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What is PCOS?
Many girls do not get their periods all their lives. Talking about the medical terms, we call the condition as amenorrhea. This ultimately leads to infertility, and of course, the shame of something she is not responsible for. Even in recent times when medical science is developing every day, people do think twice before going for artificial fertilization. There can be many reasons behind the infertility of a woman. One such reason is PCOS. PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
It affects 6 to 12% (as many as 5 million) of US women who are in their reproductive age. It refers to the condition when the ovaries start to form cysts all over, impacting their functioning significantly. According to the explanation of the female reproductive system, ovaries are the production house of reproductive eggs. They are responsible for the transportation of ova (the reproductive eggs) in the fallopian tube. There, they meet the male reproductive sperms and initiate the process of reproduction.
If one or both of the ovaries start forming cysts, they fail to perform their function, leading to infertility.
Root Cause of PCOS
The doctors cannot explain the specific condition responsible for PCOS. Early diagnosis, personal care, treatment, and weight loss may decrease the risk of long-term complications such as type 2 diabetes, cardiac vascular diseases, and other heart diseases. PCOS, one of the most common hormonal disorders found in women, leads to various complications like infertility, unwanted and uncontrollable weight gain, acne, hair loss, mood swings, and irregular periods. PCOS not only puts an impact on these externally visible factors, but also certain psychic factors like decreased breast size, low-sex drive, fatigue, and almost dead will to masturbate are also noticed in females with PCOS.
Yes, there are specific treatments available, so you need not panic about the condition. But the foremost thing that you must consider is lifestyle changes and shifting yourself to the organic mode. By organic, we mean that you must move forward with the things that facilitate your PCOS treatment. It includes things like a healthy diet, yoga, and meditation.
Research says that personal care and hygiene always bring better results when the cause of infertility is PCOS. Studies show that losing weight by going organic in food habits can facilitate your treatment to a great extent. Significant differences have been cited in the recovery of people who start taking a healthy diet and the ones who do not.
Types Of PCOS
Depending upon the symptoms of PCOS, you can classify the syndrome into four different types:
- Insulin-resistant PCOS
- Pill-induced PCOS
- Inflammatory PCOS
- Adrenal PCOS
There are medical tests available to help you diagnose your type of PCOS so that you can get the best treatment for it. Read ahead for detailed information on all the different types of PCOS.
Insulin-Resistant PCOS
Insulin is the hormone released by the body when we eat something. It is responsible for bringing the blood sugar levels to the optimum standards as per the body’s requirement. Being insulin resistant refers to the situation when your body fails to utilize the insulin present in it. So it keeps on manufacturing but is not being used.
Insulin-Resistant PCOS refers to the situation when the body fails to handle the high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) and insulin together. It has been proven that people with insulin resistance are less efficient in their activities than those who optimize their insulin level as per the need of the body. Insulin resistance is one of the most common causes of PCOS. Talking specifically about women with PCOS, almost 30 to 40% of such patients suffer from problems related to their insulin levels. It is one of the critical features of both lean and obese fat in PCOS patients. Insulin-resistant PCOS also causes higher levels of androgens, which indirectly stops the transportation of reproductive eggs into the fallopian tube. This is why the eggs fail to contact male sperm for the formation of a baby. This mechanism makes PCOS the leading cause of infertility.
Other Diseases That Rise Due To Insulin Resistant PCOS
One must not forget the fact that one thing leads to the other. Similarly, many conditions come along with insulin-resistant PCOS. High insulin levels are also responsible for making women overweight to an unusual extent. This also invites various serious diseases, like:
Diabetes
As we all know that insulin resistance also accelerates the severity of diabetes, people with PCOS are more prone to develop the disease. This makes them lose control of their blood sugar levels, and they end up getting the worst consequences of Diabetes. The only possible method to prevent yourself from insulin resistance is to optimize the diet according to the body’s requirements.
Gestational diabetes
When there is a dysfunction in the formation and regulation of insulin in the body, it results in harmful acidic substances. This leads to gestational diabetes, which is yet another severe disease that a woman can develop when she is pregnant. Our body is never prepared to deal with more than one disease at the same time. The only way out is to eradicate the food items that may cause such problems.
Heart diseases
The heart is one of the most important organs that regulate the whole functioning of the body. When the body develops PCOS, there are chances that it develops certain heart diseases that are incurable and resistant. Some of them are autoimmune. They attack the patient’s immunity directly so that there is no scope of recovery. This increases the chances of fatality.
High Blood Pressure
The direct target of high blood pressure (hypertension) is the heart. The other marks of high blood pressure are the kidneys and brain. There are medicines available in the market that can help you optimize your blood pressure according to the situation. You can try them out but make sure that you take them only after the prescription of an expert or a doctor.
Sleep apnea
It is also one of the significant complexities that come along with insulin-resistant PCOS. This is a disorder in which the person loses the ability to breathe while sleeping. It increases the risk of heart diseases and type 2 diabetes.
There can be many things that you can use to control insulin-resistant PCOS. After consulting a doctor about the treatment, you can take inositol as your medication to cure the disease. You can also take metformin if your doctor prescribes it.
This is everything that you need to know about insulin-resistant PCOS.
Pill Induced PCOS or Post Pill PCOS
At some or other point of time in life, we take birth control pills to avoid unwanted pregnancy. As a consequence, we may suffer from disturbances in our menstrual cycle. As soon as we stop taking birth control pills, we get back to our average period. So if you are wondering about the cause of Pill-induced PCOS, then here is what you need to know.
If you find that your menstrual cycle is still facing some problems, there is a chance that there is a formation of androgens. This type of PCOS is temporary. It can be treated with the help of good nutrition and physical exercise. To diagnose pill-induced PCOS, you can go for the basic androgen level test along with the other PCOS tests.
Since we have mentioned earlier that this type of PCOS is temporary and can be treated easily, there is nothing as such that you need to avoid in the recovery phase. However, if you find any signs of hormonal imbalances, you must treat them as early as possible.
More About Pill-Induced PCOS
Moving to another recovery site or treatment, you can facilitate your recovery by adding certain things like Zinc, Peony, Licorice, and other multivitamins to your diet. You must avoid junk food and more straightforward carbohydrates that may contain harmful substances, like gluten and fats. The presence of such harmful nutrients may impact the recovery rate adversely.
Another thing that you can try is to go on intermittent fasting, which means that you will not eat anything for the next 12 to 14 hours so that the body gets enough time to utilize the fats that are already stored in the body.
If you talk about the personal care things you can do to facilitate your PCOS recovery, if you suffer from pill-induced PCOS, then there is no restriction on the exercises or workout activities you want to try. To have the best results from these exercises and workout sessions, you must see that you devote at least 150 minutes in a week to these exercises.
You must not take it lightly just because it is a temporary kind of PCOS and will not harm you much. If you are diagnosed with it, it is your sheer responsibility to take care of yourself and get rid of it soon. You must not take it lightly just because it is a temporary kind of PCOS and will not harm you much. If you are diagnosed with it, it is your sheer responsibility to take care of yourself and get rid of it soon.
This is everything that you need to know about pill-induced PCOS.
Inflammatory PCOS
First of all, we need to understand what inflammation is. Inflammation is the body’s response towards something which was not expected to come. We experience two types of inflammations; one is acute inflammation another is chronic inflammation.
Acute inflammation refers to the wounds we get when we hurt ourselves. This can happen in a road accident, maybe falling from a bicycle. It pulls on the exterior body and heals with time. It has nothing to do with the immunity of the body and heals with the help of medicines.
Chronic inflammation is internal and happens due to certain unwanted substances in the body. It directly attacks the immune system, making the body unable to function correctly. It usually ends up causing a significant loss to the body. PCOS is also an example of chronic inflammation in the ovaries in the female body.
More about Inflammatory PCOS
If you do not show up with any signs of insulin-resistant PCOS or pill-induced PCOS, you must go for the diagnosis of inflammatory PCOS. Inflammatory PCOS obstructs the ovulation cycle and stimulates adrenal androgens in the body. It can be caused due to stress, toxins present in the environment, and food items that contain an excessive amount of gluten. It is essential to diagnose it in the most initial phase.
The most efficient test to diagnose inflammation in the ovaries is C-reactive Protein, which is also called CPR, levels of Vitamin D, Thyroid antibodies, Blood count, and gluten antibodies. Other signs of inflammatory PCOS are irritable bile, syndrome, fatigue, headache, and joint pain. To prevent yourself from the complexities of inflammatory PCOS, the first thing that you can do is to establish a diet free of gluten. Other things that you need to avoid are trans fats, junk food, sugar, simple carbs, and other harmful food items.
How To Treat Inflammatory PCOS
If you want to treat inflammatory PCOS, you need to shift yourself to a healthy diet that must include berries, green tea, avocado, pineapple, turmeric, coconut oil, ginger, jowar, ragi, bajra, and coconut milk. Always be careful about the market-based products, as you are never sure about the nutrition content in them. You must also go for nutritional supplements, like Zinc, Omega-3, and Magnesium.
Intermittent fasting is also one of the best methods to take control of the inflammation in the ovaries. The best time to continue fasting is 12-16 hours, following it more than the given time may have adverse effects. You can also practice certain physical exercises, like running, strengthening, and stretching. A big NO to weight lifting, and High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), as it can put an adverse impact on the muscles. This is all about Inflammatory PCOS.
Adrenal PCOS
If your symptoms do not match with any other type of PCOS, then you are most likely to have Adrenal PCOS. 10% of women across the world suffer from this type of PCOS. Talking about the leading cause of Adrenal PCOS, it is stress. When you are stressed with heavy loads of work and other problems in life, then there are chances that there is an elevation in the cortisol levels that causes high DHEAS.
Another cause is the elevated androgen levels in the patient. They start showing the characteristics of males. There are situations when you may not know but you suffer from heavy stress at times. It is very important to get it diagnosed as soon as possible. Three blood tests that can help you diagnose the inflammatory PCOS in the least time are Androgen levels, DHEA, and testosterone.
More About Adrenal PCOS
Other signs of Adrenal PCOS include extreme stress, anxiety, depression, low energy levels, fatigue, and insomnia. To prevent yourself from the complexities, you must be aware of some treatment ideas to follow. You must give yourself enough supplements like magnesium and Vitamin B5. You can also add food items to your diet like chamomile tea, nuts like almonds, walnuts, and pistachio, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and chocolates.
Like all the other types of PCOS, exercise plays a vital role in facilitating the medical treatment that you are taking. You can start practicing exercises like Yoga, pranayam, mindful yoga, or even simple walking. Doing any other difficult exercises can accelerate the severity of PCOS. You must wait till your stress levels come back down to normal. When your stress levels are high, then you must avoid intermittent fasting.
A Word From Mantra Care
This is everything that you need to know about PCOS and its different types. The syndrome is one of the leading issues that women across the world suffer from. Unfortunately, there is no permanent remedy that ensures fertility and a healthy lifestyle for them. All you can do is watch your activities and diet along with the regulation of physical exercise. This will help you prevent yourself from the worst consequences of the syndrome.
Contact Mantra Care for assistance on PCOS-related problems and their solutions. Their team of experts will be more than happy to help you develop a personalized Women Wellness Program, Online PCOS program that addresses your specific needs.
