Just curious. Can surgery on a woman's reproductive organs, such as her ovary cause PCOS?
I just feel like ever since I had a benign tumor removed from my ovary, things have not been the same. I have seen 3 gynos and not one of them has suggested checking my hormone levels b/c my u/s looks 'okay.' I am frustrated, wondering what is causing my symptoms, especially since I had fantastic reproductive health for 12 yrs.
Hey! I'm not sure if surgery can cause PCOS, but I do think that it may affect it. Before I had an ovarian cyst removed from my right ovary in 2003 I had normal testosterone and progesterone levels (although I know that I had some sort of endocrine issues that causes the cyst to grow in the first place). A year after the cyst was removed my periods were abnormal, I started to get acne, and hair loss none of which I had expirienced before and my testo levels were very high and lo proges. No doctor has been able to explain it to me, even when I show them the lab results from before and after...tis a mystery....
PCOS isn't a 'reproductive' disorder. It's an endocrine disorder. There's no consensus on the cause. Most theories suggest it's genetic.
Not sure about the surgery question.
Sorry, I guess I should have made myself more clear. By me stating 'reproductive health,' I was referring to regular menstrual cycles without any related issues. I wasn't aware that I used the wrong terminology there.
If most theories state that PCOS is genetic, then why are so many women (including on this board) experiencing symptoms later in life, and have no other family members with PCOS?
I apologize for my naivete here but I am a newbie to all of this.
I apologize for my naivete here but I am a newbie to all of this.
No worries
Quote:
Originally Posted by nic_05
If most theories state that PCOS is genetic, then why are so many women (including on this board) experiencing symptoms later in life, and have no other family members with PCOS?
They're just 'theories'. Currently, the cause of pcos has not been identified.
Something can be genetic and still not affect other family members.
Also, there are additional theories suggesting that environment contributes to making the symptoms worse.
As for 'symptoms later in life'...I'm not sure how you're defining 'later in life', but most research suggests that pcos symptoms begin to subside as a woman ages, and especially as she approaches menopause.
I think you might be on to something with the idea that surgery can make PCOS symptoms appear. Although it seems that I might have had a pituitary tumor since puberty (or maybe before), I never experienced PCOS symptoms until after I had a ovarian cyst removed at 17. Before that time, I menstrated regularly and had a 28 day cycle. I had acne before the surgery, but I was also a teenager. After the surgery though my periods started coming in alternating 21 and 35 day cycles. I told my gyn about this but they said it was fine. At that time I also started having more cramps and heavier flo than I ever had before. My acne never went away after my teenage years either, I was the only 20 something I knew with acne like a teenager. I also started to struggle with my weight after the surgery (I was always thin before that, now it's a struggle to lose weight). After the surgery was also when they found that I have 15+ follicles on each ovary, even when I'm on BCP. I think that should have tipped them off that something was wrong because when I went for the surgery I had the one cyst on the one ovary and not a single follicle on either ovary.
Once I moved out of my parents' house and started law school, my periods went to a 42 day cycle. I was still told that was nothing to worry about because I was probably just stressed from school. I finally got my gyn to do an ultrasound and hormone tests and they found my pituitary tumor. That's of course what they've blamed my symptoms on. Even though I had my pituitary tumor treated and finally removed just over two months ago, my periods have gone from 42 days apart to nonexistent. I also still have acne (worse than ever) and I can't lose weight despite diet and quite a rigorous exercise routine (I'm a fencer, so I work out a lot). It makes me wonder what might have happened if I had never had surgery for my ovarian cyst. It's an interesting theory and I wonder how many other women have similar experiences.
__________________ No PCOS diagnosis yet...
Feel free to ask me about hyperprolactinemia though, just had my prolactinoma removed through brain surgery. Happier and healthier already... To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
I never experienced PCOS symptoms until after I had a ovarian cyst removed at 17. Before that time, I menstrated regularly and had a 28 day cycle. I had acne before the surgery, but I was also a teenager.
I was reading this and it made me think. When i first got diagnosed with pcos in 1996, or 97 i never paid attention to the things that happened to me when i was younger. When i was about 12, i developed terrible acne on my upper back. Instead of taking me to a dr, my mom thought it would be better to parade me around to people and tell them i didnt wash(YES< SHE DID THAT). I was sad because i knew i washed. THen at 16 years i had my son. After i had him, the rest is history. , my skin took a nose dive, and the weight started creeping on. What was puzzling to me was that, no one in my family ever had pcos, however, when i met my fathers family(never knew them) my dads sister was very thin, with the acne on her back and face, and she couldnt have children. I BELIEVE SHE HAS PCOS. I was also very hairy as a child, thick sideburns, hair on my legs etc, my aunt was hairy too,we looked just alike..... I believe i have always had pcos, i think something with my hormones during pregnacy or after delivery made my symptoms worst.
can surgery cause PCOS? 
