The hidden costs of PCOS for women

"I had to fight doctors to be diagnosed.And even after being officially diagnosed, I asked a doctor if I had it at all," says Lorna Berry , 48.

Ms. Berry and women like her have led a long public campaign via the Polycystic Ovary Association, Australia to better educate general practitioners about the misunderstood state

that has led Friday to the publication of new global clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease More than 70 countries have agreed to apply them.

"We have no cure, but we have a range of Effective treatments, and it's really important that women know it, "says Helena Teede, a professor at Monash University's Development Guidelines, published jointly on Friday in three major academic journals.

" Often, this what happens is that women can not be diagnosed, they do not know why they feel the symptoms. They do not get help from preventative lifestyle. And they will get out of the pill at 33, 34, and they will see that they can not have children. "

PCOS occurs when a woman's body produces higher levels of male-type hormones than normal.It is not known what causes the disease, but it is thought that" it is related to insulin resistance

Obesity, lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet are all major risk factors, but the condition is also genetic. difficult to diagnose because there is a wide variety of potential symptoms, many, subtle, including irregular periods, excessive hair, hair loss on the scalp, acne, depression and sleep apnea

is mbadively overweight and has hair and acne, that's what you learn as a medical student is the PCOS, "says Dr. Mala Thondan, a general practitioner based in East Kew

" You often miss a stack of girls to compli In this situation, it is normal for adolescent girls to have irregular periods, which can sometimes lead to a misdiagnosis of the syndrome – making PCOS both over-diagnosed and under-diagnosed. 19659002] Some women are as comfortable as often revealing the symptoms to their GPs. "It's a disease that can make you obese, hairy, infertile and depressed – why would I want to talk about it?" Said Professor Teede

one day. If a woman has irregular periods, acne or facial hair or cysts on her ovaries, suspect PCOS.

And if a diagnosis of PCOS is confirmed, doctors should tell patients not to ignore it. Lifestyle changes can make a big difference, and there is a whole range of effective drug treatments.

"Women should know that in the majority of cases, infertility can be treated – in most cases, twenty years ago, there was almost no information on PCOS for general practitioners, and from today, the guidelines for which Lorna Berry has beaten will be incorporated into mainstream education in Australia and around the world [19659010]. "We did not want another generation of women to be undiagnosed."

Click here for guidelines, more information and a mobile app.