What causes Polycystic Ovary Symptoms?

With PCOS, your body produces too much androgen, which counteracts your ovaries' ability to make the progesterone necessary for a normal cycle.


The androgen levels interfere with your follicle-stimulating hormone, which you need to trigger progesterone. As a result, your follicles don't develop, and instead turn into small cysts on your ovaries. This can cause your ovaries to enlarge.


Excessive androgen can also cause hirsuitism, the development of facial hair and hair on other parts of your body. It may even cause a balding problem. Obesity and acne are other recognised outcomes.


Women who are thin or of normal weight can also have PCOS. Your periods may be irregular, and as a result you might be at greater risk for a thickening of uterine lining. This is called endometrial hyperplasia.


Menstrual disturbance
PCOS often comes to light during puberty due to period problems, which affects many of those with the disease. Infrequent, irregular or absent periods are all common variations, many finding their periods particularly heavy when they do arrive.


The period disturbance may be a sign that there is a problem with regular monthly ovulation. Many teenagers use the contraceptive pill to control their periods as irregularity or heaviness is a common complaint at this time, even in the absence of PCOS.


This often leads to a delay in the diagnosis of PCOS, many not presenting until the pill is stopped and then finding periods cease or become irregular.

Androgenic symptoms
Androgens are a group of hormones, such as testosterone, found at high levels in men but present in women at much lower levels.


PCOS sufferers often have higher than normal levels of androgens, which most often cause excess hairiness, but can also cause the reverse, a male pattern of hair loss called androgenetic alopecia.

Infertility
Given that the period disruption with PCOS is due to irregular or absent ovulation it is not surprising that it is a common cause of infertility.


Some women with PCOS will ovulate normally, some will ovulate less frequently (leading to a delay in getting pregnant), and some will not ovulate at all, meaning that for some, treatment will definitely be necessary.

Obesity
Around 40% of PCOS sufferers are overweight. Unfortunately obesity itself simulates the symptoms of PCOS in some women who would not have otherwise suffered had they remained of normal weight.


It will worsen the symptoms for those who do have PCOS and, unfortunately, the hormone changes associated with PCOS make weight loss more difficult.