Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Symptoms

What is PCOS?

• Anovulation: the lack of a menstrual cycle due to stress, mental or physical illness, hormonal imbalances, malnutrition or ovarian failure
  
  
• Excess Androgen: a large amount of hormones related to masculine sex organs
  
  
• Polycystic Ovaries: enlarged ovaries that display the presence of small cysts around their follicles on a gynecologic ultrasound.

PCOS arises when the ovaries produce large amounts of male hormones, namely testosterone. A woman's ovaries may be stimulated to overproduce male hormones either because of excessive amounts of luteinizing hormone (LH) or insulin in the blood. Other terms for polycystic ovary syndrome are:

• functional ovarian hyperandrogenism
• hyperandrogenic chronic anovulation
• ovarian dysmetabolic syndrome.

Common Warning Signs of PCOS

• Acanthosis Nigricans: While these tan to black skin blotches are common in those with PCOS, they are more closely related to insulin resistance.
  
  
• Acne: Along with acne, oily, flaky, red skin is a common PCOS symptom.
  
  
• Acrochordons: These skin tags are small benign tumors that tend to form in creases of the skin (i.e., in the neck, groin, elbows, etc.).
  
  
• Alopecia: Commonly known as male pattern baldness, alopecia affects women with PCOS due to the higher presence of male hormones in their systems.
  
  
• Amenorrhea: While amenorrhea may cause a woman to have few or no menstrual cycles, it can, at times, also cause excessively heavy cycles.
  
  
• Central Obesity: Commonly known as apple-shaped obesity, those who suffer from central obesity carry a large portion of their weight in the lower torso.
  
  
• Dyspareunia: Marked by pain during sex, this condition is often irreversible, even if the PCOS that causes it isn't.
  
  
• Infertility: The inability to reproduce is one of the most devastating effects of PCOS.
  
  
• Sleep Apnea: This sleeping disorder is marked by regular cessations (pauses) in the course of one's breathing during sleep.

Mild Symptoms of PCOS

• enlarged ovaries from the presence of cysts (They can be up to three times larger than healthy, cyst-free ovaries.)
• excess levels of insulin in the blood
• higher levels of certain hormones (namely LH, lutenizing hormone, and FSH, follicle-stimulating hormone) on the third day of a woman's menstrual cycle
• higher levels of testosterone in a woman's system
• lower levels of SHBG, sex-hormone-binding globulin
• ovarian cysts that look like pearls on an ultrasonography
• ovaries that have a thicker, pearlier surface.