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Regional | Health

Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome increases in New Zealand

34-year-old Amanda Boyd was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome when she was 16 years old.

“They kind of told me there's a 50/50 chance of having children but as years went by you know I was just had to come to terms with I'm just one of those people who are just not going get pregnant” says Amanda.

Professor Cindy Farquar says the key factors in diagnosing polycystic ovaries syndrome is firstly testing a person who has come in after trying to concieve for at least a year.

Other symptoms include irregular periods, hair growth problems on the face, breasts, chest and back, it also includes acne.

Symptoms can also be associated with women being overweight.

“We think it is on the rise that’s because unfortunately we've got such great food here in New Zealand were all eating a lot more than were used to, everybody is getting a bit better and that does excentuate all the symptoms of polycystic ovaries” notes Professor Cindy Farquar.

For years, Amanda thought she could never have children,

However unknowingly around the time she lost 14kgs she fell pregnant,

“To have this baby is like a blessing and a miracle” says Amanda.

“If they're overweight we'd ask them to lose weight so most woman even if they only lose a small amount of weight between 8-10kg their periods will become frequent and we'll see that they will start ovulating so we'll do that first if they dont ovulate then we have a variety of treatments” says Professor Farquar

Professor Farquar has one final message and that is for women not to leave it too late unfortunately we're not able to treat 'polycystic ovaries' for people 40 years old and over.

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