Health Advice for Women

For some PCOS may have been an added abbreviation to your vocabulary from an early age for others it may still be a stranger living inside your body. Whatever the case, this article and other articles on this website will help you understand PCOS. You’ll find added information for understanding and treating PCOS effectively as well as personal accounts of those dealing with the disease.

PCOS (a.k.a. Stein-Leventhal Syndrome) refers to a condition that primarily affects those between the ages of 15 to 35 years, and occurs when there is an imbalance within a woman’s endocrine system resulting in cystic build up within the ovaries. It affects between 8-15% of women in the United States alone.

The imbalance includes higher than normal blood levels of estrogen, testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and decreased levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). As a result of this imbalance, under-developed follicles accumulate in the ovaries, rather than maturing and releasing during ovulation.

As the follicles accumulate, cysts are formed producing pelvic pain. Further, due to lack of ovulation, those with PCOS often suffer from pelvic pain, irregular menses (periods), and may have difficulty getting pregnant.

Insulin resistance appears to play a key role in PCOS. In addition to other hormones, insulin helps regulate ovarian function. When someone has insulin resistance, cells throughout the body do not readily respond to the insulin within the blood. As a result, the insulin level within the blood remains high. These high levels may contribute to lack of ovulation, high androgen levels, infertility, and early pregnancy loss. High androgen levels correlate with weight gain, acne, decreased breast size, and increased hair growth in areas that are typical to males (face, chest, abdomen, and back). This is referred to as Hirsutism. Having insulin resistance also contributes to high levels of glucose and lipid levels within the blood, placing a person at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Now for some of you, all of this may still seem like a foreign language, medical jargon aiming to throw you off track when all you’re trying to do is figure out what has overtaken your body. Rest assured everyone feels the same way when they are first diagnosed with PCOS, but after talking to your doctor and reading through our Web site your knowledge of PCOS will evolve. Rest assured you’re not alone and remember to do something nice for yourself. Keeping fresh flowers in my house is a wonderful gift I give myself!