Pages I wanted to share!

Just wanted to share some facebook pages and websites I enjoy.

First I will share the Holistic Health Practitioner's site and info. She was great and has great meditation programs. Her name is Carina Freeman. She is so inspirational, I can't even put it into words. Her website is www.holdyourhandfertility.com and her FB is Hold Your Hand Fertility Coaching. She is wonderful. If you add her to FB or contact her, let her know I sent you. She really helped me to stay positive when I was becoming negative. Check out her things and even if you just want to speak to someone who is not biased and will keep info confidential, get in contact with her!

Another page I love is www.999reasonstolaugh.com. They also have a FB page, 999 reason to laugh at infertility. Okay, I know some of you are wondering how it is funny, right? Well sometimes you just have to laugh to get through things. You have to make the best out of it! It gets hard, so there has to be an out. There are some super hilarious things!

period? or anovulatory bleeder?

dr sawyer also told me today the reason i didnt have a period this month was because i did not ovulate, but i have a period every month like clockwork, except this month. so then she told me it was probably anovulatory bleeding. she has never brought that up and ive been seeing her for a year and a half. anovulatory bleeding is supposed to be light or spotty...i have a period usually every twenty nine days and its moderate, so i dont understand and she knows this. do i maybe ovulate sometimes? or do i just have a strange anovulatory bleed? i swear this all keeps getting more confusing. i am ready for more answers. usually before my period i get cranky and get tired, my breasts get sore, i cramp, and i get an awful headache two days prior...i always know when its coming, just like most women have normal periods. this month i didnt really have that, so it was strange and she thought so too...she didnt really have an answer for this either. maybe she really is doing all she can for now before i can see an re...i feel like a big puzzle or an guinea pig.

Dr Appt

Well today I and an appointment with Dr Sawyer (OBGYN). I didn't get very far. The appointment was because I did not ovulate on 50mg of Clomid and she wanted to do a bunch of tests because recently I have had increased Hirsutism and decreased sex drive and I did not really have a period this past month, after the Clomid. She will NOT doing anything else besides that she's done, besides increase Clomid, 200mg is the most you can take and then that's it. She told me I need to try 100mg of Clomid, but first I have to take Provera to induce a good period (double yuck). She said other than that, there isn't much she can do and I need to see a Reproductive Endocrinologist. There's a problem, there isn't one here who takes Tricare for more than 150 miles, but I have found 4 in Syracuse, NY, about 75 miles from where we are moving. I guess after I get a new PCM and OBGYN there, I will be heading to CNY Fertility Centers, hopefully if needed. Our insurance will pay for the visits and SOME medications, but nothing else. They should be able to help pinpoint things better and go on about doing possible Follistem injections and what not. Now, the Clomid might help as the dosage is increased, but the side effects were awful enough at 50mg, I am TERRIFIED to take it at 100mg or higher. I told her about all the natural supplements and surprisingly she did not freak out on me and she said if I want to try them go ahead, but said natural Progesterone cream is at my own risk. From my own research, it can help you get pregnant, or it can be used as a natural birth control/ovulating stimulator, so you just have to watch how you use it. Anyways, she also suggested Wellbutrin for sex drive and I was like NO! I do not want an antidepressant for no reason. So basically I left there with a prescription for Provera and the Clomid and an order to get about 8 vials of blood taken. She is having my testosterone, estrogen, LH, FSH, glucose, A1C levels and Thyroid tested, along with some others. (the lady that took my blood was awful and I am sure I will have a huge bruise in the morning) When you have PCOS, you must keep an eye on hormones, glucose and A1C, but I have not ever had an A1C done before, so we will see what it says. I had my Thyroid tested several times in the past, but I must get it done once a year because my mom has Thyroid issues. On Sept. 20 I have to get another Progesterone test and then I see Dr Sawyer again on Sept 23. That will probably be my last appointment with her, since we are moving around October 15. I left with no real answers, sad, mad, irritated, confused...not sure really. The whole thing is just a mess and I wish it would go away. I just want to be normal. sigh.

how do i talk about pcos to others?

ive been asked several times about how i tell people without feeling embarrassed or how i find it so easy to talk about pcos. it wasnt always easy, but its nothing to be embarrassed about, although it is very personal. i tell people so i can spread awareness and help others. you dont have to tell anyone, but sometimes the more you talk about it, the easier it is to accept that you do indeed have pcos. i was in denial at first and im sure many people are, its normal. remember you never have to go through pcos alone. i have made many friends, some i have never met, because we have something in common that either not many other have....or i guess dont know they have yet because it is so common. we know the struggles and the hurt it can cause. because of pcos, i have met some amazing people and have learned to be grateful for many things in my life.

oh frustration

im typing on my phone again, so please excuse grammar errors. anyways, as of thursday, i believe i had lost exactly fifty pounds. yay. which means twenty five percent total body weight loss wow. the frustrating thing is, i was told by my drs that losing ten percent of my body weight would make me ovulate. not sure what planet they are on. but i am so happy with what ive done and proud and its wonderful to be healthier. i know i was bigger, but i know people who are way bigger than i ever was who ovulate and have babies so i just dont understand. but i am happy for them. once again, i am not a jealous person...just frustrated. maybe one day, right? well we move to fort drum, ny in about i weeks, so i think as for trying and fertility meds we are done with that until we get settled there. i guess i will see what dr sawyer says friday and what dr merced says sept eighth. i still have no updates from the herbalist i contacted...hopefully soon. thats all i know right now. ..i guess just another vent. just gotta be grateful for what i have and so should all of you. it could always be worse.

some herbal info

I was supposed to get my period on Friday, it has not come. Well I spotted for like half a day and that was it. I think the Clomid messed me up because I usually am VERY VERY regular with my period and I know exactly when it is going to come. I am not pregnant. The progesterone test proved that and I also took a pregnancy test the day I should have started, just to be sure. I will see Dr Sawyer on August 26th. She called in more Clomid for me to start this past Monday at 100mg, but I did not take it because obviously it messed with my hormones more than they already were "messed up". We are moving to New York in about 8 weeks, so I think I am done messing with this and Drs here. I will see her and see what she says, but I don't think there is much to do in a short amount of time. I have been looking into natural supplements and herbs to help with the PCOS and fertility, and that brings me to the next subject of this blog entry.

The night I got my progesterone test back, I could not sleep. I spent 6 hours researching herbs and supplements. It wasn't the first time I had looked into these things, but I became more interested after the Clomid failed and the awful side effects I had. I have read nothing but amazing things about these herbs, so I decided I would give them a shot. I have bought almost everything, but have not started them yet as I am trying to work them in with my day, meals and other medications I take for other things.

I have yet to purchase Soy Isoflavens, they are supposed to be "nature's clomid". You take them just like Clomid, days 5-9 of your cycle at 100mg. I have gotten Vitex, B 100 complex vitamins, Evening Primrose Oil, Red Raspberry Leaf, and Royal Jelly. In a minute I will tell you a little about each of them, but first I want to insert a quick memo:

*NONE OF THIS IS MEDICAL ADVICE AND IT IS BEST IF YOU SPEAK TO YOUR DOCTOR FIRST. IF YOU TRY THESE THINGS, YOU ARE DOING AT YOUR OWN RISK AND I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE. I AM ONLY SHARING KNOWLEDGE*

Vitex is a plant also known as Agnus Castus (Chaste tree). Many women claim it has helped them become pregnant and/or balance hormones (progesterone). Many women from child bearing years to menopausal years take it. I have read it's been taken for centuries to help cure infertility and regulate female hormones. The only bad thing I have read about it, is that a woman that has a regular cycle, may have an irregular one for the first few months of taking it. It hasn't helped everyone woman get pregnant who has taken it, but I see way more that have than not. Nothing is a miracle, but some people call it that. This comes in pill or tincture form.

B vitamins just help with energy, period. This comes in pill form.

Evening Primrose Oil is said to help you produce health cervical mucous. If using it to do so, you are supposed to take it the first 2 week of your cycle and stop when ovulation should occur and then continue again the first day of you next period for 2 weeks and so on. As far as I know, this is only in pill form.

Red Raspberry Leaf comes in pill, tea, and tincture form. When I went into an herbs shop, the woman said most people buy it in tea form and people say it is the most effective, so that is what I bought. It is said that it will stregthen the uterus and also regulate hormones. I have also read that many women continue to drink it through pregnancy or even start it during pregnancy with a rule of a glass a day per trimester. (I think I may have worded that wrong) But 1 glass every day of the first trimester, 2 a day the 2nd and 3 the 3rd. Again, all I read are great things!

Royal Jelly is made from queen bees. It is supposed to improve egg quality and the quality of the reproductive organs. It comes in pill/capsule or you can get it in jelly form, I believe.

I think I am going to start these the next time I have a period again. I am going to start them gradually. I am still looking into what therapeutic dosages should be. I have been put in touch with an herbalist, but have not gotten a reply back from her just yet.

The other medications I take are 850mg of Metformin twice daily (for PCOS), 40mg of Nexium once a day (Acid Reflux), a prenatal vitamin, and 0.5mg of Klonopin as needed (Anxiety). I recently tried to get off Klonopin altogether, but had a very serious panic attack about 5 days ago. I think I was coming off too fast and my body freaked out on me, so I am going to wean off slower...another reason to postpone trying anymore, because you cannot take Klonopin and be pregnant. I mean I guess you can, but it is not recommened nor safe at all!

Well that is all I have for now, I may have a guest blogger coming up soon =) and I will continue to keep you all updated on any reseach I hear and any part of my personal story. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me!!!!

a little vent

i get so annoyed when people ask when im going to have kids. i know they dont all know the story, but why does it even have to be brought up, its nobodys business. i always find myself having to explain the issue, and thats fine, but then sometimes i get looked at like i am crazy. people dont understand that its just not that easy. this happens a lot in this military lifestyle john and i live in...many couples we know have kids, most younger and most with multiple children, thats fine. we wanted to wait to have kids because we do not see the rush to pop them out right away. ive been told that i, at twenty four, am getting old and need to have kids because everyone else does. what in the world does that mean? i am in no way old. i never even knew i had pcos until i was twenty three and we wanted to enjoy our life, without kids. i am called selfish for this too. im not sure why, but i think its responsible. we want to do things, we want to be able to provide properly, and we want to really know eachother and have our time together before we have kids...i think its smart. we do have pcos hindering our ability to have children now, but we have gotten to do some of the things we wanted to. so in the mean time, we will continue to enjoy ourselves and be selfish. ......just a little rant. and sorry for the errors in this post, my phone is not allowing me to use any caps, numbers, or other punctuaction. ps. i am not bashing anyone for having children and what not. i dont want anyone to think that.

My Goals for This Blog

It’s a long road, but I’ve come a long way. Right now I am focusing on removing the negativity from my life. It’s going well, but I have some work to do. I will continue to blog about my experience with PCOS. This is all I have to date, but like I said above, if I can bring awareness to just one person then I have done my job. I didn’t write this for sympathy or for people to feel sorry for me, I wrote it to share my story and my experiences. I wrote in hopes that maybe someone who just is finding out they have PCOS will know they are not alone and I wrote it in hopes that maybe if someone is going through similar things, they might be able to find out what the real issue is. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will answer them the best I can. I am usually pretty open. If you are not going to be nice, please do not read anymore and do not leave me any comments. I will update again when I find out what is next, or I need a good vent about this, or just whenever. I hope to maybe get some friends to blog on here about how they see PCOS and how I am through their eyes. I hope to maybe even get John on here and share it through his eyes, since I know it is also hard on him. He is so supportive and positive. I am so lucky to be married to him. I also have very supportive friends and family and I appreciate it so much.

Thank you all and I hope that this will be read and followed. I hope to post some links and more knowledge in the near future.

What is Next and How Does PCOS Make Me Feel

What will I do next? I am not sure. The nurse is supposed to call me again after speaking with Dr Sawyer tomorrow. The Clomid dosage may be increased to 100mg next time. Typically it is increased by 50mg each time, until you have reached 6 cycles. Most Drs do not recommend taking it more than 6 cycles, ever. I have that to think about and many other things. Maybe I should get another opinion? Maybe I should buy progesterone cream from GNC? Maybe I should ask another Dr about Clomid and Progesterone together or Clomid and Follistim injections or an hcg injection? Maybe I should see an endocrinologist? I never see IVF as an option as it is extremely costly and I would love to adopt one day, but as far as I know, that will be out of reach as well. Military folks don’t get paid near as much as some like to think. It’s hard and exhausting. I may try some all natural things first. I have read that Royal Jelly and Vitex can help. I have the Royal Jelly, but need to order the Vitex. Royal Jelly is made in the queen bee’s nest and Vitex is the Chastleberry plant

I am asked about how PCOS makes me feel and what emotions I go through. Sometimes I feel inferior to other women, I feel like less of a woman. Sometimes I feel like an outcast among family and friends. Since my hormones are always flopping around, I tend to change moods very quickly. I have felt sad, mad, irritable, angry, dumb, bitchy…you name it, I’ve felt it. I have hated myself. I have hated other people. I have hurt so much emotionally, I didn’t know how to get out of bed. I’ve hid my feelings. I’ve been embarrassed. I’ve pushed people away. I’ve pushed myself away. I’ve said things I don’t mean. I’ve hurt people. I’ve been careless, but sometimes I get overly cautious. I don’t trust easily. I deal with anxiety. I deal with depression. I’ve been one of the most negative people I have ever known. I’m rough around the edges. It’s been awful. PCOS has left me forever scarred. There are some things PCOS has taught me. I’ve learned to be stronger and not take advantage of things and not let people take advantage of me. PCOS has also taught me what true patience is. With all bad there is always some good. Sometime it doesn’t feel like and sometimes I lose all hope and faith. For instance, today when I got the call, I temporarily gave up all hope. I wanted to give up, I was done, but that is not going to get me anywhere in life. Sometimes I lose faith in God and I don’t understand why I have to go through this and what I did to be punished with this "invisible heartbreak", this "invisible disease". I know that is no way to go about dealing with this and that is how I am able to bring myself out of the slump. I know deep down inside if I give up, my dreams will die. I am not that person. I know I have a good life and I know it could always be worse. I must accept myself and be happy with what I have and who I am, but always strive to improve. It’s really a ball of emotions and I would never wish this on anyone, ever. I’ve been asked if I am jealous of women who don’t have this or jealous of pregnant women. No, I am not a jealous person. I really am not. I envy women who do not have this, but I am not jealous. If I was jealous, I’d be miserable and I can’t live like that. Jealousy is a very ugly trait and I will not be like that.

My Story, So Far

My personal story began in October 2009, but I wasn’t diagnosed until January 2010. Actually it started long before, but that is when I found out I had PCOS. In August 2010 (the end of August), I took my last birth control pill and I did not get my period…I did not get a period for 40 days. I knew after being on birth control for a long time that my period could be delayed. I waited one more week (October) and took a pregnancy test at work, it was positive, so I took a second and it was also positive, but I knew something was not right because I was in a lot of pain. The same night I took the test, I went to the ER. I informed them of what was going on and they looked at me like an idiot, especially after their test was negative. I asked them for a blood test and they said they don’t do blood tests unless the urine test was positive and proceeded to tell me I may have a cyst or tumor and to see my PCM (primary care manager). Now before I go any further, I had already known what PCOS is because I found out someone I knew had it and had talked to them about it and did some research. This started to come into my mind more often, but I still just blamed it on getting of birth control. I made an appointment with my PCM (Dr Merced, I will start calling my doctors by name) and got in, in November.

My appointment in November of 2009 came and Dr Merced brought up PCOS, but also the fact that I had been on birth control for a long time. John and I were not trying, but weren’t really taking any precautions to not get pregnant at this time. (For those of you who don’t know, John is my wonderful husband. I know some people I don’t know will be reading this, so I will explain people as they come up.) Dr Merced wanted to see me again in a couple weeks and if I had not gotten a period by then, she wanted to schedule an ultrasound, at this time she also did a hcg blood test, which was negative. I went to Dr Merced in December 2009 again and I had not gotten a period yet, she asked me a serious of questions and scheduled an ultrasound for Monday, December 28, 2009. It’s funny I still remember the exact date, maybe it’s because it was my first ultrasound and it was miserable. I didn’t realize how hard it was to drink so much water and hold it for so long. I had to wait an hour in the imaging center because they are were so far behind, I was so antsy and had to pee so bad. I finally got called back and had the ultrasound and the ultrasound tech told me I really needed to have a period, but the good thing was my uterus and ovaries were looking good in average size and my follicles looked normal. She told me Dr Merced would tell me more when I saw her next and I was surprised she had told me that much already. I had already had a feeling I was going to get the news that I had PCOS.

January 12, 2010 was the exact day I found out I had PCOS. I was so alone and I was devastated because I knew my life had changed and I knew how difficult it was going it would be to be a "normal woman". John was at JRTC at Ft Polk, LA (a type of military training) and he had no phone for me to call him on. All I wanted to do was talk to him. On that day, I spoke to Tracy (my stepmom), my grandma, my mom, and some of my close friends. I found a little birdie that was able to get John in contact with me eventually and I was relieved. Anyways, at this point in time I was given Provera for 10 days to induce a period and Metformin, to control insulin issues. Usually Provera works in 5 days, but sometimes needs to be taken for 10 days. It worked at day 14, so we are not positive that it actually did anything, but probably. That was the single most worst period of my entire life. It was very painful, heavy, and clumpy. REMEMBER, I told you this may be too much information for some. I was given Metformin because in most cases of PCOS there are insulin issues. I started at 500mg daily and was increased 500mg the next time I saw Dr Merced. Metformin is also known to sometimes help women with PCOS ovulate and also regulate periods. It has some nasty side effects though, especially on the stomach, but most will go away after time. The symptoms I had at that time were the following: weight gain and belly fat (I gained 80 pound since between 2005 and 2010, and gained 5 more between that January and March and it didn’t matter how much I worked out and how well I ate, I kept packing on pounds), extreme bloating, lack of periods, depression (depression set in, in 2005), oily skin, and hirsutism (which if any of you have known me since we were younger, you will remember probably making fun of my hairy arms all the way back in middle school). After taking Metformin for a few months, it was decided I also had insulin problems.

I am going to take you back a while from when I was younger. I have always been a hairy person. It’s embarrassing, but I think I can link that from back then to now. Also, I started my period at 10 years old, in fifth grade. Not all, but many women who have PCOS started their periods earlier than average. There is no link to prove that, but after speaking to many women is PCOS support groups and doing some of my own research, I believe there may be some sort of a link. Fast forward 15 years, it is not as uncommon to find girls starting their period that young. I blame that on all the hormones they shove in food, I really think that is part of the issue. There has been some research linking that to PCOS, but nothing in stone.

There just really is not much research done on this awful disease anyways. This is why I like to call it the invisible heartbreaker, on the outside I look fine, all of my blood work looks fabulous (except my Progesterone levels, we will get to that later), I do not have the cysts that PCOS can cause and nobody knows how much hurt it can cause you to have. After I gained all the weight and probably as I was gaining, I’m sure people saw me as lazy and that all I did was eat and eat. I will say I can be lazy, but can’t everyone else and I don’t always eat right, but 98% of the time I do. I’m sure people were wondering what was going on with me, but I didn’t even know.

Now back to my story. I was sent to an OB/GYN on April 21, 2010. By April, my periods were finally starting to come regularly and I had lost 5 pounds. I spoke to the OB/GYN (Dr Sawyer) about everything and she too believed I definitely had PCOS. She then scheduled more blood work, mainly hormonal and told me that Dr Merced was doing a wonderful job, especially since most PCM’s do not touch PCOS. My period was set to come the day I went to that appointment. It didn’t come until May 2^{nd, the morning after John left to Afghanistan. Let me back up a bit again, the weekend after that appointment I took a pregnancy test and it was positive again, I went back a couple days before John left and had a blood test and it was negative. It’s been said on May 2, 2010 I may have miscarried, but we will never know. I had an appointment with Dr Sawyer again in mid May, she wanted to do more blood work again. I went back in June, all of my hormones were in average limits, but one thing was wrong, I was not producing any Progesterone, which is crucial to ovulation and pregnancy. This was a huge problem. By this time I was taking about 1500mg of Metformin daily. I was afraid I was never going to be able to have children, I was scared. Also by this time, I had dropped about 15 pounds. I went to Michigan for a couple weeks and started working out intensely in June, even twice a day. By August I had lost nearly 25 pounds, I had never seen weight drop that fast and my doctors were for sure then, that my weight problems had to do with insulin and the Metformin was taking care of it and allowing me to finally lose weight!}

Fast forward to September 2010. My period came as scheduled, so I thought that maybe things were starting to look up, but I started to have a period every other week! Nobody could ever figure out why, but I was put on Lo Ovral, a monophasic birth control, in October 2010. I was on this until May 4, 2011. By May 4, 2011, I had dropped 45 pounds. Total weight loss to the current date of August 10, 2011, I have lost 50 pounds. Anyways, backing up a little, in June of this year, my period was late and I was having a lot of pain and weird things going on . I was in Florida and I called both of my Drs and made appointments for when I got back. I saw Dr Sawyer first, and the day I can in I started my period. It was about a week late and almost as bad as the period I had after the Provera. The pain I had as so intense, Dr Sawyer said maybe I had a cyst that had ruptured or a possible miscarriage, but more than likely a cyst because the test was negative. By this time, John and I had decided we wanted to start trying. We haven’t really told anyone because of all the things that I have to go through and it’s not really anyone’s business anyway, which brings us to the past 2 months. Also, I started working with a Holistic Health Practitioner. Her name is Carina Freeman and she runs Hold Your Hand Fertility Coach. She is so positive. All of our meetings are over the internet, as she is another military wife, stationed in Japan. She has had fertility struggles of her own and wanted to help people. She has some different meditation programs, I did the Chakra cleansing one. It really helped me start to clear things out of my life and think differently. I will post her information in a blog below, along with a facebook group called, Military Wives with PCOS.

June 15, 2011, is the day I went to Dr Sawyer last. She gave me a prescription for Clomid, which is supposed to induce ovulation, she also set up a Progesterone test. Progesterone is crucial for ovulation and maintaining pregnancy. If you do not produce this, you will not ovulate and if you produce too little, you are not ovulating and cannot get pregnant or sustain a pregnancy. I was to start the Clomid on June 20th, the 5th day of my cycle. You start off on 50mg of Clomid a day and take it usually from day 5-9 of your cycle. Some people will be told to take it days 3-7 or 4-8 or even 6-10. You take it for 5 days and then wait. I wasn’t ready for this yet, so I saved it until July. I decided I may as well give it a try, so on July 18, I took my first pill. If it didn’t help us conceive, I at least hoped it would get me to ovulate. I was nervous, but excited to see what it would do. The side effects were awful. I felt sick every day I took it, I would sweat profusely when not doing anything, I slept terribly, and I got anxious. After day 9 of my cycle, we were sure it was going to work. I could have swore I felt it working. Now we all know it just isn’t going to work on its own, but I don’t think we need to get into that. I got crampy in areas I had never had cramps before and we just thought it was going to work. Last Thursday, August 4, 2011, I went to have my Progesterone test done, and I was nervous. I called Dr Sawyers office this morning to see if the results were in and at about 12:45pm, I got a call back. It wasn’t the best call I’ve ever received, I did not ovulate. Wow, heartbreaking! My heart fell into my stomach, I was in shock. Now the one good thing is, last year my Progesterone was 1.4ng/mL and with the Clomid it was 6.7ng/mL, so the Clomid did raise my Progesterone, but according to Dr Sawyer’s nurse, I did not ovulate. Now of course, I went online to read some and I’ve read that sometimes a reading at that level can indicate early ovulation and a short Luteal Phase, so some Drs will say that you did ovulate. Most will say you don’t ovulate unless it’s 10ng/mL or higher. Anyways, I asked what was going to be next and the nurse said maybe try the Clomid again. I had asked about adding Progesterone cream and she said that Dr Sawer doesn’t do that and will only deal with Clomid.

Intro to my blog and PCOS

My Personal Story, PCOS: The Invisible Heartbreaker

I have decided to start this blog to inform more people about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and tell you my personal story. If I can make one person aware of PCOS and what it can do to a woman and even her spouse (or other significant other) and family, then I’ve done my job. It’s not only an "invisible heartbreaker" it’s also an "invisible disease". You cannot see it from the outside and most of the time, from the inside either. It can take a long time to diagnose and most who have it, are usually otherwise, particularly healthy. PS: If you don’t want to read about female issues or something you think may be too much information for you, stop here. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Before I get into my story, I want to give you all a little background about PCOS. For those of you who don’t know what a syndrome is, it is a group of symptoms. You do not have to have all the symptoms of a syndrome to have it and that’s where it can become tricky. I will try to keep this in lay terms, but I am so used to medical terms from being in the doctor so much and working in the medical field. I am using some information from webMD to help me explain in a little more depth. Some of the symptom include the following:

EARLY SYMPTOMS:

IRREGULAR MENSES (Irregular Periods or No Periods): This can range from less than nine cycles a year (more than 35 days between cycles) to no menstrual periods. Some women with PCOS have regular periods but no monthly ovulation or irregular ovulation every month. This means the ovaries are not releasing eggs regular or at all.

HEAVY, IRREGULAR BLEEDING: About 30% of women with PCOS have this symptom.

HAIR LOSS FROM THE SCALP AND HAIR GROWTH (HIRSUTISM) ON THE FACE, CHEST, BACK, STOMACH, THUMBS AND TOES: About 70% of women with PCOS complain of these hair problems caused by high androgen levels.

ACNE AND OILY SKIN: caused by high androgen levels. (BTW androgens are male dominate hormones)

DEPRESSION OR MOOD SWINGS

Living with PCOS can affect your sense of well-being, sexual satisfaction, and overall quality of life.

GRADUAL SYMPTOMS:

WEIGHT GAIN OR UPPER BODY OBESITY: this occurs more so around the abdomen than the hips and is linked to high androgen levels.

ALOPECIA (Male pattern baldness or thinning hair): once again due to high androgen levels.

REPEAT MISCARRIAGES: The cause is not known. These miscarriages may be linked to high insulin levels, delayed ovulation, or other problems linked to the quality of the egg or how the egg attaches to the uterus.

INABILITY TO BECOME PREGNANT (Infertility): This is because the ovaries are not releasing eggs.

OVARIAN CYSTS

HIGH INSULIN LEVELS AND INSULIN RESISTANCE: which can include upper body weight gain and skin changes, such as skin tags or dark velvety patches under the arm, neck or groin and genital area.

BLOATING

BREATHING PROBLEMS: linked to both obesity and insulin resistance.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

THE MOST COMMON REASONS THAT FIRST BRING WOMEN WITH PCOS TO A DOCTOR INCLUDE:

MENSTRUAL PROBLEMS

MALE-TYPE HAIR GROWTH (HIRSUTISM)

INFERTILITY

WEIGHT GAIN OR UPPER BODY OBESITY

There is no known reason what really causes PCOS, or I guess what causes the hormonal imbalances to cause PCOS. There is a possible genetic link, but nothing is certain. PCOS is a fairly "new" disease. Although it has probably been around since the beginning of human life, only in the past few decades has it become diagnosable and researched. Many doctors and nurses don’t even know what it is still, I can tell you from first hand experience. I’ve been into the Allergist office or at Urgent Care and when they ask me my medical history and I tell them I have PCOS, I’ve just been stared at. Eventually after a few mintues of staring at me and wondering what PCOS is, I finally explain it and they have told me they’ve never heard of it. It shocks me that a medical professional has no idea what it is! It also shocks me how many people who are not medical professionals know what it is. I know there are many things I don’t know about, but PCOS is so common.

PCOS is very common and many women do not know they have it and some will never know. It was once said that 1 in 15 women had PCOS, but now some studies I have read have shown that up to 1 in 8 women have it. Some women with PCOS can get pregnant easily, some will have a hard time and need help and some will never get pregnant. It’s a very emotionally exhausting disease.

Now just because you have PCOS, does not mean you will go through all of those symptoms and it does not mean you will never get pregnant. Many women with PCOS get pregnant with no issues, many are not so lucky. And I can promise you one thing, just because you come from a fertile family, does NOT mean you will be fertile and just because you have one child does not mean you will have another, or have an easy time. PCOS can start at any time, usually in the teen years or early adulthood. Typically, most women will be diagnosed between the age of 16 and 25. Now there is no medical research to support that, but they are just averages I have seen in my personal research.

PCOS is one of the biggest emotional rides I have ever been on. I can tell you, you must be strong to handle PCOS. You will sink or swim. If you are not strong before you are diagnosed, you will become strong, fast and your mindset on life changes. People who do not have PCOS will NEVER understand you and that is one of the most difficult things. People will act like they know what it’s like, but they don’t unless they are going through it too. It’s sort of like having a spouse who deploys to a war zone for a year at a time. People try to compare their husband’s week long business trip and say they understand. Maybe to an extent and yes something bad can happen anywhere at any time, but unless your husband has been gone, fighting in a war for a year and you don’t get to speak daily or even weekly, you will not understand. I will move on from that though, because this is not about, but for any of my fellow army wife friends, that is sort of what it feels like when someone says they understand even if they really don’t. Most people are sincere and want to understand and I appreciate it. A portion of the problem with people who do not understand is, they don’t know what PCOS really is. You must educate yourself about PCOS if you have it, so you can explain it to others. Some people don’t want to ask what it is, so I’ve found myself asking if they know when we talk about it and almost 8 times out 10, they don’t know. You have to learn to be patient with your friends and family, they really do mean well and really do want to support you.

Lastly, please be patient with yourself. I know this is hard as I am still learning to do this myself. Some days are easier than others, and other days PCOS seems like a life sentence. You have to try to have a positive outlook and I am still struggling with this as well. You will learn to be even more grateful for the things you have and you will wish others were as well. It will change your life and the outlook you have for life and family. You are forever changed.