PCOS and Menopause

Can woman still have PCOS when they are peri- or post-menopausal? Some doctors assert that PCOS disappears after menopause, but in actuality, PCOS can continue to be problematic for women during and long after menopause. For some women with PCOS, many of their symptoms like excess hair growth, hair loss, and weight gain continue. For other women, some of their PCOS symptoms do improve after menopause.

There is a surprising lack of research about PCOS after menopause. PCOS can be difficult to diagnose and monitor after menopause. Because one of the main symptoms of PCOS is menstrual irregularity, menopausal women obviously cannot use this as an indication. Using a measure of testosterone and DHEA-S blood levels to diagnose or monitor PCOS can also be less informative after menopause. SHBG levels tend to decrease in menopause, which leads to enhanced activity of free androgens. The androgenic effects of these hormones can therefore become more prominent in menopause normally, regardless of whether or not the menopausal woman has PCOS.

Although more difficult to diagnose, PCOS during or after menopause should be addressed to prevent or mitigate the serious complications of insulin resistance: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, abnormal lipid panels, high blood pressure, and more.

If you are a woman in menopause who is struggling with excess weight, you are not alone. As we age, our metabolism changes such that in order to even maintain our body weight at what it has always been, we need to increase our efforts! This may mean eating less and exercising more,

The problem with losing weight during menopause lies in the fact that the body needs to maintain more fat as it relies on this fat and the adrenal glands for hormone production. Before menopause the body relies more on the ovaries for hormone production. With PCOS, there is the additional component of insulin resistance, which further hinders attempts at weight loss.

Menopausal women may still have symptoms of PCOS even after surgical removal of the uterus and/or ovaries. PCOS is a syndrome with a myriad of symptoms. Many bodily systems are affected. It seems to be the underlying insulin resistance that is responsible for the symptoms of PCOS, rather than a particular organ. The insulin resistance leads to hormonal imbalances such as increased testosterone and other androgens.

As mentioned above, sex hormones are produced in several places in the body: the ovaries, the adrenal glands, and fat cells. Simply removing the uterus, cervix, or ovaries may have some effect on hormone output and therefore the hormone imbalance, but not necessarily. Removal of these organs would not affect the insulin resistance.

It is crucial for a menopausal woman suffering from insulin resistance as well as PCOS to follow a strict exercise regimen and low carbohydrate diet. By eliminating excess carbohydrates from the diet, insulin output is decreased. Low carbohydrate diets many also help keep weight from creeping up due to a slowed metabolism that may come with menopause. Nutritional support may also be recommended for menopausal women with PCOS. Nutritional supplements such as PCOS+ may be helpful.

There are a number of networking resources available for women with PCOS. Building an understanding support system may go a long way in helping in the fight against PCOS even into menopause.