PCOS stands for polycystic ovarian syndrome and it may be caused by insulin resistance. Although there are some common symptoms of PCOS, you should know that each woman could show different symptoms and there are a lot of signs to consider.

The multitude of the symptoms can be explained by the fact that it is a complicated disorder. For sure you know that androgens have a role to play in the appearance of the disorder, and this is why some of the most common PCOS symptoms include changes in the appearance by adding male characteristics. As a result it is common to experience depression.

Signs of PCOS

Symptoms of PcosOne of the symptoms that you may experience is hirsutism. This refers to the fact that you can experience hair growth in different parts of the body that aren’t common in case of women, such as the chest, back, face, fingers, lower abdomen and the toes.

On the other hand, as one of the PCOS symptoms, you could also experience some hair loss, which ends up looking just like the male pattern baldness.

Since we are talking about characteristics that are specific for men, it is no wonder that women with this disorder could experience infertility. This means that it is difficult for them to conceive and to get pregnant. It is also common to experience irregular periods and to skip ovulation in some months.

Another interesting sign of PCOS is oligovulation or anovulation. Anovulation refers to the lack of ovulation, while oligovulation means that a mature egg is released from the ovary every month. In case there is no regular ovulation, the periods of patients could also become irregular.

There are some more serious symptoms of PCOS, such as ovarian cyst, acne, and obesity. As you might have seen, some of the symptoms affect the physical aspect of the patients, such as acanthosis nigricans.

This refers to the situation when thickened, dark and velvety patches of skin appear on the thighs, the back of the neck, or the vulva. In the majority of the cases this is caused by insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is the sign of PCOS that results in a problem regarding the response of the body to insulin. This is the hormone that helps the body to handle the blood sugar level. In case the level of blood sugar is too high, the risks of developing type 2 diabetes increase.

As it has been mentioned before, type 2 diabetes can also be developed as one of the symptoms of PCOS, that results from a long exposure to high blood sugar; and the body’s sensitivity to insulin also decreases, and as a result, the body won’t be able to deal with blood sugar. In case these levels get high, there will be some complications. These include eye sight problems, neuropathy, and kidney disease.

Other signs of PCOS include high cholesterol, skin tags, sleep apnea and high blood pressure. There are some other PCOS symptoms as well that you might like to know about.