While women with PCOS, in general, undergo anxiety and stress, there are a lot of misconceptions or myths about PCOS that can distress them more. Not to worry, this blog post is meant to clear the common myths about PCOS.
What is PCOS?
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) or Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) is an often-undiagnosed common hormonal condition caused by an imbalance of hormones in a woman’s body.
An average of 10 percent of women at their reproductive age experience imbalances with their menstrual cycle, dominating male hormone androgens, high levels of insulin, small cysts in the ovaries, which can confirm a diagnosis of PCOS.
1. Myth – “PCOS causes Infertility in women” or “women with PCOS cannot conceive”
This claim is totally incorrect. Women with PCOS may experience a delay in conceiving but they don’t completely fail to.This delay is due to hormonal changes that affect ovulation or due to issues related to the quality of eggs.
Contacting your fertility specialist can help the most here, who will assist you to get pregnant naturally or with some clinical assistance. Just believe, with the right amount of diagnosis, exercise, diet, sleep, water, you can overcome PCOS easily.
2. Myth –“Every Woman Grows Hair Where She Doesn’t Want It”
One common symptom of PCOS: hirsutism, which is abnormal hair growth in women. Because of excess androgens, women with PCOS can sprout unwanted hair on their upper lip, chin, or chest. But not every woman will have this symptom. “Ethnicity may predispose a patient to having excess hair,”
3. Myth – “If Your Menstrual Cycle Is Irregular, You Have PCOS”
There are so many causes of an irregular cycle, and PCOS is only one of them. A normal cycle is anywhere from 21 to 35 days. Outside of that, breastfeeding, extreme dieting or over exercising, pelvic inflammatory disease, uterine fibroids, and thyroid disorders are potential causes for a cycle that’s out of whack. Stress too can be a factor. The lesson: If your cycle is less than 22 days or greater than 34 days long, talk to your ob-gyn. Through an exam and by running additional tests as needed (like a blood test to look at thyroid levels), your doctor can identify the likely cause.
4. Myth –“If you’renotlooking to get Pregnant, You Don’t Have to Worry about PCOS”
PCOS doesn’t affect just a woman’s fertility; it can impact her long-term wellness for the rest of her life. It has been linked to type 2 diabetes (more than half of PCOS women have diabetes or prediabetes before age 40), high blood pressure (hypertension), poor cholesterol levels, sleep apnea, depression and anxiety, and endometrial cancer. Getting diagnosed and treated is critical for a woman’s health future.
5. Myth -“Only Overweight women get PCOS”
This is the most common misconception. While fertility specialists agree that overweight or obese women sometimes suffer from PCOS, they have not asserted that women with ideal weight or underweight do not experience PCOS.
Even women at an ideal weight can have PCOS or PCOD, which could be purely due to insulin resistance or androgen hormones.
6. Myth –“You’ll know for Sure if You Have PCOS”
With common symptoms like acne, mood problems, and irregular periods, it can be easy to chalk these up to other causes, like stress. That’s one reason why PCOS is often missed. “Between 50 and 70 percent of women with PCOS are undiagnosed.”
PCOS isn’t always symptomatic. “Some women don’t see it”. Not every doctor is well educated about the syndrome. If you’re experiencing these symptoms, it’s best to work with both an ob-gyn and endocrinologist to get to the root cause.
