Oct 15

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

    Medscape posted an interesting article here regarding the diagnosis and re-naming of a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) that affects 5 million women in the USA.

    At my downtown Toronto clinic, many patients come to see me for fertility support, and of these patients, there are a number of women who have PCOS but didn’t realize it.  Pinpointing the cause of the symptoms is one of the things that NDs aim for, and knowing that PCOS is one of the root causes of a patient’s fertility issues helps direct the Naturopathic treatment options when it comes to working together to improve her chances of getting pregnant.

    Symptoms of PCOS

    The most common symptoms of PCOS are:

    • Weight gain
    • Acne
    • Thinning scalp hair, hirsutism (male-patterned hair growth in women)
    • Amenorrhea (no menstrual period) or oligomenorrhea (infrequent and unpredictable menstrual period)
    • Infertility
    • Ovarian cysts
    • Increased risk for insulin resistance

    It is also well-documented that obesity exacerbates symptoms.

    Most Important Conditions Related to PCOS

    The authors of the article propose that the two of three of the following conditions be included in the diagnosing criteria:

    1. Androgen excess
    2. Ovulatory dysfunction
    3. Polycystic ovaries

    The Take-Away Message

    Get to the root cause of the problem in order to work forwards towards your fertility goals.  Sometimes there is a very good reason why you aren’t able to get pregnant, and knowing that will help you and your ND/MD be able to support you better during your fertility journey.

     

    If you’d like to sit down with me to discuss how I can help create a customized treatment plan for you during your fertility journey, CONTACT ME HERE to set up a complimentary 15 min discovery call/meeting and we can get started.

    What’s a discovery call/meeting?  It’s where we get to know each other better to ensure that I’m the right practitioner for you and that you have the opportunity to ask your questions about Naturopathic Medicine before we move forward with an initial Naturopathic consultation.

     

    Here are a few more posts on fertility that you might also be interested in:

    And if you’re interested in reading about my personal struggles with my own fertility journey:

     

     

     

    #drmoirakwokND #1in6 #fertility #infertilityjourney #infertilitysucks #infertilitysupport #infertilitytribe #infertilitywarrior #infertilitysuccess #ttc #ttcjourney #ttcsupport #ttctribe #IUI #IVF #IVFwarrior #IVFjourney #IVFsisters #unexplainedinfertility #youarenotalone

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