• difficulty getting pregnant?
• most of your fat in your belly and little fat on your hips and buttocks?
• excess hair on your face and body?
• trouble with acne?
• a family history of diabetes?

If most, or all of these apply to you, ask your doctor if you should have a sonogram of your ovaries to check for cysts. Even if this sonogram is negative, you may still have a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). About 1 in 20 women will be diagnosed with this condition.

Most women are born with about 4 million eggs. Every month, 1 egg ripens and pops from the ovary. This egg will travel down the fallopian tube to be fertilized (if sperm is present) and about 10,000 eggs will deteriorate. At the place on the ovary where the egg popped, progesterone is released.

In PCOS, high levels of insulin cause hormones to be released which prevent the egg from popping out of the ovary. This causes a cyst to form. As a result, a woman can be infertile. Hormones released can cause acne, and hair on the face and body to darken.

Since PCOS is caused by high levels of insulin, the treatment is similar to that of a diabetic.  Avoid foods with a high glycemic index (sugars, flours, fruit juices, etc.).  Your doctor may also prescribe drugs used to treat diabetes:

• glucophage or metformin (helps prevent sugar levels from rising too high after you eat)
• actos and avandia (help reduce insulin levels)

Because women with PCOS will also have lower progesterone levels, they are also at increased risk for developing cancer of the uterus.  So, your doctor may prescribe birth control pills which contain prosterone, to help reduce your risk.

If you follow a diabetic diet, exercise, and take medications as prescribed, not only will your cysts go away, but you will also start popping eggs - making you more fertile.  The hair on your face and body will become lighter, acne will disappear, and you will lose weight.