Can stress be one of the unknown causes?

[yme?]

Hi everybody,
I was diagnosed with PCOS yesterday. I spent the whole day crying and felt like it was a huge joke. I ALWAYS had regular periods, though the cycle was 30-32 or at maximum 34 days long. I have ALWAYS been on the slimmer side being 105-110lbs at 5'6" but gained weight in a year to 120lbs (Which was definitely due to total inactivity as I got married last july, moved to US and had to stay home n study) . I have normal facial hair (very light) . My hair are long and thick. I'm 25yrs old and I have got adult acne since 6 months , just a lil bit on the T-zone (I didnt have it before, and I'm positive it was because of the chocolates and nuts I ate, which used to give me acne in my teenage) This month I got my period after 45days , it wasnt painful at all (I usually have a painful 1st day) and I had periods/spotting for 12days. I went to the doc and voila!!! My LH/FSH ratio was 2:1 i.e quite increased.
Apart from that I dont have any other sign of PCOS. No other tests were recommended by the doc. she just confirmed the diagnosis on a single blood test taken in the early follicular stage of my menstrual cycle .

I'm a personality A type(Stress prone) and since last year I've had to study for an exam(Have to study for 8 or more months 10hrs a day) I took stress like I've never taken it before. I'm more than 100% sure, stress can be on of the causes as I know 3 more girls with similar situation n diagnosis.

I just need to meet other people with similar conditions and be myself again.
Right now , I'm distraught.
Anybody...HELP!!!

[deblynnc]

I've not heard anything about a connection between stress and PCOS. However, it is well known that stress affects the body, so it would make sense that there is some sort of relationship there. Whether stress could be a cause or simply an aggravating factor making an existing condition worse, I don't know.

Debbie

[Eva37]

hi

welcome to sc. I have locah as well as pcos, which is due to cortisol (stress hormones) and the adrenal gland.

see you around the boards
eva

[yme?]

Thanks for replying.
Do you have any idea if we could control PCOS by managing stress? Since thats the only thing I can control.

[Eva37]

hi

i suppose it would help a bit. But personally my stress is hormone - not environment. Although I do try and not get stressed (easier said that done). I drink calmomile tea which seems to help a bit.
eva

[Jill Ann]

I would recommend the book by Dr. Lee (something about Premenopause in the 30-50 year old woman). He talks at great length about the horrible effects stress has on our bodies and he believes it does lead to our hormones getting out of wack. He also talks about what we can do to get things leveled out again (and almost nothing he recommends involves a prescription drug, either).

[KatCarney]

No other tests were recommended by the doc. she just confirmed the diagnosis on a single blood test taken in the early follicular stage of my menstrual cycle .

Get a second opinion, and check the info here:
http://www.soulcysters.com/do_have_pcos.html

[one-hit_wonder]

yme?:

i believe 100% that stress aggravates pcos. for sure. too much stress is not good for anyone at any time! i know, for myself, that my af will not show up if i've been stressed out for a prolonged period of time. for instance, when i was teaching grade school last year, i only got af maybe three times (and not at all in the spring months! report cards are a strong deterrent to af! lol).

after a lot of life-overhauling, i've managed to get my stress level under control. it did mean switching my career path, but i'm much happier (and nearly symptom-free) now.

hang in there! this is manageable, although it may not seem like it right now. pm me if i can help!

[KatCarney]

Thanks for replying.
Do you have any idea if we could control PCOS by managing stress? Since thats the only thing I can control.

Stress management was a major factor in getting my pcos under control. I turned the telly off early. Got PLENTY of sleep, and even burned candles for the hour before going to bed (I read something about artificial lights and women's hormones).

But becoming physically active also helped with the stress control. In the past I would always retreat to the couch when stressed out. Now, I went to the gym, and ended every workout with a nice relaxing stay in the steam room.

When my life gets really stressful, and I slack off on stress management - my symptoms pop back up.

ETA

Have you considred yoga? See the link in my siggy? Lots of cysters yogis, and 'newbie' yogis there. I'm trying VERY hard to make yoga a regular part of my life. As I get older, I think it will be critical to helping me manage my PCOS.

[aleutianrunner]

yme,

I have read tons on PCOS, although stess isn't technically a symtom of PCOS, when you start tcc it can play a part because of the effects it has on your body. Stress can also effect your periods. I have found yoga and meditation helpful in reducing stress in my life. Also by eating right and exercising relieves many of the symtoms that come with pcos. Take care.

[OliviaLeigh]

I also suggest exercise as a good way to manage stress. You feel great afterwards too

[guineapig]

I just read this story about stress & anovulation (no O). High cortisol (can be due to allergies, stress, poor nutrition, sleep deficit, IMO sleep-wake schedule that's not your natural rhythm, extreme exercise, extended illness) can cause anovulation and thus a lot of PCOS symptoms. Anovulatory women were found to have 30% more cortisol in their spinal fluid, a better indicator than a typical blood or pee test.

Emory University's study examined a group of "type A" women that had been having infertility and no O and half received counselling, half none. The ones that got treatment went on to ovulate for the most part. The ones w/o counselling didn't really improve.

So what can we do about it? Yes, counselling usually doesn't hurt. Relaxation techniques, yes. Good nutrition, sure. But IMO there's also a component with controlling allergies if you have them (staying away from pollen, wearing mask while gardening, keeping animals out of bedroom, encasing bedding, I get allergy shots, etc etc) and sleeping both enough and on your natural rhythm. I am a night bird and anytime I am forced onto a day schedule my AF was wilder and I got sick all the time. Didn't matter how much I slept either--which was much more than when I was allowed to be my natural "vampire" self. I got bfp on a cycle when I absolutely refused to get up earlier than I awoke naturally and slept when/if I needed to during CD 1-15 ('course I missed a few lectures...but worth it IMO).

So yes, IMO stress can cause anovulation, but there's other things that raise our cortisol too--not always just as simple as "relax and get pg."

[ChelNY]

I agree with Kat, you should probably get a 2nd opinion. I've read that stress can affect our periods. but just because you are stressed and your period is 45 days instead of 34... does that mean you have pcos? It sounds fishy to me. Is the doc going to follow up and test your LH/FSH again?

Certainly managing stress better would help anyone, not just people with pcos. Life moves at a frantic pace and it is hard for many of us to keep up.