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Some of the most common questions about PCOS that women have, were answered in this recent Women's Web Facebook chat with Dr. Abhijit Bopardikar.
Some of the most common questions about PCOS that women have, were answered in this recent Women’s Web Facebook chat with Dr. Abhijit Bopardikar.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome commonly known as PCOS, is one of the most common hormonal endocrine disorders in women. It is also one of the leading cause of infertility among women today.
Globally, 5-10% of women face problems with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) at some time in their lives! In fact, a study done to observe the trend in PCOS cases in India revealed that a staggering 1 in 5 women, predominantly in the age group of 15 to 30 years, suffer from PCOS. The results also showed that Eastern India leads the chart with 1 in 4 women suffering from this hormonal disorder.
So why does this hormonal imbalance happen? What are the signs of PCOS? What can we do about it?
Dr. Abhijit Bopardikar, M.D in Pathology who has been working with Reelabs in the space of PCOS diagnosis and treatment for the last 5 years answered some of the most common questions associated with PCOS in one of our recent Facebook chat sessions.
Typical symptoms are obesity, acne, hirsutism, hair loss, breast pain, abnormal, painful periods, infertility, diabetes etc. It is caused due to male hormone secretion by the cysts.
Not all cystic diseases of ovaries is PCOS, in the same way not all cases of cysts in ovaries manifest with symptoms. Clinically it is considered PCOS only if multiple cysts in ovaries are accompanied by typical symptoms.
One cyst is not considered PCOS. ‘Polycystic’ means multiple cysts. Generally over 20 cysts of 4-7 mm and showing symptoms. Anything else is considered non-specific.
While pregnancy is often cited as a natural cure, there are many women who don’t want to have a child. In such cases, if there is already a PCOS diagnosed then pregnancy cannot be cited as the only cure!
DIET, DIET AND DIET along with exercise to keep your weight under check is the best treatment in case pregnancy isn’t an option. Nutritional and hormonal supplementation can also help immensely.
No, the solution is diet, exercise, nutraceutical supplementation and maybe hormonal supplementation. Surgery is considered only as the last resort (very rarely).
Low calorie, low fat, plenty of vitamins, minerals and trace elements, average protein. Patient should always check her BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and keep her diet proportional to the body requirement. Crash diet can be disastrous. Also the diet is generally customized by a dietitian depending on multiple factors and investigations. Weight control is paramount to control this problem.
Stay healthy , manage your weight and diet, especially if there is a positive family history.
Yes, especially if it improves FSH secretions.
Not at all. It can be easily managed by diet and exercise, pregnancy is generally considered as a natural cure. However, it should be kept in mind that pregnancy is considered a natural cure only at the time of having PCOD and it’s symptoms, not if you develop the symptoms or the condition after the delivery. Also ‘cure’ means free of the cysts and symptoms associated with it, it does not guarantee absence of recurrence.
Lastly Dr. Abhijit Bopardikar adds:
There is a stigma generally in case of sterility. Let us understand one thing that PCOS is a “condition” and NOT a disease. So it can be easily treated and the symptoms can be effortlessly controlled. If left untreated it can cause serious heath issues. Hence, it is imperative to look out for symptoms of this condition and treat is as soon as possible.
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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