I have PCOS, what do I have to be aware in the future?

PCOS puts women at risk for other conditions during their lifetime. Women with PCOS in their 20s and 30s are more likely to develop metabolic syndrome and/or diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and central obesity as they get older. For this reason, it’s important for a woman's gynecologist and later on her internal medicine doctor to be aware that she has or had PCOS when she was younger. 

In addition to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, women with PCOS are more prone to develop abnormal endometrial cells (aka endometrial hyperplasia) and ultimately uterine cancer if not managed appropriately.  Thus, it’s important to make sure that a woman has period at least once a season or ideally once every 2 or 3 months. 

And guys, there are easy ways to do this. All you need to do is take a little bit of progesterone, whether it's oral tablets such as Provera or Prometrium. Sometimes doctors will give women birth control pills or a progesterone containing IUD. There are lots of options to give progesterone. 

PCOS also increases the lifetime risk of developing sleep apnea. This can be problematic and lead to a lot of other health conditions. So be aware if you're having difficulty sleeping or concentrating. Reach out to your PCP to look into this. What are some things you can do in the meantime? Monitor your symptoms and make sure to share them with your doctor. Eat healthy and get moderate exercise, and just be as healthy as you can!  Small changes matter.