PCOS Current mood: amused
I am giving ya'll a link to an article about PCOS. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20484317/

It is a decent read. I have PCOS. It is not a fun diagnosis. My testerone is really high, my lipids are high, my prolactin is high. For the non-meds here, testerone is the "male" hormone. It is produced by all women in their ovaires. For those of us with PCOS, we get tiny cysts on our ovaries that produce testerone in overdrive. As a result, I have oily skin, oily hair and I shed like crazy. My lipids are high so I have to watch my diet. I am also borderline insulin resistant. That means that my blood suger can swing all over the place if I don't eat and too much suger is bad for me. My prolactin is high. Prolactin is the hormone that a pregnant women produces during pregnancy and right before birth. It is the hormone that allows a women to produce milk to nurse. These are common issues with PCOS.

I am lucky that I get a period every month. Most PCOS'ers don't. But I have to work to maintain my weight. I take medication to control my blood suger.

PCOS is an important topic to me and I encourage every women to inform themselves. PCOS'ers are often times more likely to end up with heart disease. Heart disease is the number 1 killer for women. Another down side to PCOS is infertility. It saddends me to know that I may never have children of my own. Health insurance does not cover infertility treatments. These days IVF can run upwards $25,000 for one cycle. Its not a guarantee. Further for those of us who believe that God is in control and that doctors shouldn't play God, IVF is not even an option morally. Sad but true. Yes PCOS'ers can get pregnant "the old fashioned way" with the help of fertility drugs, again these drugs are not covered by insurance.

Food for thought. Any ladies that have young daughters should really educate their daughters about what is normal and what is not. It is not normal to have less then 8 periods a year. It is not normal to have hairy toes or hairy breasts. Skin tags in abundance on your neck? Not normal. Underarms that need to be shaved 2x's a day (like mine)? Yep, not normal either.

Is PCOS genetic? Probally. Studies have shown that premies are more likely then not to have PCOS.

Originally posted 8/29/07