What is PCOS? It seems to be in the news and on TV programs these days, but it is difficult to understand what it is, and what causes it. PCOS stands for "Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome," which is, at basis, a condition in which women produce many follicles on their ovaries each month, but generally do not produce a mature egg.
These follicles emit hormones, and wreak havoc on a woman's hormonal system. Since the follicles emit testosterone, they can cause a woman to grow facial hair. They also secrete insulin, which results in long-term insulin resistance, and can eventually result in full-blown Type II diabetes, which must be treated for the rest of a woman's life.
PCOS often is the cause for infertility. Many of us know that fertility requires a careful balance of female hormones in order to produce an egg on a regular basis. Since the woman suffering from PCOS has a deficit in estrogen and progesterone - the two primary female hormones associated with fertility and female qualities - she is often unable to produce an egg for fertilization.
What causes PCOS? It's been called a "syndrome" because the cause is unknown. Although we know that the follicles are overactive and unproductive, we don't know what causes this activity to take place.
We know that, in a normally functioning reproductive system, a woman's ovaries contain all the eggs she will have for her lifetime. These eggs are expressed from puberty to menopause, typically one per month. The mechanism of expression is the follicle, which both grows at the surface of the ovary and issues signaling hormones to let the rest of the body know when an egg is coming.
In a malfunctioning system, more than one follicle develops at a time. The excess of hormones may trigger a 'defensive' mechanism in the follicles which prevents their full expression, and thus inhibits overall production of an egg ready for fertilization.
The symptoms of PCOS can be confusing, as they are so diverse. The first indication is a weight gain, despite exercise and proper diet control. Insulin resistance occurs because of a spike in insulin production over a long period of time; the cells of the body receive an oversupply of insulin for so long that they develop an overall resistance, which results in insulin losing its effect to control serum glucose levels and results in a diabetes which needs to be controlled through diet, and sometimes through insulin injections.
Other symptoms can include acne (as a part of the hormonal storm), hair growth, and extremely irregular periods. A woman with PCOS can go for several months with no period, and then suddenly have extremely heavy bleeding for a longer-than-usual period of time.
Depression is a common symptom, which may be related to hormone-caused mood swings, or to other underlying causes of the disease. Of course, women who suffer these other symptoms, including infertility, would have reason to feel depressed.
Until recently, few physicians were trained to recognize PCOS. There are now a good deal more articles in the scientific literature on how both to recognize and treat the syndrome.
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Diabetes and skipping meals
By: Bethmarie1232005 | 20-07-2008
is it ever ok to skip a meal if your diabetic?qt=t
Can I drive a dump truck if I am taking insulin
By: Mindy | 19-07-2008
Can I drive a dump truck if I am taking insulin
I was recently diagnosed with diabetes. I had a ...
By: lunasol2 | 18-07-2008
I was recently diagnosed with diabetes. I had a serious infection and had to have surgery. My doctor put me on Metformin and Glipizide. My problem is that 3 months ago I had an eye exam to get driving glasses (I have been near sighted for 20 years)...after I began to take my medication my sugar went down and I went from near sighted to far sighted. They had to change my prescription. Now one week later my vision changed back to me being near sighted again. Does anyone know if this is normal? I know eyesight changes with diabetes but isn't this a little extreme? My sugar has been more or less the same within this time period.
No more health insurance for diabetic supplies
By: edy | 18-07-2008
my brother who is a brittle diabetic is about to lose his insurance by his employer. What options are out there to help him with his diabetic supplies, i.e. insulin, lancets, test strips etc. He opted to go off the insulin pump because he wont be able to afford the equipment needed. Please help me help him. Thank You
Type 2 Diabetes & Surgery
By: Gordon | 14-07-2008
I am a 60 year old male with Type 2 diabetes diagnosed 12 years ago and weigh 215 pounds. Recently I was also diagnosed with an elevated BP (154/86) something that didn't exist at my last exam three months ago. My other problem is neuropathy in both feet. I do a pretty good job diet wise with my last a1c of 6.2 being a little higher than my last one three months ago where it was 5.3.
I would love to have surgery to hopefully be one of those individuals where these affliction could hopefully be eliminated. I have read about the limited/modified gastric surgery that has demonstrated promise and was wondering if there are any surgical studies one could volunteer for and obtain the surgery?
Thank you,
Gordon Mello
Hi, we have a old run down house in Mt Enterprise ...
By: texaslady | 14-07-2008
Hi, we have a old run down house in Mt Enterprise Tx. which is 25 minutes from NACADOCIOUS TX. We are looking for a license contractor to redo wireing and siding. any help would be appreciated. Thank you
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