PCOS Part II: Symptoms

In my last post, I discussed how my misdiagnosis of many symptoms that should've been red flags led to the delayed diagnosis of my Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. 

In this post I'd like to discuss more about symptoms and possible symptoms. 

PCOS affects a lot of things and here's a list of some of the known symptoms

Acne

Irregular or missing period

Obesity and weight gain (and difficulty losing weight)

Hirsutism (hairiness)

(Male-pattern) hairloss

Depression

‎Fertility problems (difficulty trying to conceive and more likely to have a miscarriage) 

In my previous post I talked about most of these symptoms but not all. Acne, is one that I endured into adulthood and it was under control while I was on the pill but returned during when I was pregnant (though not as bad as I recall). Depression is another symptom, and though I've had many bouts of depression, I would've never thought they were in any way associated with my missed periods, let alone think of PCOS. 

Last one was a little bit of a surprise: infertility. ‎It was a surprise because I currently have a little toddler. So how did this happen? Am I infertile or not? 

I don't have a medical answer from my doctor but I can hypothesize as to what has led to my pregnancy. As I mentioned in my last post, I do struggle with my weight (as it is one of the symptoms) but it was in check during when I was on the pill. I've read that PCOS can be treated by maintaining a healthy weight. Which means that for those who are able to bring their weight down, their PCOS symptoms (including infertility) subside. (This is not the case with everyone dealing with PCOS as I have read about some who had a good Body Mass Index and were still dealing with PCOS problems such as infertility.) I became pregnant while on the pill. The doctor was so confused by this, but my memory isn't the greatest, so I used to struggle with taking a pill at a set time every day, and well, that's how I ‎became pregnant. So, it is very likely, that now that I have gained weight, I would be dealing with infertility. 

So the above are the symptoms and how they've impacted me personally (though I hope to touch base again about some of the symptoms impact on me in a later post). 

But the list doesn't stop here. 

There are further symptoms, signs, and risks that are associated with PCOS. 

Gum disease (hormones can wreak havoc on your mouth, ask any pregnant woman)

Oily skin

Elevated insulin levels and insulin resistance

High cholesterol

High blood pressure

Risk of cardiovascular disease

And I'm discovering that things such as excessive sweating is a common complain of PCOS "cysters", like gum disease, are not mentioned in medical sites. 

Essentially a majority of these symptoms are due to hormonal imbalance. 

Which brings us to the question of what causes PCOS. And from what I've found, we don't yet know. And it's no surprise we can't cure PCOS as we don't know the root. It does appear to be genetically passed on (though I tried to see if I can trace it and haven't been able to yet). ‎The other ideas are: excess insulin (doesn't apply to me), low grade inflammation (this is a possibility as it implies something dietary is to blame)‎, abnormal fetal development (‎"Some research shows that excessive exposure to male hormones (androgens) in fetal life may permanently prevent normal genes from working the way they're supposed to — a process known as gene expression"). 

Until, the root cause is discovered, an actual solution is unlikely. For now these suggestions are all we have to go on to try and figure out treatment. 

Keep posted for further information into my journey with PCOS.