Understanding PCOS - 6 Things you need to know

 

Understanding PCOS

 

Understanding PCOS is not an easy task because of PCOS is not a simple medical condition but a complex hormonal disorder, which makes it difficult for every one to understand easily.

 

I have tried to discuss in detail, why it is not so much easy to understand a PCOS. Following are the six of many reasons, due to which PCOS is difficult to be understood.  

1. Ongoing research:
2. Varied symptoms
3. Complex Hormonal Interactions
4. Diagnosis issues
5. Misunderstanding of the name
6. Difficult to find underlying cause

                              

1.    Ongoing research:

 

PCOS is an active area of research. More and more research is being conducted in this field. New developments, findings and advancements in this field make it more challenging for healthcare professionals/doctors with the demand to be updated with such latest developments so that these developments could be incorporated by them in their daily practice.

 

2.    Varied symptoms

 

There are so many symptoms of a PCOS but these symptoms are not experienced by each and every female with PCOS. Suppose there 4 PCOS females,  each PCOS female may experience different PCOS symptoms from other. In general, common symptoms of PCOS are as under:

 

·       Ovarian cysts

·       Hormonal imbalances (excess androgens)

·       Acne

·       Excessive hair growth (hirsutism)

·       Male-pattern baldness

·       Weight gain and difficulty losing weight

·       Insulin resistance

·       High blood sugar levels

·       Increased risk of type 2 diabetes

·       Oily skin

·       Dark patches of skin

·       Mood swings

·       Depression

·       Anxiety

 

3.    Complex Hormonal Interactions

                                                         

In women with PCOS, number of hormones like Insulin, Androgen, LH, FSH etc may interact with each other. One Hormone may cause over production of another hormone. I am going to give example of two hormones (1) Insulin (2) Androgens, in which insulin causes excess production of androgens.  

 

Many women are victims of Insulin Resistant PCOS. In such women, due to insulin resistance, their body cells become less responsive to the effect of insulin. As a result, the body cells do not effectively take up glucose from the bloodstream, leading to elevated blood sugar level.

To maintain elevated blood sugar level, more insulin is produced by Pancreas. Such Increased insulin levels can stimulate the ovaries to produce more androgens, such as testosterone, resulting into excess production of androgens in the body. Therefore, such females experience excessive hair growth, acne, and male-pattern baldness which are associated with PCOS.

 

4.    Diagnosis issues

Not all the women with PCOS will experience the same set of symptoms with same severity. This variability makes it challenging to establish a standardized set of  criteria for diagnosis.

5.    Misunderstanding of the name

The term "PCOS" itself creates a confusion and people might think that that all PCOS women must have cysts on their ovaries which in fact is not correct.  

The presence of ovarian cysts is just one possible characteristic of PCOS, but it is not a requirement for the diagnosis because, its diagnosis can done with the help of taking Medical History, Physical Examination, Hormonal Evaluation etc of females.  

 

6.    Difficult to find underlying cause

Finding the underlying cause of PCOS can be challenging. PCOS is a complex disorder with multiple potential contributing factors, and the exact cause of PCOS is not fully understood. However, several factors are believed to play a role in its development, including hormonal imbalances, genetic predisposition, and lifestyle factors.