Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

[singanote]

Just wondered if any of you (females) out there have PCOS. I do. Apparently, studies have found that many with the syndrome have sleep apnea. Since many with the syndrome are also overweight, I asked my endocrinologist (at the University of Chicago) if is the weight that is the factor. He said that, while weight contributes, there is a higher incidence of sleep apnea among women with PCOS than among women who are also the same level of being overweight who do not have the syndrome. I participated in a clinical study at the University of Chicago last January. They have one group on cpap (to see if it improves metabolism), one group on meds (to see if treating the insulin resistance that is part of PCOS improves the sleep apnea), and a control group. I was in the med group. Unfortunately, it's a double-blind study and I won't know until the whole thing has ended what my results were. If any women out there have PCOS and sleep apnea, they're looking for subjects for the study. It's $1,000 to participate.

[ozij]

A "double blind" study means that neither the person giving the therapy, nor the the person revievinig it know which therapy was given.

In order for you study to have been double blind you would have had to recieve a pill - active or inert - and a pap machine, the pressure of which you couldn't tell....

O.

[Snuffle-nose]

Hello

The only thing about it is to keep the weight down to a point where it doesn't effect your health. Been with PCO is no fun as the bloating that comes with it is far from fun. Makes one look like a beached whale!!!

Chnaging the diet might be the key to keep the weight steady. As I think it makes osa more worse as some the weight is under the diaphram [stomach area] does not good, all it may do is hinder your breathing!

[FairSpirit]

Yeah. I was diagnosed with PCOS about 3 years ago.

[sleepykitty]

Have poly-cystic ovaries, but not necessarily the whole symdrome....

[socknitster]

Singanote,

What were the results of this study?

Jen

[DyannaK]

No PCOS here. I am overweight though and have managed to lose 30#.

[socknitster]

I would strongly urge any woman who is on cpap to look into the symptoms of PCOS and go to an endocrinologist for testing if uncertain. I am not a completely classic case--I have been pregnant at least 4 times and had 2 miscarriages and two healthy children. It turns out that with PCOS, if you are lucky enough to GET pregnant your odds of having a miscarriage are 50%, even though the miscarriage rate for the total population is around 15%. I wish I had known about all of this before. If I had had treatment, those children might still be with me.

The thing about PCOS is, it doesn't just affect your female hormones and make you have a few extra stray hairs on your chin. It causes insulin resistance--pre-diabetes. It is also strongly linked to high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems. This is more than just quality of life or cosmetic. This can truly affect you throughout your lifespan, even into menopause.

Unfortunately for my mother from whom I strongly suspect I inherited this syndrome, she already has all of the co-morbidities including, I believe, sleep apnea.

So, if you are one of the young women here who was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea, it BEHOOVES you to look into PCOS. You might be able to save yourself from developing all these things later in life.

Jen

[frenchie]

I was diagnosed with pcos when I was 14. My mom says I have always snored - even as a little kid. Im sure I have always had sleep apnea, but never realized it until I started falling asleep at work, and my husband telling me I dont breath in my sleep. I too am over weight and have been since about 8 years old. I know have insulin resustance and High blood pressure. My Sleep dr seems to think that both will improve with cpap therapy. Ive been on it for about 7 weeks and feel so much better. But so far have not seen a differnce in the IR or pb.

[Treesap]

I wondered if I have PCOS. I grow hair on my chinny-chin-chinand my upper lip too, I'm chunky, and I have sleep apnea. I don't have heart problems, diabetes, high cholesterol or thyroid issues. I've been on CPAP almost 2 years, and I have not lost weight as a result of it. I also take Provigil daily, and I see no weight loss there. It's a struggle for me to lose weight. The reason why I think I have PCOS is because of the few symptoms I have and the fact that I have not been pregnant. Now that I'm 45, I don't want to be pregnant. However, my sister has other PCOS symptoms and she had to use IVF to get pregnant. I've been married twice (first time for 6 years and my current marriage for 5 years) and I never practiced good birth control, so it doesn't make sense I never even had a scare.

[socknitster]

Treesap,

You may not be diabetic, but you could have insulin resistance, termed pre-diabetes. It takes a specialized test to disover this. You can be treated with an insulin sensitizer which will help you lose weight. I would strongly recommend, based on your description, that you go to an endocrinologist. You are very young and you might be lucky enough to get all of this under control and maybe you could even get off of cpap. I read somewhere that some of the hormone changes due to PCOS may cause a laxity in the airway that leads to OSA--and the weight gain associated with PCOS doesn't help. The hormones can be adjusted.

My test results were inconclusive. Probably because I am breastfeeding and my hormones are going to be off until that is over. Charlie is almost 11 months old now and I plan to breastfeed another 4 months or so. AFter that I will probably wait a while for things to calm back down and go back for more testing. Even though my initial insulin and glucose were good, they still want to test me for insulin resistance--fasting, then drink the glucola and have blood drawn at 1 and 2 hours.

As a part of the metabolic panel, I got levels of my calcium and vitamin D. I was glad to see they are in normal range. Since I am allergic to milk and all I get is from supplements, that was heartening to see in light of the recent pregnancy and current breastfeeding.

Jen

[Treesap]

Thanks Jenn. I will do that. It may clear up a lot of questions I've had about my health. I suspected I had OISA because I could feel a difference in my throat when I laid in bed. I've gained almost 30 pounds in the last 5 years, and I wasn't skinny to start. I still needed to lose about 40, so now I feel really disgusted with my weight. I've done so many things to help myself lose weight, but I do a lot with little results.

Ironically I started having asthma after the weight gain too. I know my asthma is not allergy-induced because I had the major blood testing done where they collect about 4 or 5 viles of blood to see how your antibodies react to different allergens. The only thing I was allergic to was milk. I never knew it. I never had any reactions to eating any dairy products. I stopped milk after that and switched to soy milk, but it didn't help my asthma. I only use one hit of Advair nightly (250/50) to keep my asthma in control. The doctor tells me the FDA doesn't approve once-a-day dosing like I do, so I tell him to prescribe me what I need. And I still only do what I do because it works for me. I never used fast-acting in halers like albuterol because they never worked for me. I just need a little inhaled steriod to keep the inflammation down. My pulmonologist said I could stop the Advair after my treatment with CPAP started, but I tried once and it didn't work. So I told him no.

Strangely, I went on birth control for only a few months last fall because I was due to start my mentrual cycle while on vacation in Hawaii. We snorkel and do a lot in the water, and I didn't want to have to deal with my cycle while on vacation. I lost 10 pounds effortlessly while on the pill. I didn't stay on it because of my age and weight. There is an increased risk of blood clots while on it. Otherwise I would have used it longer. I did not do anything differently to lose that 10 pounds. My doc said maybe it was the hormones and suggested I try Estroven. I did, but it didn't help.

It would be a huge breakthrough if I found out this was really PCOS. If there is a higher laxity of the airway in PCOS patients, I wonder if that has something to do with the asthma too.

My sister had gestational diabetes in both of her pregnancies. Thankfully it went back to normal after her deliveries. My mom is diabetic too. I know there's a huge chance I could be some day. I just thought I would be already if I was going to have it since I am in my mid 40s and obese.

[socknitster]

The good news is that you don't HAVE to become diabetic. If you can figure out what is going on now, you might be able to lose the weight and prevent diabetes from ever happening. The fact that you lost 10 lbs on the pill makes me think PCOS is going to be a clear cut diagnosis. They will probably put you on the pill as part of your treatment. One of the new ones like Yaz. The risks of not treating the PCOS for your heart are far greater than the remote risk of blood clot, especially if you are someone who "lives clean." I'm excited for you--you could really be on the cusp of changing your life for the better.

As far as the asthma goes--it could be related to the apnea in the sense that when you have apneas you tend to aspirate stomach acid into the lungs. Acid reflux is now a well-documented cause of asthma and OSA and reflux go hand in hand. Many people are documented to have their asthma improve if their reflux symptoms are under control. It is a vicious cycle--one I think you are about to beat! Let me know how this all goes for you.

Jen

[Froro]

I am a walking enigma when it comes to PCOS. Diagnosed when I was 16, told I'd never have kids. Never had a period for nearly 5 years from the time I was 17-22. That one time I ovulated my eldest child was conceived.

4 kids later and I swear my husband just had to look at me and a child was conceived. No miscarriages but one premie.

Never overweight. (okay, a little bit, but it's coming off now)

I do however have apnea, and the hair thing (which is insanely annoying), and I wish my cycle was back to what it was when I was 18 again!! Heading into the obgyn in just a couple of weeks to hopefully deal with more recent issues. They can take all of my baby plumbing away now for all I care. I've never even really looked into what PCOS actually means for me truth be told. Both an obgyn and endocronoligist gave me this news when I was quite young, and it seems to have sorted itself out reasonably well other than the monthly thing now. I haven't seen an OB since my youngest was born (almost 8 years ago now), so I guess it's time.

[socknitster]

Froro,

If you want to stick around for your kids then you need to have a lipid panel done. That is now standard procedure with PCOS diagnostics. PCOS causes problems with cholesterol, which can lead to heart problems. Get it checked out now before you are at risk for a heart attack. The PCOS is probably still there. Many sufferers are able to have children--infertility isn't the only symptom.

Jen