Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal problem that happens with women at reproductive age. It distresses the hormonal levels of women. Subsequently, there is a chance of cysts in the ovary. The good news is, not every woman with PCOS has cysts. Patients with PCOS may experience delayed or discontinuation in your periods. This may cause problems in conceiving. Besides, it may add to the risk of getting health problems like high blood pressure and diabetes. As PCOS is a rising trend there are also many PCOS myths rising. Before digging let’s understand a bit more about PCOS.
PCOS causes hormonal imbalance mostly in reproductive hormones. This imbalance affects the menstrual cycle, and causes a delay. The hormones that are affected by PCOS include androgens, insulin and progesterone. While it reduces the production of progesterone and makes the body un-reactive to insulin, the production of androgen (which is a male hormone) increases.
PCOS is an extremely common syndrome in women because of the modern lifestyle and food. Therefore, it is not something to be afraid of. In this article, we will be discussing the PCOS myths that surround this condition. Please go through our complete PCOS guide to know everything about PCOS.
Most common PCOS myths:
Myth 1: If You Have PCOS, You Have Polycystic Ovaries:
Even though the name is suggestive of ovaries, it is a misnomer. Having PCOS does not necessarily mean that you will have cystic ovaries. Many women with cysts do not have PCOS. Similarly, many women may not have cysts but still suffer from the condition
General symptoms include:
- Irregular periods or no periods
- High testosterone resulting in extra hair growth on the face or body, acne, or thinning hair on the head
- Weight gain or difficulty losing weight
Myth 2: PCOS Only Affects Overweight Women
While overweight or obesity may come as an effect of the condition, PCOS is not limited to overweight women. It may even affect women with healthy or low BMIs. The assumption that thin women cannot have PCOS can lead to misdiagnosis in many cases. On the other hand, overweight women are sometimes misdiagnosed to have PCOS when they do not.
Myth 3: Losing Weight Gets Rid of PCOS
PCOS is not curable. However, there are ways to manage the symptoms. While a balanced and healthy diet coupled with regular exercise cannot completely get rid of PCOS, it can certainly improve the condition. It will improve your blood sugar levels and regulate your hormones. Even 10 percent of the reduction in weight can greatly improve insulin sensitivity and ovulation
Myth 4: You Can’t Get Pregnant if You Have PCOS
PCOS is one of the most familiar, infertility causes in women. The respite is it is medicable too. PCOS interferes with ovulation and that causes difficulties in getting pregnant. However, consulting and working with a fertility specialist, may increase your odds of getting pregnant, both naturally and after fertility treatments.
Check out this video to know everything about- how to get pregnant with PCOS
Myth 5: You Did Something to Cause It
While the exact cause of PCOS is unknown the woman affected is not to blame.
Several factors contribute to it:
Excess of insulin production: The pancreas produces insulin which helps the cell to use the sugar that it absorbs from the bloodstream. This sugar is the body’s chief resource for energy. On the other hand, if your body becomes opposes it, the production of insulin will increase. This will later add to the androgen production in your body which leads to complexity in ovulation.
Low-grade Inflammation: Low-grade inflammation is the white blood cells’ production of substances that fight infection. Studies have shown that PCOS also exhibits low-grade inflammation that increases the production of androgens.
Excessive production of androgens: When ovaries produce excessive amounts of androgen it can cause ovulation problems, hirsutism (or growth of hair on the face, chest and back) and acne.
Heredity: PCOs might be hereditary. If you have it in the family, it can contribute to the condition.
Therefore, there is no reason to believe that the woman with PCOS did something to cause it.
Myth 6: PCOS is a rare condition
Research has shown that PCOS is one of the most common conditions in women. 3 in 4 women tend to have PCOS these days. But, according to the PCOS Foundation, less than half of all women with PCOS are actually diagnosed correctly, meaning that millions of women are potentially unaware of their condition.
The PCOS Foundation estimates that this condition is the cause of fertility issues in women who have trouble with ovulation around 70 percent of the time.
The best way to bust myths is to stay informed. Here are the actual symptoms and complications that may arise from PCOS:
PCOS symptoms:
- Irregular periods or periods stopping
- Heavy bleeding and cramps during periods
- Irregular ovulation
- Difficulty in pregnancy
- Hirsutism or excessive hair growth on the face, chest and back
- Hair fall
- Acne or oily skin
- Weight gain
- Cyst formation in the ovary
- Headaches
Complications
- Infertility
- Gestational diabetes
- Pregnancy-induced high blood pressure
- Miscarriage or premature birth
- Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (This is a severe liver inflammation caused by fat accumulation
- in the liver)
- Metabolic syndrome (an accumulation of conditions including high blood pressure, high
- blood sugar, and high cholesterol or triglyceride levels that increase your risk of
- cardiovascular diseases)
- Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes
- Sleep apnea
- Depression, anxiety and eating disorders
- Abnormal uterine bleeding
- Endometrial cancer or cancer of the uterine lining
PCOS Treatment
The treatment of PCOS generally focuses on dealing with infertility, hirsutism, acne or obesity. Besides medication, PCOS patients are suggested for a change in lifestyle.
Lifestyle changes: Lifestyle changes are necessary to treat PCOS. A low-calorie diet with physical exercise is important. Even an insignificant decrease in body weight can perk up your condition and make the medications more effective. You can also sign up with Instafitness to control your condition with a PCOS diet plan.
Conclusion:
It is best not to lend ear to the PCOS myths. PCOS is a common syndrome and can be treated easily. However, you should remember that there is no permanent treatment and it may relapse.
In this blog, we intended to debunk the most common Polycystic Ovary Syndrome myths.