What is PCOS and what are the symptoms of it?!

What is PCOS and what are the symptoms of it?

My friend said she was disgnosed with it and I have no clue what it is or the symptoms.

"What is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a health problem that can affect a woman's hormone levels, periods, and ovulation. This can affect fertility and pregnancy. It can also cause male-type body changes.

If you have PCOS, your hormone (endocrine) system is out of balance. This can lead to serious health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease.
What are the symptoms?

If you have PCOS, you may have problems with:

* Acne.
* Weight gain and have trouble losing weight.
* Male pattern baldness or thinning hair on the scalp.
* Hair growth on the face, back, or chest.
* High blood sugar (hyperglycemia).

PCOS also can cause menstrual and pregnancy problems, including:

* No periods or irregular periods.
* Trouble getting pregnant.
* Repeat miscarriages.
* Gestational diabetes during pregnancy.

Living with PCOS symptoms can affect your emotional well-being, sexual satisfaction, and overall quality of life. This can lead to depression.1
What causes PCOS?

The cause of PCOS is not known.

PCOS problems are caused by hormone changes. One hormone change triggers another, which changes another. This makes a "vicious circle" of out-of-balance hormones in your endocrine system, including:

* Ovary hormones. When the hormones that trigger ovulation are not at the right levels, the ovary does not release an egg every month. In some women, cysts form on the ovaries. These cysts make androgen.
* High androgen levels. High androgen in a woman causes male-type hair and acne problems and can stop ovulation.
* High insulin and blood sugar levels. About half of women with PCOS have a problem with how the body uses insulin, called insulin resistance. When the body doesn't use insulin well, blood sugar builds to high levels. If not treated, this can lead to diabetes.
* High cholesterol levels. This is common with PCOS.

Experts do not yet fully understand what triggers PCOS hormone changes. But they have found that lowering insulin levels seems to improve PCOS problems.2

You may have a high risk of PCOS if members of your family have had PCOS or type 2 diabetes.
Does PCOS increase your risk for other health problems?

PCOS raises your risks of infertility, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnea, heart disease, uterine (endometrial) cancer, and diabetes. (Of women who have PCOS, about 1 in 10 have type 2 diabetes by age 40.2) If you do not have menstrual bleeding for a year or more, your risk of uterine cancer increases.

Treating PCOS can lower these health risks.

With PCOS, you also have higher risks of miscarriage and gestational diabetes. This may be linked to high insulin levels.3"

" Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) symptoms tend to start gradually. Most often, hormone changes that lead to PCOS start in the early teens, after the first menstrual period. Symptoms may be especially noticeable after a weight gain.

With PCOS, you may have only a few symptoms or many symptoms. It is common for PCOS symptoms to be mistaken for other medical problems.
Early symptoms

Early symptoms of PCOS include:

* Few or no menstrual periods. This can range from less than nine menstrual cycles in a year (more than 35 days between cycles) to no menstrual periods.2 Some women with PCOS have regular periods but are not ovulating every month. This means that their ovaries are not releasing an egg each month.
* Heavy, irregular vaginal bleeding. About 30% of women with PCOS have this symptom.5
* Hair loss from the scalp and hair growth (hirsutism) on the face, chest, back, stomach, thumbs, or toes. More than 70% of women with PCOS complain of these hair problems caused by high androgen levels.6
* Acne and oily skin, caused by high androgen levels.
* Depression or mood swings. Hormonal changes are a known cause of emotional symptoms.

Living with PCOS symptoms can affect your sense of well-being, sexual satisfaction, and overall quality of life. This too can lead to depression.1"