Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Among lots of other things, September is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome awareness month. I’ve made posts about this before, but figured since it has a designated month then it was time for another. Besides, every time I google it I learn something else and that’s always cool.

PCOS affects 1 in 10 women, making it a fairly common disease with a kind of misleading title. While PCOS can cause cysts on the ovaries, that is not the main form of diagnosis used anymore. Now doctors know that the main cause of PCOS is a hormone imbalance. For many, like me, this means you have too many androgens or male hormones compared to the amount of estrogen you have, it’s this imbalance that causes the symptoms, such as cysts and sometimes infertility for those trying to become pregnant. PCOS can also lead to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even fatty liver disease-one of those things I learned this time I googled it that I didn’t know before.

Symptoms of this disease vary a lot for every woman, but in general include:

• Acne and oily skin
• Depression and anxiety
• Enlarged ovaries 
• Cysts
• Excessive body hair, more “male like” (chest, face, etc.)
• Irregular periods
• Insulin resistance/diabetic symptoms 
• And more 

The mental impacts of PCOS like the depression and anxiety tend to be side affects of other symptoms but are nevertheless just as prevalent. I battled with pretty severe acne from the time I was 12 until about 22, which I now know had a lot to do with my PCOS. I tried accutane, so many topical creams, vitamins, antibiotics, lots of stuff but it always came back until I started the meds I take now. At 14, I had my first hypoglycemic episode which I now know is due to insulin resistance associated with PCOS. Monitoring my diet even more now helps keep my blood sugar level. I often feel like the things I have are so insignificant compared to many women. I’ve met women with cysts the size of their fists that make it hard for them to even walk, women who struggled for years to ever have a baby or who were never able to get pregnant. I’ve heard a women who developed gestational diabetes and it turned into type 2. It can be scary sitting in the doctor’s office while they tell you all the things that could go wrong. My symptoms seem so small in comparison, but I’m very grateful to have gotten a diagnosis so I can manage the things I do have. 

Getting diagnosed when you don’t have cysts present can be difficult for some women because the symptoms of it are so common in other diseases as well. While the test to detect the hormone imbalance is a simple blood test, elevated androgens also occur in things like Cushing’s. I had this misdiagnosis from the first endocrinologist I saw and that turned into a whole other ordeal. Some doctors stop at the depression and anxiety, while others might look at weight gain and difficulty losing weight as a thyroid issue. So it’s important to tell your doctor all the symptoms you experience, even if it seems insignificant. I went it with a whole written list of anything I could think of.

There’s no cure, just ways to help manage the symptoms. The biggest thing usually is a change of diet, similar to a diabetic diet. More protein, less sugar. There are also medications-like spironolactone which helps with acne and hair growth as well as birth controls that boost your estrogen/progesterone. Metformin is another popular one if you struggle more with weight and type 2 diabetes. Of course, they’ll recommend more exercise. You might need more visits to the  gynecologist if you do have cysts develop and they might also need to be removed. Everything is to help keep the symptoms under control.

That’s the point behind things like awareness months, walks, blog posts, all these sorts of things. To highlight different symptoms, experiences, and help others learn about syndromes and illnesses that might not be as talked about even though they’re super common, like this one.

One day I’ll figure out how to better close these, but yeah basically all I wanted to say was PCOS is a thing, I have it, lots of other women have it, and it’s more common than you might think .