Does PCOS show up in the blood or are you diagnosed because the symptoms point to PCO

lacey1982 · 02-03-2006, 06:12 PM

The reason I ask is because my Doctor diagnosed me back in the beginning of January. I had blood work done and was tested for a million different things related to PCOS and otherwise. My tests came back and all was fine execpt I am anemic and needed some iron. I dont have the health issues such as hypothyriodism or diabetes or any other insulin problems. I do have the extra facial and body hair and I have thinning hair on my head. The doctor put me on yasmine and iron. I am just wondering if PCOS is diagonsed by the symptoms (example: your symptoms are, hair loss, facial hair, skipped cycle, hypothyriodism and weight gain you probably have PCOS so we will treat it as if you did) or if it actually shows up in the blood as PCOS. If I only have the extra body and facial hair couldnt that be due to hormones out of wack, and the loss of hair could be due to the lack or iron. I have just been thinking about this and wanted other peoples opinion before I make another appointment with the Doctor to ask him about it.

zameira · 02-03-2006, 06:39 PM

Well I am defenitliy no expert but neither are the doctors. I went through 3 docs who all didnt come up with squat, than I seen an article about this and it said to go to gyno or endo. So I went to the endo she dx me the moment I walked in,then did more blood test to confirm and found that in fact I was. When one doc told me that my testosterone was on the high end of normal he then passed it off as nothing but my endo siad that high in even the normal area is to high for females and I have unwanted hair growth , acne ,weight gain ,thinning hair at rapid rate, insulin resistance heck you name it I think I am dealing with it as far as PCOS goes. Thats all I know on this subject dear, hope it helps.

SnowFlower · 02-03-2006, 06:46 PM

they ususally do blood tests to confirm the abnormal hormone levels and sometimes an u/s although some of us dont have cysts

lacey1982 · 02-03-2006, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KimberlyHeidi

they ususally do blood tests to confirm the abnormal hormone levels and sometimes an u/s although some of us dont have cysts

My doctor checked for abnormal hormone levels and all mine seemed to be fine, thats another reason why I am wondering if I dont have PCOS.

Leikela · 02-04-2006, 05:08 AM

Hi there! I'm new here myself and had the same questions as you. It's beginning to look like everyone has their own variety of symptoms. I think at first I didn't want to believe I had it but it's finally starting to settle in.

Abnormal hormone levels and the symptoms you described sound like PCOS. The only symptoms I have is irregular periods and a few hairs (barely noticible) on my chin. I also have a small skin tag on my underarm. That's about it. No pain or abnormal weight gain or anything. It all depends on the person.

CathyWood · 02-07-2006, 05:15 PM

Hi Welcome to Sc. You did go through a lot of bloodwork. Sounds like you have other things that you mentioned. Contact me if you wish. Check out the links in the forums too.

starlite · 02-07-2006, 06:19 PM

From my research, PCOS is a syndrome. And from my understanding, syndromes are a set of symptoms. There can be many combination of symptoms that point to PCOS. I personally believe that’s why it’s hard for many women to be dx’d with this. Before I was dx’d, I had tons of tests ran and nothing ever came up. My symptoms were lower abdominal pain and irregular periods. I had a big issue with weight until about 15 1/2yrs old. After 5 years of not knowing, they ran a simple blood test and said it looked like I had PCOS. I lost my insurance soon after and had to go off bcp. I then gained a LOT of weight (that I had worked so hard to loose) over the next 2 years. Once I got back on bcp, I was able to loose about 20lbs. I still have the abdominal pain and that is caused by cysts on my ovaries. Being on Yasmin has helped my cycle, but I do have slight hair loss and acne problems. Leikela’s right, it depends on the person, every one’s different. Hope you get the answers you’re looking for!

sarahmarie1981 · 02-08-2006, 08:52 PM

I had a really long reply all typed out and the board ate it, I will repost tonight when I get home from work

daffyduck · 02-09-2006, 03:21 AM

Welcome to SC. I am new myself and have the same question. I was diagnoised in Nov. based on a few symptoms - IF, irregular cycles and acne. I pushed my endo to do an US. It showed losts of cysts. However, my endo has not done any BW. He says it is not necessary. He has put me on 1000 mg of met and 4mg of Avandia (couldn't handle 1500mg of met). He told me I will be on the meds forever.

Is BW necessary to confirm the dx? Should I be concerned that my endo is not interested in doing any BW?

JennJenn64 · 02-10-2006, 01:10 AM

Hello I am a newbie to all of this! Those of you who had blood work what blood tests did they run? Just Hormone levels or were there others?

Thanks
JennJenn64

Leikela · 02-13-2006, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennJenn64

Hello I am a newbie to all of this! Those of you who had blood work what blood tests did they run? Just Hormone levels or were there others?

Thanks
JennJenn64

The blood work that was done on me was just to test hormone levels. However, some Dr.'s will also test you for gluclose intolerance and diabetes.

Pamela · 02-14-2006, 05:18 PM

Welcome to sc. I think along with the blood work your doc should to a vaginal ultrasound.
Take a look at the links at the top of this forum--there is a ton of info about tests, what to ask your doc, etc.

Leikela · 02-16-2006, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pamela

Welcome to sc. I think along with the blood work your doc should to a vaginal ultrasound.
Take a look at the links at the top of this forum--there is a ton of info about tests, what to ask your doc, etc.

I had a vaginal ultrasound done as well. It came up normal so bloodwork was important for me in order to confirm PCOS. Not everyone with PCOS will have cysts so an ultrasound could also be inconclusive. I would get both tests done and between the two your Dr. should be able to confirm a diagnosis.