PCOS Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Polycystic simply means ‘many cysts’ and describes the appearance of the ovary/ies. On a scan a polycystic ovary is larger than normal with a ring of many cysts around the edge. The cysts are follicles, some are immature but contain an egg, and others are empty. A polycystic ovary contains at least ten cysts just below the surface, and although each cyst only measures between two and eight millimetres, together they make the ovary enlarged. The covering of the ovary (the capsule) thickens, which makes release of the egg difficult.
Polycystic ovaries are common. About one in five women have them, and generally they present no problems. But when they are accompanied by some, or all, of the symptoms described below, you may be told that you have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is sometimes called Stein-Leventhal syndrome after the doctors who first described it in 1935.
Some of the symptoms associated with PCOS
- Irregular or absent periods :Most women with PCOS do not ovulate because their follicles never ripen enough to reach the ovary’s surface and burst. Some women ovulate occasionally. So you may not have any periods, or they may be very irregular and scanty. Women with PCOS may start their periods late and they may also always have irregular cycles. On the other hand some women may have heavy irregular bleeding because of the poor hormone control.
- Infertility: As periods may be scant and irregular, if at all the chances of getting pregnant may be difficult or impossible. Many women do not go to their doctors with irregular periods until they start trying to have a baby this is often when the diagnosis is given.
- Miscarriage: There may be an increased risk of miscarriage for women who do become pregnant.
- Unwanted body hair: Many women experience unwanted hair on their face, chest, abdomen, arms and legs. Hair growth might be quite thick and noticeable, especially if you have dark hair. Some women also notice a slight thinning of their head hair.
- Acne: Spots on the face, chest and back. Many women who go to their doctor with adult acne find they have polycystic ovaries.
- Weight gain: You may find that you put on weight easily. If you put on a lot of weight you may be at increased risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes later in life.
- Pelvic discomfort: Some women with PCOS feel occasional discomfort in their abdomen. I have seen women who have “suddenly” through trauma, had their periods stop, weight gain and hair growth, they had no idea prior to that as they had led a normal life – so no one knows how these problems may start but when they do they are very unpleasant and of course frustrating as many women feel they cannot lead a normal life.
What can you do to help yourself?
Through change of diet and lifestyle you can arrest the situation and often the cysts die off – this really depends on the severity of the problem and any other underlying causes or health conditions. There is always going to be an improvement!
- The following are tips I would give to anyone with PCOS, these are guidelines it would be useful to complete the online health profile if you have not already done this.
- Follow a vegetarian/vegan eating programme – a great place to start is with my 30 day detox programme
- Eat lots of living sprouts – so many enzymes and nutrients are available in these little plants
- Sea vegetables are a great source of iodine plus other minerals and amino acids which helps boost the thyroid and also replaces any need for added salt in your food – Kelp – again great for boosting the thyroid and metabolism – these can be taken as capsules or include sea vegetables regularly
- Ensure you have flax, sunflower, pumpkin and hemp seeds as these will provide the essential fatty acids required maybe try one of the blends such as UDO’s – 1 -2 tbsp daily in addition to the seeds
- A good B complex, I call these the stress vitamins – as I would prescribe them to anyone who is leading a high stress lifestyle, but here because they will help to balance out the hormones and also anyone with PCOS will be stressed or at least frustrated about their problems
- Magnesium and calcium in a 60/40 range, these will help to ease or calm the muscles and nervous system as well as of course being good for the bones
- Herbs such as Agnus Castus, Black Cohosh as they will assist with balancing the hormone system. Siberian Ginseng also helps as a synergist.
- Milk thistle to help support the liver very important as the hormones are conjugated in the liver and if the liver is not doing its job well then it cannot deal with the hormones properly either.
- A good all round antioxidant containing good amounts of Vit A C E betacarotene, zinc, selenium, iron, copper, manganese, with the amino acids glutathione and cysteine with some phytonutrients such as bilberry and pycnogenol and CoQ10 which is a great synergist
There is much more to PCOS than I have written about here – please think carefully before taking any supplements or herbs – check in with me for a full health consultation or online profile so that I can advise you as an individual.
See www.trishastewartretreat.com you would be very well looked after here and this would give you an opportunity to work with me and my team to overcome all of the obstacles you are facing.
Trisha Stewart
