Introduction / Background
I am a 23 year old, Just started my professional journey after campus and got recently diagnosed with PCOS. In terms of working out I have been semi active , I did take walks when necessary and had periods of intense workouts. I wasn’t going to the gym and had a lot of wheat in my diet. I noticed something was wrong with my health when I had depression and anxiety ,I was taking prescribed medication for my mental health and then my periods became irregular. It started coming after 40 days and took a huge node dive to 60 days and sometimes not come at all . After I completed my degree I started being passive about my health for example I stopped working out ,started drinking more and I gained weight. My period became more irregular coming after 60 days or not coming at all. I assumed it was an issue with one of my ovaries because I could feel pain during ovulation
Symptoms
As mentioned I had really irregular periods ,I went on a deep dive in the internet to search ways of making the period come faster like eating paw paw seeds, drinking turmeric ginger concoctions and I did a lot of pregnancy tests thinking I might be pregnant. When I heard of PCOS it was girlies getting heavy periods with a lot of cramping mine wasn’t, but it became worse with time though I could survive with pain killers and I read that the girls also had non existent periods for three months and mine was just hitting the sixty days mark, I had heavy moody swings like having teenage anger that is irrational.
I decided to go to a gynaecologists, more than one , they did scans and nothing was found just fibroids which were microscopic. I started having spotting to kinda bleeding before my period and I would brush it off as ovulation. When I confided in someone they would say its normal, I just felt the support I had around me wasn’t the best because everyone was just brushing it off as normal stress because I had anxiety , diet and working out too much. I felt like nobody was seeing the gravity of the situation so long as I am not pregnant my circle just didn’t have the knowledge and seriousness to assess that something was wrong in my body
Earlier this year things took the turn for the worse in March I bled for like an entire month. The first two weeks it was spotting and I just brushed it off like normal things that happens in my cycle. The next two weeks that followed the bleeding got heavy like I am on my period so I asked my mum to see a gynaecologist and she was like give it time it will end . I started feeling dizzy and if it wasn’t someone close pushing me to go to the hospital I wouldn’t have taken the matter seriously.
In my gynaecologist appointment she evaluated my symptoms and did a scan and there we saw my ovaries were inflamed hence the PCOS diagnosis. Another thing she pointed out my acne, I did take good care of my skin but I still had them. If I didn’t have a good sleep of 6-8 hours and if I ate too much sugar acne would pop up .I had a bad gut health and I was thinking it was a result of H-pylori diagnosis but I did all the right things ate vegetables, consumed chia seeds, did natural juices ,kombucha & kimchi but my gut health didn’t improve.
Every month was just overwhelming for me with my cycle: I was worried my period was coming late, I had hormonal acne ,my gut is a mess .I even forgot how to be normal ,things like having normal sleep, eat what I wanted and not have any gut issues and having no acne after using the correct skin care steps were just non existent in my day to day.
Path to Diagnosis
I went to see a doctor and during the appointment is when I realized the gravity of hormonal conditions like it affects every aspect of my health (mental, physical, gut, face). It was draining doing the right things drinking water, working out, eating healthy and I am still not getting better
The doctor did a hormonal test and it showed my progesterone was low. She put me on medicine for a month and the bleeding stopped after three days.
Emotions
On hearing the PCOS diagnosis I cried and all the internet information I start researching was a lot, seeing that you can get cancer, diabetes and be infertile the fact that it had no cure was another thing ,Chatgpt saying sorry that I have a chronic condition. I was really scared and thought I am too young to be going through this but there was a part of me that had relief to know what was going on in my body.
My doctor suggested I stop eating wheat and diary . It was hard because wheat is my staple food anyone who knows me will tell you I love bread so I searched on the different diets I could adopt and I just got hopeless because everyone had their own conflicting opinion on what I should do and not do.
Researching the causes was also another world it could be a stressful environments yet I am a naturally anxious individual and now I am starting to think also maybe my anxiety is caused by PCOS who knows? Is it my gut? I start to overthink how I need to change my lifestyle yet I am still so young only 23 am I infertile? I was just really questioning everything.
I started even thinking of how many women go through this and don’t have an answer. When I had googled my symptoms before the doctor’s appointment , I got all manner of diagnosis like ovarian cancer , Gut issues , others did say PCOS but I just got overwhelmed with information. I bottled up all my emotions and shut down the symptoms I was experiencing because I thought I am not as badly off as long as after sixty days I had my period and it was coming for five days.
I didn’t realize the magnitude of it until my recent appointment what held me back was that fear of something chronic. I did feel like it was a bit unfair to be having this condition especially since my lifestyle was the same as any young woman in my age range like with my friends we all had the same routine of school, work, went to the parties and be semi active but I am the one stuck with this condition. I kept looking back what could be done differently but I realized I cant blame myself and I may never know the root causes coz they vary and they are many.
Interaction with Doctors & Healthcare System
The doctor who gave me my diagnosis was a woman and before this I had three checkups with male gynaecologists and all of the male ones were very dismissive of my concerns on why my period wasn’t regular. My doctor took time to listen to me and diagnose me properly. She gave me attention and time that I needed considering my appointment was just slotted during her lunch hour break.
Treatment / Recommendations
My doctor was opposed to birth control, she prescribed me medicine to mitigate the condition and to try to reset my body to a balanced hormone level. Before the prescription she made sure I changed my diet to no dairy and wheat and my body improved . On top of this I cut down on my alcohol intake. My gut got better than before , I find it easier to lose weight I did a lot of walks within the week covering my ten k steps nothing strenuous. I am still on the path of the treatment taking a day at a time.
Advice & Words for Others:
I am still on my treatment plan and I have decided to also personally take a mental note of how things in my environment affect me for example what I and how my body reacts to certain foods , does my job stress me out, does a certain person affect my mental health if so I cut them off.
People need to be aware how our reproductive system affects our daily lives in terms of mood, gut, hormones , mental health its all connected and if one thing is a miss it has a way of affecting all other things. I advocate for checkups especially when you notice something out of the norm and find a doctor that listens.
Closing:
I am hopeful for good things and I am positive that my cycle will reset and the condition isn’t as threatening I am doing okay and I feel way lighter , I am giving it a year and will update you around this time next year on how I am doing.
I hope this posts helps you especially if you have the same condition and have a similar journey you are not alone and you will overcome.
To get more information on PCOS see this post which discusses what PCOS is and causes in great detail, this one breaks down the diet.