To diagnose PCOS, an endocrinologist, a doctor who specializes in hormonal disorders, conducts a physical exam. He or she checks you for increased body and facial hair, thinning scalp hair, acne, and other symptoms of increased androgen levels. The doctor also asks about your medical history, including the regularity of your menstrual cycle. Your doctor may check your blood for levels of androgens, including testosterone, which tends to be higher in women with PCOS.
He or she may also test your insulin levels, which are usually elevated in women with the condition. The doctor may also measure levels of the hormones involved in ovulation, such as luteinizing hormone LH , follicle-stimulating hormone FSH , and progesterone.
These tests can indicate whether you are ovulating. Your doctor may also test your blood to rule out conditions that mimic PCOS, as well as tumors of the ovaries or adrenal glands. A blood test can also reveal whether you have high cholesterol and high blood sugar.
Your doctor may recommend a pelvic ultrasound—a test that uses sound waves to create images of the uterus and the ovaries on a computer monitor—to look for ovarian cysts. However, this test might not show ovarian cysts in women with PCOS who are taking birth control pills. They use sound waves to create pictures of parts of the body on a TV screen. These include having lots of follicles at the edge of your ovaries that may look bigger than usual polycystic ovaries.
The follicles are fluid-filled sacs in which eggs develop. Not everyone with polycystic ovaries on the ultrasound scan has PCOS. Up to a third of young women will have polycystic ovaries on an ultrasound scan. But their periods and hormone levels are normal meaning they do not have PCOS. Read more about polycystic ovaries. Only 2 of these need to be present to diagnose PCOS. You may not need to have an ultrasound scan. Irregular periods are when the length of your menstrual cycles keeps changing.
Jones MR, et al. Genetic determinants of polycystic ovary syndrome: Progress and future directions. Fertility and Sterility. Lobo RA, et al. Anatomic defects of the abdominal wall and pelvic floor: Abdominal hernias, inguinal hernias, and pelvic organ prolapse: Diagnosis and management.
Warner KJ. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic. George JT, et al. Neurokinin B receptor antagonism in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Chang AY, et al. Clinical Endocrinology. Javed A, et al. Fasting glucose changes in adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome compared to obese controls: A retrospective cohort study. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. It's important to get those symptoms caused by male hormones under control because even though they're cosmetic, they can impact your quality of life. That may mean prescribing hormonal birth control if you're not trying to start a family.
JC: At all stages of PCOS, we worry about possible future development of heart disease, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and stroke, along with type 2 diabetes. I want to help my patients maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating well and getting recommended levels of exercise, like we talked about before.
This helps reduce risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes in the future. When you've finished menopause , estrogen and testosterone hormones come down naturally, and then PCOS symptoms can improve. A reproductive endocrinologist can help. Skip to content. Jessica Chan. You need to meet 2 of these 3 "official" criteria to be diagnosed:. Irregular, heavy, or missed periods due to missed ovulation—the release of an egg from your ovaries. This also keeps you from becoming pregnant.
Signs of higher-than-normal levels of androgens—male hormones that women also have.
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