Fertility Essentials

Most often people get ultrasounds by themselves and see under comments “polycystic ovaries” and begin to fret because they think it means they have PCOS. But is an ultrasound alone enough?

To get a proper diagnosis of PCOS, you’d need to satisfy at least 2 out of these 3 criteria.

Criteria 1: high androgen levels: manifested by facial hair, baldness, labs showing elevated testosterone levels, acne, deep voices in females etc. please note that other conditions eg: Cushing’s syndrome

Criteria 2: Menstrual Irregularities: this is the most common criteria that leads women to PCOS diagnosis.. could be irregular periods or amenorrhea (a year or more without periods) or prolonged periods going into months of bleeding. Again, other conditions need to be ruled out because they could be possible causes : eg: fibroids, perimenopause

Criteria 3: Polycystic Ovarian Morphology: this is where ladies take an ultrasound and get a report that says their ovaries are polycystic. Please note that polycystic ovaries alone on an ultrasound does not qualify you for a PCOS diagnosis.

So in order to get a diagnosis for PCOS, you’ll need to meet at least 2 of these 3 criteria, others could meet all.