Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Leading the change to better periods
PCOS is defined as a set of symptoms including androgen excess and anovulatory cycles. In simplest terms, PCOS is the condition of androgen excess when all other causes of androgen excess have been ruled out. It’s an umbrella diagnosis which can be caused by different underlying drivers or functional types. The four functional types of PCOS are insulin-resistant PCOS, post-pill PCOS, inflammatory PCOS, and adrenal PCOS.
There can be a strong hormonal component to abdominal weight gain. And in most people, that hormone is insulin.
In episode six of my podcast/YouTube video, I discuss insulin resistance including why you could have insulin resistance even if your blood sugar is normal, the role of mitochondria, and all the ways to lower insulin and improve metabolism.
Lost your period? You might just need to eat more. A lot more. Losing your period to undereating is called hypothalamic amenorrhea and is common, especially in women under thirty.
Hypothalamic amenorrhea is sometimes misdiagnosed as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) because both hypothalamic amenorrhea and PCOS can have “polycystic ovaries” on a pelvic ultrasound exam.
PCOS is the hormonal condition of having high androgens or male hormones. Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease that can cause severe pelvic pain. They’re two very different conditions but also both quite common. That’s why it’s possible to have both PCOS and endometriosis at the same time.
Here’s how to differentiate the symptoms of PCOS from the symptoms of endometriosis and where to start if you have both conditions.
Were you told you have polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS based on a pelvic ultrasound? That may or may not be an accurate diagnosis because PCOS cannot actually be diagnosed or ruled out with ultrasound.
In episode three of my podcast/YouTube video, I discuss PCOS including topics such as: why PCOS is an umbrella term, the difference between polycystic ovaries and ovarian cysts, and why some women with undereating and endometriosis are being mistakenly told they have PCOS.