Solving The Pcos Puzzle
Women's Health Australia|December 2018

Polycystic ovary syndrome is so damn complex it flies under the radar for docs and women. But change is coming.

Lauren Williamson
Solving The Pcos Puzzle

When she went to see her GP to ask about her worsening acne, Kirra Peters* never expected to hear the words ‘polycystic ovary syndrome’ (PCOS). And the 26-year old public servant certainly didn’t think she’d leave her appointment with little more than the knowledge that she might have a condition she’d never even heard of.

“I thought the doctor might write a [referral] to a dermatologist,” says Peters. “But when they mentioned ‘PCOS’, my head went into spin mode because I walked out still knowing nothing.”

It took eight months of appointments with GPs, specialists and a gynaecologist, plus an ultrasound and blood test, for Peters to be officially diagnosed. And even though 10 to 13 per cent of Aussie women are affected by PCOS, this kind of diagnosis delay isn’t unusual. Stats published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism show it can take up to two years for women to be diagnosed, with an estimated 70 per cent still not aware they have PCOS. But, thanks to a team led by researchers from our shores, that could all be about to change.

A LITTLE CLARITY

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