PCOS & Womens Health.
Sarah can help you with a number of areas associated with Womens Health including:
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome known as PCOS (females) has become a fascination of mine in the last 15 years. It appears to be a reasonable common problem with 5 -10% of women suffering from the condition. It doesn't discriminate and includes young women, active girls/ women and athletes.
PCOS women can suffer a variety of symptoms and have a variety of different physical signs.
In the past PCOS was diagnosed as a female having two of the following three conditions:
1. Increased levels of testosterone, usually presenting with acne, excess body hair growth or accelerated loss of hair from the scalp.
2. Anovulation ie lack of regular ovulation resulting in irregular and often infrequent menstrual periods, in some women periods can be heavy prolonged and painful. However, some women who aren’t ovulating will still have regular periods, others will have more frequent periods than normal
3. Polycystic ovaries observed on ultrasound examination or at laparoscopy.
Hence it is possible for a female to be diagnosed with PCOS without actually having cysts on their ovaries. The most common cause of PCOS, affecting around 70-80% of sufferers is insulin resistance. Obesity is an aggravating issue but not the primary cause of insulin resistance as non-obese PCOS women can also be insulin resistant. With PCOS the risk of developing diabetes in the next 20yrs is 40-60%, with also an elevated risk of miscarriage, reduced fertility, fatty liver and heart disease. So it is important that we are proactive early in managing this condition.
- Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) - with or without insulin resistance
- Osteoporosis / Osteopenia (men can also be effected),
- Acne
- Pre-pregnancy, during & post pregnancy
- Gestational Diabetes
- Waist line / Weight control
- Under weight
- Irritable bowel syndrome
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome known as PCOS (females) has become a fascination of mine in the last 15 years. It appears to be a reasonable common problem with 5 -10% of women suffering from the condition. It doesn't discriminate and includes young women, active girls/ women and athletes.
PCOS women can suffer a variety of symptoms and have a variety of different physical signs.
In the past PCOS was diagnosed as a female having two of the following three conditions:
1. Increased levels of testosterone, usually presenting with acne, excess body hair growth or accelerated loss of hair from the scalp.
2. Anovulation ie lack of regular ovulation resulting in irregular and often infrequent menstrual periods, in some women periods can be heavy prolonged and painful. However, some women who aren’t ovulating will still have regular periods, others will have more frequent periods than normal
3. Polycystic ovaries observed on ultrasound examination or at laparoscopy.
Hence it is possible for a female to be diagnosed with PCOS without actually having cysts on their ovaries. The most common cause of PCOS, affecting around 70-80% of sufferers is insulin resistance. Obesity is an aggravating issue but not the primary cause of insulin resistance as non-obese PCOS women can also be insulin resistant. With PCOS the risk of developing diabetes in the next 20yrs is 40-60%, with also an elevated risk of miscarriage, reduced fertility, fatty liver and heart disease. So it is important that we are proactive early in managing this condition.
