Leventhal syndrome.

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Symptoms of PCOS

There are different symptoms in women with polycystic ovary syndrome:

1. Rare, irregular or no periods. However, this disease can also occur with normal menstruation. The cycles that occur may be accompanied by massive bleeding (check with your gynecologist as massive bleeding is an early sign of endometrial cancer that women with PCOS are more likely to experience).
2. Long duration of premenstrual syndrome. Symptoms include: flatulence, mood changes, pelvic pain, back pain.
3. Trouble getting pregnant (mainly due to rare or lack of ovulation). This is the primary symptom in women between the ages of 25 and 45.
4. Skin problems related to high amounts of androgens (male sex hormones) such as acne, seborrhea, alopecia, male facial hair (hirsutism), androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness).
5. In half of the cases, there is an excessive tendency to gain weight. Fat tissue concentrated mainly in the lower body (central obesity).
6. Dark keratosis (dark spots on the skin, ranging from light brown to dark brown and black).

Polycystic ovary syndrome – diagnosis

However, the symptoms of the disease are not enough to diagnose PCOS. It is important to perform ultrasound of the genital tract (which shows the image characteristic of the polycystic ovary syndrome – enlarged ovaries filled with numerous follicles) and hormonal (blood) tests. From laboratory tests, it is important to determine free testosterone, androstenedione, DHEA-S, SHBG.

PCOS can be diagnosed when there are 20 follicles in the ovary, 2 to 9 mm in diameter, or when the volume of the ovary is 10 cm3.

In the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome, a package of laboratory tests available on the drDiagnoza.com platform may be helpful. It allows you to determine whether the body is experiencing hormonal disorders that may appear in women of childbearing age.

How to treat polycystic ovary syndrome?

Treatment of PCOS consists in removing the cause of the disease, i.e. hormonal disorders. It is necessary to take anti-androgen drugs and combined contraceptive pills. The therapy is long-term. However, it brings many benefits, such as reducing the volume of the ovaries, the return of ovulatory cycles, and, most importantly for many women, the possibility of becoming pregnant after stopping the pill.

However, keep in mind that PCOS is a disease that cannot be completely cured. The selected treatment should be tailored primarily to the patient’s needs. Women should consider whether they are considering enlarging the family in the near future, because the treatment method depends on it. Before the doctor prescribes any pills, he takes into account, for example, whether the woman has acne or hirsutism, whether there is a need to regulate the cycle, lose weight and insulin resistance.

Inositol is also a natural support for the body with polycystic ovary syndrome. At Medonet Market, order Inozytol 90g – YANGO dietary supplement in the form of a powder, to be mixed with water and consumed between meals.

You can arrange a consultation with a gynecologist via the halodoctor.pl portal. The consultation takes place in a form convenient for the patient, during which the gynecologist will collect an interview and indicate the necessary tests to be performed.

Remember!

Women with PCOS and obesity are more likely than healthy people to suffer from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. Women with polycystic ovary syndrome should be under the constant care of an endocrinologist, even when they are not trying to conceive. Discontinuation of treatment may lead to complications such as atherosclerosis, heart attack, endometrial cancer.

Treatment methods

1. Ovulation stimulation: is a method used when a woman with polycystic ovary syndrome wants to become pregnant and my fertility problem is over. Keep in mind that not every woman with PCOS has fertility problems. Ovulation stimulation involves the administration of clomiphene between the fifth and ninth day of the cycle. If this method is insufficient, the doctor suggests either controlled FSH or IVF stimulation.
2. Ovarian cauterization: This is another method (this time laparoscopic) that is used in infertility. The cyst is punctured, which facilitates the appearance of regular ovulation in subsequent cycles. The cauterization effect can only be noticed one year after the procedure.
3. Wedge resection of the ovaries: an operation that is rarely used nowadays because it causes complications, e.g. postoperative adhesions and severe convalescence of patients.
4. Oral estrogen-gestagen contraception: it is used when a woman does not want to be pregnant, but wants to normalize her cycle and finally enjoy regular menstruation. Oral contraception protects the endometrium, similarly to drugs that contain only gestagens. They can be used every few weeks to induce menstruation.

As you know, contraceptive treatment has advantages and disadvantages, but women with PCOS cannot always use natural methods of contraception, so hormones are an excellent alternative for them if they are not planning to become pregnant at this point.

1. Adequate diet: may cause the unpleasant symptoms of polycystic ovaries to regress completely or partially. Women are recommended to eat more vegetables and fruits, it is also beneficial to limit carbohydrates, especially those that are so abundant in sweets.
2. Exercise: Not only does it help you shed extra pounds. Along with the reduction of body weight (in obese and overweight people), menstruation and ovulation are regulated, and acne may decrease.

Influence of the polycystic ovary syndrome on acne and hirsutism

Women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome often complain of side effects in the form of acne and hirsutism. Unfortunately, curing these ailments is quite a problem, even if the application of the appropriate treatment reduces the symptoms, they return after discontinuing the medications. In acne and hirustism, doctors prescribe birth control pills that contain cyproterone in their composition.

Patients struggling with these ailments should avoid contraceptive preparations containing progestogens with androgenic properties. In addition to contraception, the following are used:

1. flutamide,
2. nilutami,
3. spironolactone (works against androgenic hair),
4. 5alpha-reductase blockers,
5. metformin.