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Re: HELP I think i may have this condition, and i have some questions which i hope you could answer...
From: anon (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon, 21 Apr 2003 13:54:35 -0500 (CDT)
Thank you for your reply. I was under the impression that pcos is an
advanced symptom of prolonged abnormally high androgen levels, not a
disease itself. Sort of how immune deficiency syndrome is an advanced
symptom of hiv. The cysts on the ovary are caused by excessive
androgens impairing release of mature eggs. Since no ovulation occurs,
release of progesterone and subsequent regular periods are also
impaired. I had thought all women with high testosterone and irregular
periods were at risk or already had it, i watched a presentation on
another website where a medical professional said a woman who has high
testosterone and all the symptoms which come from it is like 93-95% at
risk for developing pcos.
The most common cause of high testosterone levels is poor dietary habits
and the resulting ir & weight which comes from it. But not all women
have this (high testosterone) have it for the same reason, so im sure
all women with pcos arent overweight or insulin resistant like you said.
Is my understanding of this condition correct?
At Mon, 21 Apr 2003, tera wrote:
>
>Hi!
>
>Your post is a very interesting one and I hope that many will read it
>and my answer to you. First, I am not going to say that you do not have
>PCOS. You may well have it.
>
>But I have a few things to say about your symptoms in regard to weight.
>Just the weight alone can cause your many if not most of your symptoms.
>Weight can cause hormone imbalance that can cause you to stop having a
>period, to not get a period at all or to get irregular periods. Weight
>can also cause hormone imbalances and this can cause the excess facial
>and body hair and irregular periods (like I mentioned above). It can
>also interfere with ovulation which can effect your fertility (but this
>does not happen to everyone and many overweight women concieve) and it
>can put you at risk for IR and eventually type two diabetes.
>
>So, with that said, I do think that there are many women who are
>overweight with the symptoms that come from being overweight who are
>diagnosed with PCOS who really do not have PCOS. For these women,
>weight loss will take care of most all of their symptoms. Likewise, I
>think there are many women with PCOS who are overweight because of their
>PCOS and who are told to lose weight because it will solve their
>problems. BUT, weightloss will NOT solve the problems caused by PCOS.
>It might HELP to ease the symptoms but it will not cause the symptoms to
>go away entirely. There is no cure for PCOS. So, there is no total
>cure yet from symptoms caused by PCOS. BUT there is a cure for symptoms
>caused by excess weight and that would be weight loss.
>
>I would go to a doctor that knows a lot about PCOS and how to treat it -
>an informed OBGYN or a Reproductive Endocrinologist for more tests
>because if you do have PCOS, it sounds like you'd definately benefit
>from Metformin which is a diabetic medication which will help you much
>like you low carb diet is helping you. This med will help you to lose
>weight and you should not gain weight on it. It is THE medication that
>is being used to get at the source of PCOS (insulin resistance) if PCOS
>is your problem and we already know that IR is a problem for you. If
>you have PCOS, it is the IR that is most likely the source of your
>weight gain. If you have PCOS, your low carb diet will have a
>significant effect on your IR - but you can also use Metformin or
>Glucophage along with it and you might see even further results.
>Infertility is very common with many women with PCOS because not only do
>many not get regular periods but many of them ovulate either irregularly
>or not at all. Most of the time the infertility from PCOS is caused by
>hormone imbalances that impair ovulation. Lack of Ovulation impairs the
>release of progesterone which then will often lead to irregular periods
>or lack of periods because the release of progesterone after ovulation
>is what will cause you to have a period. (Although, getting periods
>does not always mean that you ovulated.) Many women with PCOS have been
>able to conceive. Some PCOS women conceive naturally and some use
>Metformin and/or low carb dieting and some use infertility treatment.
>IMPORTANT - being overweight does NOT put you at risk for PCOS. Either
>you have PCOS or you don't. There are many women with PCOS who are thin
>and where weight is not an issue. God bless, Tera
>
>At Mon, 21 Apr 2003, anonymous wrote:
>>
>>I am thinking i may have the condition which causes this. I am 20 years
>>old, i have only had one true period (up until recently) in my life and
>>that was 3 years ago. I also have (had) the other associated symptoms
>>with pcos such as body hair growth, particularly on the sides of my
>>face, underneath the chin, arms, and stomach, as well as but not that
>>badly on my chin (like 5 hairs). The hair ranges in quality from thick
>>(not course) and very dark, to just slightly more noticible than peach
>>fuzz. Waxing and/or tweezing seems to take care of the hair for a
>>couple of weeks, so the good news is it doesnt grow back rapidly unlike
>>some women with this condition. All my life i have suffered from acne
>>(up until recently), and it has been particularly bad under my chin.
>>Also, i am very overweight, about 100 pounds but i have lost 30.
>>
>>I had always thought i was a freak and knew something was wrong with me.
>>At 16 i went to the endocrinologist, and she said my testosterone was
>>high-normal. She did not feel my high testosterone was especially
>>troubling, as at the time i did not exhibit the physical signs of high
>>tesosterone as strongly. Rather than perscribe meds, she suggested that
>>if i wanted to resolve my hormonal imbalance i needed to lose weight. At
>>the time i didnt take her advice seriously as i didnt think losing
>>weight would make a difference. I didnt know what she was truly eluding
>>to, and i really wish some doctor would have explained to me the medical
>>reason [b]why[/b]. I wouldnt discover why until today.
>>
>>Recently i decided to start a low carb diet to lose weight, not to treat
>>my hormonal problems. Much to my surprise and delight, after losing 25
>>pounds and regulating my blood-sugar and insulin levels, i began my
>>period (although it lasted 10 days) for the first time in 3 years, and
>>my skin cleared up quite nicely. It wasnt until now that i realize why
>>i needed to lose weight, and its not really the weight itself, the
>>weight is a symptom much like the high testosterone. The real culprit
>>is poor diet which results in high blood sugar, which encourages the
>>overproduction of insulin, which [i]then[/i] encourages the
>>overproduction of androgens... and it is the overproduction of
>>androgens which have caused me all these problems except the weight.
>>
>>Anyway, im writing this because i aws never officially diagnosed with
>>pcos, but im pretty sure i have it, and if i didnt have it i am at an
>>extremely high risk to develop it. I was wondering if you could answer
>>a few questions.
>>
>>--About weight. Does the testosterone encourage weight gain, or is it
>>strictly the insulin which encourages both weight gain and high
>>testosterone?
>>--Is regulating insulin enough, or do you recommend i see a doctor about
>>meds?
>>--Will meds help me lose weight, gain weight, or have no effect on my
>>weight?
>>--About infertility. One of the biggest issues of concern is that i may
>>be infertile because of prolonged high testosterone levels. How common
>>is infertility with this condition? Do all women with pcos find it hard
>>to concieve?
>>
>>Thank you, i appreciate your feedback.
>
>--
>Tera
>
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