Did you know that September is PCOS awareness month? PCOS is a hormonal disorder that effects 1 in 10 women and can cause infertility, among other issues, and is very often misdiagnosed, if even at all. There are so many women who are continually dismissed by doctors despite knowing there’s something wrong with their body, myself included. It took me at least 10 years for my voice to be heard and to get my PCOS diagnosis.
So many women are left in the dark by their providers and turn to social media for answers and advice. It’s a shame that we have to turn to strangers to even have an idea on where to start.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I have always the hardest time losing weight no matter what I tried. In addition to that, I’m also continually exhausted, but come bedtime, I’m “wired but tired,” meaning that I’m wide awake despite knowing I’m tired. For years when I was a teenager, I begged my primary care physician to test my thyroid because I knew something was off. I was disappointed every time because my test results would come back normal. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to wish a health condition on myself, but I knew something wasn’t right.
After countless PCP and gynecologist appointments, I was still deemed normal and was told to just lose weight. In 2019, my mental and physical health was in a bad place to the point that it was negatively effecting my marriage. I decided enough was enough and that I was going to plead my case with my PCP. After lots of google searches, I came to the conclusion that it looked like I had a hormonal issue. My symptoms included: inability to lose weight, anxiety and depression, mounds of hair loss, excess facial hair (I removed hair on my upper lip and under my chin multiple times a week,) mental fog, irregular/no menstrual cycles, and infertility. It had been probably three years of trying to get pregnant with no luck and at that point, we had basically given up. I learned what it meant to advocate for myself, and I’m glad it got the guts to speak up.
I marched into the doctors office with a list of things that weren’t normal and a slight panic attack knowing that I would speak up. After my PCP suggested PCOS, I had bloodwork and a transvaginal ultrasound. My hormone panel was all sorts of jacked up, and the ultrasound showed multiple follicles on my ovaries, which both confirmed the suspicions about the condition. Since it can be considered a reproductive issue, my PCP wouldn’t treat me any farther and handed me off to the gynecologist. The initial gynecologist answered every question with “diet and exercise” as the only way to improve my symptoms. I knew that wasn’t the only option, I did my research. I was so frustrated that I could’ve punched her right in her skinny face. I had been trying diet and exercise for over 6 years with zero progress, so I knew there had to be more. I immediately called another gynecologist for a second opinion. I have read “be your own advocate” and never truly understood what it meant until I was fighting doctors to help sort out my issues. I spoke up when something wasn’t right and whenever I wanted a different option, and it is the reason I got as far as I did. If I can encourage you to do one thing, it’s to be your own advocate in life.
The second gynecologist was about 85 years old and had the personality and bedside manner of a wet mop, but she had lots of experience and knew her shit. She prescribed me metformin, a diabetes medicine to help with insulin resistance, which is a huge issue associated with PCOS. I’ve heard of its mixed reviews through Facebook groups, but was desperate for an improvement, so I took it. I was started on 500mg a day, and couldn’t tell you how many times that was increased over the next four months. At one point, I saw an endocrinologist, which was honestly a waste of time. I waited three months for an appointment where he looked at my hormone panel, upped my metformin and switched it to an extended release (ER,) and said to return in 6 months for a recheck. When it was all said and done, I was taking 4 horse pills equaling 2000mg a day, which sounds insane, but it worked. I was also taking an array of vitamins and Ovasitol (myo-inositol,) but I really believe that the metformin did the trick.
In those three months since we got my dosage squared up, I lost almost 25lbs and was feeling amazing. I had energy all day, slept well, and wasn’t depending on naps. My insatiable sugar cravings disappeared, I actually wanted to eat well, and was overall happy. It finally felt like I was living the way that was life was supposed to: happy. Best of all, I was finally losing weight and feeling great about myself.
Just when I was looking and feeling good, I became pregnant. As much as we prayed for that, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
I’ll continue with the rollercoaster that was my pregnancy journey in the next post; I didn’t want to ramble too much here. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t mis it!
Disclaimer: I’m not a medical professional, nor am I offering medical advice or information. What I have written is based on my own experiences with PCOS.
TheMamaBird 