What is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?
Polycystic ovary syndrome (say "pah-lee-SIS-tik OH-vuh-ree SIN-drohm") is a problem in which a woman’s hormones are out of balance. It can cause upsetting changes in the way you look and problems with your periods. If it is not treated, over time it can lead to serious health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (or PCOS) affects up to 1 in 10 women, and often the symptoms begin in the teen years. Treatment can help control the symptoms and prevent long-term problems.
What are hormones, and what happens in PCOS?
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.
For reasons that are not well understood, in PCOS the hormones get out of balance. One hormone change triggers another, which changes another. This makes a vicious circle of out-of-balance hormones. For example:
* The sex hormones get out of balance. Normally, the ovaries make a tiny amount of male sex hormones (androgens). In PCOS, they start making more androgens. This may cause you to stop ovulating, get acne, gain weight, and grow extra facial and body hair.
* The body may have a problem using insulin, called insulin resistance. When the body doesn't use insulin well, blood sugar levels go up. Over time, this increases your chance of getting diabetes.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms tend to be mild at first. You may have only a few symptoms or a lot of them. The most common symptoms are:
* Acne.
* Weight gain and trouble losing weight.
* Extra hair on the face and body. Often women get thicker and darker facial hair and more hair on the chest, belly, and back.
* Thinning hair on the scalp.
* Irregular periods. Often women with PCOS have fewer than 9 periods a year. Some women have no periods. Others have very heavy bleeding.
* Fertility problems. Many women with PCOS have trouble getting pregnant (infertility).
Some women with PCOS grow many small cysts on their ovaries. That is why it is called polycystic ovary syndrome. But this doesn't always happen, and the cysts are not harmful.
What causes PCOS?
The symptoms of PCOS are caused by changes in hormone levels. But experts are not sure what causes the hormone changes.
PCOS seems to run in families, so your chance of having it is higher if other women in your family have it.
How is PCOS diagnosed?
To diagnose PCOS, the doctor will:
* Ask questions about your past health, symptoms, and menstrual cycles.
* Do a physical exam to look for signs of PCOS, such as extra body hair and high blood pressure. The doctor will also check your height and weight to see if you have a healthy body mass index (BMI).
* Do a number of lab tests to check your blood sugar, insulin, and other hormone levels. Hormone tests can help rule out thyroid or other gland problems that could cause similar symptoms.
I am concerned that you said that you had a high FSH. In PCOS normally the LH is higher than the FSH. If the FSH is very high (ie higher then normal range) then there is a diagnosis called premature ovarian failure, a condition when a young women has ovaries like a much older women who is menopausal.
If you are hairy and your FSH is high but within normal limits you may indeed have PCOS.
This is some general information from my website:
PCOS can affect 5% of all women and common symptoms include irregular menstrual cycles, increased growth of hair on the body, loss of hair on the head, acne, and weight gain. Based on the 2003 ESHRE/ASRM sponsored Consensus Workshop Group, PCOS is diagnosed in women who meet two of the three following criteria: ovarian dysfunction (not ovulating regularly), hyperandrogenism (increased male type hormones on lab testing or clinically increased hair growth), or polycystic ovaries on ultrasound (ovaries which show multiple small cysts on ultrasound). PCOS is a common cause of infertility and puts women at an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. There is also increased risk of insulin resistance, hypertension, and abnormalities of cholesterol and triglycerides in women with PCOS. Due to these risks, we advise our patients with PCOS to have the complete metabolic assessment with complete lipid panel testing and a two hour glucose tolerance test.
I suggest that you see a doctor even though they are expensive because they can best manage your problems.