Is anyone amazed at how many women have pcos? Supposedly 5 to 10% of women have symptoms, now that's a lot.

[RachelIVF]

[Saz_S]

PCOS is believed to be a mix of hormone imbalances and genetics. I think that it remains undetected until later life due to the fact that it mainly affects fertility in women. The syptoms are irregular periods, weight gain and dry or oily skin, so really its everything an adolecent has anyway. Drs don't tend to test for it until you have a problem concieving. I read somewhere it is an issue with too much insulin in the body, so i guess it could be to do with the world living on fast foods and foods with high sugar contents too, its like the rise of diabetes. Whatever it is quicker detection and treatmemt is needed in my opinion.

Saz x

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi. Often too, a woman suffering with the “syndrome” is overweight. Many of these women who manage to get within a normal BMI range again, often overcome the problem and get pregnant naturally – providing there are no other causes as well. All boils down to a little exercise a day and keeping your weight to within normal limits where possible. This is easier said than done when you have PCOS as a diagnosis, and you are already overweight, but perseverance often pays off. If you have a look at our website infertilitynetworkuk.com you will be able to access a factsheet on this problem, which explains it all in detail. Diane

[RachelIVF]

Thank you both for your answers.

I think it's quite an interesting subject and I'm wondering if my hypoglycaemia has anything to do with my pcos, although it's probably not the main cause. I actually heard a lot of gay women have pcos due to them being exposed to high levels of testosterone in the womb - I don't know if this is true tho, just something I heard.

Thanks for the link to the factsheet, I'll take a look at that

Regards,

Rachel.

[pumpkin1]

Hi I was told I had PCO but not the syndrome. I have never understood the difference. Im not overweight and I have regular periods. I put on weight easily around my tummy area and have been asked if Im pregnant on more than one occasion, which when you are struggling to get pregnant, isnt what you want to be asked.