Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: A Silent Growing Epidemic

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, known as PCOS, affects as many as one out of ten woman according to many studies. As a matter of fact, many woman can be walking around not even knowing they have PCOS. They are likely being misdiagnosed with a myriad of conditions, not knowing that they all related to each other in one diagnosis.

Woman who have PCOS are often frustrated with the constant weight gain, missed menstrual cycles, and fatigue. Many PCOS suffers are plagued with male pattered baldness, facial hair, and infertility among many other uncomfortable effects.

The biggest problem with PCOS is many doctors are not fully aware of it and often allow sufferers to fall into categories not related to what is really going on.

For example, a woman may complain to her doctor that she is always tired and suffers from headaches and mood swings. After checking her thyroid, which comes out normal, the doctor asks her about her sleeping patterns. When he finds out she doesn't check in until after mid night, he diagnoses her with a sleep disorder.

The woman did not know she should have told her doctor that she experiences only one to three periods a year or that her adult acne is worse than her teen years. She was too embarrassed to even mutter words about the hairs she plucks from her chin, let alone the line of hair growing around her naval!

Even if this patient spurted out every detail about her overall health, it is highly likely that the doctor would have treated these symptoms all differently instead of grouping them together.

This is why PCOS is becoming such an epidemic. There are many woman who have this condition, yet many are completely unaware. Most women usually don't even get a diagnosis until they see a fertility specialist who runs down their hormone levels. It is usually then that a woman hears the words "Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome" Even then, the patient rarely get's proper treatment or even understanding of her diagnosis.

If you experience some of the symptoms listed below, you may have PCOS.

Weigh Gain

Obesity

Lack of Menstrual Cycles

Irregular Menstrual Cycles

Painful Periods

Heavy Bleeding During Menstruation

Hair Loss (Male Pattern)

Facial Hair

Infertility

Mood Swings

Chronic Fatigue

Check with your doctor and get your hormones checked if you have any combination of the above symptoms. It is advised to do much research on your own after a proper diagnoses, as many doctors are still unfamiliar with all the ins and outs of this condition and are unable to proper educate patients about PCOS.

In addition there are many natural remedies and herbs used to successfully treat patients with PCOS, which should be investigated before pharmaceutical medicine is introduced.

To learn more about PCOS, please read this article about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

Sources:

http://www.4woman.gov/faq/polycystic-ovary-syndrome.cfm

http://women.webmd.com/tc/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos-topic-overview

http://www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/