PCOS Part 3

A few weeks ago I posted Part 1 of PCOS.

Last week I posted the 2nd part of our series on PCOS.

Today, we'll talk about how PCOS manifests in women's lives and what they should watch out for.

Quick Review

Women with PCOS often do not ovulate and they have an imbalance in their hormones. Many will have long intervals between periods and some may only have 1 period a year. When this happens, these women are at risk too much estrogen stimulation on the lining of the uterus, without the balance of progesterone.

Heavy Bleeding
With PCOS, because of the imbalance of estrogen and progesterone, the lining of the uterus, known as the (endometrium) may grow too much and a woman may experience heavy and prolonged bleeding. There are many terms for this, and what's important to know is when to be concerned. Check in with your health care provider if:
• You have been bleeding for more than 10 days in a row
• You are soaking through a pad and/or a tampon in less than 1 hour for more than 3-4 hours
• Your periods come more often than every 21 days.

Abnormal bleeding
With PCOS, women are more at risk to have abnormally heavy bleeding that may be a sign of abnormal, pre-cancerous or cancerous cells within the endometrium.

This is known as endometrial hyperplasia and means that the cells within the endometrium have been under too much estrogen stimulation, without a balance of progesterone, and have started to grow abnormally.

Testing
When abnormal or heavy bleeding occurs, it's recommended that you have one or more of the following:
• An ultrasound to determine the cause of the bleeding and to measure the width of the lining of the uterus (endometrium)
• Sonohysterography - In this type of ultrasound, a small amount of fluid is inserted into the uterus to separate the sides to look more carefully at what might be causing the bleeding, such as fibroids, polyps or other abnormalities.
• Endometrial biopsy - A thin tube is passed into the uterus to obtain a sample of the lining of the uterus (endometrium). This sample is sent to a pathologist to determine if there are any abnormal cells present.

Next week we'll discuss treatment options for PCOS, so check back.