PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) is a condition that can completely change your life because when this condition is diagnosed, you’ll need to make lifestyle changes in order to manage it. PCOS leads to hormonal fluctuations and slows down the body’s natural metabolism – so needless to say, many women experience hair fall and thinning of their hair, weight gain, acne (not just on the face but all over the body) and an irregular menstrual cycle.
What happens in PCOS?
In order to understand this condition completely, you need to understand more about hormone production in the female body.
Women’s bodies produce the following hormones:
- estrogen (or female hormones)
- androgens (they control the development of male traits)
- progesterone (it helps keep your period cycle regular)
Usually, women produce a small amount of androgens but with PCOS, the body starts producing more androgens than the normal amount. This disrupts the regularity of the menstrual cycle by preventing ovulation.
The follicles are affected by these abnormal hormone levels and so, even though the follicles grow, the egg cells do not get released. This further leads to prevention of ovulation and these follicles may turn into cysts. Further the body does not produce the hormone progesterone and this is the main cause for your irregular period cycle.
Now that you know what happens in this condition, lets bust some PCOS myths!
- You are responsible for having PCOS: The exact cause of PCOS is still not known. However, many Doctors believe that it could be directly related to your genetics. Some women produce an excess of estrogen – even there has been no direct link of overproduction of estrogen with PCOS, this can definitely lead to a thicker uterine lining which increases the risk of getting uterine cancer.
Not only that – if you have a family history of Diabetes, are overweight or have an unhealthy lifestyle, you can be a victim of insulin resistance. This overproduction of insulin can also lead to increased androgen production.
Also, it has been observed that women whose mothers and sisters have PCOS are at high risk of getting it as well. - You can reverse PCOS if your lose weight: PCOS is irreversible however; overweight women can control the hormonal imbalance by dropping a few pounds.As stated above, PCOS involves a lifestyle change. When you live a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise and proper eating habits, you can control the insulin levels.
You can also opt for prescribed medication to manage PCOS and to help with insulin resistance. - PCOS prevents pregnancy: Women with PCOS may struggle with fertility. However, that does not mean that you cannot get pregnant at all. So if you don’t want to get pregnant and assume that the pull-out game or unprotected sex is fool-proof for you – think again. If you are struggling with your fertility, ask your doctor about fertility treatment; or you could also always opt for alternate pregnancy methods like in-vitro fertilization.
- PCOS is rare: PCOS is one of the most common endocrine disorders in today’s day. While several women get diagnosed with PCOS in their lifetime, many are absolutely unaware that they have the condition as it goes undiagnosed. It is one of the major causes of fertility issues in women (almost 70% of fertility issues are a direct cause of PCOS).
- Only overweight women are vulnerable to PCOS: NO a million times! Agreed, women who have PCOS are mostly overweight and most women who are overweight probably have PCOS. However, this condition affects those women who have an unhealthy lifestyle – with bad eating habits and lack of exercise. So, even if you are thin, it does not mean that you’re healthy. Then there’s also always the genetic angle to PCOS. So ladies, please be healthy, weight is not the only determining factor.
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