My time growing up was never easy- from moving around a lot of the time to being in and around abusive situations. I’ve learned my body had been in a constant fight or flight mode. It’s not good to constantly be stressed- mentally and physically. Getting your body out of that constant fight or flight mode can be tricky, especially when you are super busy doing all the things.
I was diagnosed with PCOS in March of 2023 and shared the background and some of my journey so far. You can read that here. Here is more of that journey and the truth about PCOS.
PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome, is a hormonal disorder that causes cysts in ovaries. Not every woman develops cysts, though. PCOS can look different for every woman. I talked about that in my previous health post on the diagnosis.
There are four types of PCOS:
- Insulin-resistant PCOS
- Post-pill PCOS
- Inflammatory PCOS
- Adrenal PCOS
An account I follow has a website with a ton of information on the types of PCOS, tips, and even a quiz you can take for the different types of PCOS. If you are interested, check that out here!
Many women struggle with more than one of the types. I struggled with adrenal and post-pill. I didn’t have any symptoms when I first started my period in 8th grade. All my symptoms came after I started/stopped birth control. The weight gain, the acne, more hair falling out, etc.
There are many symptoms of PCOS, a few are the following:
~missed periods, irregular periods, or light periods
~ovaries with cysts
~acne
~excessive hair and/or dark hairs growing
~weight gain, especially around the belly
~infertility
~hair thinning and loss
It’s sad to think that what I thought was helping me was actually hurting me. You can read more on that from my Birth control regret post.
PCOS doesn’t mean you won’t ever have normal hormone levels, it doesn’t mean your body is always broken, it doesn’t mean you won’t ever have kids, and it doesn’t mean so many of the horrible horror stories we hear.
PCOS can be a scary diagnosis at first. After thirteen months of no period, I remember when getting all of my blood tests, ultrasounds, you name it done, I knew one diagnosis I did not want was PCOS. But it’s not the end. I knew of all the talk from doctors saying not to worry and to come back when you want to have a baby. But I wasn’t settling for that.
I am thankful for my doctor’s office and that I was able to have a provider who wanted to find answers for why I hadn’t had a period after getting off birth control thirteen months prior. Even when everyone said it would return within three months. She even dealt with PCOS. She was very helpful and understanding. With her, I brought up additional blood tests for things not tested before. She ordered a pelvic ultrasound, which is what confirmed her thoughts.
About a week later, I got the call. I was upset when I first found out, but it also helped because I now felt like I knew what to do. Although they say PCOS is not curable, they say it is manageable. Be more mindful of eating, do slow-weighted workouts, manage stress levels, and other ways too.
As I mentioned in my previous post, this is a diagnosis I received, but I am careful not to claim it. It’s my personal decision that comes from my faith.
So, the truth about PCOS is that it’s not the end. It’s not the end of your fertility. It’s not the end of your goal of getting in better shape. It’s not the end of you feeling better. It’s not the end of your health.