I grew up in a 3 person family (just me, my Dad and my brother), being the only girl, I had to learn the workings of my own body myself. I didn't get a period until I was well into my 20's, I didn't think anything of it growing up because I was never told that my body wasn't working correctly, let's face it here, nobody really openly talks about periods.
I can't remember exactly what triggered my doctor at the time, but around the age of 22 I had an internal ultrasound (yep, it is EXACTLY as it sounds, and just as uncomfortable!) and so got diagnosed with PCOS. My initial reaction was 'What is this? Am I going to die?' my doctor, at the time was very vague, he just told me that it is very common for women to get this and that there is nothing to worry about, go home and do some research, everything is fine.
So that is exactly what I did, for the past 12 years I researched and and trialed many different drugs to help the many side effects and branches of this disease.
PCOS for me personally, has presented itself in many different forms. it affects my moods, the hormone imbalances within my body has cause me to develop depression. I am currently trialing yet another anti-depressant drug to try and stabalise my moods again. I have excess hair all over my body, this is known as Hirsutism. This can be treated with more medication, but so far, it hasn't got too out of control, I just groom daily to keep it under control. I have multiple cysts on both of my ovaries and inside my uterus, at the last internal ultrasound I had, the count was around 10 on one side, 12 on the other and 6 in the uterus, anyone woman that has had a cyst on her ovary can tell you, the pain is very bad. I also suffer with weight gain, PCOS can cause a build up of fat around the midsection of the body, which is very common for suffers of PCOS. Oh yes, I almost forgot, that recently blood tests have shown that I also have Insulin Resistance, which increases my risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Doesn't sound pretty does it? That's because it really isn't, its a hard disease to control because there are so many factors that all stem from it, and those factors each impact upon each other indifferent ways, also, every woman is different, some women suffer with infertility, while others have a normal cycle and can conceive naturally.
The most horrible thing to know is: There is no cure for it. I truly hope that one day there will be a cure for it, for now, I hope I can offer advice to women all over the globe, to get the message out about this disease, it is a very common one and I am convinced that not many girls are told about it, just like myself.
So please, if you present any of these symptoms, or you know of anyone that is having difficulty with these health issues, check in with your local GP, and drop me a line if you want any advice, I am always here to help :D
Much Love
- Firefly