If you have irregular, infrequent or absent periods, you may consider your period to be inconvenient without thinking much more about it. The truth is, irregular periods often point to an underlying health issue that, if left undiagnosed and untreated, can have major health implications later on in life.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is one such health issue. The condition gets its name from the ovary’s inability to fully develop eggs. The partially-formed eggs may each turn into a cyst on the ovary. Since the ovaries may not be able to produce a fully formed egg, PCOS is a frequent cause of infertility.
PCOS is caused by a hormone imbalance involving the over production of the male hormone, androgen, and an underproduction of female hormones that cause ovulation. These out of balance hormone levels can cause a variety of symptoms in women, the most noticeable being infrequent, irregular or absent periods, possibly accompanied by pelvic pain.
Signs of PCOS
Some the other possible symptoms of PCOS may not seem related to your periods at all, but they are all essentially hormonal symptoms, such as:
- Acne after adolescence that doesn’t respond to regular treatment
- Oily skin, skin tags or dandruff
- Thick, dark colored patches of skin that form on the neck, arms, breasts, or thighs
- Anxiety or depression.
Two of the most common symptoms that affect women with PCOS, though, are:
- Hirsutism: Hirsutism is another name for increased hair growth in places unusual places for women, including the face, chest, stomach, back, toes and thumbs. Hirsutism affects 70% of women with PCOS.
- Obesity: Nearly 80% of women affected by PCOS are also obese. Women with PCOS, regardless of their weight, usually also have a condition called insulin resistance, where their bodies do not properly respond to the effects of insulin, leading to high blood glucose levels.
Dangers of PCOS
These high blood glucose levels in women with PCOS can potentially lead to type-2 diabetes; they can also put women at a higher risk for heart disease. Treatment of PCOS reduces both the risk of heart disease and diabetes. As mentioned above, infertility is another potential problem associated with PCOS, but again, when PCOS is effectively identified and treated, fertility often returns.
Treatment
To treat PCOS, your well woman provider may recommend that you first loose weight if you are obese or overweight. The NIH reports that even a 5% decrease in body weight can help stabilize a woman’s hormone imbalance. For a 170-pound woman, that’s a weight loss of about 9 pounds. Combination birth control pills can help regulate menstrual cycles and decrease androgen levels. Your doctor may consider the use of Metformin, an insulin-sensitizing drug used to treat diabetes, as a way to lessen insulin resistance and improve ovulation.
Help for PCOS at All About Women
PCOS is just one of many women’s health conditions that can affect menstruation and fertility. Learn more about PCOS and other conditions like pelvic inflammatory disease by visiting our Knowledge Center.
If you think you might have PCOS, you should call your doctor at Gainesville’s All About Women to schedule an appointment. When you come in, it may be helpful to have a record of your period’s history, as well as a list of any symptoms you’ve been having. Our expert and compassionate irregular period physicians can help identify and treat your PCOS; not only improving your quality of life but also helping to prevent future health complications.
