My doctor said I have it and gave me a handout to read about it. I am so confused. She said it is a clinical diagnosis not a lab diagnosis. I did have a 24 hour urine test that was within normal limits. I am 49 years old. Had a hysterectomy 11/2000 both ovaries and uterus removed. I had irregular periods and had fibroid tumors. I had one pregnancy and one live birth. Husband got snipped so I was able to stay off the pill because we did not want any more kids. DD is 26 years old.

I do have acne breakouts, have borderline diabetes, hypothyroid and adrenal fatigue. I never had a miscarriage. I was told a few times I had small cysts on my ovaries but did not have to do anything for it.

Can any one enlighten me. Very confused. Marianne

you might want to join in on this forum:

www.soulcysters.com

I was diagnosed with PCOS about 10 yrs ago now and it was the site I found the most useful. You don't have to have all of the symptoms to have PCOS - in fact I only have three of the symptoms myself - those being excess hair/weight and cysts.

Good luck with your research!
Emma xx

Thanks, I took a short look and will go back to it later. I guess I was chalking all the symptoms to being in pre-menopause and then after hysterectomy to menapause. Interesting.

Marianne

I'm confused as well.

PCOS stands for polycystic ovarian syndrome, which is multiple cysts on the ovaries and uterus.

How can you have an ovary and/or uterus problem if you had them removed over 4 years ago?

Polycystic ovaries are a symptom, not a cause. You can have PCOS without cysts...or without ovaries. PCOS is caused by insulin resistance which causes an increase in androgen production which attack the ovaries and cause cysts. If you are insulin resistant and have other symptoms as well, you most likely have PCOS. You need to have blood work done for sure...it definitely is a lab diagnosis.

Shiphrah,

I usually just lurk but your post is so full of misinformation I just had to sign up and respond.

First you cannot have PCOS without ovaries. Cysts are eggs that don't form properly. This is not just "symptoms." It is an actual condition where multiple cysts are produced and end up on the ovaries, uterus and/or endothelial lining.

Second (and I know that this is a huge misconception around here) insulin resistance does not cause PCOS. PCOS is caused by estrogen dominance. It is a hormonal problem. Now you can still be estrogen dominant but have too little estrogen. Estrogen dominance means that you do not have enough progesterone to properly balance the estrogen. It can occur with the proper amount of estrogen in the body, too much estrogen or too little estrogen.

Insulin resistance can also be a result of estrogen dominance because women become "carbaholics." (Now this is not the only reason for insulin resistance... simply one of them) Just because two things happen to coincide on occasion does not mean that one causes the other. You can have PCOS without insulin resistance and you can have insulin resistance without PCOS.

Now I am sure that I will take alot of flak from people here for saying all this but I have been cured of my PCOS by balancing my estrogen/progesterone ratios. Oh, and I've never been insulin resistant.

The best way to determine estrogen dominance is with a saliva test that uses multiple samples throughout the monthly cylce. (Generally 11 samples are taken.) Blood tests are useless in this case because they are only done once and the levels of estrogen and progesterone vary throughout the month.

If you really want to get to the bottom of your PCOS, have yourself checked for estrogen dominance by someone who does saliva testing. That is the way to a true cure. Sure, cutting carbs will ease symptoms in some, not all, cases. But I am talking an honest to God cure.

OK all you naysayers, fire away

"Chronically irregular menstrual cycles or absent periods
Infertility or difficulty conceiving (due to not ovulating)
Obesity (greater than 20 percent over “ideal” weight)
Sudden, unexplained weight gain (even if you are still of “normal” weight)
Adult acne
Excessive hair growth (especially dark hair on the face, chest, or abdomen)
Male-pattern hair loss or thinning hair
Type II diabetes or insulin resistance

Approximately 30 percent of women with PCOS have “normal” ovaries with no cysts.

For many years, PCOS was considered a direct result of high levels of male hormones in the body, although it was not understood exactly what caused these high levels. Researchers are now just beginning to understand the association between PCOS and the body’s overproduction of insulin. Many women with PCOS have hyperinsulinemia, a higher than normal amount of insulin in their bodies. Hyperinsulinemia results from insulin resistance."

Reference

"Researchers believe that the genetics of PCOS can also be passed on to males, and they may experience some of the common symptoms. Male relatives of women with PCOS tend to be insulin resistant.

Since it is autosomal dominant, male relatives will also carry the gene. These men are also often insulin resistant and at increased risk for diabetes. Some evidence indicates that the marker for the PCOS gene is men is early balding.

Autosomal means that people of both sexes are equally likely to be affected with the condition, and dominant means that only one affected gene is needed for the disease to develop. Therefore, the chance of passing the affected gene and hence, passing the condition to a son or daughter is one in two (50%)"

If a MAN...who obviously does not have ovaries!...can have PCOS, then so can a woman who does not have ovaries following a hysterectomy.

My doctor said PCOS causes insulin resistance, not the other way around. She said PCOS causes imbalanced sex hormones and insulin resistance, which then play off each other to create a worse and worse situation, including weight gain and more insulin resistance, and a greater imbalance.

And, yes, you can have PCOS without having ovaries because you don't have to have cysts to have the syndrome. There's quite a misunderstanding about Polycystic Ovaries and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I had a diagnosis based on hormonal levels in conjunction with symptoms such as hair growth, irregularity, etc.

Can PCOS be cured?? Well, you can control it, through diet and excerscise, so if you consider that a cure, then yes, you can. I consider that a cure, but some don't--like diabetes, some say that if you have it, you have it. I guess you could say this, considering the genetic link.