Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

prevalence of pco

Question:

In article <20001211070318.01132.00003…@ng-cv1.aol.com>,   edek439…@aol.comnospam (Kay) wrote: > -Kay > (who very much dislikes the term "cyster"  …PCOS is an *endocrine* >disorder; > the term "cyster" is misleading and does not help educate the general >public, > IMO. Not everyone with PCOS has PAO, and vice versa).

  I confess to using the term `cyster’ sometimes.  It’s so darn cute, in a horrid sort of way.  But I agree that it would do everyone some good to de-emphasize the ovaries in all this.  Too many doctors are still treating PCOS as a cookie-cutter fertility problem rather than as a complex and ambiguous syndrome.  I also hear from numerous women who have concluded that they don’t have PCOS because their US came out noncystic, and almost as many who ask me what I think a hysterectomy/oophorectomy will do for them, as if removing the cystic ovaries can cure the problem. Beth, (who has about 3-5 tiny cysts at any given time) — Beth’s PCO Page  You Are Not Alone http://www.win.bright.net/~mickbeth/pco.htm Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Response:

.  I also hear from numerous women who >have concluded that they don’t have PCOS because their US came out >noncystic, and almost as many who ask me what I think a >hysterectomy/oophorectomy will do for them, as if removing the cystic >ovaries can cure the problem.

You know, i self diagnosed this almost four years ago, and my doctor wouldn’t believe me.  I ended up getting pregnant and then breastfeeding, so my symptoms were really minimalized.  I quit nursing a little over a year ago, and the symptoms slowly returned.  My new general practitioner knew right away what I had, and ordered and ultrasound, which revealed nothing. It is a good thing he was familiar with this, though, because he just kept on with it and referred me to an endocrinologist.  Not a RE, as I already have three children and my tubes tied… I wondered about removing the ovaries, but now I see that the whole of it is so much more! Jan

Response:

You know, up until the last visit with my doctor and discussing fertility options with her, I had thought I would eventually have to have my ovaries removed. This is what I had been hearing from doctors and everyone around me for years. Many doctors still think of the ovaries as the root of the endocrine problem faced by women with pcos. I have had doctors tell me such, because the ovaries do produce small amounts of testosterone, etc… I have educated myself quite a bit on this disease, and sometimes my doctors as well, but I am really glad that this is one myth in which I no longer believe. Always, Lyssa smdesi…@townsqr.com

Response:

The book, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (2000), sites the prevalence of PCO at 20%, and of PCOS at 5-10%… anyway, pco is when you have specifically cysts that are diagnosed with ultrasound whereas pcos is a syndrome (ie. various symptoms – none of them specifically characteristic,  ie. you don’t need cysts to be diagnosed with PCOS) anyway, i thought that was interesting… Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Response:

hehe, more statistics… 80% of obese PCOS sufferers had insulin resistance whereas only 30% of thin PCOS sufferers had insulin resistance…  hrm, so even though unlikely it is still possible to be thin and have insulin resistance… Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Response:

Wow I didn’t know their was a difference, guess I’m PCOS. Okay, but what’s PCOD?? Any difference there? rebekah — My Infertility and Miscarriage Website at: http://rebekahmichel19.tripod.com/rebekahsinfo/index.html "Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches on the soul. Sings the tunes without words and never fades at all" -emily dickinson wuzzy <wu…@my-deja.com> wrote in message

news:90ucs0$6j0$1@nnrp1.deja.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> The book, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (2000), sites the prevalence of > PCO at 20%, and of PCOS at 5-10%… > anyway, pco is when you have specifically cysts that are diagnosed with > ultrasound whereas pcos is a syndrome (ie. various symptoms – none of > them specifically characteristic,  ie. you don’t need cysts to be > diagnosed with PCOS) > anyway, i thought that was interesting… > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > Before you buy.

Response:

I didn’t know there was any difference in pco, pcos, and pcod. My doctor always refered to my condition as PCOD, but I have had doctors use it interchangably with PCOS… I have ovaries that appear polycystic (from lap and ultrasound) I have at least a dozen cysts. My ovaries are 3-4+ centimeters in diameter and have a waxy pearl-like coating. My hormones match the profile (I can’t recall it exactly). My DHEA level is very elevated (like 3x normal). I am insulin-resisitant, obese, and have hirsutism. I have been led to believe that these are all symptoms of polycystic ovarian disease and does not include the other effects like the migraines and such that I suffer from. There is also another name for this condition, when it was first discovered, it was called Stein-Leventhal syndrome after the docters who found it when studying ovarian wedge resection techniques. I had one of those two during my second lap.. it was really funny, the doctor called it "ovarian wedge resection by wiffle-ball technique" seriously.. I guess this is what you guys have referred to as ovarian drilling. Always, Lyssa smdesi…@townsqr.com

Response:

I’ve read where a lot of cysters suffer from migraines…It shows up in many, many stories on my site… Sincerely, Kat www.SoulCysters.com "Women with PCOS speak from the heart" Syrenslure’s Fan Fiction <love2wa…@softhome.net> wrote in message news:90v799$19e$0@208.207.68.3… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I didn’t know there was any difference in pco, pcos, and pcod. My doctor > always refered to my condition as PCOD, but I have had doctors use it > interchangably with PCOS… I have ovaries that appear polycystic (from lap > and ultrasound) I have at least a dozen cysts. My ovaries are 3-4+ > centimeters in diameter and have a waxy pearl-like coating. My hormones > match the profile (I can’t recall it exactly). My DHEA level is very > elevated (like 3x normal). I am insulin-resisitant, obese, and have > hirsutism. I have been led to believe that these are all symptoms of > polycystic ovarian disease and does not include the other effects like the > migraines and such that I suffer from. > There is also another name for this condition, when it was first discovered, > it was called Stein-Leventhal syndrome after the docters who found it when > studying ovarian wedge resection techniques. > I had one of those two during my second lap.. it was really funny, the > doctor called it "ovarian wedge resection by wiffle-ball technique" > seriously.. I guess this is what you guys have referred to as ovarian > drilling. > Always, > Lyssa > smdesi…@townsqr.com

Response:

Excerpts from netnews.alt.support.pco: 10-Dec-100 Re: prevalence of pco by S. Fict…@softhome.net > I didn’t know there was any difference in pco, pcos, and pcod.

pco means polycystic ovaries which can be a sign of PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) which i think is synonomous with PCOD (polycystic ovarian disease).   you can have PCO without having PCO…  i guess…  since i love anologies…  in a fashion similar to you can have a cough without having tuberculosis??? PCO is only one symptom of PCOS (or PCOD, pick your acronym…  PCOS is used more often, i think)…  other symptoms are the acne, hairiness, irregular periods, annovulation, hormone abnormalities, lipid abnormalities, and amazing ability to pack on weight which we all know and love so well.  you can have some, all, or most of the symptoms… – jodi <*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*> "We don’t even know where home is; for us there is literally no direction home.  There is an immense nostalgia and longing for home, for being at home, but our reality is an acute, radical homelessness."                           – Robert Bellah <*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>

Response:

oopsie…  i meant on that one line to say you can have PCO without having PCOS…  not you can have PCO without having PCO. – jodi, who should proofread before hitting send <*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*> "We don’t even know where home is; for us there is literally no direction home.  There is an immense nostalgia and longing for home, for being at home, but our reality is an acute, radical homelessness."                           – Robert Bellah <*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>=<*>

Response:

The terms Stein-Leventhal, PCO, PCOS and PCOD are typically used interchangeably, in the worlds of reproductive endocrinology and gynecology. If one says "PCO", chances are they’re referring to the syndrome. Some use the term "PAO", polycystic-appearing ovaries, to differentiate between the syndrome and the symptom. -Kay (who very much dislikes the term "cyster"  …PCOS is an *endocrine* disorder; the term "cyster" is misleading and does not help educate the general public, IMO. Not everyone with PCOS has PAO, and vice versa).

Response:

Filed under: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

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