PCOS Messages for March, 2000: Re: Testerone levels and diagnosis

Re: Testerone levels and diagnosis

From: Belle (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon, 20 Mar 2000 08:00:16 -0600 (CST)

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In reply to: Kelley: "Testerone levels and diagnosis"

There is no definitive test for PCOS. It is a syndrome where you can have two or more of a number of symptoms. http://www.pcosupport.org My daughter was diagnosed with only one symptom - irregular periods but she did have my history to go along with it. She is very thin but tested insulin resistant. The test was ordered on the same day as her diagnosis. High testosterone levels are one of the many symptoms of PCOS and taken in combination with any of the other symptoms can lead to a diagnosis. I will assume that you daughter complained of something else (like lack of periods, unexplained weight gain, hair thinning, facial hair growth) which prompted the dr to make this diagnosis. Ironically, many of us have had problems getting the diagnosis. In the past, if you were lucky enough to get a dr to admit that your symptoms were not all in your head, your were told to "lose weight and everything would be fine, here is a prescription for birth control pills." (BCPs)

We now know that you can be thin with PCOS and that the cause is more than like an insulin problem. This recent information is what leads many women to have insulin levels checked. We are trying to treat the cause of the problem and not just a symptom. BCPs only work with the symptom of irregular periods. It does nothing for the cause of PCOS. MANY women that I have heard from have found that when they stop the BCP they have no periods, are unable to conceive, rapidly gain weight, lose hair and/or grow a beard. We believe this is because that the PCOS is "pushing" hard to get around the hormones that are being manipulated by the pill. When the hormone assistance is gone, the PCOS is going to be far more evident. It is going full force. I know that there is a question about BCPs that I have not gotten to on the board. If it relates to this in any way, I will try to respond more clearly there about the problems with the pill and PCOS.

At Sun, 19 Mar 2000, Kelley wrote: >
>I hope someone can help with this --I am trying to figure out why my
>daughter was diagnosed with PCOS based on two testerone test levels-is
>this the definitive way to diagnose PCOS? I see so many people on this
>message board talking about other kinds of tests they've had done and
>levels of glucose, etc.., Are the testerone levels usually used for
>diagnosis?
>
>--
>Kelley
>

-- Hope this helps,

Belle

Next message: Marlene: "Electrolysis and Insurance"
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In reply to: Kelley: "Testerone levels and diagnosis"

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