24.Health disorders which may cause infertility in women – Infertility Niche Business

Modern medicine is simply amazing. Yes, the technology, the ability to take an ill system and make it whole. But in this instance, I was thinking that modern medicine is amazing for bringing us a whole array of initials for terms . . . phrases . . . and disorders that we never would have been able to talk about because we couldn't pronounce them.

And PCOS is one of them. Have you been told you have it? Is this the reason you can't get pregnant? Do you know what these letters stand for?
PCOS is the medical community's shorthand for polycystic ovarian syndrome. See what I mean by the wealth of acronyms, here?

Once thought to be caused by a thickening of the ovaries, we now know the root cause of this women's disorder is a hormonal imbalance. If you have PCOS, then first and foremost you've noticed that your menstrual cycle doesn't follow the "classic" model taught in medical school and health classes across the country.

Physically, your ovaries have small cystic structures, each about two to nine millimeters in diameter. With this disorder, these structures -- you may also hear them called antral follicles -- make the ovaries look as if they have a polycystic appearance when viewed on an ultrasound.

The ovaries do, indeed, contain follicles with eggs, the follicles don't develop and mature as they should. This means that your system isn't experience ovulation as it should.

If you have PCOS, your body is probably only producing one -- and only one -- mature follicle every month.

About eight to 10 percent of women in their reproductive years are afflicted with this disease. Do you even know if you have PCOS? It could be that you have it and not realize it. Perhaps it's even the cause of your infertility.
In making a definite diagnosis, you physician looks for two of the following three criteria:

1. The presence of male hormone. This can be determined easily enough through a simple blood test.

2. Irregular menstrual cycles

3. Presence of the many small follicles indicative of PCOS as seen with the aid of an ultrasound.

While these are the criteria necessary for an accurate diagnosis, there are other signals and signs that you may have developed PCOS. Among the symptoms are: obesity, skin tags and dark, velvety patches called acanthosis nigricans, which are usually located on the inner thighs or neck.

Another symptom which may indicate the presence of PCOS is that of excess hair. This is due to the abundance of the male hormones testosterone and androstenedione in your system. Depending on when you develop these cysts, the excessive hair may appear when you're as young as 20 years of age. You may also notice the problem worsens as you get older.