Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Supposedly, 10% of young girls are prone to this, and need treatment. My own D was found to have hormonal imbalances and put on Yasmin pills, but I worry about the side effects of this. There are risks to not taking the pills, some of which are cysts which can lead to infertility, hirsuteness, Type II diabetes, and heart disease. </p>

<p>I don’t really understand whether we really have a choice here with taking the pill, but she is not happy with this turning out to be a possible permanent “solution”.</p>

<p>Anyone else with daughters, nieces, friends had to deal with this?</p>

2

<p>I’ve never heard of it. How did you find out your D had it? What are the symptoms? 10% is a lot of girls.</p>

3

<p>Ive had ovarian cysts- horrible things-one got to the size of a grapefruit and caused all kinds of problems before it was diagnosed.</p>

<p>I don’t know a lot about current treatments- but I would mention that nothing is ever permanent. ITs possible that the medication will just be needed for a short time. However the lower dose pills may not be as effective either.</p>

<p>[I had a hystosalpingogram to get rid of mine](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=337197&page=3”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=337197&page=3&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

4

<p>Mstee, there are several symptoms that could indicate PCOS, including weight gain around the hips, facial or belly hair, irregular periods etc., which would lead to blood tests for estrogen, progesterone, and male androgens.</p>

5

<p>To the OP:
I didn’t have PCOS, but I’ve had, & still have, other varieties of debilitating cysts, some of which mimicked episodic appendicitis emergencies, & for a prolonged number of years. Like EK’s, sometimes mine were huge. The tendency runs across several generations in my family. </p>

<p>What I do know is that, while many kinds of cysts can affect fertility, PCOS leads in that regard, due to, as you mentioned, the evidence of hormonal imbalance. I’m never casual about meds, & about The Pill specifically, but I would probably rather have my D live with meds than live with many other effects of PCOS.</p>

<p>How many Second Opinions have you sought out, & how much supplementary reading have you done? It’s interesting: what got me into becoming highly medically educated (in general) was in fact my ovarian cysts. It turns out I ended up “educating” my otherwise extremely competent OB-GYN on the issue. (He had limited knowledge of the many varieties of cysts & cyst symptoms, & needed ultrasound verification once, which proved me right!) It turned out that nothing could really be “done” for me, & childbearing significantly diminished their frequency (probably because correct hormonal balances were restored!).</p>

<p>I would just keep extremely current about the issue, & definitely seek new Ob-Gyn’s when you need to. New treatments & new corrections in the area of hormonal proportions are being discovered everyday. I avoided the hysterosalpinogram phase, luckily, but I’m aware of what EK mentions. Just think about how not too long ago, hysterectomies were so often the treatment of choice for things like endometriosis, cysts, & a whole variety of gynecological ailments. We’ve come a long way from that, & continue to, so it’s important for consumers to take charge of their own medical education. :)</p>

<p>And in that regard ^, I would also encourage you to suggest that your D keep a journal of any non-visible symptoms. The notes & regular tracking I did helped my Ob-Gyn tremendously. And self-reported symptoms often justify objective medical tests, depending on the listening skills of the M.D. :slight_smile: This is also helpful in conjunction with a medication routine.</p>

6

<p>YES to a second opinion before she takes pill one! Make sure it’s an appropriate specialist.</p>

7

<p>Check out: <a href=“http://www.pcostrategies.org/[/url]”>http://www.pcostrategies.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>Second opinions with appropriate specialists in good hospitals = Better information, more choices</p>

9

<p>A nasty side effect of Yasmin–because it uses a different form of progesterone–is a gradual reduction of the sex drive. You may find this a good side effect; I didn’t. </p>

<p>The stats I’ve seen over the years is 4-6% for PCOS; my feeling is that’s probably high.</p>

10

<p>My spouse is an endocrinologist who sees PCOS often. It is a “syndrome” – so the diagnosis is based primarily on a group of common symptoms. There is no single specific blood test for PCOS. The appropriate therapy depends upon which symptoms concerns the patient the most. I would advise that you have your D see an endocrinologist. You can also go to the Endocrine Society website for lay friendly material on PCOS. Specifically, check out their Hormone Foundation site <a href=“http://www.hormone.org%5B/url%5D”>www.hormone.org</a>. Hope this helps…</p>

11

<p>Endocrinologists treat PCOS very differently than OB-GYNs do. Herein lies my issue. There are no irregularities with periods, and in reality none of the symptoms is a bother at all. I think we may consult with an Endoc. for a change, and then she may just go off the Yasmin for a few months to see how it affects her. The only thing is that she is going to be oit of the country from August 25-Dec.22, so she should probably stop the pill right away to make sure that potential problems are ironed out before she leaves.</p>

12

<p>dmd77-

Can I slip it in my husband’s coffee? :D</p>

<p>Seriously, I had a dermoid cyst when I was in grad school, and they found some small ovarian cysts when they removed the dermoid. So, all cysts were removed at one time. I believe they described it as taking a small pie-shaped wedge out of one of the ovaries. Didnt have any fertility problems, thank heavens. The boys are just fine :slight_smile: Also, with the newer laparoscopic procedures, surgery can now oftentimes be done on an outpatient basis, with a quick recovery time. Less need for big incisions (and big scar) with multiple day hospital stays.</p>

13

<p>Doctors now understand polycystic ovaries to be a symptom not the cause of PCOS. It’s a metabolic problem that commonly but not always results in polycystic ovaries. </p>

<p>I think it’s also possible to have polycystic ovaries without having the syndrome, but I’m less sure about that. The first I’m clear on, because I remember when the change was made to the diagnostic criteria.</p>