Patient's question:
Detailed medical condition and consultation purpose: Excessive body hair, irregular menstruation, diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)Duration of current illness: 2 months
Current general condition: First follow-up question: What should women who want to conceive do? What precautions should they take? How should they control their diet?
Doctor's answer:
Hello, generally there are no special dietary requirements. The main goal of PCOS treatment is to establish a normal ovulatory menstrual cycle, restore fertility, and eliminate hirsutism. Once a normal menstrual cycle is established, conception can occur, the ovaries no longer produce excessive androgens, and hirsutism also disappears. The methods to restore a normal menstrual cycle are as follows.（1）Clomiphene, also known as Clorophen, Shujingfen. It is now widely recognized that clomiphene is the first-line treatment for PCOS. Clomiphene induces the hypothalamus to release gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which in turn promotes the pituitary to release follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), thereby promoting normal follicular development. Elevated FSH levels are key to inducing ovulation in PCOS patients. Clomiphene treatment induces ovulation in more than 80% of patients. The specific dosage is 50 mg once daily, starting from day 5 of the menstrual cycle, for 5 consecutive days. Ovulation typically occurs 7–10 days after treatment. If treatment for 1–2 cycles is ineffective, the dose may be increased to 100 mg daily for 5 days. During treatment, basal body temperature is measured to observe for an ovulatory biphasic pattern.
（2）Ovarian wedge resection, which involves removing a wedge-shaped portion of the ovary. Before the advent of clomiphene, the treatment for PCOS was ovarian wedge resection. The efficacy was significant. Most patients ovulated and conceived shortly after surgery. With the availability of clomiphene, ovarian wedge resection is rarely used today and is reserved only for patients who do not respond to medication.
（3）Traditional Chinese medicine. The method of invigorating blood and tonifying the kidneys to induce ovulation has shown good results.