PCOS Awareness Month: We're Celebrating Women With PCOS

• Irregular menstrual periods
• Missed periods
• Weight gain
• Acne or oily skin
• Infertility
• Male-pattern baldness
• Hair Growth (Hirsutism)
• Thinning hair or hair loss
• Difficulty losing weight
• Ovarian cysts

PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) can also lead to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, endometrial cancer, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, miscarriage and more. You can get all the details here. 

Part of PCOS Awareness Month is letting women know that they don't have to live with this condition and it doesn't need to hold you back. PCOS is completely treatable with a healthy lifestyle and diet. HOWEVER, no matter what PCOS symptoms you have, if you're trying to balance your hormones naturally (even if you are eating a whole-foods based diet that contains ample vegetables, fruits, and proteins) you're most likely still deficient in certain nutrients. Which is why including supplements in your diet, can be essential. 

Here is a list of some supplements to take in order to stop your PCOS symptoms or there is always S’moo, designed for women with PCOS to give you what you need to balance your hormones.

Not overweight? Not all women with PCOS are overweight, and this misconception can delay diagnosis and proper treatment. There are a lot of myths about PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) that keep women from seeking help. Things like “everyone with PCOS is obese or overweight” is FALSE or myths about what you can and can’t do if you have PCOS. For example: “you can’t get pregnant if you have PCOS” also FALSE. Check out these common Myths here.

The exact cause of PCOS is not clear but experts think there are several factors involved besides genetics.

• A very small amount of androgens (male hormones) are produced in all women. However, women with PCOS experiencing male traits such as male-pattern baldness and hirsutism have high levels of androgens being produced in their body. This high level of androgens can also cause fertility problems because those high levels of androgens are preventing the ovaries from releasing an egg when you're ovulating.
  
  
• Insulin is a hormone that controls how your food becomes energy. Women with PCOS aren't responding to insulin normally and this causes insulin resistance. Many women with PCOS who are experiencing weight gain or are overweight, are dealing with insulin resistance. Without lifestyle and diet changes this can lead to type 2 diabetes.

There isn't an easy way to being diagnosed for PCOS. Often PCOS is based on your medical history and a physical exam paired with a few different tests.

If you're going in to find out if you have POCS, your doctor will measure your blood pressure, your body mass index and waist size. They will also be looking for excess hair on your face, neck, chest or back.

Your doctor will use an ultrasound to check for cysts, all women with PCOS don't have cysts but it is more common.

Women with PCOS often have higher levels of androgen hormones so a blood test can reveal this. Normally your doctor will also check for other hormone related health problems that can be mistaken for PCOS.

Your doctor will decide if you have PCOS depending on the results of the above tests and your symptoms such as irregular periods, extra hair growth (on your face, chin, and body which is called hirsutism), acne, or thinning of scalp hair.