PCOS presentation notes:
Do you experience …. Acne, hairfall, a little bit of facial hair, weight gain…this
come with puberty. Too much of this can be indicator of PCOS
PCOS is a menstrual disorder some of you may or may not have heard of.
Quite a hefty and scary word it is isn’t, but how much do we really know
about disorder?
Before I start of with a presentation on this topic why don’t we play a little
game. Seeing that PCOS is one of the most misunderstood conditions, guess
which fact here is a lie.
Indeed all other facts mentioned are true! Even though one third of females
have this condition most of them don’t even know they have this condition,
hence do not treat it.
Infact, the rate at which the amount of women having PCOS is increasing,
many gynaceologist I have met has termed it as an “epidemic”.
Many of you many not biology students, so let me break down this
complicated yet simple disorder with cartoons.
What is PCOS = polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOD, tomato-tomata. How I
would describe pcos is, PCOS: When your hormones throw a party, but forget
to invite balance.
What normally happens:
Ovaries (factories): Every month, your ovaries are supposed to
release one good egg.
Hormones (managers): Hormones act as managers, making sure this
process runs smoothly.
With PCOS:
PCOS (confused managers): The managers get confused and don’t
send the right signals. So instead of making one good egg, your
ovaries make lots of little eggs that never finish growing (tiny cysts).
Extra testosterone (extra workers): Sometimes, the managers
accidentally bring in extra "workers" (testosterone) that cause side
effects like acne, extra hair, and irregular periods and no ovulation.
But with help:
Treatment: With the right tools like lifestyle changes or medication,
you can help your ovaries get back on track and work better!
Testosterone isn’t the only antagonist in this situation though, there are
several others that work together to cause this condition. This condition
really does not have once cause; however, Having a family history
of PCOS may play a role in developing the condition.
Lets have a look at a cartoon image of what a ovary of a person with pcos
may look like.
Our dear eggs who didn’t get a spotlight due to pcos sulk in form of fluid
fill sacs or cysts which is one of the tells of pcos.
PCOS is like a hormonal mischief-maker, constantly keeping you on your toes
with its variety of symptoms.
Your periods? They’ve become unpredictable guests, showing up late or
sometimes not at all. I
t also gives your hair starts growing in places you'd rather not, while thinning
it where you'd love it to stay lush.
You may experience male -pattern baldness, You may grow excess facial hair
or experience heavy hair growth on your arms, chest and abdomen
(hirsutism).
This affects up to 70% of people with PCOS. Acne can also enter the equation
and continue beyong your teenage years : especially on your back, chest and
face.
And let’s not forget the uninvited weight gain, stubbornly hanging around
despite your best efforts making obesity an incredibly common symptom.
You may get patches of dark skin in the areas your sking meets like the
armpits, neck etc .
Hormone imbalances can also lead sleeplessness or fatigue even if you have
slept sufficiently. T
hese symptoms are typically ignored by many people, thinking it is just the
“hormones’ however its important not to normalize these symptoms and
confront his disorder considering there is no loss or pain getting testsed, just
benefit of knowing wether or wether not you have this disorder.
PCOS is a very manageable and non-existent condition at its intitial changes;
however, if we do not manage it, it can lead to some serious problems. Such
as interfitily, miscarriage,
Sleep apnea: a disorder that causes you to stop breathing while as. Your brain
tries to protect you by waking you up enough to breathe, but this prevents
restful, healthy sleep.
Patients with pcos 5 times more lilkely to devolp endometrial cancer. Chronic
unopposed estrogen exposure is probably the proximate risk factor.
This may be confounded by obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, which are
known correlates of endometrial cancer risk.
Everything is related in our body, so disbalance of hormones will eventually
lead to hay0wire metabolism.
Everything can be solved by just living healthy. Pcos is just a reminder to quite
burger and soda and have homemade, nutritious food.
Everything in PCOS, somehow ends up to form a confusing circle.
The fact is that insulin resistance In pcos cause weight gain and weight gain
causes additional symptoms worsening the pcos.
Weight loss of just 5% can lead to a significant improvement in PCOS. You can
find out whether you're a healthy weight by calculating your body mass index
(BMI), which is a measurement of your weight in relation to your height. A
normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9.
lright, think of your body like a school, and insulin is the hall monitor. The
job of the hall monitor is to help sugar (glucose) get into the classrooms
(your cells) where it’s used for energy. But in PCOS, the hall monitor isn’t
doing a good job, and the sugar gets stuck in the hallway. This is insulin
resistance.
To fix this, the school sends more hall monitors, but it just creates a traffic
jam, making things worse—leading to weight gain and other problems.
Losing a little weight is like helping the hall monitors get better at their job,
so the sugar gets to class easily, and the whole school runs smoothly again!
I like to think of PCOS as a reminder to stay healthy and live a long life,
hence you should take it.
In a positive motivational way too. However social media and pcos can
cause body image issues. The good news? Even though PCOS and depression
try to team up, you don’t have to face them alone.
With a combo of self-care, support, and the right treatment, you can get
them both under control and start feeling more like yourself again