Since being in high school I have always struggled with pain in my ovaries, hips, and back. It wouldn't only be painful when I had my period, but it got more and more painful throughout the entire month as I grew older. Periods were the worst. I would double over when I walked and I would lay in a fetal position. Pain medication almost never worked, and it was a horrible way of life for me. As I became old enough to start my career, I was finding myself missing days of work because I literally could not get out of bed.
I remember when my doctor gave me the fact sheet about PCOS telling me that's what I had...I was like Polycystic what? So you know I had to go on google and research everything I could find.
I came to find that PCOS isn't rare at all. In fact 1 in every 10 women have it and about 50% of those women go undiagnosed.
PCOS presents itself in many different forms for many different women. It's the number one endocrine cause for infertility and weight gain in women. Despite the name, you do not have to have your ovaries covered in cysts all the time or even at all for you to have PCOS.
PCOS symptoms:
-Irregular periods
-Painful periods
-Hair growth on your face and unusual places on your body
-Hair loss
-Weight gain
-Infertility
-Depression
-Severe mood swings
-Acne
-Insulin resistance
-Sleep Apnea (problems breathing while sleeping)
-Cysts on your ovaries
-Darkening skin patches and skin tags
It can cause you to have a higher risk of diabetes, heart attack, and early menopause (& that's just naming a few)
It's unknown what causes PCOS. But it is known that PCOS can run in the family. It's said that if your sister has it, you are twice as likely to have it as well.
PCOS can't be seen on the outside, but it is very alive and painful on the inside. PCOS causes a lot of women to have problems with their family, friends, and in their relationships because those who do not have it, don't understand and those who do have it, can't explain how much it truly affects their lives. Making plans gets hard sometimes due to the fact of waking up in and remaining in pain for the entire day, unexpectedly.
It's not something women can get over. It's not something that if they relax and stop thinking about it, it will go away. A lot of these women have to live on medication just to make it through the day.
I thank God I was able to conceive my two wonderful babies and have no major complications during my pregnancies. A lot of women miscarry due to PCOS, and a lot of women have to get medical help in order to get pregnant.
But here are some of the happy things:
You can get pregnant with PCOS. It's true that some women never do, but just because you're diagnosed does not mean you will never have children.
You can lose weight. It's said that a 5-10% weight loss will increase your chances of getting pregnant AND relieving some of your symptoms.
You can live a normal life. PCOS should never define you or take a hold of your life. Even if you do have to take medicine, fill your body with healthy foods and exercise (even when you're in pain) and it will make a huge difference on how your body feels.
I still have really bad days where I'm in pain and my periods are really bad, BUT I am so grateful I am not in as much pain as I used to be.
Please raise awareness for all the women who have PCOS. There is NO CURE, and we need to find one. Ladies, please go get checked out. It never hurts to at least ask questions! You could be part of the 50% who goes undiagnosed, and that's when your chances of diabetes, heart disease/heart attacks, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, and heart and blood complications increase!
Wear teal this month and represent all the ladies who suffer internally!
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