1. What Do You Mean?
Also called polyfollicular ovarian disease or Stein-Leventhal Syndrome, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) refers to a condition in which several small cysts in the female reproductive organs called ovaries affect a woman's chances of getting pregnant. For unknown reasons, the disease could interrupt your hormone cycles and it is speculated that there are lower than normal levels of certain hormones that stimulate follicles or sacs. As a result, the eggs inside the follicles do not mature and become cysts instead. The result might be that you are infertile and it's usually when you're in your 20s or 30s when your doctor makes such a diagnosis.
2. How Do You Know Your Symptoms
Watch out for any unusual, irregular or light and infrequent menstrual periods. Perhaps, you might stop having periods altogether after a few normal events during puberty. Other symptoms could include your breasts decreased in size, increased body and facial hair, deepening of voice, baldness and an enlarged clitoris. Also diabetes and acne may start developing and your response to insulin injections might be poor. Let the doctor know if you start putting on weight. You should not hesitate to call your doctor as soon as you start noticing the symptoms.
3. Checking it Out
Your doctor might perform a pelvic examination. She might notice an enlarged clitoris and big-sized ovaries. You may be asked to undergo tests such as abdominal and vaginal ultrasound and abdominal MRI. Your doctor may want to sample your ovary tissue as well as recommend testing for estrogen levels, fasting glucose and insulin levels, follicle stimulating hormone and male hormone levels. You may be asked to go for blood work including pregnancy tests, prolactin levels and thyroid function tests.
4. Enjoy Your Treat
You should be happy to note that your polycystic ovarian disease can be treated with birth control pills, drugs like clomiphene citrate, flutamide and spironolactone. Your pituitary gland responds to clomiphene citrate by releasing more follicle stimulating hormone. The result is that eggs mature and are released by the ovary. If your case is one of insulin resistance, drugs like glucophage can help. Also, if you are overweight, it may be a good idea to shed some pounds to lower the high insulin levels in the body. Normal ovulation is possible and your fertility rate should increase.
5. Looking Ahead
The future looks bright. Polycystic ovarian syndrome can be successfully treated and with the right medical or surgical treatments, women can get pregnant. It is important, however, that you let your doctor know of your symptoms before it is too late. If you delay, there is a risk of infertility, obesity, diabetes and cancer.
