Polycystic Ovarian Disease- Symptoms, Causes and Treatment
What is Polycystic Ovarian Disease or PCOD?
Polycystic Ovarian Disease or PCOD is a common ovarian condition that affects over 10% of the female population worldwide, between the ages of 12 to 45 years. Its symptoms include irregular periods, excessive acne, and fertility issues amongst women—the causes for PCOD range from genetics to hormonal imbalances caused by an unhealthy lifestyle.
What are the causes of Polycystic Ovarian Disease?
- A healthy set of ovaries produces the male hormone androgen along with female sex hormones. An excess of the hormone androgen can lead to an imbalance of hormones which causes patients to have irregular periods, grow more facial hair, and have excessive acne.
- PCOD is hereditary in nature; therefore, the condition is highly likely amongst women whose mothers or sisters show symptoms of the disease.
- PCOD is also caused when the mature egg is not released from the ovaries, and instead, they can form small cysts in the ovaries.
What are some of its common symptoms?
- Due to higher levels of the male growth hormone- androgen present in the bloodstream, women might suffer from severe acne problems, excessive growth in facial and body hair, male pattern baldness, and extended menstrual cycles.
- Irregular periods with heavy bleeding since prolonged periods of time between each menses lead to excessive build-up inside the uterine walls.
- Issues with metabolism. Excessive weight gain and or trouble with reducing weight. This issue is connected with increased insulin resistance found amongst women suffering from PCOD.
- Women suffering from PCOD are likely to face issues with fertility due to irregular periods and imbalance in hormone levels.
Complications caused by Polycystic Ovarian Disease
- Issues with weight can lead to obesity. This can further lead to heart problems and diabetes amongst many patients.
- PCOD affects fertility, which is treatable with proper treatment and with a healthy diet and proper exercise.
- Increased risk of acquiring endometrial cancer.
How is PCOD diagnosed?
Disclaimer- Self-diagnosing is extremely dangerous. This is because jumping to conclusions without a proper diagnosis by a medical professional can lead to wrongful treatment, which can do you more harm than good.
Self-diagnosis in the case of PCOD is extremely dangerous as well because its treatments may include being prescribed birth control and or other hormone pills. Please refrain from self-diagnosis and visit your doctor if you think you have any of the symptoms.
A doctor would usually suggest blood work to estimate blood sugar levels, thyroid and other hormone tests, and some non-laboratory tests such as pelvic/transvaginal or abdominal ultrasounds.
Treatment for PCOD
- Standard PCOD treatment usually includes changes to the lifestyle, such as having a healthy diet and exercising. Weight loss can help with other issues such as lowering insulin levels and cholesterol and lowering heart disease chances.
- Birth control pills are prescribed on the basis of diagnosis in order to make the menses more regular.
- Doctors prescribe medications to lower androgen levels in the blood.
- Patients are sometimes treated with Clomiphene Citrate, a medication that works by increasing the amount of hormone necessary to release a matured egg.
While PCOD is not entirely treatable, the treatment helps alleviate the complications of PCOD. Therefore, women suffering from PCOD have a solid chance to have babies if they stick to their treatments and remain healthy.
PCOS VS PCOD
Colloquially PCOD and PCOS are used interchangeably in conversations and in articles/blogs. These are some of the differences between PCOS and PCOD.
- PCOD is more commonly found amongst women, whereas PCOS is rarer.
- PCOS has more serious health complications than PCOD. Women suffering from PCOS are more likely to suffer from heart-related problems, obesity, and diabetes. Whereas some of the effects of PCOD can be corrected with a healthy diet and exercise.
- PCOS is detectable from a young age, whereas PCOD goes undetected until women face issues with their fertility at an older age.
- PCOD doesn't cause severe fertility issues and can conceive successfully with medical intervention. In comparison, the rate of miscarriage amongst women who suffer from PCOS is significantly higher.
What is PCOS?
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is one of the hormonal disorders where women suffer from irregular menses, excess of the male hormone androgen, and suffer from cystic growth inside their ovaries.
Causes of PCOS
While many of the causes between PCOS and PCOD are similar such as excess androgen and genetics, PCOS can also be caused because of excessive amounts of insulin produced by the pancreas might increase the level of androgen present, which triggers issues with ovulation.
PCOS Symptoms
The symptoms of PCOS are similar to PCOD but may include the following symptoms as well
- Mood swings
- Irregular periods, no periods or abnormal bleeding
- Pelvic pain
- Darkening or thickening of the skin around the neck and armpits
- Sleep-related issues
- And it may cause depression/anxiety
Complications caused by PCOS
- Miscarriage or premature births
- High risk of cardiovascular diseases
- Sleep problems
- Diabetes
Is PCOS treatable?
While there is no cure for PCOS, most treatments are targeted towards alleviating and preventing some of the complications caused by it. Like PCOD, its treatment includes maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, being prescribed contraceptives and medicines to treat diabetes and other diseases caused by it.
PCOS Test
There are a few blood tests that are conducted to detect PCOS. These are to check
- Testosterone levels
- Sex Hormone binding globulin levels
- Estrogen levels
- Follicle-stimulating hormone levels
- Thyroid-stimulating hormone levels
- A lipid panel test is conducted to determine if cardiovascular diseases are developing.
Other various tests are also conducted to rule out the possibility of other diseases. Non-laboratory tests are also conducted to evaluate the ovaries, check how enlarged they are, and look for ovaries.
Remember, an early diagnosis is a godsend as it helps you to prepare for future eventualities. Therefore, if you have any doubts about your symptoms, you must visit your doctor and book your tests today.
