What are the symptoms of PCOS?
The most common symptoms of PCOS are: • infrequent periods (oligomenorrhea); • no periods at all (amenorrhea); • excessive bleeding during your period (polymenorrhea); • enlarged ovaries with multiple small painless cysts or follicles that form in the ovary; • skin tags, teardrop-sized pieces of skin that can be as large as raisins and are typically found in the armpits or neck area (also called acrochordons); • a disorder that causes darkening and thickening of the skin on the neck, groin, underarms or skin folds (also called acanthosis nigricans); • thinning hair; • excess hair all over the body, including the face (hirsutism); • acne; • weight gain and obesity; • increased blood sugar; and • infertility.
Signs and symptoms of PCOS often begin around the time of puberty, but for others, symptoms do not develop until adulthood. Symptoms vary among women, but can include: • Appearance of small, multiple cysts on the ovary, enlarged ovaries visible by ultrasound • Irregular periods, infrequent menses or lack of menstruation (amenorrhea) due to infrequent or absent ovulation • Infertility and miscarriage • Elevated blood levels of male hormones (androgens), especially testosterone • Adult acne /oily skin/seborrhea • Excess facial and body hair (hirsutism) • Male-pattern baldness, hair loss or thinning hair (alopecia) • Weight problems especially around the midsection (central obesity) • High blood pressure (hypertension) • Abnormal lipid levels including elevated tricylercides and high cholesterol • Impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, & type II diabetes • Skin tags (acrochordons) and dark velvety patches of thickened and dark brown or black skin on the neck, ar
The most common symptoms of PCOS are irregular or absent periods, infertility, increased hair growth and unusual weight gain, even with dieting or increased exercise. Women with PCOS will often go for months without a period and then start bleeding heavily for days. This occurs when the uterine lining has gotten too thick and the body must naturally shed it. Because PCOS disrupts ovulation it can be very difficult to become pregnant. Other signs of PCOS include acne, high blood pressure, obesity, and abnormal facial and body hair growth (due to too much testosterone). One of the less recognizable symptoms of PCOS is depression, which can be misread as a bipolar illness. While depression stems from many factors, we think it is always a good idea to consider PCOS if patients have other symptoms. In some medical practices antidepressants are prescribed which do not alleviate the underlying issues and therefore are not very helpful.
Women with PCOS may have some of the following symptoms: • Amenorrhea (no menstrual period), infrequent menses, and/or oligomenorrhea (irregular bleeding) Cycles are often greater than six weeks in length, with eight or fewer periods in a year. Irregular bleeding may include lengthy bleeding episodes, scant or heavy periods, or frequent spotting. • Oligo or anovulation (infrequent or absent ovulation) While women with PCOS produce follicles which are fluid-filled sacs on the ovary that contain an egg the follicles often do not mature and release as needed for ovulation. It is these immature follicles that create the cysts. • Hyperandrogenism Increased serum levels of male hormones. Specifically, testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS). • Infertility Infertility is the inability to get pregnant within six to 12 months of unprotected intercourse, depending on age. With PCOS, infertility is usually due to ovulatory dysfunction. • Cystic ovaries Classic PC
The terms polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) are commonly used interchangeably. We prefer to use the term polycystic ovary syndrome because it more accurately reflects the complex signs, symptoms and nature of this condition, namely that of a “syndrome.” Syndrome is the favored term because it alludes to the varied signs and symptoms but does not imply a precise cause of the condition – as for PCOS the exact cause has yet to be determined. This definition is in contrast to that of a “disease,” which commonly implies a specific cause for the condition.
