It may surprise you to learn that females produce male sex hormone - small amounts of course. But in a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome some women produce too much. This causes deepening off their voice, missed periods, infertility, mustaches and hairiness. The condition also causes weight gain and diabetes, and small cysts scattered over their ovaries.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome PCOS Symptoms
- Moustache and belly hair.
- Heavy-set or stocky build.
- Missed periods.
- Infertility.
The cause of polycystic ovarian syndrome PCOS is unknown. But it can be picked up through blood testing levels of male hormone androstenedione, or testing the ratio of two hormones secreted by the brain that control ovarian function LH/FSH or doing an ultrasound demonstrating scattered cysts across the ovaries.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome PCOS Treatment
The first step in treatment of polycystic ovarian syndrome PCOS is to reduce the amount of male hormone circulating. This is done by drugs that prevent female hormone estrogen from converting to testosterone, such as spironolactone. These medications must be taken daily to be effective as polycystic ovarian syndrome does not go away. The second step is to treat the side effects of PCOS for example, weight gain and sweet tooth can be managed by dietary counseling and metformin - a drug which increases insulin efficiency - and mustaches by depilation and bleaching.
PCOS is commonly discovered when females trying to become pregnant complain of infertility. It is often missed before that.