Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 18, 2022 News
==Health Facts==
By Rehanna Ramsay
Kaieteur News – Even though Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a fairly common condition among women, it is often misdiagnosed. Women may experience PCOS symptoms for years before discovering what’s causing their problems.
These symptoms include difficulty conceiving, prolonged menstrual bleeding, missed menstrual cycles, excess body weight problems, and abnormal hair growth in places like the face which is mostly due to a hormone imbalance in the body.
With PCOS, at least 12 tiny cysts (follicles) develop in your ovaries (polycystic means many cysts.) The balance of hormones that you make in the ovaries is altered. In particular, the ovaries make more than normal of the male hormone testosterone. They do not ovulate each month and for some women, they do not ovulate at all.
In PCOS, although the ovaries usually have many follicles, they do not develop fully and so ovulation often does not occur. If you do not ovulate then you may not have a period. However, though these symptoms occur in women with PCOS, having them does not necessarily mean a person with these symptoms has that condition.
Given that this month is set aside as PCOS awareness month where medical professionals and other stakeholders shed light on the issue, this newspaper will attempt to start a conversation that affects at least one in 10 women globally.
It must be noted that PCOS falls in the category of a condition and is not a disease since medical scientists have been unable to determine the actual cause of the syndromic disorder. As the disorder or condition is treated based on symptoms exhibited.
Through its sister entity, Kaieteur Radio, this publication facilitated a discussion on the matter during the weekly broadcast of the ‘Your Health Matters’ show, with Endocrinologist, Dr. Caleb McCloggan as well as Ms. Kimberley Manbodh of the PCOS support group, ‘Cysterhood Support’. Dr. McCloggan, a specialist in the area of treating problems with the hormonal and glands, spoke of how often the condition is misdiagnosed and as a result mistreated among women. During the discussion, he explained that the symptoms of PCOS often mimic other conditions affecting women.
Dr. McCloggan noted that “Because PCOS mirrors a lot of other disorders, a PCOS diagnosis is not exclusive to certain syndromes, so having cysts on your ovaries doesn’t necessarily mean you have PCOS, having an irregular menstrual cycle doesn’t necessarily mean you have PCOS…”
He added, “We have to exclude other endocrine causes that mirror the condition before we say a patient has PCOS. This means we have to exclude conditions such as Cushing’s disease, hyperthyroidism, exogenous obesity, congenital adrenal hyperplasia…and so many others that when we rule them out via blood testing we may find a 98 percent chance that person has PCOS…”
Dr. McCloggan noted that ever so often women come to his clinic seeking help for PCOS because they discovered cysts on their ovaries.
He added,“We find so many women that come to us because they went to a sonologist, they did an ultrasound and they were told that they have PCOS. No! It is not that straight forward there are so many other issues that mimic PCOS.”
Dr. McCloggan warned too that misdiagnosis of the condition can lead to the wrong treatment which may worsen the patient’s health and lead to further medical complications.
Left untreated or managed incorrectly, PCOS can lead to patients developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, infertility, and endometrial cancer.
As such, the doctor advises adequate testing and evaluation before a PCOS diagnosis is made.
Once adequately diagnosed, Dr. McCloggan said that each patient must have an individual treatment regimen prescribed by a specialist.
He said, “many women have a fear of not being able to conceive because of PCOS and that is not necessarily true, many patients with PCOS are able to conceive and have children. Patients with PCOS have difficulty conceiving and once their condition is treated and managed correctly with the correct medication, diet and exercise, they can minimise these issues.”
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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