A Personal Story: My Journey With PCOS

I would've never imagined I’d be writing a whole blog post about this subject, sharing with all who come to my little corner of the world my journey with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). “Poly” meaning many, and “Cystic” meaning fluid-filled sacks, which the ovaries are filled with. PCOS is not a disease but a hormonal disorder that affects 1 in 10 women. Many women may suffer in silence as this syndrome can take time for diagnosis, or symptoms can be ignored and passed off as fairly common or even hereditary. Want to know more about my story? Let’s read on!

Where it All Began

My husband and I had just been stationed overseas for three years. For me, this was the first time I was ever this far from my family, friends, and work, as I now became a stay-at-home wife and depended solely on my husband. To say the least, it was a challenge; I felt a bit out of place, and everything was new. For me, my PCOS diagnosis was a long process! My journey started when we decided to start a family in October 2011.

Immediately after stopping my birth control, I began gaining weight, which wasn’t gradual! The entire time we were working out, doing the program P90X at the time, meal prepping, and following all the “health” rules. Yet, I still gained more and more weight. Literally, I was following the program to a "T" and gained over 20 lbs., in 2 months. Imagine the devastation I felt working my hardest, getting the opposite results, and what I thought others thought about me as they watched the progress or lack thereof. My acne was out of control, and I was depressed. Oh my goodness, when I think back, the depression was so real. I struggled with trying to get pregnant, excessive hair growth, the threats of being pre-diabetic and having high blood pressure as well as high cholesterol. But the awareness of all this came years later because I suffered in silence for almost 3 years before I got an official diagnosis. 

Seeking Help

After years of trying to find the answers and having countless doctor visits, I begged to be checked for all my known family histories. I got examined for a history of endometriosis (result negative) and fibroids (result also negative). I grew tired of hearing this same song from one doctor after the other. For me, the straw that broke the camel’s back was being told by my now new physician, who was pregnant at the time, “Mrs. Keene, it may just be stress, don’t worry about getting pregnant… It will happen in time.” Furious with this visit, I waited a while before returning to the doctor.

After not having a period for six months, it finally arrived, and lasted two long weeks. My husband and I thought, “someone has to tell us something is wrong now.” I return to find that a new doctor had arrived at the command. I thought, oh great, here we go again…(only military families know this struggle), but she saw me, and as soon as she read my form, she says, “ahhhh, I think I know what this is; let’s get you tested,” and we did. She scheduled me for a uterine ultrasound, and the results turned out to be proof of what she expected. I had PCOS, and she said to me, “You’re a Textbook Case!.” I will never forget the feeling of confusion and fear that overwhelmed me when I first heard the term. At the time, I had limited knowledge of PCOS, including its acronym and its implications. PCOS - those letters would come to define my struggles, my pain, and my journey toward healing. I went home and researched all night. When I read the symptoms and understood the terminology, I remember feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. I recall the feelings I had reading this information to my husband, thinking to myself, see… I’m not crazy, I’m not fat or lazy, and I’m not broken! There is something wrong that we just couldn’t see. Then and to this day, I still am so grateful for her and her knowledge of the signs. Thank you, Commander Argo.

The Effects of PCOS

So what exactly did she mean by textbook case? Well, she meant that I had every symptom in the book damn near. Here are some commons symptoms we Cysters experience:

• Acne 

• Fatigue 

• Skin Tags 

• No Periods 

• Body Acne 

• Pelvic Pain 

• Hot Flashes 

• Headaches 

• Sleep Apnea 

• Mood Swings  

• Heavy Periods 

• High Cholesterol 

• Irregular Periods 

• Long/Short Periods 

• High Blood Pressure 

• Suppressed Ovulation 

• Excessive Weight Gain 

• Anxiety and/or Depression 

• Weight gain on the Waistline 

• Excessive Male Pattern Hair Growth 

• Testosterone Levels Higher than Estrogen 

• Insulin Resistance (you know… the yucky punch tests)

• The String of Pearls (cysts on ovaries, seen in ultrasound) 

• Acanthosis Nigricans (dark, thick patches of skin on the neck, arms, breast, or thighs)

Did You Know?

There are 10 million women in the world who are affected by PCOS. However, the exact cause of PCOS is unknown, but it is labeled as a hormonal condition. Nonetheless, PCOS is the leading cause of infertility in women. It is responsible for many symptoms, both physically and emotionally, such as the many listed above. Though there is no medical cure for PCOS, several ways exist to decrease or eliminate its symptoms.

Treating the Symptoms

Your doctor can educate you about medications to help treat symptoms such as irregular periods, acne and excess hair growth, etc. They can also provide information on fertility treatments to help you conceive if that is your desire. There are also many holistic and natural methods to alleviate symptoms as well. The most concerning overall health and PCOS symptoms are diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, as PCOS is linked to high blood pressure, pre-diabetic conditions, and high cholesterol.