What are the benefits of weight loss for obese patients with polycystic ovary syndrome? Obesity or overweight accounts for 67% of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). For PCOS patients, obesity is not only “bad looking”, but also brings metabolic disorders, reproductive health and other hazards. Weight loss or control through diet and exercise can improve hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance and hyperandrogenemia, thus restoring menstruation, reducing hirsuteness and acne symptoms. (ii) Weight loss can lead to a much higher chance of conception and a reduced chance of miscarriage. Weight loss also has long-term benefits, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and endometrial cancer in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. Therefore, weight loss is the first and most important step in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome. Some patients may not be overweight but have a thickened waistline (waist circumference ≥ 80cm), that is, “central obesity”, also need to control their weight to reduce the waistline. The test results of drinking sugar water said that I have insulin resistance, what is insulin resistance? What is insulin resistance and will I get diabetes? Insulin is a substance produced by the pancreas that lowers blood sugar to normal levels. When we have elevated glucose in the blood, the pancreas releases insulin to tell the cells that it is time to take up glucose. Insulin resistance is when cells become less sensitive to insulin and require more insulin to rush the cells to absorb glucose, leading to hyperinsulinemia. Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia are the most important manifestations of abnormal glucose metabolism in polycystic ovary syndrome. Obese patients with polycystic ovary syndrome are more likely to be comorbid with insulin resistance, but it is not exclusive to fat girls; studies have found that insulin resistance still exists in 30% of non-obese patients. Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia can progress to diabetes without intervention, which is characterized by a loss of insulin production and elevated blood glucose. Therefore, early intervention, through exercise, weight loss, scientific and rational lifestyle, combined with medication, can slow down or even reverse the progression of insulin resistance to diabetes. I don’t have diabetes yet, why do I need metformin? What is Metformin? A hypoglycemic drug? No! It’s an insulin sensitizer. Diabetics are often obese and insulin resistant. Oral metformin can help with proper weight control and increase insulin sensitivity, increasing the effectiveness of glucose-lowering drugs. And polycystic ovary syndrome often has insulin resistance, some of them are also accompanied by overweight or even obesity. It is through adherence to metformin that the treatment of insulin resistance and the prevention of a range of long-term complications due to insulin resistance, such as diabetes, can be achieved. What should I do if I take Metformin as directed and my stomach is very upset and there is no way to adhere to the medication? At the beginning of metformin administration, especially on an empty stomach, it can cause gastrointestinal reactions such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Some people also experience dizziness and fatigue. These side effects tend to be dose-dependent, i.e. the higher the dose taken the more pronounced the side effects. Therefore, it is recommended to take the medication with meals and start with a small dose (e.g., take the medication once a day with dinner in the first week, and then increase it to once a day with breakfast and dinner in the second week, and once a day with each of the three meals in the third week), and slowly increasing the dose allows the gastrointestinal tract to have a process of adaptation, which can avoid or alleviate the side effects of metformin. Most people experience a reduction or disappearance of side effects after 1-2 months of use. Isn’t Berberine (Berberine) used to treat gastroenteritis? Why did my doctor prescribe this medicine to me? Berberine is an alkaloid found in many plants in the Berberidaceae family. It is also known by its other name “Berberine”. It was first used in the treatment of intestinal infections, so the common perception of berberine is limited to “medicine for gastroenteritis”. However, it is more than just a plant antimicrobial. With the progress of medicine, it has been proved that berberine has the effect of regulating blood fat, lowering blood pressure, increasing insulin sensitivity and so on. For patients with polycystic ovary syndrome, berberine improves metabolic disorders and can be effective in preventing long-term complications such as type 2 diabetes, endometrial cancer, and cardiovascular disease. So, when the doctor’s prescription is prescribed berberine, don’t think that you’re inadvertently prescribing the wrong medication. If my period is on time while I am taking the pill, and it is delayed or doesn’t come when I stop taking the pill, do I still need to continue to take the pill? Irregular menstruation after stopping the pill means that you are unable to establish an ovulation cycle, your body lacks certain hormones or there is a disorder in one of the links of menstrual regulation, the endometrium does not peel off cyclically, and the endometrium proliferates for too long, so you are at a greater risk of developing endometrial cancer than normal people. Therefore, maintaining cyclic endometrial shedding (i.e., regular menstruation) is necessary for patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. Regular follow-ups are needed to adjust medications and develop a treatment plan as prescribed. I don’t want to have children, can I leave my irregular periods alone and wait until I want to get pregnant? Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is not only harmful to women in terms of irregular menstruation and infertility due to ovulation disorders, but also needs to be treated even if you do not have fertility requirements. Prolonged failure to ovulate, sparse ovulation, the endometrium is in a proliferative state for a long time, it is easy to endometrial hyperplasia, and in serious cases, it may lead to endometrial cancer; abnormalities of glucose and lipid metabolism may lead to glucose intolerance, hyperlipidemia, and if not intervened, it may develop into diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, and obesity in future, and when you want to get pregnant, the disorder of the internal environment of the body is not conducive to fertilization, and this is the cause of many This is one of the many factors that make patients infertile, difficult to implant embryos after transplantation, and high miscarriage rate. Birth control pills are hormonal drugs, will taking these pills make me fat? Most people taking birth control pills do not gain weight, but a small percentage of women cannot be excluded from experiencing slight weight gain. Oral contraceptives are made up of synthetic estrogen and progestin or progestin alone and do not affect fat metabolism. Estrogen and progestin can cause water and sodium retention, a small amount of excess water and salt in the body can not be effectively eliminated, look a little swollen. There are a lot of new varieties of birth control pills out now, and some of them contain progestins that counteract the effects of water and sodium storage and cause little or no weight gain. I have hirsutism, why don’t I see less hair after a few months on the pill? The principle of treatment for hirsutism in combination with polycystic ovary syndrome is to correct the level of sex hormones to slow or stop hair growth. Contraceptive pills with anti-androgenic activity are the first choice. New hair follicles will not grow during the period of taking the pill, but the hair that has already grown will not be “removed” by the pill. It takes time for the hair growth cycle to change, so it takes at least 6 months of birth control pills to see a reduction in hair, and long-term treatment (≥1 year) will have a more pronounced effect. Of course some women choose shaving and depilatories for quick hair removal, these methods treat the symptoms but not the root cause and are prone to recurrence. New technology hair ionization and laser hair removal for hairy patients to bring the gospel, usually in the use of contraceptive pills at least 6 months do not see the effect, before considering hair ionization and laser treatment. It is true that I have less hair after using birth control pills for a period of time, but recently I tend to lose my hair, can birth control pills cause hair loss? Oral contraceptive pills have the effect of supplementing estrogen and progesterone, and estrogen is maintained at a high level in women who have been using the pill for a long time. If the pill is suddenly discontinued the drop in estrogen levels will cause a transient hormone level imbalance, which in turn causes hair loss. This kind of hair loss is similar to post-partum hair loss, and does not require special treatment, the body will return to normal after a period of time to adapt and self-regulation. Healthy people have a certain amount of hair loss every day, as long as the average daily total hair loss is not more than 80, the hair has not become thinning are considered normal, if continued for half a year there are a large number of hair loss, to consider other causes of hair loss, such as mental stress leading to baldness, or seborrheic dermatitis leading to scalp oil head hair loss.