Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

What is it?

PCOS is a condition of the ovaries associated with excessive egg-production and affects between 10-15% of women of reproductive age. It is a familial condition - that is, there is a raised chance that if there is a history of PCOS in the family, you will also suffer from it. PCOS is a condition characterised by many minute cysts in the ovaries and excess production of androgens (male-type hormones).

Associated Symptoms

PCOS is frequently associated with the following symptoms:

• Weight gain
• Excessive hair growth in the face and body
• Irregular and infrequent periods or absent periods
• Infrequent or absent ovulation
• Infertility

Long Term Risks

• Type 2 diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Endometrial cancer

Diagnosis

It is important that a proper diagnosis of PCOS is made and this will require discussion with your GP, who may have access to diagnostics or might refer you to an endocrine specialist.

Treatment

Treatment may involve hormone medication or rarely, surgical techniques but in any case, treatment is aimed at normalising hormone balance and reducing associated symptoms, including excessive hair growth.

Hair Removal for Women with PCOS

Hair over-growth is a common side effect of PCOS and because light based treatments do not interfere with medication or surgery, excessive hair growth can be treated at any stage of the medical treatment (with the exception of immediate post-operation where surgery is required).

Hair Removal treatment using laser is effective for women with PCOS but, because unwanted hair growth in women is hormonally driven, until hormonal imbalances are resolved, increased hair growth may continue in spite of hair removal treatments.

Where for most women, hair removal may be a permanent depilation technique, for women with PCOS, hair removal is an on-going management technique. However, treatment will significantly reduce the amount of hair present and slow down re-growth. For example, women shaving on a daily basis may find that they only require laser treatment every few weeks with no shaving in between.

Otherwise, the situation is precisely the same in PCOS and non PCOS treatment. A consultation will

• Assess and describe the condition.
• Consider medical history and medications
• Consider hair and skin type (we use different lasers for light and dark skin types).
• Test patch, indicating the most appropriate energy for your individual skin type

The treatment itself is quick and simple with the laser targeting pulses of light-energy at the hair shaft with the aim of causing permanent damage to growth cells in the hair follicle. Hair follicles permanently destroyed will not grow hair again.

For all people, a course of treatments, perhaps 5 - 8 sessions, is required to catch all hairs during the active ‘anagen' stage of hair growth. Following this, long-interval top-ups may be required to catch the new follicles as they come into growth.

Where PCOS people differ from others is that the underlying hormone imbalance in PCOS causes new hair follicles to be created at a much faster rate than in non-PCOS people such that treatment may be a recurrent course of regular laser sessions unless and until hormone levels are rebalanced through medical treatment.

For more information, please call 01491 873 989 or 0118 958 2016.

See also: The Berkshire Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Support Group
Their website is www.berkshirepcos.org.uk