Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is affection total 10 million women. Almost 1 in 10 women has PCOS. But more than half of women with PCOS don’t know they have it, according to the PCOS Foundation. If you have two or more of these signs, see your doctor to discuss the possibility of PCOS.
1. Irregular Periods
One of the major symptoms of PCOS is having irregular periods. This could mean never—or rarely—having a period. You could have a period at varying intervals. You may experience bleeding or spotting between periods. Or you may have especially heavy or light bleeding.
2. Weight Gain
Another common symptom of PCOS is weight gaining. Women with PCOS may experience weight gain, even though they haven’t been eating more or exercising less. Or they may try to lose weight, but have a hard time. Women with PCOS also tend to have extra weight around the waist.
3. Extra Body Hair
Extra growth of dark or coarse hair on on the upper lip, cheeks, chin, top of the arms, inner thighs, lower belly, breasts, and lower back. Less often, it can show up on the chest, upper back, and upper abdomen.
4. Infertility
One in 5 women who experience difficulty becoming pregnant has PCOS. This makes PCOS the most common cause of infertility.
5. Acne
Women of all ages from the teen years onward experience pimples, clogged pores, and oily skin. But PCOS can cause you to have these symptoms all the time, no matter what treatments you try. Creams, toners, and antibiotic pills often don’t help acne when you have PCOS.
6. Dark Skin Patches
PCOS can also cause you to have patches or darker, velvety-looking skin. It most often occurs in the groin, under the breasts, in the armpits, and at the back of the neck.
7. Headaches
Women having PCOD often expirences headaches due to hormonal changes.
8. Depression
Women with PCOS have significantly higher rates of depression and anxiety than women without PCOS. Depression can produce feelings of sadness, hopelessness, fatigue and irritability. Other symptoms include physical pain, irregular sleep, difficulty concentrating, and digestive problems.
9. Hair-loss
A less common, but still notable and upsetting, effect of PCOS is alopecia, thinning scalp hair. It may look like you’re losing hair in the same pattern some men do—on the top of your scalp, toward your forehead, or at your temples. Or your hair may appear thinner all over your head. There are several other possible causes of thinning head hair in women, such as diet, other endocrine disorders (such as hypothyroidism), stress, and infection.
