Let's Talk About PCOS

The idea of the new year has always been something special to me. Regardless of the legitimacy of the new year being a "fresh start", the concept has always seemed to motivate me into focusing more on my self-development, improvement and spirituality. That being said, I've often fallen short on those new year goals — I must have set myself the resolution to learn Spanish every year for the last five years alas I'm still no better a Spanish speaker than I was aged 16.

My new year goals have always been more geared towards self-development than they have been bettering my physical health. Mostly because I never felt as though my lifestyle needed to, or should, change to better my health. Towards the end of 2020, however, I came to the realisation that that was not, in fact, entirely true.

In September 2020 I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), something that, for years prior, I had already been convinced that I had.

What is PCOS?

For those of you that aren't fully aware of what PCOS is, it is a hormonal disorder that affects around 1 in 10 women of childbearing age.

The symptoms of PCOS can be extensive and vary case to case, but it is generally characterised by an irregular menstrual cycle, hirsutism, acne and weight gain. Often, it can also cause fertility issues as well as chronic menstrual cramps.

Some of those with PCOS also have small fluid-filled cysts on their ovaries, as per the name, although this isn't present in all PCOS sufferers and it also doesn't necessarily mean you have PCOS.

As I've learned, everyone with PCOS presents a bit differently, making it difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to treat.

In summary, it's not much fun, and the lack of global funding and research into the issue only adds to the confusion that it causes.

But how does this, an unavoidable and usually genetic health issue, relate to my new year resolutions?

The Solution

I have, alongside many other women diagnosed with PCOS, been offered little to no help from my health provider in tackling the symptoms of PCOS that regularly disrupt my life. If you ask most women with PCOS, you'll probably find that they were instructed with a small number of "solutions" to the illness: lose weight or start taking a birth control pill.

The problem with these "solutions" is that they aren't really solutions at all. Taking birth control is often not an option for many women, especially if they are trying to get pregnant, and there have been cases where contraceptive pills have actually enhanced the symptoms and problems related to the illness. Losing weight, although it is advised for women with PCOS, opens a whole other can of worms:

PCOS is often characterised with metabolic issues, usually due to insulin resistance, which makes it increasingly difficult for PCOS sufferers to lose weight.

When someone has difficulty processing insulin, which is commonly found in PCOS suffers, insulin isn't able to clear out high blood sugar levels as it's supposed to. This means that the pancreas needs to work harder to pump out more insulin in order to control blood sugar levels. [Source].

"Over time, your cells become less and less sensitive to insulin, resulting in insulin resistance with an increased risk for diabetes. Being unable to use glucose for energy, your body then stores it as fat." [Source.]

The options and advice that are given by health care professionals, more often than not, barely scratch the surface on the issues that PCOS presents, let alone offers tangible methods of how to deal with symptoms and begin to live a life that isn't disrupted by them.

The issues in finding advice regarding the illness definitely don't stop there. Due to the lack of funding into PCOS and related illnesses, such as endometritis, you'll likely find a breadth of contradictory information online about what is best for those suffering from the disorder.

I can't count the number of articles that I've read that suggest I need to cut dairy out of my diet, only to read a contradicting article that states that cutting out dairy could actually worsen my symptoms. It's one of the many problems with an illness that differs so much depending on so many variables, specific to a person.

It seems as though trial and error is the way to go, to see what really benefits your body and works for you. Of course, to fully see the effects of changes you make to your lifestyle, you may have to wait months, which begs the question of how long you might be waiting before you find something that works for you.

Regardless of these issues, I've seen countless accounts of PCOS sufferers who have been able to naturally reverse their symptoms - some completely restoring their regular menstrual cycle and many falling pregnant naturally - which definitely serves testament that all is not hopeless, all is not helpless, and that it can be achieved.

The Resolution

For me, 2021 is a mission to learn more about PCOS, more about my body, about my lifestyle and about my diet. I refuse to accept these symptoms as my "normal" and allow the condition, and symptoms, to get progressively worse, without at least putting up a fight.

It's a mission to understand how I can naturally reverse the effects of PCOS, without relying on medication such as the contraceptive pill, and to take control of symptoms that disrupted my life since I was a teenager.

It's a mission to cut through the contradictory information and to understand what to eat and how to exercise in a way that will benefit me. I want to explore alternative therapies and try to raise awareness of both what PCOS is as well as how to deal with it.

Maybe this year, my new year resolution is my most important yet.

Further Reading on PCOS:

• 6 Natural Treatments for PCOS
• 30 Natural Ways to Help Treat Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome 101
• The link between PCOS and insulin resistance
• The Connection between PCOS and Your Metabolism