September Eighteenth

I haven't posted about September being Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome awareness month. This is actually where my health journey started. I was diagnosed with PCOS in spring of 2006. I was immediately put on Metformin to regulate my insulin and try to get my hormones to work normally. It worked, and I was having more and more normal periods, for the first time ever in my life.

Then, we decided we should try for a baby. In November 2006, I was told it was not going to be possible to conceive and they started me on more meds to see if it was possible for me to ovulate normally. I was pregnant 4 weeks later. I was one of the lucky ones. 

Fast forward to the present. I no longer have ovaries, thus I really don't have PCOS anymore. But, I still have a lot of the hormonal symptoms, which also cross over to the hormonal issues I have with endometriosis. I get cystic acne, which I have started seeing a dermatologist for. I find it more and more difficult to lose weight, although I have been able to maintain my weight and not gain any. My hair has thinned out a bit. I used to have a lot, now my ponytails are getting smaller in circumference. I also had fertility issues before having my son, which were also attributed to PCOS. I was even told I wouldn't ever be able to have more children. And this came way before my formal endometriosis diagnosis. 

Did you know that there is currently no cure for PCOS and that millions of women suffer from this reproductive disease? Like endometriosis, PCOS affects 1 in 10 women. Often, PCOS can be found comorbid with endometriosis. Also, since there is a crossover of symptoms, it can make either harder to diagnose.

PCOS was first described in 1935. but only recently (2015) have tests been done to try to find the cause and possible treatment of PCOS. That's an 80 year gap,and growing, in terms of finding a treatment or cure! (Meanwhile, the 1880s brought research on testosterone and in 1935 the first attempts to synthesize testosterone were made and shortly after became a common treatment for low testosterone. That's only about a 55 year gap between describing the health issue and having a working treatment. This is the only time I will point out the obvious sexism in research and treatment of mens and womens reproductive health, although there are more points to be made.) This year, there have finally been more studies to find out how PCOS develops in utero, but the results haven't really told us anything that would bring about a cure or even a treatment. While there is a drug that has been through some testing for the treatment of PCOS, there is nothing currently available to treat PCOS directly. We can only manage the symptoms with birth control, metformin, diet and exercise.

During September, and really the whole year, we need to raise awareness of this disease. It can be debilitating as it can cause pain in some women. Depression and anxiety are also often a big part of this disease as it causes infertility, not to mention living with a disease that there is no cure for. I bet most of you know someone with PCOS or have at least heard of it by now. What next? You can go here ----> PCOS Awareness Association where you can find resources and articles and even make a donation or buy an item to show your support. 

Happy PCOS Awareness Month!