There are a core group of symptoms every Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome patient experiences and then there are the sub sets of symptoms that are not as common among everyone but are just as difficult to deal with,..Everyone dealing with PCOS has the following symptoms in some degree:
- Irregular or absent periods
- Lack of ovulation
- Weight gain (particularly around the waist)
- Hirsutism (excessive body hair which gets worse over time
- Insulin Resistance
- Acne
- Alopecia -male-pattern balding
Symptoms that are found in PCOS patients that not everyone develops:
- Ovarian Cysts
- Acanthosis Nigrans (darkening of the skin under the arms and breasts and at the nape of the neck)
- Fatigue accompanied by mental issues such as being unable to concentrate
- Diabetes
- Extreme Menstration issues such as prolonged excessive bleeding, or debilitating pain.
- Mood Swings (excessive)
- Miscarriages
- High blood pressure, cholesterol or triglycerides (Although I might add that it is fairly normal to have a high level of triglycerides with PCOS and be normalized)
- Skin Tags
- Decreased sex drive
- Issues with the female organs - deformation (caused by extremely high levels of the female version of testosterone and are very very rare)
While this list is not all inclusive it is broad enough to encompass the wide range of issues that PCOS patients deal with and why it makes it so hard to diagnose. If you have at least 75 percent of the issues listed above I would recommend you get tested for PCOS.
Fist step is going to your OB/GYN to be tested. If the OB/GYN is not familiar enough with PCOS they may send you to a reproductive specialist or possibly an Endocrinologist to verify the diagnosis.
Once you are diagnosed with the syndrome the work really begins... I hope this list was helpful. I'll do my best to bring you more information on how to deal with the symptoms.
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