Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder which could be tracked back to insulin resistance and afflicting nearly five to ten percent of females in their reproductive years & could even arise prior to menopause. It could mostly go undetected for several months since the symptoms arising due to polycystic ovaries have a tendency of overlapping several of the health concerns female encounter.

PCOS on its own isn’t a sickness & the reasons that are causing it in the foremost instant are still unsure.

Understanding Polycystic Ovaries

On a monthly basis, a woman’s ovaries start ripening several follicles. Regular follicle is in fact a cyst (pocket of tissue full of benignant fluid & hormonal presence, largely estrogen). The numbers of unripe follicles vary across menstrual cycles – however in regular times, a single or duo follicles show stronger growth as compared to the other ones & form an egg. When a woman ovulates, egg present in the overriding follicle would be popping out & flowing inside the fallopian tube charting its course to the uterine region. Such an occurrence is caused by & then activates an array of hormones being secretes like progesterone, estrogen that would be working in tandem for prepping the body for supporting a gestation in case of egg fertilization or a regular monthly menses when it didn’t occur.

In case of PCOS, changes in a female’s hormone passageways are causal to her ovaries creating too many follicles which would then be forming a pearl-choker on the ovaries. Any one follicle wouldn’t turn dominant & hence a woman would not ovulate.

Largely, polycystic ovaries are non-detrimental on their own, disparate to bigger ovarian cyst formations that could be causing pains & rupturing. However they are known to bringing about an array of discomforting side-effects. Since females having PCOS are not ovulating hence their innate sequences of hormone episodes get disrupted & their androgens, estrogen levels continue to be elevated & their bodies start reacting with signs & symptoms. The commonest PCOS symptoms are erratic menses or their absence, women become infertile, augmented hair development & zits or acne arising. Also there could be atypical pile up of pounds despite having dieted or revving up exercising – is commonly noted in these women though slim females too could develop this condition. Females having PCOS would mostly be going for several months sans menstruating & then experience heavy bleeding for many days. This arises due to excess thickening of the cells that line the uterus & the body has to discard it innately. Since PCOS thwarts a woman from ovulating, it then becomes trickier in conceiving.

Other indications of PCOS are pimples, hypertension, obesity & irregular hair on the face & body (because of excess testosterone). Among the lesser identified signs of this condition is depression that could be misinterpreted to be bipolar disorder.

A tell-tale sign of this condition is weight being gained steadily and significantly – despite lower calorific consumption and mostly accruing in the midriff area.