Fertility and PCOS: Navigating Challenges and Treatment Options.

Fertility and PCOS: Navigating Challenges and Treatment Options.

Motherhood is a gift for many women and a dream for many. Many women who thrive for motherhood face difficulty in conceiving due to a lot of health challenges which lead to infertility in women. PCOS is one among them. Millions of women around the world get diagnosed with PCOS every year around the world. But with a little awareness and lifestyle change we can manage PCOS easily. In this Blog we will navigate you through the intricate relationship between PCOS and women fertility, discuss the challenges faced by women and some treatment options.

Knowing PCOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome or popularly known as PCOS is a complex hormonal disorder impacting millions of women of reproductive age worldwide. PCOS is one of the main causes of infertility in women. As the name says, PCOS directly affects the ovary in women. In case of PCOS ovary tend to produce an excessive amount of androgen hormone, creating a hormonal misbalance in female body due to which a women has to face many challenges.

PCOS Symptoms

  • Abnormal Periods: Having PCOS affects your monthly menstrual cycle, which may result in missing periods or having no periods at all. It may also involve heavy bleeding during periods or extreme pain during menstruation.
  • Abnormal Hair Growth: 70% of women with PCOS grow excessive hair on face, chest, arms and abdomen.
  • Pimple and Acnes: PCOS can results in growing acne and pimples on the face, back and chest. They are mostly hard to treat.
  • Darkening of The Skin: getting dark patches on the fold of your neck, arm, between your legs and under your breasts are common symptoms of PCOS.
  • Obesity: Obesity comes hand in hand with PCOS. For many women in case of obesity they also gain an excess amount of weight.
  • Cysts: Many women with PCOS have larger ovaries or ovaries with cysts which can only be seen on ultrasound.
  • Bald patches: Most of the women with PCOS also experience excessive hair loss which can lead to bald patches.
  • Infertility: PCOS is the main cause for infertility. Not ovulating for a longer time can make it hard for you to conceive naturally.

These are some of the symptoms that are faced by the women having PCOS.

Causes

  • Hormonal Misbalance: During PCOS ovaries produce an excessive amount of male hormone known as androgen. Which causes abnormal menstrual cycle and irregular ovulation. It also causes excessive hair growth on face, arms and between legs and acne.
  • Increase In The Insulin Level: A constant increase in the insulin level can stimulate the ovaries to form excess amount of male hormone called androgen, which contributes to cause PCOS and other related issues.
  • Low-grade inflammation: Women with PCOS will have low-grade inflammation.
  • Hereditary: If you have a family history of PCOS you might also develop this condition.

Effects Of Pcos On Women Fertility

The relationship between PCOS and female fertility is very intricate. PCOS is one of main hurdle in the path of a women’s journey to motherhood. PCOS is a chronic hormonal disorder which directly affects the ovaries of a woman. Any women with PCOS face difficulty in conceiving as the their ovaries tend to produce excess amount of male hormone known as androgen, creating a hormonal misbalance in the body, resulting in irregular ovulation (release of eggs from ovary for fertilization) or no ovulation. PCOS not only affects women fertility but it also causes a women to go through a lot of emotional and mental stress.

Diagnoses

Early diagnoses of PCOS may help you in treating it easily. PCOS diagnoses include these procedures.

  • Physical Exam: In this the heath expert may ask you about your medical history and symptoms and will conduct a physical exam including pelvic exam to check on the health of your reproductive organs, both inside and outside of your body.
  • Ultrasound: This test is conducted to check the size of the ovaries and if they have any cysts. It also helps to check up on the thickness of the lining of the uterus.
  • Blood Test: Blood tests are conducted to check the hormonal level in the blood and may also check the insulin, cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Treatment options for PCOS

PCOS can be problematic and cause a lot of damage if not diagnosed and get treated on time but PCOS can be managed and cure easily by following these few steps.

  • Change in Lifestyle: Doing regular exercise and adapting a healthy diet including more vitamins, minerals, proteins and less carbs can help you to maintain a healthy weight and also help reducing symptoms of PCOS and helps to regularize period cycle and ovulation.
  • Medication: Fertility medicines for PCOS like clomiphene citrate or letrozole are commonly prescribed medications to stimulate ovulation and regulate periods. Another medicine which is used in PCOS fertility treatment is metformin which is often used to treat type 2 diabetes; it improves insulin sensitivity and regularizes periods in women with PCOS. It can also help in improving female fertility.
  • Assistive Reproductive Technologies (ART): For women with PCOS who finds it difficult to conceive naturally are often suggested to use ART such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI). In IVF fertilisation between and egg and sperm are done in the lab in a test tube, after fertilisation the zygote is transferred to the uterus of the female. While IUI is a process in which sperm is directly inserted to the uterus at the time of ovulation.
  • Ovarian Drilling: Ovarian drilling is a surgical method restricted to those women who have not responded to any other PCOS fertility treatments. This minimally invasive surgical method is used to reduce androgen level and promote ovulation.
  • Ayurvedic Approach: Ayurveda is another way to treat PCOS without any pain and surgery. Ayuvera is the medicinal practice which uses botanical herbs to treat chronic diseases from roots. Ayurvedic medicine for PCOS and ayuvedic medicine for PCOD which contains ingredients like damasa patti, siras beej, kachnar, shilajit, vijaysar and gudmar can help in PCOS fertility treatment.

Conclusion

PCOS is the main reason behind the shattered dreams of motherhood for many women, that is the reason timely diagnoses and treatment of PCOS is a must. Unlike popular belief PCOS can be managed and treated easily by following above mentioned treatment options. Such as change in lifestyle, PCOS capsules, IVF, IUI, Ayurvedic medicine for PCOS or Ayurvedic medicine for PCOD and surgery. But be careful, before taking any medicines consult with a healthcare specialist.