PCOS - Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome

Hello! I've just come back from having an ultra-sound scan done to officially diagnose me with Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome. I had been planning a post about PCOS and my personal experience leading up to being diagnosed with it for a while now, but never had much motivation to write it as when it came to sitting down and writing it I really didn't know what to tell you. 

Now it's all fresh, I'd like to tell you a little about it and about my personal experience. If you're a bit squeemish about this sort of thing, feel free to sit this one out and maybe read one of my other posts on Health or one of my most popular posts.

What is PCOS?

PCOS - or Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome - is a genetic, hormonal, metabolic and reproductive disorder that effects 1 in 10 women. It is the leading cause of female infertility, and can also lead to other serious conditions such as severe anxiety and depression, obesity, endometrial cancer, type 2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease. 

Common signs and symptoms 

-irregular periods
-excess facial and body hair 
-severe acne
-small cysts in the ovaries (picked up by ultra-sound scans)
-insulin resistance
-anxiety and depression
-infertility
-weight gain
-male pattern hair loss

Some interesting facts about PCOS

• 10% of women of childbearing age are estimated to have PCOS 
• It's thought that 50% of women with PCOS go undiagnosed 
• Women with PCOS consitute the largest group of women at risk of developing cardiovascular desease and type 2 diabetes.
• Some studies have shown due to symptoms of anxiety and depression, suicide attempts are up to seven times more common in women with PCOS than other women.
• Pre-teens and teens can develop PCOS. Earlier diagnosis can give them the opportunity to better manage the emotional, internal and physical effects of PCOS. It can also help them prevent the onset of more serious illnesses related to PCOS.
• Despite affecting millions of women and the serious health consequences, PCOS is unknown to most people and a staggering 50% of the women living with PCOS are going undiagnosed.

I'm not suggesting you run down to your local doctors surgery right now, especially if you do not have any of the symptoms. If you do have a symptom or two -or more- I recommend you go to your doctors and discuss any concerns you may have with your doctor. 
If you have already been diagnosed with PCOS but are now concerned with anything I've mentioned above, don't feel embarrassed to go to your GP and talk about it with them. 

My Experience

I was completely oblivious to the fact that anything could go wrong with my ovaries until I was about 13. Up until then, I thought it was just kind of there and didn't really do much until you got pregnant. Goes to show how uninformed I was! 

How it started

After missing my cycle for three months straight, I told my mum. We straight away got a doctors appointment. At the doctors I explained what was happening, and I was given multiple blood tests and had to give a urine sample. I was a little insulted that I was given a pregnancy test at only 13 - even after I had told them I had never been intimate with anyone - but I suppose they can't rule things out until they have evidence.

For around 5 years I was passed from doctor to doctor, from hospital to clinic to hospital again. I wasn't being given any answers, only more appointments that were 8 months in the future and more paperwork that didn't have one non-medical word on them. 

At 17, I eventually had my last - or what I thought was my last - ultra-sound scan. The gynecologist I had been given this time was not pleased that I had not been told anything, and sent an e-mail to my head doctor -while I was still in the room with her - telling her not to treat me for any problems related to my reproductive system, and to send me straight to her if I ever complained about anything in that region. I was quite pleased about this, because my head doctor at the time was - quite frankly - useless. 

I was diagnosed with PCOS by this gynecologist, and I never really heard anything else from them and didn't go back with any complaints. I thought that was that, I'd been diagnosed and there was nothing that could be done. I was put on the contraceptive pill to regulate my cycle, and that was it.

Fast forward to last year...

In 2015, I made a huge change in life. I dropped out of college sometime around Christmas or New Year ( I do explain a little more about that in this post I did for Rachel over at No Space For Milk ), left my boyfriend after being together for almost three years around February time, and moved to the UK in the summer of 2015. It was a HUGE year for me. 

Also last year, I took myself off the contraceptive pill. That alone was an experience in itself! 

For a while, my cycle completely stopped. I went for about two or three months with nothing, nada. Once it did make an appearance, it wasn't regular by any means. It was much better than it had been - before I could go 5 or 6 months without a period at all - but it wasn't every month yet.

After around 6 months, it settled into every month. Well, it depended when it fell, as I had gone from a 28 day cycle - what the average cycle is - to an almost 35/40 day cycle. I could skip a month, but I wasn't really skipping as that is how it fell on the calendar. I hope that makes sense.

I'm happy to say that it's stayed at around 35 to 40 days on every cycle since. I can still be late, but it's generally only by a few days at most. This is great for me as it means I no longer have to take anything to regulate my cycle - though I do think it would have sorted itself out quicker if I had not been on the pill for so long. 

Present Day

Over the last few months I have had some very uncomfortable "pains" in my abdominal area when I lay on my sides or on my stomach. I went to the doctor, and having been diagnosed with PCOS so young, was given an appointment for an ultra-sound just to make sure I wasn't having any big problems. 

A small part of me hoped that I wouldn't have any cysts there anymore. That it could have been to do with the hormones of puberty. 

Well, it wasn't. I still have them, and I'm okay with that. It'll mean I have to try harder to conceive, keep healthy and fit, and keep on top of any symptoms of other illnesses, but it's just one of life's little gifts, isn't it?

So here's the deal...

I don't want my experience with crappy doctors - or some of the possible illnesses that PCOS make you more prone to - to scare you. I'm telling you all this so you know what could or couldn't be happening down there. If I had been more informed about what I was doing, what I was taking, and what was actually happening to my body, I feel it wouldn't have taken so long to get to where I am. 

I could be completely wrong, but I think it's important for women - and men! - to know about lesser known illnesses. Some we might not be able to prevent, but some we can. And if we can't prevent it, we can treat it. 

I'm not here to give you medical advice, I'm only here to get the word out and help you stay healthy! So if you do have any concerns related to your health, make and appointment with your GP and get yourself checked and have a little chat with them. It's better to be in the know, and be able to do something about it, than not know or ignore it.



Did you know about PCOS before reading this? Is there anything I have mentioned that you didn't know about PCOS? Comment down below!

Thank you so much for reading, 

B xx

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