Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the common conditions or disorders women face, especially during their conceiving age. It is a condition where there is the development of multiple cysts on the ovaries leading to a cause of several other issues connected to it, such as irregular menstrual cycle, growth of excessive unwanted hair over parts of the body, etc.
The most common crisis faced by women is sudden weight gain, which becomes obesity and develops other conditions alongside PCOS itself. Most of the time, an overweight woman with PCOS symptoms has also been diagnosed with either cardiovascular disease or insulin resistance, leading to the risk of Diabetes.
But there lies another hidden factor to PCOS and women, which is the weight factor. Yes, not every woman with PCOS develops the overweight symptom; rather, as verywell Health reports, around 30 percent of women with PCOS have normal-healthy weight. They are not obese but face challenges similar to obese women.
There is more to just gaining weight when it comes to PCOS, and every woman should understand their body’s mechanism when they develop Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Here are some of the everyday things to know if you or someone around you are from the category of lean women suffering from PCOS.
The Diagnosis Issue
Believe it or not, this is the most common challenge faced by any normal weighing woman with PCOS. The untimely diagnosis of their PCOS can conjure up big trouble, which later in their life causes them a problem when trying to conceive.
For a woman who is obese, it is easy for her to get diagnosed in time, especially when she is experiencing an irregular menstrual cycle. But the case is different when it comes to a lean woman. The entire time they are unknown about their condition when they are misinformed about specific facts that include normal-weight woman could also develop PCOS.
Moreover, not just PCOS but what else it gives rise to could also be left for diagnosis in time. A study earlier drew upon figures stating a 3 to 10 percent chance of a missed diagnosis of diabetes in a woman with PCOS. It happens so due to a proven fact that obese women are more likely to develop diabetes due to their overweight condition causing insulin resistance compared to normal-weight women.
The same case goes on with the missed diagnosis of heart diseases in normal-weight women. But here, what researchers noticed is; a woman with PCOS and average weight had more risk of cardiovascular diseases than women without PCOS. Hence, a normal-weight woman should get tested for her both cases- Insulin resistance and heart diseases.
The Risk of Emotional & Mental Health
In mental and emotional health, there is a matter of concern for a lean woman with PCOS. According to various researches and sources, a normal-weighing woman with PCOS is exposed to more stress, low levels of resistance from stress, and increased levels of two hormones in the body; Plasma Ghrelin ( Hormone for causing hunger) and hormone ACTH (Hormone connected with an extended period of stress).
Most of the time, the doctors have formed a theory that defines a disturbed balance in hormones in the body due to troubled psychology that includes stress and more anxiety than overweighing women.
Insulin Resistance
Although an overweight woman is at more risk of developing insulin resistance and ultimately diabetes, it is believed. But there is more to this fact than it is known, which is a dividing element.
There are two kinds of women with PCOS: those at an average weight and have PCOS, and the other suffers from abdominal obesity (their abdomen area holds more fat than other places) and has PCOS. Since we do not have control over where our body stores fat, it is common to experience abdominal obesity.
It would help if you visited your doctor to know whether your body weight is putting you at risk of insulin resistance or not, which would determine your chances of developing diabetes in the future.
Fertility Issues
Generally, women with PCOS experience overweight issues due to to which they face problems while trying to conceive or complications during pregnancy. Infertility problems are the main symptom of PCOS. So doctors prescribe treatment such as fertility injecting drugs. Moreover, overweight women are recommended to reduce 5 to 10 percent of their weight for their treatment to show progress and improvement.
However, this is not the case with normal weighing women who don’t need to reduce their weight for their fertility treatment to show effectiveness. Verywell Health states that,
Lean women with PCOS have much higher pregnancy rates with fertility treatments when compared to their overweight peers.
A drug known as Metformin is used in treating infertility problems in lean as well as overweighing women. The medication is used for insulin resistance, but it helps in improving ovulation too. A study showed that metformin medication improved ovulation, fasting glucose, and decreased testosterone levels in women.
Moreover, lean women showed a pregnancy success rate of about 52 percent, whereas the pregnancy rates for obese women with PCOS were 22%. Indeed, a normal weighing woman has to face fertility issues, and treatments aren’t always guaranteed, but the success rate is more than overweighing women.
What are the tips for practicing in Everyday Life?
A lean woman with PCOS symptoms can practice a specific daily routine to improve their chances of getting better. Here are some of the tips below which you can do every day:
- A daily exercise routine, especially resistance training, is necessary for you to increase lean muscle, which will further reduce bad cholesterol in your body and maintain hormonal balance in your system, improving PCOS symptoms.
- Go and get yourself tested for insulin resistance. Having PCOS but not overweighing does not mean you can not develop insulin resistance.
- Keep your healthy weight maintained as once PCOS begins, you will be at a consistent risk of gaining weight, and once you gain weight, there is no going back, and the risk of PCOS will only rise.
- Talk to a professional or any loved one for emotional support, as stress and anxiety will only make things worse for your body.
- Do not be skeptical of taking a second opinion if you feel your present physician isn’t doing enough to make your condition better.
