I suspect I may have this. My mum has PCOS (not sure if heridatary or not?)
These are my symptoms:
- acne around chin and jawline (hormonal i believe), also sometimes cheeks (only since coming off the pill - 1st few months was fine but now im getting acne all the time)
- although im not someone with a lot of hair at all - i have noticed some more than normal
- periods since coming off the pill in june 2009 range form 30, 35 and 40 days - so they come but they are irregular
- i have put on 10-15 kilos since coming off the pill (is weight loss a symptom or a cause??)
I am getting really down on the acne and weight game and it is annoying with my cycles being a little all over the place. I would be grateful about whether you think i may have PCOS?
I have PCOS and my symptoms are irregular periods (can go up to 5 months at a time without getting it) excess hair (on my belly and inner thighs oh and my mo as DP always points out!) and weight gain (which is caused by an insulin resistance which is associated with PCOS)
I started noticing these when i was 17 but doctors put it down to being normal and i will "grow out of it" but when i was 19 it got alot worse, to the point i had excruiating pains/cramps every month even if i had a period or not. Wasnt until June last year i was finally diagnosed.
You can have PCOS without the cysts but an U/S confirmed it for me.
Best thing to do is go to your doctor and get a blood test. GL
You certainly have some of the symptoms. A gyno will be able to do /organise an ultrasound to see if you have cysts on your ovaries. It is a transvaginal u/s which is a little uncomfortable but not painful. Weight gain is a both a cause and a symptom I believe. It's the chicken & the egg question. Does weight gain cause PCOS or does PCOS cause weight gain. Doctors will argue different things to suit their POV. In my experience, it is easier to lose weight when being treated with Metformin which works on insulin. A lot of drs won't prescribe Metformin until you've lost weight. When TTC DS, I'd tried dieting for years and barely budged half a kg but once on Metformin, I lost 3 kg in just a few months without changing my diet at all. This time around, I've had to change my diet as I was getting into some bad habits and putting on weight even with the Metformin. I don't think the hair goes away but the acne does.
My GP said i didnt have it because my cycles arent long enough. She said my cycles needed to be well over 42 days to be considered in PCOS territory. She said if i lose some weight my cycles should normalise and come back down to 30 days rather than 30-40 days. She said that hormones can just cause pimples - sad fact of life. Ive been given antibotic gel for the acne, one which is safe to use when TTC & pregnant.
Rowellen - she did say weight gain is both a symptom and a cause and is quite circular for PCOS.
Your GP might be right, but there's no reason why you shouldn't have the tests done anyway - I'd say your symptoms are consistent, and therefore there's no harm in finding out, right? I was tested for PCOS during our tests for infertility - they found polycysts, but the bloods tests revealed that I don't have the syndrome. I did however have all the symptoms you're talking about.
If your GP is right, then she would be right in suggesting that weight loss can help - my naturopath also noted that my sugar cravings were related to hormonal changes, and by dealing with the sugar cravings, my symptoms improved greatly (and I lost 10kg).
If you can't get a good response from your GP, I would recommend seeing a naturopath anyway.
I have found GP's to be quite slack when it comes to this condition. When i was 17 i had the same symptoms and the doctor mentioned PCOS but said he didnt think i had it, he "didnt think" i had it when all along i did. I would get a second opinion and request to be tested.
Could this be PCOS?
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