What is Poly Cystic Ovary Synrdome

Poly Cystic Ovary syndrome is a debilitating condition that affects one in ten women today according to the US department of Health and Human Services. It is defined by the Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome Awareness Association as “the ovaries make more androgens than normal. Androgens are male hormones that females also make. High levels of these hormones affect the development and release of eggs during ovulation."

This overgrowth of hormones can lead to ovarian cysts. Women with PCOS experience a range of symptoms including difficulty with fertility. PCOS can cause women to miss menstrual cycles or be unable to ovulate at all due to the absence of estrogen and the prominence of androgen hormones. Androgen is a male hormone that women also produce. Doctors who specialize in treating PCOS often recommend dietary and lifestyle changes in addition to prescription medications and for the three women below this adjunct was helpful.

Jennifer Plouffe

Jen Plouffe who works with the PCOS Awareness Association was diagnosed with PCOS at age 15. Plouffe who lives in Toronto was prescribed many different medications before the right course of treatment was established. The first of these was metformin which is also used to treat Type II diabetics. Diabetes is often associated with PCOS and women with PCOS are at a higher risk of diabetes. With PCOS there is also a higher incidence of infertility however since Plouffe was diagnosed so early her risk has been minimised “at diagnosis we determined a rough total of 18 antral follicles on my ovaries, with the majority on my left”. Early diagnosis and treatment has prevented more cysts from developing. Antral follicles are another term used for cysts. With early diagnosis combined with proper care and treatment PCOS can be manageable and can have minimal impact on fertility.

Plouffe began managing her syndrome through medical treatments and medication but she now also incorporates herbal therapy: chasteberry, saw palmetto, tribulus and maca root supplements for hormone control. Plouffe has found that these methods are “working the same if not better than the previous methods I had been using." In addition to the holistic remedies Plouffe has a copper IUD for a birth control which works with her hormonal profile and medical protocols. Early diagnosis and constant monitoring combined with being able to access all available resource enable women to properly manage their symptoms.

Ashley Reynolds

Ashley Reynolds a 24 year old PHD student in Toronto who first noticed symptoms of PCOS while in University and saw a doctor in July 2015. She was also able to establish early diagnosis due to a combination of hormone testing and internal ultrasounds as well as her family medical history of PCOS. The presence of cysts on her ovaries and elevated hormones confirmed their suspicions. Prior to the PCOS diagnosis Reynolds began changing her diet to alleviate weight gain she was experiencing. This unfortunately was not helping due to the other hormonal imbalances she experienced. She was prescribed birth control pills and her symptoms were reduced and with this she is better able to live her life.

As a PHD student Reynolds area of study included field work under somewhat primitive conditions and the uncertainty of when or if she would get her period created a level of anxiety “in the field work, which for me involves camping and no access to running water” this stress and uncertainty can become intolerable. While Reynolds did not specifically change her diet in order to treat her syndrome she has always maintained a Vegetarian diet and used skin care products with more natural ingredients. The vegetarian aspect would have prevented her from eating any excess unnatural hormones given to animals.

Katerina Antopoulos

Katerina Antonopoulos 28 from Toronto was different from both Plouffe and Reynolds in that her doctor specifically told her that changing her diet was a part of what would make her better. Unfortunately her doctor didn’t provide specific resources to support this change or maintain any sort of communication and follow up. As a young adult lifestyle changes can be overwhelming and confusing. In fact the doctor only suggested birth control pills and dietary changes without establishing a protocol. Given her young age she did not take the pill but attempted to diet and exercise on her own. This resulted in what Antonopoulos describes as “a yo-yo dieter meaning mentally and physically I was up and down."

A common symptom of PCOS is rapid weight gain and loss. In Antonopoulos's case she was able to lose “10 pounds in 1 week” however the minute the exercise and diet fell a bit the weight and bloating she experienced would return. This can make dieting incredibly discouraging for anyone but especially for a young woman facing significant hormonal issues. Proper diet and exercise can be a delicate balance for a person suffering from the syndrome and should be supervised with help from a nutritionist who understands the complexities of PCOS.

PCOS like many hormonal imbalances creates an enormous burden on a woman's body. PCOS is characterized by the inability to properly regulate or even produce hormones creating a strain on other parts of the system. In Antonopoulos, and Plouffe's cases excess hair growth was another very unpleasant symptom which they both tried to treat using either spironolactone or vaniqua, neither of which helped.

In Plouffe's case aside from the medication not helping it caused her to be low on potassium which caused dizziness and fainting. As Plouffe began treating her syndrome with alternative practices she found tea tree oil actually helped her hair and skin that then helped her balance her hormones that were causing her side effects. Antonopoulos found that just changing her lifestyle helped alleviate some of those symptoms.

Lifestyle Changes Supported by Medical Studies

Balen’s article in Letter published by the BMJ formerly known as the British Medical Journal in 2006, is about women with PCOS and the lifestyle and diet changes needed is incredibly informative albeit very short. The emphasis on a metabolic change is important but the discussion on how to make these shifts is insufficient. Antonopoulos experienced frustration after only being told to “change her diet and exercise” this hands off approach often leads to misinformation.

Women with PCOS share a commonality with women suffering from Endometriosis as well as all other hormonal imbalances; a lack of information and current research into female reproductive issues. With increasing numbers of women facing what are significant and painful reproductive issues and challenges why more doctors are not seeking more comprehensive diagnostic and treatment options for their patients.

Women should not be misdiagnosed with Diabetes when they have serious hormonal imbalance conditions that result in infertility, invasive surgery, long term pain and disability and at times even death. The PCOS association where Plouffe works is compiling pamphlets for women on their conditions. These pamphlets not only encourage women to seek medical help but also provide information about alternative medical, holistic and therapeutic options available to help with symptoms and long term health.

But Why Stop There?

Current medical research studies inevitably run out of time and funding before reaching the point where material progress or insight is made into women’s hormonal issues partially due to the variety and complexity of hormonal issues and reach a point where they are unsure of what really occurs or why.

Since women present a unique hormonal profile and experience different symptoms in varying degrees of severity treatment is very individual course of treatment must be established on a case by case basis supported by appropriate evidenced based testing. Another serious deficiency in treatment options for hormonal issues is the lack of long term testing with respect to prescription medications used in medical protocols.

A study done by Ilana Halperin in volume 26 of Human Reproduction in 2010, on the analysis of observational studies concluded that because there were few serious short term adverse reactions during their study on the long term effects of birth control pills to PCOS that further studies needed to be done however have not been.

Owing to funding many studies often conclude this way leaving little advancement of information. While all three of these women were able to access diagnosis relatively quickly this is not always the case. Some women still wait years for proper treatment and suffer through many years of misdiagnosis or dismissal of their symptoms to outright refusal of referrals ultimately resulting in unnecessary long term pain, debility, emotional trauma and at times infertility.

~~~Disclaimer, I am not a medical doctor. I am a post graduate student compiling information along with real experiences from women I have spoken with.~~~

Links Referenced: https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/humrep/deq301

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1397751/pdf/bmj3320609b.pdf

#PCOS #PCOSAwareness #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #EarlyDiagnosis #PolyCysticOvarySyndrome