We would like to give you gents the good news that you may skip this chapter, but education is the key to understanding your obesity and some of the information presented here really does pertain to you. If nothing else, you may better understand a special lady in your life. Bear with us. Read on.
If you have heard of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), you probably heard it from your family physician or gynecologist. He or she may have been assessing the inability to become pregnant (infertility) or menstrual irregularities. PCOS is the leading cause of infertility in women, but PCOS effects far more than just ovaries. As many as 50 percent of obese women have PCOS. Scientists are just beginning to understand what is affected by the condition.
The name comes from a condition where the ovaries make too many eggs, which turn into many (poly) cysts. The cysts are like little balloons filled with liquid. Physicians have known about it for more than 75 years as the Stein-Leventhal Syndrome. Scientists are beginning to realize the disorder is misnamed and is very similar to more recently described conditions like Syndrome X and Metabolic Syndrome. We will discuss these and how they are related to PCOS later in this chapter.
PCOS does not go away. If often begins during the teenage years. If affects an estimated six to ten percent of all women and most do not know they have it. The hard part has been convincing physicians that this is NOT a rare disorder, nor is it “just” a cystic disease of the ovaries.
The condition arises from an abnormality of hormones and metabolism and tends to run in families. PCOS has a number of long-term health risks associated with it because of the root problem — insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means your body produces insulin as it should, but does not recognize it properly. In turn, the body produces even more insulin in an attempt to control ever-climbing blood sugars. The insulin overload has many detrimental effects on organs. Meanwhile, the thyroid gland is producing plenty of thyroid hormone to induce the body to burn fats and calories, but, in some people with PCOS, the cells do not recognize the thyroid hormone properly, either. The result is thyroid resistance in addition to insulin resistance. Whatever the reason, the body has placed its cells on “ignore” for these and possibly other hormones.
The hormone imbalance caused by this resistance equals weight gain. The body tries to make up for poorly functioning insulin by producing more and more of it. The resulting high levels of insulin causes complications similar to adult onset diabetes. In fact, about 50 percent of women with PCOS eventually develop diabetes, and as many as 40 percent develop gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy). We will discuss insulin and thyroid resistance further in the next two chapters. Women with PCOS frequently have high blood pressure and are likely to have high lipids (circulating fats in the blood stream), especially high triglycerides.
Women with PCOS may have irregular menstrual periods, no periods or even normal periods. Infertility may not be an issue at all. Some become pregnant despite efforts at birth control. Each woman shows a different set of physical problems from the hormone and metabolism imbalance. About half are obese. The obesity tends to be mostly in the abdomen (normal ankles and wrists but a big trunk). These women may be hungry all the time and have problems with low blood sugar requiring frequent snacks. The low blood sugar is related to too much insulin in the bloodstream as well as not enough thyroid effect. Eventually, this converts to the high blood sugar state.
PCOS = Syndrome X = Dysmetabolic Syndrome = Insulin Resistance
PCOS Symptoms
Excess fatigue
Irregular periods
Extra male-pattern hair on face, breasts, lower abdomen and upper thighs
Balding scalp
Adult acne
Fatty hump at the base of the neck on the back
Large abdomen, thin legs
Lots of skin tags
Darkened skin around the neck
Pain between periods with ovulation
High blood pressure
High triglycerides
Family history of diabetes
LH/FSH Ratio greater than 3
Infertility
Multiple miscarriages
Etc.
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