What is the difference between Diabetes and PCOS?

I know there are differences but what are they? lol Thanks

I'm not a dr, but I know enough to tell you the difference between the two. PCOS has to do with your hormones.  I'm not sure if it's too much estrogen ot testosterone or a mixture of both.  Basically, your monthly "egg" is produced but not released from the ovaries (ovulation would occur prior to your period) and the egg turns into a cyst within the ovary.  When this happens for several month, it creates poly cystic ovaries.  With the disease, you tend to become insulin resistant (your body turns carbs into sugar then that turns into fat and it's stored) and have a high chance of developing diabetes.  Your metabolism slows and it's real hard to lose weight.  Hair grown in places only men should grow hair, and you don't get periods normally. Diabetes is all about sugar, insulin, blood and how your body turns food into sugar.  I'm not so educated about this, but being PCOS, my surgeon said by looking at my labs, if I didn't lose the weight soon, i'll be on my way (within 2 years) to full blown diabetes.

There are BIG differences.  Although both are endocrine disorders...they relate to different parts of the body... PCOS typically just has to do with the reproductive system.  Your FSH & LH hormones (the 2 major hormones responsible for ovulation each month) are out of balance so you fail to ovulate.  Becuase each time you fail to completely ovulate the eggs do not mature & are not released which results in the small cysts all over the ovaries.  Now...because these cysts don't rupture & release the eggs they begin to secrete male hormones called androgens over time which can lead to an estrogen/testosterone imbalance.  Somehow...and they are still researching this...it leads to how your body uses insulin & glucose and can lead to insulin resistance (when you body doen't not use the insulin it produces properly) & diabetes (when you have excessive glucose in your blood). Diabetes is a bit what I just described...it has only to do with insulin & glucose.  Either there is not enough insulin to break down the glucose in the body (which leads to elevated glucose numbers) or the insulin is not being utilized correctly which will result in the same.  Diabetes and insulin resistance are quite common with women with PCOS (from what I read it has more to do with the obesity than anything else). I hope this helps...good luck! Kristy

Kristy: Good description of them both.  I personally have PCOS and it does cause major hormone imbalances, typically over production of Testosterone and under production of Progesterone.   If you do have cycles (which I did) before I started taking the pill I have extremely heavy cycles and actually ovulated the day I started my cycle therefore keeping me from being able to get pregnant.  In order to get pregnant with my son I had to take Prednisone which is a synthetic form of Cortizol.....your Testosterone and your Cortizol production match in your body so by taking the synthetic form of Cortizol I was able to fool my body and my testosterone level lowered, which allowed other normal hormone production and that month I was able to get pregnant (plus gain 70 lbs from the prednisone).   It can cause obesity since it is harder for your body to absorb insulin, thus the insulin resistance that you hear about, and the excess insulin you produce is turned into sugar, thus leading to more weight gain.    Because of my hormone imbalances I had to use progesterone injections for the first 12 weeks of my pregnancies to keep me from aborting the babies naturally (if you produce too little Progesterone you will start your cycle).    Because of the insulin resistance that you have with PCOS it puts you at higher risk of later developing Adult Onset Type 2 Diabetes which also puts you at a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and all the other horrible co-mordbities of obesity.     Diabetes is where your body is not able to properly use the insulin secreted by the Pancreas or you produce too little insulin, therefore causing your blood levels to be elevated and you to have the sytmpoms and problems associated with Diabetes. Granted...I'm no medical professional........so I may not have everything picture perfect as a physician, nurse or someone in the medical field would be (I work in the medical field but I am not a degreed individual).  I just have PCOS and my Dad suffered from diabetes which led to a massive heart attack and his early death so I am trying to be pro-active in my own life so that I can see my kids grow up. Hopefully our explanations help!!!!

They have..... Danielle