Polycystic Ovarian Disease

Hello Everyone,

I am Dr. Prabhjot Manchanda, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynecologists, Jagruti Clinic Ghatkopar East, Mumbai and Cofounder of Blessed Beginnings.

In this era of sedentary lifestyle, we tend to put on weight which is difficult to shed. It was lead to irregular and scanty menses and we don’t really care about it do we? The typical ‘chalta hai’ attitude, but this not something ‘chalta hai’ ladies! Unwanted hair, weight gain, rregular scanty menses can alarming, alarming signs of PCOD. What is PCOD? PCOD is Polycystic Ovarian Disease. It is a common health problem of women of child bearing age. It effect 1 of 10 women of child bearing age. It is a state of hormonal imbalance, in which the male hormones in female body are more. Although females do produce a little bit of male hormones but in this particular case females produce male hormones more than they actually should produce and because of this increase in male hormones the ovaries, they function improperly. Ovaries are the organs that produce eggs as a part of a healthy normal cycle but in this particular condition her the ovaries fail to produce them or fails to release them. Thereby causing irregular scanty menses, and causing infertility and ovarian cysts. Who gets PCOD? 5 to 10 %of child bearing age can get PCOD and they really don’t even know about it. They come to know about it they have infertility and visit a doctor for that. Normally females are prone to get PCOD but obese females are having higher list of getting PCOD. What are the symptoms of PCOD? The symptoms of PCOD may include irregular scanty menses, unwanted hair o the parts where men should have, then weight gain that is difficult to shed, male pattern baldness, acne, hair loss, thinning of hair and darkness of skin particularly in the neck creases, axilla, underneath the breast and other areas and the skin becomes thick also. Of most of the symptoms are present then there is no need of getting test also. It is declared PCOD. What is the cause of PCOD? Cause of PCOD is still not known. It is said that genetics may play a role. So if a woman is having a female relative, like mother sister or any other female relative with PCOD, are at a higher risk. So they should be careful about it. Some people ask, can they still get pregnant if they have PCOD. The answer to this is yes, of course you can get pregnant if you have PCOD. A little weight loss with a help of diet, exercise and insulin sensitizers, they can actually help you getting pregnant. Do have risk of other problem if have PCOD? Yes you do. You can have high B.P, high cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus even uttering cancers, if you have PCOD. So, keep check on your weight and keep yourself updated about PCOD. How do you diagnose PCOD? There is no single test to diagnose PCOD. A spectrum of diagnosis… spectrum of tests are required. First of all a god clinical history elaborating irregular scanty menses, sometimes missed periods and examination including blood pressure, BMI, waist size examining ski for darkening and thickening of skin and also male pattern Baldness. They can actually help I diagnosis of PCOD. Also ultrasound stating a polycystic ovaries is required. And various blood tests to know about the levels of androgens i.e. the male hormones know about the level of cholesterol sugars and thyroid levels are required to diagnose PCOD. How do you treat PCOD? The first and foremost treatment for PCOD is weight loss, diet, exercises and insulin sensitizer medicines are helpful in reducing the weight. But after all the treatment is symptomatic. If you are bothered irregular menses or missed periods the treatment will be directed towards making your periods regularized and if you’re having infertility then the treatment will be infertility treatment. It will help you in getting pregnant. Hoe does PCOD effect your pregnancy? PCOD can affect your pregnancy in many ways. It can lead to abortion, miscarriages, gestational diabetes mellitus, and preeclampsia and also increased rate of C-sections.it can increase the weight if the baby inside the womb and making it macrocosmic and your chances of getting caesarean section. When you deliver the baby can get diabetes and also obesity so ladies keep a check on your weight and keep yourself updated about PCOD.