PCOS Symptoms?

Hi everyone, I have a few questions for those of you with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

I'm a big girl and a lot of my weight is centered around my belly. I have about 5 of those skin tags on my neck. I also have excess hair on my upper lip.

But that body shape is common in the women in my family, so are the skin tags and excess hair on the upper lip.

I've been getting my period regularly since I was 11 (I'm 18 now). I don't have excess body hair of any kind. My blood pressure is normal and I've never had any kind of health problems. No acne either.

Should I see a Dr. or are my symptoms not severe enough? I ask because my friend was diagnosed with this disease and if I do have it, I want to know as soon as possible.

Thanks.

If you're not showing the symptoms, the odds are high that you don't have it. I'm not sure why you would want to worry about it, the pcos isn't life threatening in itself and if the symptoms aren't there to correct, there's not much to do.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder that affects the endocrine system. With PCOS, the normal hormone cycles are disrupted, causing an interference with a woman鈥檚 ovulation cycle. Hormones are responsible for various functions throughout the body, including regulating a woman鈥檚 reproductive functions (e.g., normal development of eggs in the ovaries). It is not completely understood why or how the hormone cycles are disrupted by PCOS.

PCOS is a syndrome rather than a disease. A syndrome is a group of symptoms that collectively compose a condition or disease. The following characteristics are present in most women with PCOS:

A genetic component. Many women with PCOS have female family members who exhibit symptoms and/or complications related to the disorder (e.g., irregular menstruation, excessive body hair growth, diabetes).

There's more information below on the signs and symptoms, as well as questions to ask your doctor:

http://obgyn.health.ivillage.com/uterine...