Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if what I saw as a blessing is the reason it has now become a curse. Like most women I first started my period in my early tween years. It was regular for a while but by the next year it was few and far between. Of course my friends were envious as it is something girls hate and it seemed I got to skip it so I couldn’t complain.
Still, I did recognize that something odd was going on by the time I was fifteen. The doctors told me “Oh it’s normal! It’ll even out in the next year.” Next year came and still just two periods a year. I brought it up again only to be told the same thing. If the doctors weren’t concerned why should I be?
By the time I was eighteen I had gone a year without a period. Four months after my nineteenth birthday I went to the Doctor again for my first ever womanly check-up. I informed the nurse that it had been yet another year without my period. She is the only one at that time that ever showed any sort of concern as the Doctor didn’t care.
That was the day I started my diagnoses for PCOS. I had no idea what it was but she was rude and unprofessional and made my whole check-up horrible. Here are some comments I received during that visit just so you can imagine how the rest of it went;
The last one is what really gets me. I wasn’t aware that not having a period meant you weren’t ovulating. Honestly… it feels like the year we tried before going to an actual OBGYN (who did inform me of these things and made an active attempt to help us.) was for nothing.
So as I sit here almost three years 2 later still struggling through infertility the familiar thoughts pop up once again. Is this my fault? By not fighting the doctors advice that my lack of periods were not normal did I somehow make myself infertile? Is there something I could have done? Why didn’t I lose the weight. One common theme throughout my journals from my early teen years until now has been about wanting to lose weight, so why didn’t I?
Logically I know that PCOS is not my fault. Doctors do not know the cause and there is no cure. Yet I still can’t help but wonder if by celebrating the fact that I didn’t get my period turned it into this infertility curse.
September is PCOS Awareness Month. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome can effect a woman’s menstrual cycle, fertility, hormones, insulin, heart and even her appearance. The US Department of Health & Human Services estimates between 5-10% of women of child-bearing age have PCOS. Yet most people are uninformed about it and have no idea that such a condition exists.
Women with PCOS experience a combination of symptoms that can lead to serious conditions. Some symptoms include weight gain or inability to gain weight, absent or irregular periods, male pattern hair growth, thinning hair, mood swings, high cholesterol and blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and infertility. In fact, PCOS is a leading cause of infertility in women.
So now we’ll go a bit more into dispelling some common PCOS myths.
PCOS is a rare disorder!
Affecting 5% to 10% of all women of childbearing age, PCOS is one of the most common hormone disorders among women in this age group.
It’s easy to diagnose!
Confirmation of a PCOS diagnosis requires obtaining blood samples for a variety of hormones, including those produced by the ovaries, adrenal glands, pituitary gland and thyroid gland. A full physical examination and screening for cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose and insulin as well as ultrasounds are also a part of the expensive diagnosis.
Only overweight women have PCOS!
This could not be farther from the truth! Weight gain and obesity are only symptoms of this syndrome but there are many women who have PCOS and are lean. In fact thin women with PCOS often find it very hard to be diagnosed as many associate PCOS with obesity.
Women with PCOS can not have children!
Although many women with PCOS have trouble getting pregnant, some women with PCOS have no trouble at all. In general, women with PCOS have a normal uterus and eggs and often have problems due to high insulin levels which can be brought
down with medications so you are able to ovulate each month.
PCOS is a gynecological Disorder!
Since many of the symptoms involve a woman’s reproductive system, PCOS is often mistaken for a gynecological disorder. It is, however, a disorder of the endocrine system, involving hormones and hormone production. This is why most doctors will try to refer you to an Endocrinologist, especially if you’re having difficulties conceiving.
Doctors do not know the cause of PCOS and there is no cure for PCOS; therefore it is a life-long condition, and people need to be informed about managing PCOS and all the symptoms associated with it. So try to keep in mind that the obese woman with “monkey” arms and a bit of facial hair. It may not be their fault.
Just wanted to give any loyal, disloyal, stalkers, and fly-by-nighters a heads up for some future events. In the upcoming weeks you may see a few reviews pop up between my personal posts. Try not to fret and click the X button as they will be for products that I am interested in and not for something completely random like dining tables 1. Though in this case it is somewhat related as it will be for a George Foreman grill. I’ve never had one and have been begging Jeremy for one as I hate pan frying anything due to grease and overall ick-ness. So now I get the chance to review one. WIN-WIN!
To get back to the subject just know that this is just somewhat temporary until I’m able to get my review site up, running, and page-ranked. I just wanted to ease your minds and let you know that it won’t be taking over my posts about how I’m infertile and we’re trying to conceive or any other randomness that my life holds. The only compensation I’ll receive is an a hopefully awesome product for my opinion of that product. Nothing about insane vacations I’ll never take or life insurance. I’m not interested in that type of sponsoring and won’t be taking any offers to spam random links for a bit of cash.
So there you have it. This has been your friendly warning that you should take me off your feed-reader and delete my website from your minds now should you be offended at the type of content that I will be featuring. Now I’m going to wait in excitement for my items to arrive. 
For as long as I can remember older men have always been attracted to me. I don’t know why. While it’s flattering it’s also creepy and scary depending on how they approach. It’s odd though, that older men find me attractive while guys my own age never even looked at me. Guess I’m just that fucking awesome.
Hello! I'm
That boosts my ego! 
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