Staying healthy and in shape is something that many, if not all, mamas strive to do. After all, looking good and feeling good is something that everyone wants. So, mamas do what they can to achieve this. However, sometimes, no matter what a mama does, they just can’t get this.
Whether it’s having clear skin or losing weight, there at some mamas who struggle with these things. When these things happen, some mamas end up getting really frustrated. This is because they feel like what they do isn’t enough. While this may be the case, sometimes the reason for this could be something that’s beyond their control. For example, sometimes losing weight isn’t because you aren’t dieting enough or exercising enough. It could also be due to a health condition you didn’t know you had. What’s more, this could be due to a health condition that’s actually become more common!
Have you ever heard of polycystic ovary syndrome? There’s a big change you might have. Whether you’ve read it on the internet or overheard someone talking about it, this condition has been found to affect numerous women nowadays—mamas included. What’s more, it has several different effects on a woman’s body, some of which can be a cause of major distress.
With that in mind, we’ll take a closer look at this condition, how it affects women, and what you can do about it. So, if this is something you’ve been curious about, this is the ideal read for you mamas!
What Is It?
Polycystic ovary syndrome, also known as PCOS, is a condition that causes irregular periods and an excess of androgren in women. It’s actually this excess of androgen—due to abnormally working ovaries—that causes the irregular periods.
You might think that the presence of the testosterone itself is. already a problem as it’s known as the male sex hormone. However, it’s also normal for women to also have testosterone in their bodies—just like how men have estrogen in theirs. The only problem is that there is too much testosterone in a woman with PCOS. This then causes a whole host of unwanted effects.
The reason this happens is because—as the name implies—women have multiple cysts in their ovaries. These are a result of a ovulation defect of sort. You see, usually your ovaries produce one follicle, which will eventually become the egg that’s ready to be fertilized. However, ovaries with PCOS end up producing several smaller eggs. As a result, your hormones become more imbalanced, such as the case with testosterone, and then start to have some untoward effects on the rest of your body.
Effects of PCOS
As mentioned earlier, one of the effects PCOS has on your body would be an irregular menstrual cycle. That usually means that your period is less frequent and you can’t usually predict when it comes compared to someone with a regular menstrual cycle. Sometimes, you might not even get your period at all.
However, this is just one of the several other effects PCOS has on your body. What’s more, the presence of these other effects can be recognized as symptoms that can then help lead to a diagnosis of PCOS. With that in mind, here are some other common effects that this illness has on your body.
- Hyperandrogenism
Hyperandrogenism is an umbrella term for a group of effects that PCOS can have on your body. More specifically, this pertains to bodily changes that would be more common in men than in women.
- Excess Body Hair
One of the more common and more noticeable signs of hyperandrogenism would be having an excess of body hair. This is also known as hirsutism. Typically, many women don’t have a lot of noticeable body hair. However, it’s common for women who are suffering from hyperandrogenism due to PCOS to have more hair in places where most women do not have hair.
An example of this would be finding an excess of hair on the upper lip, chin, around the nipples, and along the middle of your lower abdomen. These are all typically places where body hair would be distributed on a male.
- Acne
Aside from the excess hair, another manifestation of hyperandrogenism would be acne or oily skin. If you’ve ever seen a boy enter their teenage years and go through it, you’d notice that a lot of them may have oily skin and acne breakouts. This could be attributed to the increase in testosterone in their bodies. It’s essentially the same case when it comes to women with PCOS.
Due to the excess of testosterone, the skin of a woman with PCOS may react similarly with that or a boy entering puberty. Their skin may produce more oil and also be more prone to outbreaks of acne.
- Female Pattern Hair Loss
One other suspected effect of PCOS would be hair loss. However, while it’s included in the list of effects and symptoms, the reason behind this isn’t fully understood yet.
Some studies theorize that female pattern hair loss can be caused by an increased sensitivity to testosterone. More specifically, due to the increase in testosterone levels in a woman with PCOS, the hair follicles on a woman’s head could be more sensitive to its presence. As a result, hair growth is affected to the point that it stops growing and eventually falls off.
Of course, this is still a theory. But, despite this, there is a noted association between PCOS and hair loss. So, it’s considered another one of the signs.
- Weight Gain
Weight gain, and the difficulty to lose weight, is one of the more well-known effects of a case of PCOS. However, much like when it comes to female hair loss, it’s not entirely understood how this happens.
Whatever the case, women with PCOS gain weight faster and have a much more difficult time losing the weight. Some studies say that it’s partially because they become insulin resistant. This means your body has a more difficult time using insulin. So, to help with this, your body has to produce more. This can eventually lead you to become diabetic, as this is a very similar finding in people with diabetes.
As for the issue with weight gain and losing weight, it’s not entirely certain how PCOS causes women to gain weight. However, it’s become a sign that has been associated with the illness because almost every woman who was found to have PCOS ended up gaining weight and had a hard time losing it.
- Ovarian Cysts and Infertility
While this effect isn’t seen right away, when you end up being diagnosed with PCOS, an ultrasound will reveal that your ovaries are filled with cysts. This would be as a result of a dysfunction in your ovary’s ability to produce a viable egg to ovulate. Instead, it ends up creating little cysts and affecting your body’s hormones.
Aside from this, you can become infertile as your ovaries aren’t able to produce viable eggs during ovulation. No eggs means there’s nothing for sperm to fertilize. So, it makes sense that a mama with PCOS may have a harder time getting pregnant.
All these effects are considered to be symptoms of PCOS and are enough to help diagnose a person with this illness. In fact, for a person to get diagnosed with PCOS, you only need to have a handful of symptoms for this diagnosis to get considered. First and foremost, you’ll need to have an irregular menstrual cycle or even a lack of a period. Then, any signs of hyperandrogenism, such as hirsutism, acne, and hair loss. What’s more, if a woman is noted to be overweight and has these symptoms, then the chances of getting diagnosed with PCOS becomes even higher.
Can It Be Treated
Despite how scary it sounds to have a PCOS diagnosis, it’s not something to lose hope over. It’s true that your ovaries end up becoming dysfunctional. However, thanks to the advent of modern medicine, there are treatments for this condition.
One of the main treatments for PCOS would be through various medications. More specifically, medication that would help your hormones go to their normal levels. So, you may end up taking birth control pills or hormones like progesterone to help balance out your body’s hormones. These can then help your bodies and ovaries adjust, as things are normal, and eventually return to the normal state they should be in.
Doing so can not only help your ovaries and even make you fertile, but they can also help manage the other symptoms of PCOS. So, that means the body hair you have in places that shouldn’t have hair can go away, and your skin can get clearer too.
Aside from medical interventions, there are also lifestyle modifications that you can make to help with these treatments. This means doing things like exercising to help your body become more sensitive to insulin and also helping you manage your weight.
While it seems like a lot of trouble to have a PCOS diagnosis, there are ways to treat it. So, you shouldn’t worry so much about getting diagnosed with it. As a matter of fact, now that you know a little bit more about it, you can see for yourself if you have PCOS. If you think you do based on the symptoms, you can get yourself checked to confirm the diagnosis. You can then get yourself treated so that you can get yourself as healthy as you can be.
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