What is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)? Part I

By residing in a contemporary society where individual appearances are heavily influenced by pop-culture, many women may define their ideal beauty and body type as slim and hairless. However, this definition is problematic as this “ideal” standard of beauty can only be achieved by a small group of women who have the required biological framework. Often, many women cannot meet these standards due to varying hormonal and dietary issues. PCOS affects over 4-5 million women worldwide and has negative implications on their menstrual cycle, reproductive ability, and metabolic activity (Goodarzi & Azziz, 2006). The aim of the video is to create awareness and educate the public about PCOS and its characteristic traits such as amenorrhea, hirsutism, obesity, and enlarged cystic ovaries (Homburg, 2008). To aid in the explanation and provide a thorough, but appropriate level of detail, the video will have a pathophysiology section explaining how testosterone levels are increased within the body which can lead to an upregulation of the aforementioned symptoms. The video will also explain the risk factors and the common medications used to treat the symptoms. The topic will be explained through a presentation characterized by animations and voice-over narrations. It will elucidate the characteristics of PCOS, and discuss its symptoms, pathophysiology, risk factors, and treatment plans. The main target audience for the video is the general public (high school and older), who may be interested in learning more about PCOS.

This video was created by McMaster University student Nayab Zafar in collaboration with the McMaster Demystifying Medicine program.

Copyright McMaster University 2017

References

Ehrmann, D. A. (2005). Polycystic ovary syndrome. New England Journal of Medicine, 352(12),
1223-1236.

Goodarzi, M. O., & Azziz, R. (2006). Diagnosis, epidemiology, and genetics of the polycystic
ovary syndrome. Best practice & research Clinical endocrinology & metabolism, 20(2)
193-205.

Homburg, R. (2008). Polycystic ovary syndrome. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics &
Gynaecology, 22(2), 261-274.

Howles, C. M. (2000). Role of LH and FSH in ovarian function. Molecular and cellular endocrinology, 161(1), 25-30.

Hutchison, S. K., Stepto, N. K., Harrison, C. L., Moran, L. J., Strauss, B. J., & Teede, H. J. (2011). Effects of exercise on insulin resistance and body composition in overweight and obese women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 96(1), E48-E56.

Legro, R. S., & Strauss, J. F. (2002). Molecular progress in infertility: polycystic ovary
syndrome. Fertility and sterility, 78(3), 569-576.

Manneras, L., Cajander, S., Lönn, M., & Stener-Victorin, E. (2009). Acupuncture and exercise restore adipose tissue expression of sympathetic markers and improve ovarian morphology in rats with dihydrotestosterone-induced PCOS. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 296(4), R1124-R1131.


Radosh, L. (2009). Drug treatments for polycystic ovary syndrome. American family physician, 79(8).

Sirmans, S. M., & Pate, K. A. (2013). Epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of polycystic
ovary syndrome. Clin Epidemiol, 6(12), 1-13.

[jessicasmith]

I have PCOS and I remember how I felt when the doctor told me it would be hard for me to conceive I now have 4 children very successful pregnancies. God blessed me!

[lindathompson]

I was diagnosed infertile at 19, told I was never gonna have kids, never had a regular period, pretty much checked off all the symptoms of pcos BUT last 2 month's we celebrated my daughters first birthday conceived naturally with herbs remedies

[dragonflysagatiaej]

1:18 is when the explanation actually starts.

[ambrosia]

yeah a little bit hard to be myself when i'm more hairy than my brother, but good video

[florah]

So basically I'm a man trapped in a female's body 😪


I just pray that God blesses me with a child one day 🥺

[PsychicReadingUsaFacebookGroup]

Try to remain hopeful. We tried for 6.5 years. It was so so hard to keep going. But looking at my little girl - I know she was worth every tear I cried, and all the intense emotions that came with the journey. I would do it all over again if I had to!❤

[kalvaanithakumari]

PCOS is common and affects 10 to 15% of women in childbearing age. PCOS tends to cause irregular menstrual cycles and sometimes irregular bleeding, excessive hair on the face and body. You would also notice an excessive loss of hair on the scalp, but there is unusual hair growth in areas such as hands, chest, face, stomach, back, and toes. Homeocare International has experience of treating the large number of women suffering from PCOS and controlling it in a natural way.

[RxKiralyno]

i love how at the end they say feel comfortable with your body when this disease has made me severely ill, 100lbs overweight, facial hair and then i get reemed by society so much about "being lazy- illness is no excuse" bs and no doctors will treat me, just tells me to lose weight XD

[michellelee]

The back ground music is to loud. I can't watch this video because I can't hear what they are saying

[eunicephiri]

My sister was diagnosed with PCOS just yesterday she's 22 and getting married in June am worried about her conceiving. Though some doctor told us there is cure I hope she gets better.

[GaiaNeh]

I wonder what else we ladies have in common. Everything she described I struggled with too. For me, it was a result of childhood abuse I believe. Sexual abuse, being tormented, attacked, both emotionally and physically. I hated being female the more I became aware of the victimhood of women. All my pain redirected to womanhood = victimhood.
My life began changing when I started changed that mentality. Yea, there is the medical problems to continue working on. But the more I understand neuroscience, the more I understand how important it was to heal from my childhood too.
My biggest fear is finding out I'm never going to have children. I'm struggling with that most.there was a time when I didn't want that option. Afraid I'd be like my own mother. But I now know I'd do better and ... I don't even know if it's an option anymore.

[PsychicReadingUsaFacebookGroup]

I was diagnosed with PCOS in April, after not getting pregnant on my own for a year. It's not as scary as they say, and there is hope... It might take a while but don't give up... Since my diagnosis DH and I have been trying to complete at least 1 round of IUI with no success... until 10 days ago, when I was finally cyst free and able to start my injections... Now I have 8 follicles (of varying sizes) and will be doing my ovedril injection this week... You have to have faith and hope... I will keep my fingers crossed for you!!!

[mariahkhayat]

:"( It is sad that it can’t be stopped but you can only decrease the symptoms

[caseykae]

My fiancé’s father makes fun of my cystic acne and it’s like not worth explaining it. But it kills me because I’ve tried so much to get rid of it.

[PsychicReadingUsaFacebookGroup]

I just want to say, please don't give up hope. I have pcos and diabetes. My body didn't respond to clomid. So we tried Menopur and hcg trigger shot, with iui. I am currently 7 weeks pregnant with quadruplets. Hope you have better luck on the next cycle!

[gilnahnu]

I hate having pcos and these bots in the comment section are infuriating

[glamspalife]

The foods we eat play a big part and chemicals near us

[kristinelysachua]

I'm always receiving negative words of not conceiving. It makes me feel uncomfortable hearing others mocking. 😭 Just sharing.

[Ellaf]

I have pcos and I’ve had it since I was 12 but didn’t get diagnosed until 15 and it made me pretty worried because I never knew what it was and was scared because I had missed/stopped getting my period. Also having very bad acne and putting a lot of Weight on

[AriettaTheWild]

ALL illnesses/disorders that primarily affects women are way less studied than those affecting men just as much. This is just a simple fact, there just isn’t much if any research into what used to be dismissed by doctors as “hysteria”. Since women are more likely to develop autoimmune disorders than men due to genetics that give a stronger immune system (it has to do with the way chromosomes work, XX just has more information stored than XY), they’ve also not been studied nearly as much as they probably should considering how life altering they are. The lack of tests for a lot of chronic illnesses and an unwillingness by doctors to do the procedure to rule out other things, as is the current diagnostic method, means that you’re more likely to go home with a prescription for antidepressants and a general confusion that maybe you ARE just crazy after all since your symptoms are “all over the place”. You could end up barely living with an undiagnosed illness that might not even be chronic due to the constant medical gaslighting by doctors if you never find one that takes you seriously, and that is something that happens. People tend to give up eventually, no amount of antidepressants are going to fix the hopelessness of how they never believe that you’re suffering despite trying your best to live as healthy as possible and what’s even the point in trying anymore?
I was told that fainting while sitting/standing/walking for, depending on the day, between fifteen minutes and an hour is normal. Sure as hell didn’t happen before I started getting other weird symptoms dear doctor but whatever you say, I’m not a doctor, it’s probably normal to faint like that even though you have normal electrolytes according to blood tests, which is the only thing she barely can be arsed to do. Other gems include walking off a broken bone in my foot that well oops it was broken, no walking for three months. Maybe white poop is because of my diet? Liver failure is the correct answer. Trying to find competent doctors is like trying to win the lottery.