What is PCOS, How is PCOS Diagnosed and What Causes PCOS?
September is PCOS Awareness Month, which makes it the perfect time to discuss one of the most talked about women's hormone condition.
PCOS is the acronym for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; a dis-ease that's recognized for being the most complex endocrine-metabolic disorders that affects women of reproductive age.
What is PCOS?
You may be surprised to know that PCOS is not in fact just one disease, but a hormonal condition that presents in women with different underlying factors and symptoms.
Symptoms of PCOS typically include an irregular or missing period, elevated androgen levels, weight gain, mood swings, and polycystic ovaries.
And, although the name Polycystic Ovary Syndrome implies there's only a centralized hormone problem with women's ovaries and womb, PCOS is an endocrine disorder that affects the whole body.
There's also this common belief about PCOS, because of the name, that all women with PCOS have cyst on their ovaries, but this isn't true.
PCOS can manifest differently in every woman because each woman possesses her own unique combination of symptoms. It's actually quite fascinating to witness in my PCOS clients and customers.
How was PCOS named?
If you're curious about how the misleading name Polycystic Ovary Syndrome was coined, it was due to the "cyst-like appearance" of follicles seen on women's ultrasound scans.
This is because women with PCOS presented with ovaries that looked like a "string of pearls" with lots of tiny underdeveloped follicles.
But these "cyst" aren't actually cyst.
What doctors and lab technicians were witnessing were multiple "baby eggs" that attempted to grow, but never fully matured in size. This happens in some women with PCOS because of the hormonal, metabolic and energetic imbalances that disrupts the normal 28 to 32-day menstrual cycle.
In fact, because the name Polycystic Ovary Syndrome doesn't accurately describe what's going on in a woman's body, there is a push by researchers and women's health care professionals to change the name of this condition.
As you can imagine, this becomes a problem for women who read into the name and think their condition is just about their ovaries and nothing else - affecting the way they go about addressing and healing their PCOS condition.
How is PCOS diagnosed?
To be diagnosed with PCOS women have to present with TWO of the three markers associated with the disease:
- Irregular cycles (more than 35 days between periods)
- High androgen levels, which are male-like sex hormones
- Polycystic ovaries (multiple under-developed follicles on ovaries)
Some women present with all three.
What are PCOS signs and symptoms?
It may take years for you to get diagnosed with PCOS. This is why it's important to understand the common signs and symptoms of this condition for yourself.
Common signs and symptoms are:
- Irregular menstrual cycles
- Irregular or absent period
- Polycystic ovaries
- Anovulatory cycles (no egg released)
- Abnormal mid-cycle bleeding
- Excessive or heavy menstrual bleeding
- Hirsutism (excessive body hair growth)
- Stubborn weight issues
- Hormonal facial acne
- Acanthosis nigricans – darkening of the skin in armpits, neck, or groin
- Mood disorders like anxiety and depression
- Recurrent miscarriages
- Fertility challenges
- Hair loss and thinning
How does PCOS develop?
The cause of PCOS is reported to be unknown. Developing research suggests there are several influencers including genetics, possible abnormal fetal development, endocrine development, insulin resistance and chronic inflammatory responses contributing to the cause.
PCOS is also negatively affected by diet, stress, lifestyle, and too much exposure to environmental toxins like medication and prescription drugs, commercial skin and beauty care items, household cleaning products, and pesticide sprayed on food.
PCOS Genetic Disposition and Fetal Development
Women whose mothers, sisters or grandmothers had PCOS are at a higher risk for developing PCOS. Research suggests that exposure to excessive amounts of male hormones (androgens) by the developing fetus may alter proper gene expression.
This means that the affected genes may not function correctly later in life, especially if the gene is turned on by environmental factors and lifestyle behavior choices, which may cause PCOS during the reproductive years of a woman’s life.
This is another reason why it's important for women with PCOS to learn how to manage and control their high hormone levels before conceiving. Because when you don't you risk exposing and passing it on to your child while in the womb.
PCOS and Insulin Resistance
Women with PCOS often have insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone produced in your pancreas and is responsible for signaling cells in your body to function correctly, most importantly to convert glucose to energy.
Insulin also plays a key role in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins.
Insulin-resistance happens when your body’s cells become resistant to the normal effects of insulin. More insulin is then produced to keep your blood sugar normal. Too much insulin causes your ovaries to over-produce testosterone and lower your sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) production.
A high level of insulin and testosterone in the bloodstream can suppress ovulation, which leads to period and fertility challenges. It is this increased testosterone level in the blood that causes acne, excess hair growth on the body, thining hair or male pattern baldness (hirsutism) in women with PCOS.
High insulin also causes your brain to secrete less follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). FSH is needed to trigger your follicles (baby eggs) to grow to the right size needed for you to ovulate. Without enough FSH you either fail to ovulate all together or it takes much longer for you to ovulate (causing an irregular period).
Increased insulin also contributes to weight gain by promoting fat storage. Purchase Blood Sugar Support for insulin and blood sugar regualtion.
PCOS and Adrenal Dysfunction
Research shows that up to 30% of women with PCOS has problems with their adrenal glands.
High levels of stress triggers your brain to secret adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). And, the ACTH triggers your adrenal glands to secrete cortisol, adrenaline and DHEAS to respond to stress and any percieve danger.
With prolonged levels of stress, both cortisol and DHEA levels become elevated, leading to adrenal PCOS.
High levels of cortisol contributes to mood changes, anxiety, depression, and you guessed it, more stress. It's a crazy cycle. This is why women with PCOS often speak about uncontrollable moods and temperament.
DHEA is a member of the androgen family, like testosterone, and causes very similar symptoms like acnes, hair loss, and excess body hair growth.
Purchase Adrenal Support to help manage your body's stress response and balance your adrenals and cortisol.
PCOS and Chronic Inflammation
Women with PCOS have low-grade chronic inflammation. Inflammation happens when your body’s natural immune system reacts to a foreign substance to protect your body from a perceived threat.
Several studies have found that women with PCOS are more likely to have elevated levels of CRP compared to those without the condition. CRP (c-reactive protein) is a blood test marker for inflammation in the body.
This suggests that some form of inflammation is happening in the woman's body with PCOS.
If you have PCOS, you may also have high levels of other markers for inflammation like oxidative, inflammatory cytokines, and white blood cells called lymphocytes and monocytes. All of these factors are involved in the immune response and are also found during inflammation.
Eating certain foods, exposure to certain environmental factors, stress inducing lifestyle environments also trigger an inflammatory response.
Purchase the Cleanes Health Supplements to help reduce your body's inflammation.
It is my hope that this article helps you understand PCOS better.
There are effective natural treatments you can incorpate to help manage, suppress and reverse your PCOS condition.
Be sure to check out the natural herbal hormone supporting supplements I mentioned throughout this article to support your PCOS and to help reverse your symptoms.
I'll list them again here:
- Cleanse Health Support - for inflammation, liver health and estrogen detoxification
- Blood Sugar Support - for blood sugar and insulin regulation
- Adrenal Support - for stress, cortisol balance and energy
- Nervous & Mood Support - for nervous system regulation and mood
These all help to address your underlying root causes.
When left untreated and unmanaged, PCOS can have long-term effects that can cause fertility challenges, pregnancy complications, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, serious mood disorders and cancer in women.
PCOS is a complex endocrine and metabolic disorder, and it requires a comprehensive approach to help naturally manage. With women in my practice, I take a holistic functional approach through herbal supplementing, nutrition and lifestyle to help balance underlying hormonal issues and address root cause.
If you'd like to work 1:1 with me, schedule a FREE Health Discovery Call.
Be Well and Take Care,
- Shavonne :)