How to Diagnose PCOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, affects as many as 5 million women in the United States, and is especially common in women of childbearing age. It results when the ovaries produce excess androgens, or male sex hormones, which disrupt the normal menstrual cycle. The exact causes of PCOS are unknown, but several factors can play a role, including genetics and insulin resistance. Your doctor can examine your symptoms and run various tests to diagnose PCOS.

Instructions

• 1

  Document your symptoms. PCOS may cause an abnormal menstrual cycle--no periods, a long time between periods, or very light or heavy periods--and side effects from excess male hormones, including increased hair growth, acne and male pattern baldness. Changes in your menstrual cycle may lead to infertility.

• 2

  Consider related conditions. Women with PCOS are more likely to be overweight or obese and insulin resistant. This can lead to difficulty losing weight, high blood sugar, and dark, velveting patches on the skin, known as acanthosis nigricans.

• 3

  Test the blood to determine hormone levels. In women with PCOS, the level of lutenizing hormone is often three times the level of follicle-stimulating hormone; both hormones affect ovulation, and this change disrupts their function. The levels of testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone, two male hormones, are usually towards the higher end of the normal range for women.

• 4

  Test the blood for high glucose levels and high cholesterol. While the presence of high glucose or cholesterol levels doesn't definitively indicate PCOS, they may cause or worsen the condition.

• 5

  Perform a vaginal ultrasound and examine the ovaries for cysts. These cysts, which are less than 10 mm in diameter, form when high androgen levels disrupt normal ovulation and can cause the ovary to appear one and a half to three times its normal size. A lack of cysts, however, does not rule out a diagnosis of PCOS.