By Svetlana Izrailevsky, RN, BSN
PCOS affects your weight and fertility potential.
Beautiful at any size does not apply to your ovaries. Women’s reproductive health is affected by any number of conditions due to overweight. Chief among them is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).
What is PCOS?
It is a complex set of multisystem symptoms includes insulin resistance which leads to weight gain and difficulty in losing weight. Insulin resistance and increased weight are then in and of themselves risk factors for developing Type II (non-insulin dependent) diabetes leading to overall hormonal dysfunction.
How does PCOS manifest?
PCOS’s hormonal dysfunction often manifests itself as problems with ovulation. Therefore, individuals withPCOS often either have anovulatory or oligoovulatory menstrual cycles. Oligoovulation is defined as infrequent or irregular ovulation (menstrual cycles longer than 36 days or less than 8 menstrual cycles within a calendar year). Anovulation is defined as the absence of ovulation when it would be normally expected in premenopausal women.
These irregular menstrual cycles make it extremely challenging to get pregnant. It’s like waiting for a train at a remote station. You don’t have a schedule and have no idea when the train will arrive. You can be waiting for a long time!
There are interventions for PCOS.
There are treatments for PCOS, although none are foolproof. There is Metformin, an oral medication that lowers insulin resistance so that the body makes more efficient use of glucose. There are Clomid and Letrozole, oral stimulation medications that jumpstart the ovulatory process by encouraging follicles to grow. Myo Inositol is a supplement that has also been studied as an intervention for PCOS.
What are your next steps with PCOS?
Do not wait until you are actively trying to get pregnant to find out about PCOS or if you have PCOS to start then tackling it! Be proactive! Set yourself up for success down the road at the right time with the right expert.
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About Opionato:
Opionato (www.opionato.com) is your trusted go-to fertility expert accessible at anytime from anywhere. We assess your fertility potential and provide next-step fertility advice so your path to pregnancy is short and stress-free.
Opionato started with one woman’s personal fertility experience and the vision to give others what she lacked. Read Maja’s story here: https://www.opionato.com/blog/what-i-wish-i-knew-my-fertility-journey.