Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome) is hormonal disorder.
Hormones are chemical messengers that trigger many different processes, including growth and energy production. Often, the job of one hormone is to signal the release of another hormone.
In PCOS the hormones get out of balance e.g. normally, the ovaries make a tiny amount of male sex hormones (androgens). In PCOS, they start making slightly more androgens. This may lead to stoppage of ovulation.
The ovaries, where a woman’s eggs are produced, have tiny fluid-filled sacs called follicles or cysts. As the egg grows, the follicle builds up fluid. When the egg matures, the follicle breaks open, the egg is released, and the egg travels through the fallopian tube to the uterus (womb) for fertilization. This is called ovulation.
In women with PCOS, the ovary doesn’t make all of the hormones it needs for an egg to fully mature. The follicles may start to grow and build up fluid but ovulation does not occur. Instead, some follicles may remain as cysts. For these reasons, ovulation does not occur and the hormone progesterone is not made. Without progesterone, a woman’s menstrual cycle is irregular or absent.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (or PCOS) is common, affecting as many as 1 out of 15 women. Often the symptoms begin in the teen years. If it is not treated, over time it can lead to serious health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease.
Causes
The cause of PCOS is unknown. But probable causes may be –
Genetics
Women with PCOS are more likely to have a mother or sister with PCOS.
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone that controls the change of sugar, starches, and other food into energy for the body to use or store. Many women with PCOS have too much insulin in their bodies because they have problems using it. Excess insulin appears to increase production of androgen
Symptoms
Symptoms can vary from woman to woman. Some of the symptoms include:
Infertility
The high levels of excess insulin seen with PCOS can stimulate the ovaries to produce large amounts of the male hormone (androgens), which can possibly prevent the ovaries from releasing an egg each month, thus causing infertility.
Absent or Irregular Periods (Amenorrhea or Oligomenorrhea) Nine or few menstrual cycles per year may be a sign of PCOS. Bleeding may be heavier than normal. These conditions are caused because the ovaries are not producing hormones that keep the menstrual cycle regular. Irregular or absent menses indicate that a woman is probably not ovulating.
Weight Gain or Inability to Lose Weight
Many women with PCOS gain weight around their abdomen, taking on an apple shape rather than a pear shape. Such weight gain is linked with imbalances of glucose and insulin in the body. . Not every woman with PCOS will have problems with excess weight. In fact, up to half of women with PCOS are lean.
Hair
Male-pattern baldness or thinning hair, for most PCOS sufferers, hair in the mustache and beard areas becomes heavier and darker. Masculine-looking hair on the arms and leg is also possible, as well as hair on abdomen, chest or back, together with more growing in the pubic area. High levels of male hormones cause this condition.
Acne
The acne is usually found around the face (especially along the jaw line), chest and back.
Ovarian Cysts
The elevation in insulin levels contributes to the formation of cysts in the ovaries in part due to the hormonal imbalances and also because the ovaries are highly sensitive to the influence of insulin. These multiple, immature ovarian cysts, after which the condition was named, is associated with irregular menstruation and trouble in conceiving.
Fatigue.
It is a common symptom that may be related to PCOS in that insulin resistance can be one cause of reduced energy levels. Furthermore, many women with PCOS also have low thyroid function (hypothyroidism), a very common endocrine condition, which itself causes fatigue.
Skin Problems
Skin tags – thick lumps of skin sometimes as large as raisins – can form as a result of PCOS. They are usually found in the armpits, at the bra line or neck and can easily be removed by a dermatologist. Darkening and thickening of the skin can also occur around the neck, groin, underarms or skin folds. This condition, called Acanthosis Nigricans, is a sign of Insulin Resistance, the underlying cause of PCOS. Other women with PCOS note an increase in dandruff.
Mood Swings
Many women with PCOS may find themselves more anxious or depressed by their appearance or their inability to become pregnant.
High cholesterol (Hyperlipidemia) and High Blood Pressure Women with PCOS must pay special attention to their cholesterol levels and also their blood pressure, as both of these markers of heart disease are more prevalent in this community.
Sleep Apnea
When breathing stops for short periods of time while asleep
Women with PCOS have a high risk for sleep apnea. This may be due to the increased BMI (Body Mass Index) in about half of women with PCOS. Another possible reason for the increased prevalence of sleep apnea in people with PCOS is the effects of testosterone on blood vessels.
Complication
– Women with PCOS appear to have higher rates of:
– Miscarriage
– Gestational diabetes
– Pregnancy-induced high blood pressure (preeclampsia)
– Premature delivery
– Babies born to women with PCOS have a higher risk of spending time in a neonatal intensive care unit or of dying before, during, or shortly after birth. Most of the time, these problems occur in multiple-birth babies (twins, triplets).
Prevention
Weight control, healthy foods, Regular exercise are key treatments for PCOS.
– Weight reduction
Since obesity is usually a key component of PCOS, getting your weight under control is the next step. A low-carbohydrate diet has proved to be effective in not only weight loss programs but also in helping to control the production of insulin in the pancreas.
– Healthy food
Limiting processed foods and foods with added sugars
Adding more whole-grain products, fruits, vegetables, and lean meats to your diet
– Exercise
It is necessary component of dealing with the symptoms of PCOS. Exercise increases the sensitivity of your cell walls to insulin for the vital conversion of glucose to energy, boosts metabolism, burns calories and helps to level out the production of insulin in the pancreas.
– Medicine
Over-the-counter cold and flu medications can contain stimulants, causing spikes in insulin production and release.
– Smoking
Women who smoke have higher androgen levels that may contribute to PCOS symptoms. Smoking also increases the risk for heart disease.
– Avoid stimulants like caffeine, alcohol and tobacco.
Homeopathic symptoms and cure
Homeopathic remedies are prescribed on the basis of symptoms rather than conditions, as each case of a particular illness can manifest differently in different people. There are many symptoms which can be effectively treated by homeopathy few symptoms are given below. If your symptoms are matching to any of the symptoms given below, it can be cured mail the disease and symptom number at drraishyam@gmail.com to know your medicine.
1. Right side ovarian cyst; the pain is felt as burning or stinging better by cold and worse by heat. Symptoms often move from right to the left side. Hot patient with Thirstlessness.
2. Menses too early, too profuse worse motion. Stitching pain in ovaries especially the right ovary extending to the thighs . Pain in the breasts at menstrual period. Frequent bleeding of nose at the appearance of period. Inflammation of the ovaries and pain around ovulation.
3. Painful uterus during periods. Heavy periods. Tendency to gain weight and difficulty losing weight. Hypothyroid. Painful swollen breasts with bloating feeling before menses. Fear about one’s health.
4. Enlarged breasts before periods with congestion in mammary glands and ovaries. The ovaries become enlarged and indurated giving lancination pain.
5. Boring pain in left ovary. Round, small cysts in the ovaries or broad ligaments. Painful menses with bearing down cramps which are better by bending double.
6. Boring pain in ovary and must draw up her knees or double over to ease the pain.
7. Ovaries have exhausted their energy after undergoing a series of infertility treatments.
8. Left sided cyst, Patient is hot loquacious, jealous and often very aggressive with increased sexual desire. The ovarian pain reduces with the flow and it is worse before the periods. Worse from suppressed menses caused by birth control pill or other hormonal therapies.
9. Menses too late last too long and are too profuse. Right ovarian pain. Burning vaginal discharge. Painful intercourse.
10. Stinging pains in the ovaries associated with profuse menses and abdominal pain. The woman may experience spotting at mid cycle and recurrent itching and burning in the vagina worse after urination and better by washing in cold water.
11. chronic pelvic disorders, Itchy white vaginal discharge that smells like fish. Sterility, endometriosis, intense menstrual colicky pains. Warts on genitals, ovarian pain worse on the left side or that goes from one ovary to the other. Menses have an offensive odor and are dark. Ailments after suppressed gonorrhea.
12. Very irritable, irregular menses, too early and last too long. The blood can be dark with fainting spells. Metrorrhagia (abnormal menstrual bleeding) with sensation of passing stool. Irritable bladder.
13. Weepy and moody before period. Cramping painful periods with cramps before period arrives. Nausea, vomiting before periods aggravated by eating fatty foods. Bloating feeling, swollen breasts and back pain before period. Weight gain before menses.
14. Right ovarian pain due to indurations, swelling or cysts, better by rubbing, pressure or bending the legs. Cutting pain in the uterus better after stool.
15. Menstrual colic worse right ovary with dark and irregular menses with brown discharges during the entire cycle. Continuous watery bloody discharges until the next period. Never been well since a miscarriage or pregnancy.
16. Bearing down sensation with a feeling as if a ball were attached to the ovary. Increased yellow-green discharge with intense itching. Periods are irregular with sharp cutting pains. Painful intercourse and congestion of the uterus.
17. Menses are late due to delayed ovulation associated with hormonal imbalance. Menses are scanty. Severe pain in left ovary and left inguinal region. infertility due to recurrent ovarian cyst formation.
18. Menses too early and painful, thick and almost black. Yeast infection during menses. Ovarian neuralgia left sided with neuralgic pains going down the thigh (electric like pains). Neuralgic pains during menses with neuralgic headaches. Weakness and difficulty assimilating nutrients from the diet.