PCOS & Oral Contraceptives: Long-Term Safety & Management

Question
My daughter(28 years)is suffering from Poly Cyst Overian Syndrome,BUT SUCCESSFULLY CONCEIVED THROUGH MEDICATION ONLY and has one one year eight month old baby boy.HIS DOCTOR HAS ADVISED HER TO TAKE ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE PILLS TO HAVE REGULAR PERIODS.
    MY QUESTION IS WHETHER TAKING OF OCP FOR LONG PERIOD IS ADVISABLE ,CONSIDERING SIDE EFFECTS.Also it is known that PCO is nor curable disease ,but only Managable.Please help considering LONG TERM SIDE EFFECTS

Answer
In a woman with PCOS, OCP's are the best first line of treatment to regularize periods.Plus they are contraceptive as well. The present generation of oral contraceptives contain very small amounts of hormones and usually do not lead to side effects. But some of the following have bess described in women taking OCP's: weight gain, fluid retention,mood changes. Apart from this women who are prone to have problems with clotting of blood or excessive clotting of bleed should not take OCP's. If your doctor has prescribed these, I am sure he must have considered these factors. So i think that the treatment is proceeding on the right path. For more information on OCP's and PCOS visit http://www.pregnancyandchildcare.info/pregnancy_articles/pcos.html