If you have PCOS, then you know what it does to your body. For those of you who don't, this video does an awesome job explaining it.
I was 12, a few months before my 13th birthday, when I got my first AF. After my very first cycle, I battled irregularity and severe cramps. I went months without an AF. When my mom realized I wasn't having them, she actually asked me if I was pregnant--at 13! I was horrified! Thinking that they would regulate naturally, we waited; when they didn't, we went to the GP. He put me on a short round of BCP to see if it would regulate me. Needless to say, I was on BCP by the time I was 15.
My grandma found an article about PCOS when I was 15; every symptom it mentioned, I had: few or no AFs, heavy bleeding when I did, oily skin (not really acne) and terrible mood swings. I took the article to two different GPs, who both told me that it was irrelevant; there was no reason to test me for anything.
I continued to take BCP until I was 21. I gained weight like crazy and I blamed the pills, so I stopped taking them. From that point for the next almost four (!) years, my symptoms got worse: AF stopped, cramps were worse, I developed alopecia and hirsutism. Eventually my AF went from non-existent, to sporadic, to constant. I gained even more weight, I was more depressed, I couldn't sleep.
I admit, it took me way too long to see a GYN, but if I couldn't get an answer to what was wrong then, then what would be different now? Plus, no one wants bad news, and I KNEW it was going to be bad news.
When I was diagnosed, I was relieved to have an answer, but I was devastated to hear that I might not be able to have kids. Yes, I know...there are lots of fertility treatments and drugs to try now, but knowing that your body can't naturally do what it is SUPPOSED to do...that's salty.
I took a few months to sulk...oh whoa is me. Why me God? Why do I have to work harder than everyone else? One day, out of sheer boredom, I started to research PCOS. Google was my friend that day! I searched, and read, and contemplated. I learned that PCOS is more common than I thought. I realized that there was a whole community of people who were going through the same thing; they were LIVING with PCOS. It gave me hope...and that is what this blog is about... to spread awareness, to provide support, and to give encouragement.
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