Living with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)

Member Name: greendaystar

Product:	Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Date:	15/01/09 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None !

Disadvantages: Spots, Depression

I have had my suspisions for a few years now due to reading a lot of information in magazines, but 5 months ago, I was officially diagnosed with having Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

What is it? I hear you ask. Basically about 20-25% of women have it, but most dont even realise this. It is a complex which effects the ovaries, making them larger than normal and disallows them to develop properley. Eggs are rarely released for reproduction because of this, which means lower fertility than a "normal" woman and there is an hormone imbalance (more testosterone produced than usual).

This is followed by other problems/symptoms as follows:
*Acne (especially around the jaw area)/ oily skin
*Irregular periods
*Depression
*Pelvic pain
*Infertility
*Weight gain
*Hairitus (Unwanted body hair!)
*High blood pressure and cholestrol
*Thinning hair
*Sleep apnea

Gladly I only mainly suffer the first 4 in the above list. You dont have to have every symptom.

How did i know i had it? I visited the doctors about 2 years ago with my suspicions as something had never felt right. He sent me for an ultrasound test. I Had to drink approx 3 pints of water to fill my bladder, to enable them to see the ovaries clearly. I didnt drink enough water and they could not see anything so they had to do an internal "ultrasound" instead. The results came back as abnormal but my doctor brushed this off, saying I didnt need to do anything. I went home feeling a bit disappointed that they couldnt do anything about it, it can not be cured, but symptoms can be controlled. I returned to the doctor about a year later who did a blood test to doubly confirm that I actually had the condition. This time he sent me for an appointment at the hospital to throughly discuss this. At 9 stone and 5"5 she told me this was a perfect weight but to maintain this weight as any weight gain could cause diabetes due to over insulin production.

I was prescribed the contraceptive pill "Dianette". This can be used only by people with bad acne or PCOS. It helps to rebalance your hormones, stop any male hair growth patterns, and acne. The only bad thing is, it can have side effects of depression and weight gain which are both symptoms of PCOS in themselves !! I have been taking it for 4 months now and my acne has just about cleared up (it wasnt really that bad but there wa always at least 5 spots there!). It usually only takes 2 weeks according to doctors but it took miles longer than that for me. I havent gained weight (only a couple of pounds over xmas due to chocolates!), i have only had the usual depression which everyone gets now and then, but if anything the pills make me feel more confident in myself. My hair seems to have gotten a little thicker and grown faster than usual too! If you suffer from hairitus, apparently the pill takes about 6 months to begin to work on this. The pill also doubles up as a contraceptive too which cant be bad !!

Its not a nice condition to have but if you dont smile, you will only cry.

MelisaJ x

Summary: Don't be jealous if you havent got it !