Polycystic ovary syndrome awareness

Polycystic ovarian and polycystic follicular syndrome are often confused with each other. The two different but related diseases share symptoms and affect up to 10% of all women in the united states and 4 million people worldwide, according to Dr. Michaela L. Schäfer, a professor at Harvard Medical School and an expert in cystic ovarian and endocrinology. "When you think about the two conditions, it's very easy to fall into thinking they're the same thing," she said. But that isn't the case. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PSY) is one of many medical conditions that cause abnormal ovarian hormones — something called hyperandrogenic or luteal phase defect and known by various names including PCOS, PCOD, and Hyperthyroidism. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is thought to affect 25% to 30% of women of reproductive age — not all women with PCOS have symptoms, as some can go undiagnosed for years without getting treated. And in addition to PCOS, another hormonal condition is a polycystic follicular syndrome (PCFS), which affects 8-10% of women of reproductive age, along with PCOS and depression. However, as some symptoms overlap between the three diseases, many patients tend to confuse the symptoms. When it comes to PSY, there could be symptoms similar to that of PCOS, such as irregular periods or frequent urination. Symptoms similar to those of PCOS include insulin resistance, increased risk for type 2 diabetes and pregnancy complications, weight gain, and insulin resistance, along with abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, elevated inflammation, polycystic ovary, and ovarian cysts. Those who suffer from PCFS will often have trouble getting pregnant or having babies. More than 100,000 women each year develop untreated PCFS. What’s more, one study found that even if you get PCOS, untreated PCFS can increase your chances of developing polycystic ovarian cancer, though most PCFS sufferers believe their only problem is PCOS. While research into treatments is ongoing for these diseases, Dr. Schäfer recommends talking with your doctor if you notice any early signs of any of them. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS, or premenopausal syndrome, also termed postpartum syndrome) is characterized by several symptoms, but the symptoms that occur most commonly include: bloating, hot flashes, mood changes, weight gain or loss, disrupted menstrual cycles, low-grade fever, and night sweats and difficulty swallowing. According to the National Institutes of Health, PCOS also affects nearly one in five adult women and nearly 1 in 6 girls of childbearing age. These symptoms of PCOS usually begin around the time women become sexually active or start menstruating, but many women don’t realize it. Many times, women with PCOS think they are experiencing PMS, leading to stress and mental health issues, just like anyone else who has symptoms of PCOS should.

Symptoms of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

If you notice any of the following symptoms, please see your doctor immediately:

1. Abdominal discomfort, bloating, or vaginal bleeding after you last had sex or had a period

2. Irregular periods (sometimes every 3 months, sometimes less than that)

3. Infertility, especially if you have multiple pregnancy losses before it becomes regular (also often referred to as recurrent miscarriages or RMC)

4. Weight gain or loss

5. Anxiety or depression

6. Skin (skin tags, raised freckles, stretch marks)

7. Frequent urination

8. Excessive sweating

9. Menstruation

10. Cysts on the ovaries

11. Your periods, especially if they bleed frequently (bleed through your period)

12. Inability to conceive due to PCOS (if the ovaries don’t have enough cells)

13. Blood tests: A test to check the amount of estrogen in your bloodstream

Treatment of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS, or Premenopausal Syndrome, also termed Postpartum Syndrome, also refers to as PCOS.) PCOS is much more common among adolescent and young adult women. Most of us experience it during our teenage, and it's generally thought to start when we transition between adolescence and adulthood. One in seven people has PCOS by the time they reach 20 years old. It’s thought it starts with poor hormone development at puberty. Although PCOS causes numerous organ system changes, most of us only think of PCOS as having one symptom. That symptom is a constant feeling of overproduction of hormones or an overactive pituitary gland. This symptom is very common because our bodies make too much of certain hormones and don’t release enough of others. Our bodies produce many more female hormones — estradiol and progesterone, two types of male hormones, which are most well-known, followed by estrogens and anti-estrogens, which help control blood sugar levels, or body temperature. During this process, there’s a buildup of fat, resulting in excess cell growth. As with PCOS, a person doesn't always know if she has PCOS until the diagnosis is made. Women typically don't see the first symptoms of PCOS until a few weeks into their cycle, since PCOS symptoms often appear in conjunction with other symptoms.

Symptoms of Polycystic ovary Syndrome

As mentioned earlier, PCOS symptoms may be associated with the overproduction of several female hormones (estrogen and progesterone, plus estrogens and anti-estrogens). Progesterone has been demonstrated to cause both insulin resistance and obesity by itself (when your body burns more calories), so that's where most women with PCOS start looking for symptoms. Some studies have shown these effects to continue even when you’re taking exogenous estrogen alone. If you’ve heard the word “PCOS,” you might picture it’s simply a set of symptoms of PCOS and not Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Symptoms can include: bloating or unexplained weight gain, irregular periods (sometimes every 3 months), sleep disturbance, pain in the abdomen and back (also called lower back pain), infertility, hair thinning, acne, facial wrinkles, skin problems (skin tags and sun spots), hair loss, digestive problems and bloating and itching. There are more than 100 other symptoms that are seen across all women with PCOS. Other common symptoms include headaches, migraines, fatigue, breast pain or discomfort, dizziness, irritable bowel syndrome or constipation, bladder stones, nausea, indigestion, headache, and bloating. When I started noticing that my periods were unusual, I asked my primary care physician about the possible link between PCOS and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). My PCOS symptoms would only start appearing in my late 20s, so I was told it was likely unrelated. Eventually, the evidence that PCOS might share links with PCOS appeared. At this point, PCOS was rarely discussed with me or explained to me in depth. We did consider treating PCOS symptoms (such as anxiety, depression, and thyroid issues) with oral contraceptives since PCOS and PCOS symptoms are related. Then, I learned Polycystic Ovarian (PCO) is a spectrum, not a single trait. It can appear just like PCOS — for example, have irregular periods, acne, excessive sweating, abdominal obesity, as well as bloating (which is how PCOS is treated.) So instead of thinking, I’m PCOS or PCO, I realized there is no direct connection between PCOS and PCO symptoms. People can have PCOS — it doesn't mean they have PCOO. What I did find out is that PCOS can cause PCOD symptoms, and maybe PCOO. That means you can have PCOS, or PCO, while PCOS might lead to PCO.

Symptoms of Polycystic ovary Syndrome (PCO, or Polycystic Ovary Hyper-Ovarian Syndrome) are less frequent and you may still experience PCOS symptoms. Many people think of PCOS or PCOD as being completely different. They’re quite the same thing, and neither condition is caused by one factor or another. PCOS and PCOD are both genetic, so there’s a chance we can inherit them from a parent (or possibly even more likely, from siblings or parents), depending on how your genetics are passed down in families. Though PCOS is thought to have a significant genetic component, PCOG is largely hereditary, meaning you cannot pass it off to your children because you’re not carrying the gene for PCOS itself, either. Instead, most PCOG symptoms (including PCOS symptoms and those associated with PCOG, like infertility) are from family history. For instance, the percentage of women that have siblings with PCOS is greater than men with PCOS. This shows that PCOG can show no symptoms, whereas PCOS symptoms do cause severe symptoms.