Women with PCOS often report signs of mood swings, depression and anxiety. Mood swings can feel like rapidly fluctuating emotions that can manifest as irritability, temper, sadness and/or anxiety that results from hormonal imbalance. Many women do experience signs of mood swings, especially near their menstrual cycle.
The scientific literature now shows clearly that anxiety levels, psychological distress, depressive feelings, and social fears are much higher in the women with PCOS. In one study of 300 women, nearly 30% had anxiety, and quality of life was lowest in those with a combination of stress and depression.
For example, the hormonal fluctuations that women with PCOS experience are also likely to bring about mood swings or emotional instability, which could be one of the symptoms of depression as well.
Mood swings: Because of the hormonal imbalance, women with PCOS also have a higher risk for depression, anxiety and extreme or rapid changes in mood. Heavy, painful periods: PCOS can cause painful periods with heavy bleeding. This can cause additional issues, such as anemia, and is often unpleasant and even scary.
Leading an active lifestyle in general may help improve mental health. People with PCOS who reported exercising regularly had fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression (18), and those who said they did at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week were less likely to be depressed (19).
In examining women with PCOS, it was found that 16% of them have major depression and 2% have bipolar disorder. Depression and anxiety are more prevalent in women with PCOS than in the general population.
Relationships and sex
Women with PCOS report more problems with sexual desire. This may be due to physical symptoms of PCOS (e.g. being overweight or having excess facial hair) leading to lowered mood or self-esteem. If you feel that PCOS is affecting your sex life, it's important to talk to your doctor.
Depression and anxiety are common in women with PCOS but are often overlooked and therefore left untreated. Along with the physical disturbances, many mental problems are also associated with PCOS.
Your partner may be very discouraged if she has been diagnosed with PCOS, but with a supportive partner, the journey is much more manageable. As symptoms of the condition can be annoying and she will need you for support, make sure you have a support system in place to get the support you need.
Women with PCOS have also been found to produce more cortisol at baseline than women without PCOS. This means that women with PCOS may have more sensitive stress response systems.
Ovofolic is a combination of myo-inositol and d-chiro inositol with clinically proven benefits for managing PCOS symptoms including anxiety.
Compared to unaffected controls, women with PCOS had a significantly increased risk of developing bipolar disorder after adjusting for age, medical comorbidity, and different treatment options (1.05 vs. 0.12 per 1,000 person-years, HR: 8.29, 95% CI: 4.65–14.7).
As previously stated, the shape of a PCOS belly differs from other types of weight gain. It often appears large and bloated but can also be small and round, depending on genetics and other factors. The PCOS belly involves the accumulation of visceral fat in the lower abdomen and typically feels firm to the touch.
Physical abuse was associated with PCOS (OR = 4.21, CI 1.43; 12.38), but was not significant when other maltreatment types were factored in. Conclusions: Child maltreatment is independently associated with PCOS in women without psychiatric disorders.
PCOS can be difficult to diagnose because some of its symptoms have a variety of potential causes. For example, heavy menstrual bleeding could be caused by a range of conditions, such as uterine fibroids, polyps, bleeding disorders, certain medications, or pelvic inflammatory disease, in addition to PCOS.
If you are a woman diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), you will most likely want to tell your long term partner about your condition — and discuss the potential complications that could affect your life together.
There are four types of PCOS: Insulin-resistant PCOS, Inflammatory PCOS, Hidden-cause PCOS, and Pill-induced PCOS.
Upon assessment, many women with PCOS describe little or no breast changes during the pregnancy, and examination reveals breasts that are tubular in shape, widely spaced, or asymmetrical.
Women with PCOS can develop serious health problems, especially if they are overweight: Diabetes—more than half of women with PCOS develop type 2 diabetes by age 40.
Does PCOS Make You Tired? PCOS and fatigue go hand-in-hand. In fact, fatigue is one of the leading symptoms reported among women with PCOS. Additional causes of fatigue may include an underactive thyroid, low vitamin B12 or vitamin D levels, and anemia (low blood count).
The most recent systematic review and metanalysis show that women with PCOS are many times more likely, in comparison to other women, to develop moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (as much as six times more likely) and depression symptoms (up to four times more likely) [4,19,22].
What happens when you have PCOS and go off birth control? Because hormonal birth control methods help to suppress the symptoms of PCOS, many women find that their symptoms reemerge when they go off birth control. Your period may become irregular again and you may find yourself experiencing other symptoms, such as acne.
As the problem of PCOS is a life-long problem it will continue, removing the ovaries will not cure the problem. There have been circumstances where some women have had regular menstrual cycles in the months following surgery and even some pregnancies.