Hey everyone! I had a follower suggest to me that some of my readers should know more about PCOS. I know I had no idea it existed! So, here is a post by my follower Cole! Read this and LEARN! :}
To the readers of Curvy Couture,
Hi there! My name is Cole and Mandy has graciously welcomed a few of my words onto her blog.
I have something called PCOS which stands for Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. Most of you have probably never heard of it YET 1 in 10 women (many say 2 in 10) have this! How can this be? That means that about 2 out of every 10 of you women reading this have PCOS. This is why Mandy and I felt this was worthwhile to write about here. Everyone should be at a healthy weight and everyone should be proud of your curves (and comfortable in them)- please know that this is the message at heart here. I don’t want any part of this to be construed the wrong way.
PCOS kicks in at puberty and basically lasts through menopause. That’s when the symptoms are most noticeable. Most girls who hit puberty and have PCOS might gain a TON of weight all the sudden. This happened to me and it was a bit extreme—like 40 pounds in just a couple months with no diet or exercise changes. I reacted in a way that was not healthy for my body and I was subsequently diagnosed with Anorexia less than a year later. The sad thing is that with PCOS, to loose weight with the disorder WITHOUT medication basically requires restricting your food to an extreme. Those words are from my endocrinologist that specializes in PCOS. So, sadly, it wasn’t until I was 22 that I actually received the correct diagnosis. And, if information about this very common disease had been out there, all I would have had to do was make some simple diet changes and take a $8/month pill.
But no, for years I struggled with yo-yoing weight, tons of water weight gain on my periods, hair loss, acne, facial hair——-yeah. Not fun. And I bet a few of you are nodding your heads here.
And I always picked up those magazines touting weight loss strategies for women who just can’t lose weight. Someone should have told them it was PCOS that prevented us from losing weight—it would save us all a lot of headache.
To get a diagnosis of PCOS, you can have one, some or all of these symptoms—-or even none! PCOS has really only had a name for about 15 years and as a result, there is no FDA approved treatment or medication. (yet)
+ irregular periods
+ can’t lose weight
+ overweight
+ depression
+ some facial hair (darker hair on the lip, chin, etc)
+ thinning hair (like male pattern baldness—in any degree)
+ shave your legs and armpits daily because it’s really dark and grows fast
+ infertility
+ depression
+ cysts on the ovaries
+ elevated insulin levels
+ insulin resistance
+ oily skin
+ dandruff
+ skin discolorations (darker skin in upper inner thigh, armpits)
+ high cholesterol
+ high blood pressure
Now, you can be thin and have this too. I know many girls who have no issues with weight and have PCOS.
How to do most women find out they have it? In my experience, they go off the pill to try and get pregnant and discover that they can’t! Many women with PCOS are on the birth control pill because it regulates your period. I was put on the pill at 17 to help regulate my periods and wasn’t diagnosed with PCOS until I was 22. The pill also seems to get rid of most of PCOS’ symptoms.So, women generally find out they have it when they can’t get pregnant. PCOS is the number one cause of infertility in the US.
Why isn’t there more information about this? Well, lots of reasons. First, it shows up in people in very different ways. Some women are stick thin and have it. Others (like me) had irregular periods and couldn’t lose weight). The good news is that more and more women are talking about it and the more voices that are out there saying “I have PCOS” the better.
How do I get diagnosed? First, talk to your doctor. Make sure they are educated on the latest info with PCOS. A LOT OF NEW FINDING HAVE COME OUT IN THE PAST 18MONTHS. And let me tell, you what they were doing 7 or 10 years ago has been found to not be effective. So, please go to someone who is knowledgeable. Don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion if you feel like you might have this.
Here is where I go: http://www.jewishhospitalcincinnati.com/cholesterol/physicians.html#Goldenberg
Now, there is no blood test for this condition. Which is why it’s so important to find someone who is knowledgeable. It’s a series of questions.
What are common treatments? First, the most common treatment is birth control, but not the best. One of the top PCOS researchers in the country feels that birth control does more harm than help. This is an old-school treatment for PCOS but for some women, may be the only thing that works. It’s probably the most common treatment because it was one of the first treatment methods used but like I said up above, new research has come out and doctor’s that are not staying up to date on PCOS stuff might not be aware of new therapies.
Second, metformin is the second most common treatment. That’s what I’m on. It’s $8 a month with no insurance so it’s affordable. It helps to regulate your insulin receptors and prevents your body from storing everything you eat, among other things. Sometimes it helps to think of PCOS like it’s a cousin to diabetes.
What are common treatments aside from mediation? Well, for me, I’ve found that yoga has done wonders for me. I lost 10” alone in the month of January 2010. That’s right - ten inches.I also have cut out ALL crap food (aside from the occasional cheat at my parents house), I have soda rarely, I cut way, way down on bread and eat mostly fruits and veggies. I learned really fast that eating well makes you feel better and after taking care of myself and really being proactive about my diet, I found that many of my symptoms were the result of poor eating. This might sound crazy, but I always used to feel sick after eating pasta and bread—but I thought it was normal and never really considered it. I know I’m not the only one there— food should make you feel good!Women have also seen good results with acupuncture (I’ve done it! It helped with my water weight and periods.)
Any surgeries? There is a surgical procedure that is done for women with PCOS. They won’t do it on you if you want to have kids. I had this done at 22 because I decided to adopt and forego having biological children in favor of treating my PCOS fully and completely. The surgical procedure is called Ovarian Drilling. It did wonders for me but is not right for everyone. This procedure is not FDA approved and they don’t really know exactly why it works. But, it worked really well for me.
Now, please note that I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am a woman with PCOS. I have had 6 doctors in my treatment and I’ve spent hours and hours of my time learning about my body and PCOS. You are different from me and will have a different experience that I have.
How does PCOS work? I am not going to get into specifics here because I am not a medical professional or doctor, but it affects every major body system. Cardiovascular, reproductive, endocrine, etc……I have met women who are on high blood pressure medication, cholesterol medication, medication to reduce water weight, asthma medication only to get diagnosed with PCOS and then switch to just metformin.
Here are some links:
Golden Shoes: This is my network for women with PCOS. I am always here if you have questionshttp://www.goldenshoes.org
And our forum which is in beta: http://talk.goldenshoes.org
Golden Shoes on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/GoldenShoes?ref=ts
Golden Shoes on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/goldenshoes
And you may email me directly at any time: cole@goldenshoes.org
And I want to introduce you to Kara who is the President of Golden Shoes. She has PCOS and has gone through fertility treatments so she has personal experience there that I do that. Her email is kara@goldenshoes.org
I am going to host a chat on Twitter on Thursday night at 8pm EST. Hash tag is #PCOSchat. Join in to ask questions. Should run about an hour.
Thanks to the fabulous Mandy + Curvy Couture. And for spending some of your time with me.
Many thanks,
Cole
This is Cole now. Happy and healthy. :)
