Disclaimer: not a medical professional. Sharing knowledge and experience form 10 years of treatment.

First, allow me to say that I am in no way a medical professional or expert on PCOS. This article is the research that I have found while struggling to understand PCOS and how it affects not just myself, but 1 in 10 women around the world.

Did you know that most individuals with vaginas and vulvas have never seen it? And I don’t mean a funky cartoon diagram in sixth grade sex-ed. I mean their own. We are told from a very young age not to touch it, to leave it alone. But why? There’s no sound answer to that question, and yet from a very young age, we are told to leave it alone, and that’s the last we hear about it until we’re much older and expected to know everything there is about our bodies. In fact, many people with or without female genitilia couldn’t tell a labia from a vagina in the first place. The world must not yet have realized that when you grow up forced to pretend that something doesn’t exist, that not only do you learn nothing about it, but the idea of learning about it feels wrong.

(Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, I am someone with the disorder who has been receiving treatment for nearly a decade.)

I first started experiencing symptoms associated with my endometriosis - whom I lovingly refer to as my friend Endo - when I was 20 years old.

Hello my lovely PMDD community. Forgive me for not having written anything new in ages and probably at a very unfortunate time for many as we have all been doing our best to cope not only with the wretched PMDD but also with the total destruction of our world as we knew it. I sincerely hope you are all keeping it together...or if falling apart, loving yourself through it. Who could foresee the shitstorm in which we currently find ourselves?

If you're thinking of getting IUCD (a copper contraceptive device) or soon to be your first time getting it, as someone with an IUCD, I say don't be afraid. We all been there, google for images or even watches videos on how it is inserted. But, watching these makes us, even I, more afraid to get one. The pain is what causes us to step back and re-think a thousand time. Definition of pain differs from one another, some people feel more pain and some people don't. We all experience pain differently.

I've gone to the doctors many a times gotten enough tests to not want to go to the doctors anymore. About a year ago I was officially diagnosed with PCOS. Don't get me wrong it was nice to finally know what was going on with my body and know somewhat what I have to do to control it but there isn't an official manual on how to navigate it all.

If you have not tried it yet, or maybe have not heard of the benefits of the menstrual cup, this post interests you. Whoever uses it, knows it's a change for the better in female life. The period is something that we have to live with and the menstrual cup makes it easier, hygienic and comfortable.

No, today is not International Menstrual Hygiene Day. Then why am I talking about menstrual hygiene? Because our menstruation cycle doesn't visit us once or twice a year but sticks with us 24-7, like that annoying high school friend. This makes it an essential topic that needs constant attention. From our dietary habits to our stress levels, everything about us affects our cycle, even the things we use for our hygiene down there.

Something is definitely wrong with me, I thought to myself all through what seemed like the longest night ever. My mind was still racing when the sound of the adhan pierced through the window blinds, interrupting my thoughts. As the call to prayer filled the room, I looked to my left to find my husband also awake, staring into nothing. My stomach churned with embarrassment. What had just happened? I had so many questions, all waiting to be answered by whomever I could summon the courage to talk to. Without saying anything, my husband moved closer and placed my head on his chest as if to comfort me and tell me everything would be fine.

So through out my period having life I never had a normal period like ever. I could possibly go a year with only having one or two periods. It would change sometimes but not much. I was told two different things as to why this was. One of them was that I was just not producing enough hormones to have a full blown period. That made sense to me because I know a lot of people who are heavier that don't produce a lot of hormones. I was always heavier my whole life.