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PCOS Awareness Month + AMA


September is PCOS Awareness Month


1 in 10 women suffer with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) and despite how common it is it is often disregarded as a minor thing by doctors etc despite the many depressing symptoms and there are a few wideheld misconceptions.
One of these misconceptions is that you have actual cysts on your ovary. Polycystic ovaries are not ovarian cysts rather undeveloped follicles in the ovary as the eggs do not develop properly during the menstrual cycle. This means that people with PCOS often suffer fertility problems and very irregular periods.


Because of the irregularity of the periods people with PCOS often use birth control to regulate them but this comes with its own side effects (weight gain, fluctuation in mood, high blood pressure) and not all birth control works for all people so is a matter of trial and error often.
People with PCOS produce too much insulin as they have a resistance to insulin so they produce more to compensate. This means that people with PCOS are very high risk to develop type two diabetes. This combined with the fact that PCOS often results in weight gain (and makes it very hard to lose weight) makes the risk for type 2 diabetes even higher. People with PCOS often have higher cholesterol which increased the chance of heart disease.
People with PCOS produce too much androgen (and testosterone as a result of high insulin) which is a male hormone. This combined with increased testosterone can give PCOS sufferers the following self-esteem lowering symptoms:
-Excess body hair (hirsutism) e.g on the stomach, thighs, face
-Male Weight pattern (weight around the stomach area)
-Thinning hair or hair loss from the head
-Oily skin and acne

I am diagnosed with PCOS so feel free to ask any *respectful* questions, i know there are a few of us on TSR so if other people with PCOS want to answer questions then feel free to do so

:hippie:

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This was so interesting to read. I've heard of PCOS and know a little about it but I never knew as much as this, so thank you for putting this together!

What's the process for getting diagnosed?
Original post by DrawTheLine
This was so interesting to read. I've heard of PCOS and know a little about it but I never knew as much as this, so thank you for putting this together!

What's the process for getting diagnosed?


:hugs:

to get diagnosed you need a blood test and an external ultrasound of your ovaries (unfortunately as your bladder is in the way you have to drink a tonne of water before the ultrasound to move it out of the way :colondollar:)
With the blood test they are looking for abnormal hormone readings, if they are abnormal and they see the 'cysts' in your ovaries the two things combined diagnose you. Apparently my ovaries are huge so there you go :laugh:
Original post by CoolCavy
:hugs:

to get diagnosed you need a blood test and an external ultrasound of your ovaries (unfortunately as your bladder is in the way you have to drink a tonne of water before the ultrasound to move it out of the way :colondollar:)
With the blood test they are looking for abnormal hormone readings, if they are abnormal and they see the 'cysts' in your ovaries the two things combined diagnose you. Apparently my ovaries are huge so there you go :laugh:


Oh okay I was thinking it would be a complicated diagnosis but that seems pretty straightforward!

I have more questions but I want to sleep so I'll come back with them tomorrow :biggrin:
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Airmed
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Original post by CoolCavy
:hugs:

to get diagnosed you need a blood test and an external ultrasound of your ovaries (unfortunately as your bladder is in the way you have to drink a tonne of water before the ultrasound to move it out of the way :colondollar:)
With the blood test they are looking for abnormal hormone readings, if they are abnormal and they see the 'cysts' in your ovaries the two things combined diagnose you. Apparently my ovaries are huge so there you go :laugh:


internal examination if you're not a virgin though, unfortunately. Which is incredibly painful (for me anyway). Off to have another scan on Friday, wish me luck.
Original post by Airmed
internal examination if you're not a virgin though, unfortunately. Which is incredibly painful (for me anyway). Off to have another scan on Friday, wish me luck.


good luck :smile:
How long have you been diagnosed with PCOS? And is there treatment for it?
Original post by DrawTheLine
Oh okay I was thinking it would be a complicated diagnosis but that seems pretty straightforward!

I have more questions but I want to sleep so I'll come back with them tomorrow :biggrin:


Yeh it's pretty quick and simple tbh
no worries :hugs:
Original post by Elleee1234
How long have you been diagnosed with PCOS? And is there treatment for it?


Since June 2017
Not for the actual condition, it's incurable currently.
There are ways to manage the symptoms, hair removal practises, birth control etc but these are hit and miss for people
Is it painful or uncomfortable, or do not really notice it?
Is there any medication to help manage it or is it one of those you just have to let it be?
I ended up looking into PCOS after it came up in conversation when we were chatting a few weeks back. Thanks for sharing more about it. :hugs:
Original post by DrawTheLine
Is it painful or uncomfortable, or do not really notice it?
Is there any medication to help manage it or is it one of those you just have to let it be

Apparently it's not *meant* to hurt (as they aren't real cysts) but many women report pain with it or referred pain in different areas.
You can take the pill to regulate the periods but this doesn't work for everyone
Original post by sinfonietta
I ended up looking into PCOS after it came up in conversation when we were chatting a few weeks back. Thanks for sharing more about it. :hugs:

:hugs:
Can confirm that this is a super annoying thing to have :/

The best part are the doctors that are just like "Just loose some weight, do some sport, idk", ignoring the fact that when it started I was doing sport almost every day in the week and it is the condition which made have to reduce and then basically quit all of that because of the fatigue and weight gain that comes with it.

Though thankfully the past months because some life circumstances changed I now have less stress in my life and apparently that helped because I'm having less and less symptoms :smile:

Sorry for the rant, but it was nice to see other people going through the same thing
@CoolCavy
If a person was concerned they had it, yet it doesn't impact their life (as weight seems ok, they aren't currently worried about fertility etc) would it still be advisable to screen for it? Esspecially as there is no cure and therefore no point in 'catching it early' as with other conditions (if it isn't effecting your life of course) Sorry if that question makes no sense. What I'm trying to say is: Is diagnosis important if it isn't impacting your life?
Original post by Anonymous
Can confirm that this is a super annoying thing to have :/

The best part are the doctors that are just like "Just loose some weight, do some sport, idk", ignoring the fact that when it started I was doing sport almost every day in the week and it is the condition which made have to reduce and then basically quit all of that because of the fatigue and weight gain that comes with it.

Though thankfully the past months because some life circumstances changed I now have less stress in my life and apparently that helped because I'm having less and less symptoms :smile:

Sorry for the rant, but it was nice to see other people going through the same thing

Totally agree, it's like excersise is some magic medicine to them and they make it sound so easy to 'just lose weight' sure it helps and for some people it really really helps but it's not always that straight forward and other conditions can interfere with doing excersise.
Glad to hear you are doing better :hugs:
Original post by MaizieAmyr
@CoolCavy
If a person was concerned they had it, yet it doesn't impact their life (as weight seems ok, they aren't currently worried about fertility etc) would it still be advisable to screen for it? Esspecially as there is no cure and therefore no point in 'catching it early' as with other conditions (if it isn't effecting your life of course) Sorry if that question makes no sense. What I'm trying to say is: Is diagnosis important if it isn't impacting your life?

Is totally up to you tbh, you may as well get diagnosed cos nothing negative will come of it if you think you have it already (unless you react really badly to the diagnosis or something) but lots of women have it and don't even realise they have it (is a statistic somewhere about that I'll try and find) so it's not like you have to get diagnosed if it's causing you no bother. What symptoms do you have that make you think you have it if you don't mind me asking ?
If around 1 in 10 women have PCOS, how many people do you thinking have got it diagnosed? Is it a condition that many people are aware of? :smile:
Original post by laurawatt
If around 1 in 10 women have PCOS, how many people do you thinking have got it diagnosed? Is it a condition that many people are aware of? :smile:

Not everyone who has it gets it diagnosed so idk the exact statistic
I don't think so, especially amongst men. I dislike how people think of it as gross or should be kept in private. It's not gross just because it's to do with sexual organs.
Original post by CoolCavy
Not everyone who has it gets it diagnosed so idk the exact statistic
I don't think so, especially amongst men. I dislike how people think of it as gross or should be kept in private. It's not gross just because it's to do with sexual organs.

Well put:yep:
Original post by CoolCavy
Totally agree, it's like excersise is some magic medicine to them and they make it sound so easy to 'just lose weight' sure it helps and for some people it really really helps but it's not always that straight forward and other conditions can interfere with doing excersise.
Glad to hear you are doing better :hugs:

Is totally up to you tbh, you may as well get diagnosed cos nothing negative will come of it if you think you have it already (unless you react really badly to the diagnosis or something) but lots of women have it and don't even realise they have it (is a statistic somewhere about that I'll try and find) so it's not like you have to get diagnosed if it's causing you no bother. What symptoms do you have that make you think you have it if you don't mind me asking ?


Ah ok. No, I don't think I do, but I just know if I did I would probably be too lazy to get diagnosed. I was just interested. It's a bit of a general question rather then for specifically this disease. What do you find most difficult about dealing with PCOS?
Original post by MaizieAmyr
Ah ok. No, I don't think I do, but I just know if I did I would probably be too lazy to get diagnosed. I was just interested. It's a bit of a general question rather then for specifically this disease. What do you find most difficult about dealing with PCOS?


ooohh ok igu, i would say though for anyone experiencing irregular period etc who thinks its PCOS but isnt that bothered about it to get it checked cos PCOS isnt the only thing that can cause that and you would want to rule out anything malicious :yes:
For me personally the weight, i dont like how everyone assumes that if you are overweight you must be a fat lazy slob who stuffs your face all day :redface:

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