Could You Be Suffering From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?

Polycystic ovarian syndrome affects the sexual wellness and wellbeing of far more women that you may realise. Often abbreviated to PCOS, the condition affects between five and ten percent of all women. It is the most common endocrine condition in women who are of a reproductive age.

 

PCOS occurs when high levels of androgens (hormones) halt the development of eggs, and this leads to an enlarged follicle and immature egg. These are sometimes likened to a string of pearls, and the immature follicles are cysts. Usually, a follicle would rupture to release an egg, but in the case of PCOS, this does not happen and the follicle remains and is what is observed as a cyst during an ultrasound scan.

 

There are a variety of symptoms associated with PCOS. This is due to the fact that the disease comes alongside high levels of male homrones/androgens. These hormones are found in both women and men but they are generally thought of as more ‘male’ as they are found in much higher levels in men. These androgens include dihydrotestosterone, testosterone and androstenedione.

 

There is a strong link between polycystic ovaries and obesity, as well as insulin resistance (which is a precursor of type 2 diabetes). Women who are obese and suffering from PCOS will normally be given a treatment plan that involves a great deal of exercise and a restricted diet. About a third of the women who have PCOS and are obese also suffer from insulin resistance of diabetes.

 

In premenopausal women, around one in ten cases of diabetes is connected to PCOS. Having the syndrome may also increase your risk of developing heart disease, although further studies into this link still need to be carried out.

 

If you think you may be suffering from PCOS, see your healthcare provider as soon as possible.

Categories: Diabetes, follicle, high levels, insulin resistance, nbsp, ovary, pcos, polycystic, syndrome, Women

Fertility Facts: Should You Consider Freezing Your Eggs?

In past years, the technology involved in the process has been fairly poor. The wellness of the eggs was not guaranteed, as ice crystals tended to form that killed off the cells in the egg. This meant that only one in about 1,000 IVF cycles using frozen eggs would result in a baby.

 

In more recent years, however, freezing eggs became a serious option for those wishing to extend their sexual and reproductive wellbeing. A new technology called vitrification emerged from Japan in 2004, and this allows doctors to freeze eggs without creating any crystals. Unlike previous methods, eggs frozen using vitrification have around a 40 or 50 percent chance of creating a viable baby if used in an IVF cycle.

 

As a result of this great leap forward in technology, doctors now recommend that any single woman who wants children but is not ready yet and fears for her reproductive health should freeze their eggs of have an ovary biopsy. The age that is recommended for this process is around 30.

 

In an ovary biopsy, an outer shell of the ovary is taken off and frozen with the eggs stored inside it. When you are ready to attempt conception, the doctors replace the layer of tissue back into your ovary, and it should re-attach just like a skin graft. Microsurgery binds it together with tiny sutures, and the ovary should then become functional again. Ovary biopsies are cheaper and far more comfortable than IVF procedures, although both will require you to undergo general anaesthetic.

 

Ovary biopsy and reimplantation costs around $10,000, but it is a very simple procedure, and around 100,000 eggs are frozen within the ovary as part of the process. With IVF, on the other hand, it can cost up to $50,000 and you are only freezing around 10 to 15 eggs at any one time.

Categories: Eggs, freezing, frozen, IVF, nbsp, ovary, ovary biopsy, process