The symptoms of PCOS include:
- irregular periods or no periods at all
- an increase in facial or body hair (hirsutism)
- loss of hair on your head
- being overweight, experiencing a rapid increase in weight or having difficulty losing weight
- oily skin, acne
- difficulty becoming pregnant (reduced fertility).
The symptoms vary from woman to woman. Some women have very few mild symptoms, while others are affected more severely by a wider range of symptoms.
The symptoms are related to abnormal hormone levels:
- Testosterone is a hormone that is produced in small amounts by the ovaries in all women. Women with PCOS have slightly higher than normal levels of testosterone and this is associated with many of the symptoms of the condition.
- Insulin is a hormone that controls the level of glucose (a type of sugar) in the blood. If you have PCOS, your body may not respond to insulin as well (this is known as insulin resistance), so the level of glucose is higher. To try to prevent the glucose levels becoming higher, your body produces even more insulin. High levels of insulin can lead to weight gain, irregular periods, fertility problems and higher levels of testosterone.
