HEALTH
Living with Polycystic Ovaries By Dr Larisa Corda
Polycystic ovaries affect one in five women in the UK and are therefore very common. The term is a bit of a misnomer in that the ovaries do not contain cysts but instead small follicles that contain multiple immature eggs. Not all women with polycystic ovaries have the syndrome and not all women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) have all the symptoms, which can vary. Common symptoms of PCOS include: • irregular periods or no periods at all • difficulty getting pregnant (because of irregular ovulation or failure to ovulate) • excessive hair growth (hirsutism) – usually on the face, chest, back or buttocks • weight gain, thinning hair and hair loss from the head, oily skin or acne. Women can also develop metabolic problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Depression is also more common, and involving the support of a counselor is important. How is PCOS treated? Lifestyle changes The great news is that by making certain adjustments to your lifestyle, the risk of any fertility and long term metabolic problems is greatly reduced. In fact, weight
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loss of just 5% can increase the chance of spontaneous ovulation. Exercise and diet are really important to help you to achieve this. You should aim to exercise about 20 to 30 mins each day and eat a diet that’s clean and unprocessed and as organic and fresh as possible. All of this is outlined in The Conception Plan Medications Certain medications can be used to help improve regularity of periods and reduce the risk of uterine cancer. Most typically, this is the oral contraceptive pill. However, for those women looking to conceive, other medication, such as clomiphene, can be used to improve the chance of ovulation and therefore pregnancy. Ultimately, IVF can be used to help. in addition, metformin is often used to treat type 2 diabetes, but it can also lower insulin and blood sugar levels in women with PCOS. As well as stimulating ovulation, encouraging regular monthly periods and lowering the risk of miscarriage, metformin can also have other long-term health benefits, such as lowering high cholesterol levels and reducing the risk of heart disease. Your doctor will decide on the best medication to put you on, by doing an overall assessment.
Other medications Medications can also be used to treat some of the other problems associated with PCOS, including:
• weight-loss medication, such as Orlistat, if you’re overweight
• cholesterol-lowering medication (statins)
if you have high levels of cholesterol in your blood • acne treatments • excessive hair-growth treatments. Surgery If PCOS does not respond to medication, sometimes something called laparoscopic ovarian drilling is done, which involves stimulating the ovaries with heat during keyhole surgery. Pregnancy risks If you have PCOS, you have a higher risk of pregnancy complications, such as high blood pressure (hypertension), pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and miscarriage, but by improving your overall health through lifestyle and having a normal BMI, you can lower the chances of all these potential problems and improve the chance of pregnancy. www.drlarisacorda.com
