How to Treat Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder that can affect women of childbearing potential. It causes menstrual imbalances and possible infertility problems. It also causes excessive production of androgens (a male hormone), resulting in abnormal hair and acne. As if this were not enough, women who suffer from it are at greater risk of contracting type 2 diabetes and suffering from cardiovascular disorders. There is no definitive cure, but different treatments can be tried to significantly lessen the symptoms.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Lifestyle Changes

Step 1. Try to lose weight

Being fit is important for women with PCOS. You don't need to lose weight if your BMI is already considered normal or healthy; however, if you are overweight, even a slight weight loss can help you balance your hormones.

• Losing at least 5-7% of your weight over a period of 6 months can dramatically reduce the abnormally high androgen levels caused by PCOS. For over 75% of women, the effect is favorable enough to rebalance ovulation and fertility.
• Insulin resistance is another issue to consider, and obesity can make it worse.
• You don't have to try the diets of the moment or do grueling physical activity routines if you want to lose weight. Often just checking the calories you consume is enough to get good results. Consuming no more than 1200-1600 per day is enough to help you lose weight.

Step 2. Improve your eating habits

Eat a more balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products. You should also consider altering your diet to help keep your blood sugar levels under control.

• Since PCOS is linked to insulin resistance, keeping blood sugar levels and insulin stable is important. Follow a low-carbohydrate diet, consuming only complex ones, rich in dietary fiber.

  • Eat moderate amounts of high-quality carbohydrates found in vegetables, fruit, legumes, and whole grains. Avoid low-quality ones, found in foods full of simple sugars, refined flour-based foods, fruit juices, and baked goods.
  • Eat foods rich in lean proteins: poultry, fish, lean beef or pork, eggs, low-fat dairy, nuts, and whole soy foods this will help you curb the rise in blood sugar, which occurs after consuming carbohydrates.

  

  Step 3. Try to be active

  Exercising regularly can help keep you fit, but beyond that, exercise in and of itself allows the body to lower blood sugar levels and ease symptoms.

  • Just do a little movement to feel better. If you have trouble getting physical activity on your schedule, start by walking for 30 minutes a day, 4-7 times a week.
  • Focus on cardiovascular exercise instead of strength exercises. Cardio improves the health of the heart, lungs and circulatory system in general. It also increases the body's ability to lose weight and keep it stable. All exercises that make the heart pump can be considered cardio. We include both light ones, like walking, and more vigorous ones, like swimming or cycling.

  

  Step 4. Stop smoking

  If you smoke or use other tobacco products, quit as soon as possible. Doing it overnight, all at once, is ideal if you can manage it, but you know it's difficult. If so, opt for nicotine chewing gum or patches that allow you to gradually ease the addiction.

  Some studies suggest that smokers produce higher levels of androgens than non-smokers. Since abnormally high androgen levels are typical of PCOS, smoking only exacerbates the problem

  Part 2 of 2: Treatment and Surgery

  

  Step 1. Regulate your menstrual cycle

  Heavy and irregular periods are a common symptom of polycystic ovary syndrome, so many treatments aim to regulate them. These treatments usually involve taking medications that can raise progesterone levels by decreasing androgen production.

  • Provided you are not trying to get pregnant, your gynecologist may recommend that you take a low-dose contraceptive pill, especially if it contains a combination of synthetic estrogen and progesterone. With the addition of female hormones, androgens decrease. In addition, the body takes a break from producing estrogen, thereby minimizing abnormal bleeding and reducing the risk of endometrial cancer. The contraceptive pill can also help get rid of acne caused by polycystic ovary syndrome.
  • If you can't take the pill, your doctor may prescribe progesterone treatments, which you will take for 10-14 days a month. This treatment can regulate your menstrual cycle and protect you from endometrial cancer, but it won't affect your body's androgen levels.

  

  Step 2. Promote ovulation

  Polycystic ovary syndrome often reduces fertility in women, complicating the search for pregnancy. If you are trying to get pregnant but have this condition, your gynecologist will likely prescribe a treatment to improve ovulation.

  • Clomiphene citrate is an oral anti-estrogen drug. You can take it early in your menstrual cycle to limit the amount of estrogen your body produces. Lowering the levels is often enough to stimulate ovulation.
  • Gonadotropins are a family of hormones (luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, chorionic gonadotropin) that are injected into the patient's body. They are just as effective, but because they are more expensive than clomiphene citrate, they tend to be used less frequently. Additionally, injections increase the chances of multiple pregnancies.
  • If standard treatments aren't your thing, your gynecologist might talk to you about IVF.

  Step 3. Consider supplementing with Myo-inositol

  Numerous scientific studies support the use of myo-inositol to improve ovulation in women with polycystic ovary and to correct the hormonal alterations associated with this syndrome, which cause acne, alopecia, overweight and hypertrichosis.

  • Ask your gynecologist for more information on using myo inositol supplementation for PCOS
  • Evaluate the best therapy: overweight women need a combination therapy of Myo-inositol + D-chiro - inositol in the physiological ratio 40: 1.
  • Myo-inositol is an excellent ally to improve oocyte quality and therefore fertility.

  

  Step 4. Consider diabetes medications

  Metformin is usually used to treat type 2 diabetes, but there is a variety of evidence to suggest its efficacy for polycystic ovary syndrome as well.

  • In any case, you must first carefully inform yourself about this treatment and understand if it is for you.
  • This drug can improve the way the body uses insulin, thereby regulating the level of blood sugar.
  • It can also lower the presence of male hormones in the body. As a result, the abnormalities due to excess hair and acne decrease, the menstrual cycle can become more regular and normal ovulation may re-establish.
  • Also, according to some research, metformin, in combination with a weight loss program based on a mix of diet and exercise, can generate better results.

  

  Step 5. Fight the excesses of male hormones

  If you want to control the symptoms of PCOS associated with excess androgens in your body, your gynecologist may prescribe an antiandrogen drug. It is a medicine usually used to defeat acne caused by polycystic ovary and excess hair.

  • Spironolactone, a diuretic originally used as a treatment for high blood pressure, can reduce androgen levels. If you take it, you will need to get blood tests frequently to monitor your blood potassium levels and kidney function.
  • Finasteride is a medicine generally taken by men to combat hair loss, while it is prescribed for women to lower androgen levels and decrease excess hair.
  • These drugs are often used in conjunction with contraceptives because they can cause fetal malformations.
  • Eflornithine is a topical therapy cream that can block the effects of androgens on the skin, which can slow down the growth of excess hair in the facial area.

  

  Step 6. Remove unwanted hair directly

  Decreasing androgen levels should be enough to slow down or stop excessive hair problems; however, if you want to remove unwanted hair before this treatment takes effect, here are the targeted actions.

  • Learn about laser removal, the rays of which are aimed at the hair follicles to destroy them.
  • Consider electrolysis. The electric current is directed towards the roots of the hairs, destroying the ones you want to get rid of.
  • Learn about hair removal creams, which may or may not be prescription. They are applied to the affected areas to burn the hair.
  • At home, you can also use wax, razor, tweezers, and bleach to keep unwanted hair in check.

  

  Step 7. Ask about laparoscopic ovarian perforation

  If you have polycystic ovary syndrome and are trying to become pregnant but are not responding to traditional fertility treatments, your gynecologist may recommend this outpatient surgery instead.

  • The surgeon will make a small incision in the abdomen, through which he will insert a laparoscope (a small tube with a micro camera attached to the end). This device takes detailed images depicting the ovaries and pelvic organs.
  • By making other small incisions, the surgeon will introduce an instrument based on electricity or laser in order to puncture the follicles on the surface of the ovaries. As a small part of the ovary will be destroyed, this could lead to scarring. However, the procedure can lower the levels of male hormones and induce ovulation for a few months.

  

  Step 8. Learn about bariatric surgery

  If you suffer from severe obesity and are unable to lose weight using conventional means, your doctor may recommend bariatric surgery, more commonly known as "weight loss surgery".

  • Obesity is considered serious if the BMI is above 40 or 35 (in the case of obesity caused by a disease).
  • After surgery, you will need to change your lifestyle to become healthy to maintain or further decrease weight. This includes following a diet and exercising, in short, those kinds of changes that are usually made when trying to lose weight.