Introduction to PCOD
PCOD is Polycystic Ovarian Disease and it is also known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which affects the hormone levels of a woman. Women with PCOD produce a high number of male hormones. It enlarges the ovaries with small cysts at the outer edges. This hormonal imbalance can cause a woman to skip their menstrual periods and makes it harder for women to get pregnant. PCOD also causes baldness and hair growth on your face and body. It can lead you to long term diseases like diabetes and heart diseases.
Leading Symptoms of PCOD
Some women see the symptoms of PCOD during the time of their first period, while others figure it out when they put on some extra weight or they have hard times in getting pregnant.
Following are the leading symptoms of PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disease):
- Irregular periods – A lesser number of ovulations prevent your uterine lining from shedding every month. Some women with PCOD have a lower number of periods (Less than 8 periods in a year).
- Heavy bleeding – The uterine lining in your body is a build-up for a longer period of time, so the periods you have can be heavier than normal.
- Extra weight gain – There are about 80% of women with PCOD are obese or over-weight.
- Male pattern baldness – The hairs on your scalp start becoming thinner and fall out.
- Acne – Male hormones make your skin more oily than usual and can appear as acne on your face, chest, and upper back.
- Hair growth – Over 70% of women with PCOD have access growth of hairs on their face and body which includes their chest, back, and belly. This condition of access growth of hairs is known as hirsutism.
- Skin darkening – Your skin starts getting dark patches on the folding areas i.e. neck, under the breasts, and in the groin area.
- Headaches – Some women experience headaches due to hormone changes.
Leading Causes of PCOD
Doctors are yet the figure out the exact reason what causes PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disease), but doctors believe that a large number of male hormones prevent ovaries from producing hormones and making normal eggs. Your genes, inflammation, and insulin resistance have always been linked to the production of excess androgen production.
- Genes – The studies reveal that PCOD runs in families. This condition is not just caused by one gene but many.
- Inflammation – Women dealing with PCOD time and again have increased levels of inflammation in their bodies. Your overweight is also a contributor to inflammation. Studies show that higher androgen level leads to excess inflammation.
Insulin resistance – There are about 70% of women with PCOD have insulin resistance, which means their body cells cannot use insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas to help your body use sugar from foods for energy. When your body cells are unable to absorb the insulin properly then there is an increased demand for insulin in your body. Your pancreas starts producing more insulin to compensate and this extra insulin makes your ovaries produce more male hormones. Obesity majorly contributes to insulin resistance. Both obesity and insulin resistance can expose you to the risk of a type of diabetes.
PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disease) can be treated with the changes in your lifestyle like exercise, weight loss, and diet. Aside to this, birth control pills and other medicines can help you to regulate the menstrual cycle and treat other symptoms of PCOD such as acne and hair growth.
