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Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) - Treatment Overview
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a group of health problems caused by out-of-balance hormones. It often involves irregular menstrual periods beginning in puberty, or difficulty getting pregnant.
Regular exercise, a healthy diet, not smoking, and weight control are the cornerstone of treatment for PCOS. Sometimes, also using a medicine to balance hormones is helpful.
There is no cure for PCOS, but controlling it lowers your PCOS risks of infertility, miscarriages, diabetes, heart disease, and uterine cancer.
Initial treatment
The first step in managing polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, and not smoking. This is a medical treatment for PCOS, not just a lifestyle choice. Additional treatments depend on your symptoms and whether you are planning a pregnancy.
- If you are overweight, a small amount of weight loss is likely to help balance your hormones and start up your menstrual cycle and ovulation. Use regular exercise and a healthy weight-loss diet as your first big treatment step. This is especially important if you're planning a pregnancy.
- If you smoke, consider quitting. Women who smoke have higher levels of androgens than women who don't smoke.1 Smoking also increases your risk of heart disease.
- If you are planning a pregnancy and weight loss doesn't improve your fertility, your doctor may suggest a medicine that helps lower insulin. With weight loss, this can improve your chances of ovulation and pregnancy. Fertility drug treatment may also help start ovulation.2
- If you are not planning a pregnancy, you can also use hormone therapy to help control your ovary hormones. To correct menstrual cycle problems, birth control hormones keep your endometrial lining from building up for too long. This is what prevents uterine cancer. Hormone therapy can also help with male-type hair growth and acne.3 Birth control pills, patches, or vaginal rings are prescribed for hormone therapy. Androgen-lowering spironolactone (Aldactone) is often used with estrogen-progestin birth control pills. This helps with hair loss, acne, and male-pattern hair growth on the face and body (hirsutism).3
Taking hormones does not help with heart, blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes risks. This is why exercise and a healthy diet are a key part of your treatment.
For helpful information, see:
- A registered dietitian who has special knowledge about diabetes.
- The topic Healthy Eating.
- The topic Fitness.
- Physical activity for weight loss.
- The topic Quitting Smoking.
Additional treatments for menstrual cycle and hair and skin problems
Other treatments for PCOS problems include:
- Hair removal with laser, electrolysis, waxing, tweezing, or chemicals.
- Skin treatments. Acne medicines can be nonprescription or prescription. Some are taken by mouth and some are applied to the skin. (For more information, see the topic Acne Vulgaris.) Skin tag removal is not needed unless the tags are irritating, such as a tag on an eyelid. Generally they can be removed easily by your doctor.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Topics
ENABLEX is a prescription medicine used in adults to treat the following symptoms due to a condition called overactive bladder:
- · having a strong need to go to the bathroom right away (also called "urgency")
- · leaks or wetting accidents (also called "urinary incontinence")
- · having to go to the bathroom too often (also called "urinary frequency")
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
You should not take once-daily ENABLEX if you have certain types of stomach problems, glaucoma, or have trouble emptying your bladder. Side effects of ENBLEX include blurred vision, and more commonly dry mouth, constipation, indigestion, and abdominal pain. Use caution when doing certain activities until you know how ENBALEX affects you.
VIVELLE-DOT (estradiol transdermal system) IS AVAILABLE BY PRESCRPTION ONLY.
INDICATION
Vivelle-Dot is used after menopause to: reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; treat moderate to severe dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina; help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones); and treat certain conditions in which a young woman's ovaries do not produce enough estrogens naturally. Vivelle-Dot 0.025 mg/day is only used to prevent osteoporosis from menopause. If you use Vivelle-Dot only to treat your dryness, itching, and burning in and around your vagina or if you use Vivelle-Dot only to prevent osteoporosis from menopause, talk with your healthcare professional about whether a different treatment or medicine without estrogens might be better for you.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus (womb). Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are taking estrogens. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb).
Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes. Using estrogens with or without progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. Using estrogens with progestins may increase your risk of dementia (decline in memory and thinking skills).
Vivelle-Dot should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding; currently have or have had certain cancers, including cancer of the breast or uterus; had a stroke or heart attack in the recent past (for example, in the past year); currently have or have had blood clots; currently have or have had liver problems; or think you may be, or know that you are, pregnant.
The most common side effects that may occur with Vivelle-Dot are headache, breast tenderness, and back pain.
You and your healthcare professional should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with Vivelle-Dot.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see Full Prescribing Information for Vivelle-Dot.
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