PCOS or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a very difficult condition to live with. Around 1 in 15 women suffer from this far too often silent condition, and despite the ongoing medical research; PCOS sufferers aren’t given long-lasting relief. Because the condition produces a wide variety of symptoms affecting many different parts of a woman’s body, some women do not get properly diagnosed.
Causes- Are Lifestyle Factors Really to Blame for PCOS and How Do They Develop?
The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome also known as The Stein-Leventhal Syndrome is a female endocrine disorder, or to be more precise, an imbalance of the female sex hormone. The actual root causes of the condition are still pretty much undetermined to this day although plenty of possible causes have been presented to patients.
It has been suggested over and over again that poor diets as well as an unhealthy lifestyle, in general are the real cause of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. The truth is that diets just like environmental toxins for instance can contribute to the development of ovarian cysts in general as well as PCOS but aren’t the one and only factor for the development this condition.
This said, scientists do agree on a couple of things; the gene factor and the list of painful and invalidating symptoms that affect millions of women throughout the world. Scientists have now gathered enough evidence to confirm that PCOS is predominantly a genetic disorder.
Whilst the actual chances and reasons for getting the condition aren’t clearly known yet, the link has been established and the question about a female parent suffering from this disorder may be asked during your visit with a physician if you think you may be suffering from it.
On a physiological aspect, what we know is that most sufferers will invariably develop clusters of small cysts on or around their ovaries- hence the name “polycystic”. As a result, the monthly ovulation won’t take place and this will produce a wide constellation of different symptoms.
This explanation may seem quite simplistic but the purpose of this article is mainly to give facts that are easy to understand and digest, so getting into scientific details wouldn’t help.
Now, let’s discuss about the main signs and symptoms of the condition.
As mentioned above, PCOS produces a constellation of different symptoms, which range from menstrual disorders in most cases to infertility and obesity. These are the main signs so to speak but the list of actual symptoms is much longer and not necessarily the same for each woman.
Up to 70% of PCOS sufferers won’t be able to conceive since the many cysts developing on the ovaries are preventing normal ovulation (the correct scientific term here is anovulation), and therefore making it impossible for the female reproductive system to function normally.
Serious menstrual disorders– it can vary from heavy periods to none at all (amenorrhea) – and the discomfort associated with this symptom has proven difficult to relieve. Besides, menstrual disorders usually affect other areas of a female’s body and can produce excessive bloating along with abdomen cramps and mood swings.
Hirsutism or excess hair growth is also a major symptom and does affect nearly 70% of women. This particular symptom has a deep emotional impact on sufferers and is probably the most dreaded symptoms of all because of its by “male” connotation. As a matter of fact, Hirsutism, acne along hypermenorrhea all belong to the same symptom family called hyperandrogenism.
Hyperandrogenism refers to an excess of the androgen hormone and remains the primary sign of PCOS. Any woman suffering from at least 2 of these symptoms should consult to confirm the diagnosis and ensure that medical advice and some form of treatments are made available as soon as possible.
Now, as far as the rest of the symptoms are concerned, the list is literally endless but if your condition remains untreated, you may run the risk of developing far more serious diseases, which can include insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes.
What about Cures and Treatments?
Officially, there is no cure for PCOS. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t get long-lasting relief, and it certainly doesn’t mean that you’ll have to put up with the symptoms forever. Far from it; there are ways to deal with the condition. Also, sufferers must bear in mind that medical research are ongoing and a proper cure for PCOS is likely to be found within the next few years.
First of all, a proper diagnosis is necessary to establish which symptoms are really affecting you and, which treatment will be most effective. This is important and a lot of women skip this step and choose to either self-diagnose or ignore the signs and symptoms. As a result, they end up with exacerbated symptoms as well as serious complications.
Now, as far as treatments are concerned, they really depend on the severity of the condition itself and the symptoms. Let’s not forget that PCOS really is a “cluster” or group of different health problems triggered by a serious hormone imbalance. Of course, there are symptoms that can be dealt with quite easily, whilst others will require much more advanced forms of treatments.
However, in the meantime, you must address the symptoms you are suffering from- not just for your own comfort but to avoid complications at a later stage as explained above. PCOS specialists all agree on one thing about the condition: controlling and reducing the effect of the symptoms is the very first step you must take.
Now, let’s take an example. One of the most frequent symptoms of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is sudden weight gain. Despite the cliché, medical research has confirmed that exercise, healthy living and a good diet will alleviate the symptoms quickly.
Weight gain disrupts the hormonal system and keeping it at bay through exercise and other lifestyle changes will help re-balance your hormone levels, which is really important if want to prevent fertility issues in the long run.
For some, weight loss won’t be enough and prescription medicine or fertility treatments will be necessary. However, if you have no desire for a pregnancy but want your menstruations to get back to normal, hormone therapy may be the treatment of choice. At this stage, birth control pills remain the most prescribed form of hormone therapy.
What about a More Natural Approach?
So far, we have looked at the main characteristics of PCOS including the main causes, signs and symptoms but we have not looked at alternative or natural treatments as such. And yet, these forms of treatments are becoming more and more popular for several reasons.
First of all, they work fast and produce no side effects. Secondly, instead of working on covering up the symptoms, natural treatments work in symbiosis with your own biological system to target the root cause of the problem.
The most popular natural treatment currently on the market and available without prescription is natural progesterone cream, with NatPro being one of the leading brands. What natural progesterone cream does is simple; it supplements the physiologic doses of the progesterone hormone produced by your body each month.
When you suffer from PCOS, your levels of progesterone hormones are depleted to say the least. A rise in the production of progesterone is normally observed in healthy women during what we call the “luteal phase”- otherwise known as the latter phase of the menstruation.
The rise in this particular hormone normally ensures a perfect balance with the hormonal system. This normal pattern doesn’t occur when you suffer from PCOS since the cluster of cysts located on the ovaries prevent the normal cycle from taking place and prevents the release of the progesterone hormone.
Using NatPro to treat the root cause of PCOS is worth a try for many reasons. The cream is 100% natural and produces absolutely no side effects whatsoever. Using as little 20 mg of the cream daily is enough to start seeing results. Usually, the first symptoms to quickly disappear are facial hairs and acne.
In order to obtain long-lasting results, a 6 course of six months is usually recommended. Of course, this depends on the severity of your condition but as a general rule, natural progesterone cream works fast and provides long-lasting relief to PCOS sufferers.