Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, has many disturbing symptoms. If your menstruation is irregular (every 3-4 months), you gain weight, although you eat little, acne appeared on your face and back, and a mustache under your nose, see a gynecologist-endocrinologist. If you are diagnosed with PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome, you should start treatment, because it can cause infertility.
PCOS( Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ) may cause infertility. Women with polycystic ovary syndrome usually have a hormonal imbalance.
Too high level of LH(lutropin, luteinizing hormone) anddisturbed ratio of FSH(follicle-stimulating hormone) to lutropin (both hormones produce caused by the pituitary gland) increase the number of tiny, immature Graaf's follicles in the ovaries and prevent ovulation. As a result, the corpus luteum cannot be formed and the amount of progesterone in the blood does not increase.
Progesterone deficiencyis responsible for irregular periods, and too many follicles that produce androgens are responsible for hirsutism. More follicles grow and die without releasing any eggs. The ovaries are full of such follicles that turn into cysts, i.e. cysts - hence the name polycystic ovary syndrome orpolycystic ovary disease .
Doctors estimate that approximately12 percent of young womensuffer from PCOS. In nearly 40 percent of them, polycystic ovary syndrome causes infertility (due to permanent or periodic anovulation). It is not entirely clear what causes it. One theory is that it is genetically determined.
What is polycystic ovary syndrome?
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome - Symptoms
When you discover a few of these symptoms, do not hesitate and see a gynecologist.
- unreasonable weight gain (especially around the waist)
- scanty or irregular periods
- severe acne - also on the chest, back
- excessive hair on the face, thighs, buttocks, back
- thinning hair (so-called bends)
- hypertension
- elevated blood sugar levels
- microcysts in the ovaries (visible during ultrasound)
- trouble getting pregnant
Polycystic ovary syndrome - research
A gynecologist-endocrinologist first orders a blood hormone test and a transvaginal ultrasound. If a woman has PCOS, the ovaries are surrounded by a wreath of follicles on ultrasound images.
Polycystic ovaries are assumed to be indicated by 12 or more follicles (2-9 mm) in each ovary and / or an ovarian volume greater than 10 ml on ultrasound.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome - Treatment
Treatment of this condition is difficult. In the past, doctors removed part of the ovary (or ovaries) to limit the production of androgens and facilitate ovulation mechanically. Now the struggle iswith the effects of PCOS .
Usually, the therapy starts with the recommendationto lose excess weight , because adipose tissue - although to a small extent - produces hormones (including androgens). If a woman smokes, she should stop smoking because nicotine stimulates the body to produce more androgens.
Hormone therapymay be necessary in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome. The doctor usually prescribes preparations to restore the regularity of the cycle. Usually these are contraceptives. Thanks to "sleeping" of the ovaries in the body for some time, the concentration of androgens and LH levels decrease, cysts stop appearing in the ovaries, and the ovaries themselves reduce their volume.
Polycystic ovary syndrome and pregnancy
Treatmenthormonal treatment for polycystic ovary syndromeoften lasts many years . However, if a young woman plans to become pregnant, the therapy is discontinued after a few months. Sometimes this time is enough for the hormonal status to improve enough to release a mature egg and fertilize it.
Sometimes, however, it is necessaryto give ovulation-stimulating medications .
A young woman whose doctor recommends treatment immediately after the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome hasa good chanceof pregnancy andgiving birth to a child . There is no need to delay with the therapy, because the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome increase with age and later you may have problems with conception. For this reason, doctors suggest women with polycystic ovary syndrome to try for a child before the age of 25.
It also happens that a young woman with polycystic ovaries gets pregnant for the first time and gives birth to a child, and when she tries to have a second child after some time, she has problems with it. Therefore, in order not to miss the chances of motherhood, it is necessary to start treatment as soon as possible.
ImportantThe menstrual cycle is controlled by the hypothalamus - pituitary gland - ovary. When the hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland, it begins to produce two important hormones: FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone). Under the influence of FSH, the Graaf follicle grows and matures in the ovary (it produces estrogens and a small amount of male hormones - androgens), and in it - the ovum.
Under the influence of estrogens, the lining of the uterus grows in thickness. In this way, it prepares for a possible implantation of a developing embryo in it. When the Graaf's follicle ruptures, a mature egg emerges and travels through the fallopian tube towards the uterus. At the same time, under the influence of the LH hormone, a ruptured Graaf follicle turns into an endocrine gland, the so-called yellow corpuscle.
This body releases progesterone, a hormone that causes the lining of the womb to plump. If the egg is not fertilized during ovulation, the mucosa exfoliates and is expelled through the vagina during menstruation.
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