PCOS – Symptoms, Diagnosis and Cure

What are the first signs of PCOS? There could be many PCOS symptoms. Sometimes you may have symptoms around the first menstrual cycle or after a few periods. Some of the common PCOS symptoms are:

• Irregular menstrual cycles Women with PCOS may have fewer periods than women without PCOS. They may have delayed periods after a few weeks or after 21 days or may not have periods at all.
• Overgrowth of hair in places where men usually have hair. This is also termed hirsutism. This condition can be found in almost 70% of women with PCOS.
• Acne on the face, chest, and upper back.
• Hair loss or thinning of hair; male pattern baldness
• Overweight or having difficulty losing weight
• Darkening of the skin in areas like neck creases, in the groin, and underneath breasts.
• Skin tags are like small flaps in the armpits or the neck area.

Causes of PCOS:

The exact causes of PCOS are not known. However, it is expected that many factors are responsible for PCOS:

• Androgens are male hormones present in the body. Though, a female body produces low levels of androgen. Androgen controls the development of male traits like male-patterned baldness. Females with PCOS have high levels of androgen. The higher the number of androgens, the ovaries in women will not produce eggs. This can cause acne and extra hair growth.

•    High insulin levels are also believed to be a cause of PCOS. Insulin is responsible for the conversion of food into energy. Insulin resistance is when the cells don’t react well to insulin. A hair mineral analysis diagnoses the magnesium level in the body. Insulin resistance happens when there is a magnesium deficiency in the body. This causes the insulin blood levels to become higher. Women with PCOS have insulin resistance. Especially women who have obese, overweight, or have diabetes have insulin resistance. In a later stage, PCOS leads to type 2 diabetes in women.

     Just because you have PCOS doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant. PCOS is an infertility condition that stops the ovaries from producing eggs. This condition is treatable.

   PCOS and pregnancy are interrelated. Women with PCOS find it hard to get pregnant. The hormonal imbalance caused due to the prevention of eggs forming from ovaries causes PCOS. PCOS treatment, apart from medicine, includes a PCOS diet and other lifestyle changes.

PCOS and other associated health problems:

• More than half the women with PCOS have diabetes before age 40.
• Women with PCOS have more chances of having high blood pressure compared to women of the same age who don’t have PCOS. High blood pressure could lead to severe conditions like stroke and heart disease.
• Women with PCOS have high LDL (bad) cholesterol and low HDL (good) cholesterol levels. High cholesterol levels could lead to heart disease and stroke.
•     Women with PCOS have sleep apnea. This means the momentary stops in breathing, which interrupts sleep. Women who are overweight or have obesity could have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea could lead to heart disease and stroke.

•       Symptoms of depression and anxiety can also be seen in women with PCOS.

•     Endometrial cancer. Problems like sleep apnea, insulin resistance, obesity, and diabetes could increase the risk of developing endometrium cancer.

•      Hair loss is also found in women with PCOS.
  

•      PCOS weight loss is also another symptom.

Diagnosis of PCOS:

There is no specific test to diagnose PCOS. To diagnose PCOS and rule out other causes for the symptoms, your doctor may talk to you about your medical history and do a few physical tests.

For example, hair mineral analysis could help diagnose magnesium deficiency which causes insulin resistance, one of the causes of PCOS. Magnesium deficiency could also cause low infertility in women. 

•      Your doctor may do a physical test. For example, your doctor may check your blood pressure and body mass index. They may look for extra hair on your face or other parts. Your doctor will also look for hair loss or signs of other health conditions.

•     Your doctor may do a pelvic exam to see the number of male hormones and check if your ovaries are enlarged.
  

•     Your doctor may do a pelvic ultrasound to check your ovaries for cysts and also check for endometrium.

How to cure PCOS symptoms:

How to cure PCOS permanently is a question that many people ask. There is no cure for PCOS, but you can manage the symptoms. After seeing signs of PCOS, you and your doctor should work on a treatment plan along with the risk of long-term health problems like diabetes and heart disease. Hair mineral analysis can also diagnose selenium levels in the body. A deficiency in selenium, magnesium, and potassium causes PCOS in women.

You can take the following steps at home to battle symptoms of PCOS:

•      Losing weight. Healthy eating habits and regular physical exercise help relieve PCOS symptoms. In addition, it could lower blood glucose levels and make your body react differently to insulin. Even losing 10% of your body weight can make your menstrual cycle regular. A PCOS diet also helps while treating this ailment.

•   Removing hair. You can use facial hair removal creams, laser hair removal treatments, or electrolysis to remove extra hair growth.

•     Slowing hair growth. A prescription skin treatment can slow down your hair growth in unwanted areas. 

Along with these measures, which you can take at home, certain medicines will help cure PCOS symptoms. These medicines are anti-androgen medicines, metformin, etc.

By following these methods and consulting with a doctor, one can take the proper measures to treat PCOS and minimize its effect on the body.