September was PCOS Awareness Month. What is PCOS? Medically it stands for PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome. That is a hormonal disorder causing enlarged ovaries with small cysts on the outer edges. Is it painful…? For me yes, it can be. Meanwhile for some women who have it, they don’t experience pain. PCOS is surprisingly pretty common among women and it doesn’t matter your age. I’m 24!
At 24, I should be in the prime for fertility with no issues.
Not for my situation! I got diagnosed with PCOS earlier this year (2018). After learning I had secondary infertility problems when trying with our second, I wanted to make sure we wouldn’t have any issues in the future with trying. It took over two years to finally fall pregnant with our second little miracle. I say miracle because my body wasn’t letting me ovulate. And you have to ovulate to get pregnant!
Despite just being diagnosed earlier this year, I believe I’ve been dealing with this since shortly after my first child and after using different birth controls. I strongly believe birth control contributed to my secondary infertility and PCOS.
What are symptoms of PCOS?
- Weight Gain. In my case, I couldn’t lose the extra pregnancy and baby weight from both my first and second pregnancy. Being someone that used to be fit, this was a hard one. It affects me badly! I was so hard on myself and my depression got so bad.
- Depression and Anxiety. I’ve already dealt with depression and anxiety my whole life. So PCOS just intensified everything, especially seeing pregnancy after pregnancy within my family and friends or people I know while we were trying to conceive our second child.
- Unwanted Hair Growth. This happens because your female hormones are dominated by male hormones, which sucks so much! I need to shave like every other day, but can’t because it hurts. I have unwanted hairs EVERYWHERE! This doesn’t help with my depression and anxiety since I’m extremely self-conscious.
- Acne. I have had more acne than when I was a teenager going through puberty and it is absolutely upsetting as well as painful.
- Sleep Problems. I’ve had insomnia since my teens. But being a mom you need all the sleep and energy you can get! So having trouble sleeping is the worst and leads to FATIGUE. How can you mom with low energy?! I can’t and don’t do coffee or caffeine. (I’m so sensitive to it and get major headaches and migraines.) So I don’t know how I function sometimes!
- Headaches. I didn’t know this was one of the many symptoms at first, but it makes sense as I get many headaches and never know why!!
- Infertility. BIG ONE! Not every woman has this problem, but it really affects me. I need assistance with fertility treatments such as medication. When I’m ready to share about fertility treatments, I will gladly explain my experience!
- Pelvic Pain. Another big one, as periods, can be painful and heavy! But some months I’d go without it and dread once it came because that meant more intense pain. I’m so irregular due to not ovulating, it’s frustrating!
If you think you may be experiencing Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, please consult your doctor! Having a diagnosis is the first step, and there are treatments available for this condition. Do you have any suggestions for how women living with PCOS can cope with these symptoms? Please let us know in the comments below!
