INDIANAPOLIS -- There is new hope for women who suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome, the leading cause of infertility, which affects about 5 percent of women.

Since the '30s, the syndrome has been associated with women who were overweight and had excess hair growth.

Now, doctors know that more thin women have it. While the causes are different, the treatment is not, 6News' Stacia Matthews reported.

When Whitney Schmitt stopped taking birth control pills three years ago in an effort to get pregnant, her periods stopped, but not because she was going to have a baby.

"Even the doctors are puzzled by tests and things that they're not even sure what's wrong. It's just frustrating. They don't always know," Schmitt said.

Dr. John Jarrett knew Schmitt had the classic symptoms of PCOS. Those symptoms include irregular periods, spotting before a menstrual cycle and cycles with 40-day intervals.

An ultrasound confirmed his suspicion -- benign cysts in her ovaries were preventing ovulation.

"Some of my friends are finished having families and we can't even have our first. It makes it really tough," Schmitt said.

PCOS triggers a hormonal imbalance caused by the way patients metabolize insulin. When they are overweight, they produce too much estrogen. When they are thin, they have higher androgen, or male hormones.

Jarrett said the good news is that treatment is the same for all patients. Glucophage regulates the hormonal imbalance.

"It's so much more treatable than it ever was before that there's a lot of hope out there to correct it long term, to get pregnant short term and manage this process," Jarrett said.

"Hopefully, we'll conceive on our own. That would be wonderful. We know there are other options, and if that's adoption or if we have to look into other options, we're willing to do that," Schmitt said.

Jarrett said it's important to get diagnosed, especially for overweight patients. Left untreated, PCOS can lead to diabetes and heart disease.