PCOS and Insulin Resistance

Women who suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome typically also experience difficulties when trying to get pregnant. This can be largely due to imbalanced hormones levels in the bloodstream, making it difficult to maintain ovulation. Recent studies have shown that insulin resistance could actually trigger polycystic ovarian syndrome in a fairly large percentage of women who suffer from PCOS. The newer medical thought is that once the insulin resistance is successfully treated, a woman's natural fertility may also be restored. PCOS affects as many as ten percent of females, causing the ovarian follicles to improperly rupture. This means that no eggs are released when a woman ovulates, so the eggs build up within the ovaries and turn into cysts which continue to grow and eventually cover the entire ovary.

What is Insulin Resistance?

Insulin resistance can occur when a woman's body cannot use the insulin it produces properly, therefore glucose levels go unregulated. Insulin transfers glucose from the blood stream to the body's tissues and cells. When a person becomes insulin resistant, your body may begin to develop high levels of insulin, which leads to further health complications, and can be very dangerous. Insulin resistance may affect as many as one in three Americans; because of our national epidemic of obesity, it is likely this is one contributor to the large number of adults with insulin resistance.

Who Will Get Insulin Resistance?

Being overweight is likely the number one reason for the development of insulin resistance, while being over forty and having a family history of Type II diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure can also contribute to the disease. While there are typically no overt symptoms of insulin resistance, once it has reached the severe level women may notice weight gain around the middle, high blood pressure, intense carbohydrate and sugar cravings, acne, or dark patches on the backs of the elbows, ankles, knees or neck.

The Connection between Insulin Resistance and PCOS

It has only been in the past twenty years that scientific research has made a definitive connection between polycystic ovarian syndrome and insulin resistance-as many as thirty-five percent of women with PCOS also have insulin resistance. The question remains, however whether the insulin resistance leads to PCOS, or if PCOS triggers insulin resistance. The theory is that when a woman's body becomes insulin-resistant, the pancreas will do its best to keep up by producing more and more insulin. When the body has been literally over-flooded with insulin, the production of excess androgens (male hormones) are triggered, effectively interfering with all aspects of female reproduction and causing other PCOS symptoms. Unfortunately, apart from the heartbreak of infertility, insulin resistance can lead to Type II diabetes if left untreated.

Treatment of PCOS

Medication is the number one treatment for insulin resistance, generally in the form of a drug known as Metformin which helps control glucose production in the liver, reducing the need for insulin and controlling androgen production. Losing weight can also help regulate the insulin production, and physicians will typically advise their patients to eat healthfully and get plenty of physical exercise in an effort to regulate the over-production of insulin.