Cracking the PCOS code: Top tips for managing symptoms and boosting fertility

livemint.com:

1. Lifestyle modifications: Managing PCOS starts with lifestyle changes. Losing even 10% of excess weight can help restore normal ovulation and improve fertility in women with PCOS.

Weight loss also reduces testosterone and improves metabolic profiles like lipids and total cholesterol. Nearly half of the women who exercise regularly experience increased ovulation and have more regular periods. Moderate-intensity exercise also decreases insulin resistance by 30%.

To stay active and support weight loss, aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week, plus muscle-strengthening activities twice a week. A low-calorie, high-protein, and low-glycemic-index diet also helps.2. Medications: Several treatments can help women with PCOS ovulate and conceive.

Clomiphene Citrate (CC) helps the ovaries release eggs, leading to ovulation in 75-80% of cases. It has a 22% chance of conception per cycle, and 5% to 7% of pregnancies result in twins. Letrozole lowers estrogen levels, balancing hormones which lead to ovulation.

Metformin improves insulin sensitivity, which regulates menstrual cycles in 50% of cases, and induces ovulation.3. Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART): In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) are considered when other treatments fail. These techniques involve fertilising an egg outside the body and then implanting it in the uterus.