PCOS Treatment Measures

PCOS treatment is aimed at controlling symptoms and prevention complication.

PCOS, or the polycystic ovarian syndrome, is a hormonal disease with an imbalance of sex hormones in the body.

The exact cause is not known and there is no curative treatment.

Therefore, treatment is usually tailored to each woman’s needs. There is no single medication or strategy to treat all patients.

In this article, I will present an overview of the major PCOS treatments available today.

Overall PCOS Treatment Plan

Treatment of PCOS is targeted at the major symptoms affecting the
woman. It is very important for each woman with PCOS to understand the
treatment plan because her close collaboration is very essential for the
overall success. The treatment targets are generally one or more of the
following

1. Restoration of menstrual cycle regularity
2. Treatment of abnormal hair growth and acne
3. Treatment of infertility
4. Treatment of insulin-related problems

The general strategies that could be used to achieve these goals

1. Lifestyle changes. Recommended for almost every woman
2. Medications to treat problems such as infertility and irregular cycles.
3. Surgery in some patients to help with ovulation.

Lifestyle And Home Remedies

These are the first-line PCOS treatment for all women. This is
advisable for all women with PCOS where appropriate because they will
have significant contributions in relieving some symptoms. They are
indeed a medical treatment for PCOS in themselves and not just some
lifestyle changes to make. That is, when you are making these changes,
you are already treating PCOS!

These include

• Regular exercise. This
  has multiple beneficial effects. It would reduce your blood sugar,
  treat or prevent insulin resistance and even help reduce or keep your
  weight in check.
• PCOS Diet. Eat
  healthy. Reduce simple sugars and replace them with complex
  carbohydrates which are digested slowly like whole-grain breads and
  cereals, whole-wheat pasta and barley. Reduce snacks and increase
  vegetables and fruits.This should not take you to extremes however. Do not diet to die!
• PCOS Weight loss. Weight
  loss can reduce both insulin and androgen levels, and may restore
  ovulation. If you are overweight or obese, reducing weight will go a
  long way to help many of the PCOS symptoms. Even a 10 percent loss in
  body weight can restore a normal period and make your cycle more
  regular. This is not just for external looks only but a prescribed
  treatment to relief your symptoms. You may ask your doctor for diet and
  exercise advice suitable for you.
• Smoking. Smoking
  increases your androgen levels and will make your symptoms worse. If
  you smoke, it will do you a great deal to quit. Talk to your doctor
  about the enormous help available to assist you to quit. Also,by
  quitting, your heart will give you a very broad smile and a thank you!

For herbs and other alternative therapies, please read natural remedies for PCOS.

Medications

There are a number of medications available to help control the sex hormones or insulin levels.

Regulating menstrual cycle

To reestablish a regular cycle, the drugs below could be used.

1. Birth control pills. These
   may contain both estrogen and progesterone or sometimes be progesterone
   injections. They help regular menstrual cycle hormones, reduce
   androgens and the progesterone will help prevent endometrial cancer.
2. MetforminThis
   is used for treatment of Type 2 diabetes but can also be used as a PCOS
   treatment. It will lower insulin levels, helps ovulation and restore
   regular cycles. It may also help slow progression to diabetes in some
   women as well as assisting in weight loss.

Fertility drugs

The
lack of ovulation is the primary cause of infertility in PCOS.Always
discuss with your doctor when you plan getting treatment so that he will
not give you treatments that may prevent pregnancy. I have had some few
interesting cases where women were put on birth control pills to
regulate their cycles and they were expecting to conceive since their
cycles seem to be regular with the pills! Always discuss your priorities
with the doctor.

Fertility drugs include

1. Clomiphene citrate (Clomid, Serophene) This is a drug that works against estrogen and can help induce ovulation.
2. Metformine. If neither metformine or clomiphene are effective, they may be combined.
3. Gonadotrophin hormone analogs. These are follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) medications that are administered by injection.

Drugs for abnormal hair growth

1. Birth control pills. It may take several months to begin noticing a difference.
2. Anti-androgen medications. These include drugs like spironolactone and flutamide, which may be tried if birth control pills do not work.
3. Eflornithine cream. This may slow the growth of unwanted facial hair in women.
4. Laser therapy. Hair removal using laser and nonlaser light sources damages individual
   hair follicles so they do not grow back. This can be expensive and
   multiple treatments are needed. Laser removal can be combined with other
   medicines and hormones

Surgery

Laparoscopy may be used to create a hole in the ovarian wall and
facilitate ovulation by a process called ovarian drilling. This is done
if medications and lifestyle changes fail. A small hole is made in your
abdomen and a tube with a camera used to identify and ovaries and drill.

Return From PCOS Treatment to Menstruation Home

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