Explanation

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hello everyone, new to this site so bare with me ....

I have a 24 yr old daughter that has just been told she has PCOS.

She is an amazing young lady ! I could go on but I'm her Mum and that could come across as very bias lol.

So - she is sort of passing it off as not a big deal - and as much as I've tried to research it on the net etc, I find it all a bit confusing. She  is very maternal, works on a volunteer basis with children in need etc. 

So - is there someone out there that can explain PCOS in layman terms.

Many Thanks

Kay

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Posted

    Hello Kay

    I am 21 and was told at 18 I had pcos. I have very irregular periods. Once every three months but more recently they have been 5 months apart. My doctor told me, no period means no ovulation which means no baby. I don't know much about it myself to be fair, just what the doctor told me. Pcos doesn't mean you can't conceive just means it can be harder because there are cysts on her ovaries. I actually am proud to say I have a 2 year old son and found out I was pregnant a month after being told I have pcos. I am a little overweight and being a healthy size can really help things according to the doctors and what I've read. They told my sister she would never have kids due to endometriosis and pcos. She has 4 conceived naturally smile x

    • Posted

      Hi Chantel - thanks for your reply - thats great that you have (clearly) not too much of problem of having your son good for you. Yep her periods too irregular and constantly battles with the weight - though she would be slightly over. And yep like you it is a bit complicated to fully understand, but thanks at least i can share your positive outcome !!! Cheers Kay
  • Posted

    Hi there, like your daughter I also have PCOS and I was confused for a while about it. Basically it means you have an imbalance of hormones so people with pcos have too much of a male hormone which gives you symptoms like extra hair (face, stomach, chest etc), mood swings, problems with ovulating which means it could be difficult to get pregnant, heavy periods or a lack of periods and weight gain. Weight gain also makes the symptoms worse and can increase risks of diabetes and if you lose any extra weight it's meant to level out these symptoms and make them go away apparently. It also doesn't mean that you necesassarily have cysts on your ovaries this can happen though. It seems like a lot but it's quite manageable in most cases.

    Hope this helps you a bit smile if there's anything you don't understand or if there's anymore questions I'm happy to answer them.

    • Posted

      Hi Laura, thanks for your reply - I sort of knew some of what you shared (i laughed at the mood swings) - had a 'aha' moment !! The extra hair too though she is half Italian half kiwi - is not too much of a problem.  Yes her periods are irregular, and her weight does go up and down. Though I wouldnt consider her any more than a couple of kilos over what she should be. I know she has high cholestral. She has not followed up with any treatmens as such - is it treatable ? Also with the weight issue do you know is that due to pcos or not ? Im sort of thinking a couple of things as I know when the time comes and she wants children the realization that this may be difficult - reality may set in !! Should she possibly maybe get eggs frozen - do they treat pcos with some kind of hormone therapy ? Or is it more controlled by healthy lifestyle and thats it ?

      Thanks Laura

    • Posted

      Haha she can use it as an excuse now if she's ever moody aha :p. I've not had any doctor tell me that it's because of the pcos that I've gained weight but they have said it's harder to get it off, but if your hormones are all over the place then surely it must interfere with your weight. The treatment is the contraceptive pill to regulate periods and a healthy lifestyle is supposed to eliminate a lot of the symptoms. I'm on something called orlistat to help with weight loss because of other medication I take that makes me gain weight so that's something too although you're saying she's not that overweight so it probably won't be prescribed. The treatment for if she was planning on having children would probably be metformin or others to make her ovulate and obviously if that didn't work it would be IVF or sorts id imagine. I asked about getting my eggs frozen and they said to discuss it when I'm planning children. If you're in the UK then the answer will probably be the same. smile hope this answered your questions sorry my messages are so long aha
    • Posted

      Yep I tend to think the same with the hormomes and weight gain / flucuations. She is on the pill - in some women I think even that can cause a bit of exttra weight. I was listening to a talk back radio conversation about freezing eggs they were saying if you were expecting to have fertility problems the earlier the better - meaning I guess if you froze your eggs in your early 20's - if you didnt choose to use them until your late 30's - you have the benefit of your 20 year old eggs, if you get the drift. We are in Australia, so might look into that.Thanks Laura you been a great help x

      PS - Men get off way to easy lol

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