Despite being incredibly common, affecting around 1 in 10 women, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is still one of the most underdiagnosed conditions around. So much so that, of those who have it, only 1 in 3 will be diagnosed. In short, there’s a fair chance you might have it – and a good chance you don’t realise it!
PCOS tends to fly under the radar because signs can be easy to miss or attributed to something else. This is why it’s important to be aware of the condition and its symptoms, especially since getting the right treatment can be life-changing.
But first – what is PCOS?
PCOS is a hormonal disorder that also affects your metabolism in a way that causes insulin resistance. Ultimately, your body stops listening to insulin’s “instruction” – to convert the sugar in your bloodstream to energy. Instead, after lingering in your blood for too long – essentially raising your blood sugar – the sugar ends up being stored away as fat. This is why those suffering from diabetes as well as PCOS tend to experience weight gain.
Another side effect of insulin resistance is that it triggers your ovaries to produce higher-than-normal amounts of androgen, the male hormone. The results manifest invisibly as cysts on your ovaries. The visible signs, however, include acne, excessive hair growth in unwanted places such as your face and irregular or missed periods. If left untreated PCOS can lead to infertility, type 2 diabetes and even cardiovascular disease. In short, if you’ve got it, you really want to diagnose it and treat it.
Know the signs
The frustrating thing about PCOS is that it’s not always so easy to recognise the symptoms. Life gets busy so we don’t keep track of our periods. Weight gain can be attributed to getting older or skipping out on gym. That recent spate of chin pimples? Perhaps that’s just “maskne” or a stress breakout.
To make things even trickier, not every woman will develop all the signs. After all, it’s not unusual to develop PCOS and never spot as much as a single chin hair, let alone develop a mustache. Other less obvious symptoms include insomnia, fatigue and a craving for carbohydrates as well as anxiety or depression. When you consider that list, it’s easy to see how they could all be overlooked as just the side-effect of a stressful life mid-pandemic and not an extremely common syndrome.
So here’s the good news
If you suspect you have PCOS you’ll be glad to know there’s a lot you can do about it but your first step is to visit your doctor or gynaecologist. They’ll be able to ask the right questions and run a simple series of tests to help you get a diagnosis. As far as treatment is concerned, this could include medication as well as making certain lifestyle changes. For example, eating a low glycaemic index (GI) diet and getting regular exercise will help you manage your blood sugar levels.
You can also manage your condition with our brand new ovarian health nutritional supplement – Ovaria by Lamelle Pharmaceuticals. It contains 4000mg of Myo-Inositol, the required dose clinically proven to reduce the symptoms of PCOS of women in their fertile era.
A naturally occurring sugar associated with the vitamin B family, Myo-Inositol helps reduce your androgen levels by normalising your blood’s insulin levels. The result is an improvement in many PCOS symptoms including weight gain, acne and hair growth. In fact, Ovaria is proven to reduce unwanted hair growth by 29% in just 6 months. It can also increase your ovulation rate – improving your chance of getting pregnant – in as little as 16 weeks and help normalise your menstrual cycle.
You’re not alone
Ultimately, if you suspect you might be suffering from PCOS, don’t hesitate to chat with your doctor today. An early diagnosis means the sooner you’ll enjoy a better quality of your life while reducing your risk of PCOS-related conditions like diabetes. As far as treatment options go, you’ll have several to choose from and all of them can be enhanced by Ovaria. You’re not alone. Together, we can help put you back on the path to wellness.
Learn more: https://lamelle.co.za/ovaria
