As we head into #PCOSAwarenessMonth, I thought it would be a good idea to put up the first post of the mama blog that I’ve been planning for weeks. Just over one year ago, I won a battle against PCOS when we found out that I was pregnant with our first child. This battle was a huge one. It was a battle fraught with ultrasounds, drugs and negative pregnancy tests. My daughter is a miracle. No matter how frustrating she is sometimes, I remind myself of that. I say that I won the battle, but the war will rage on as PCOS has no cure.
I know that for many of my PCOS sisters out there struggling, conceiving can take years or never happen. My journey took just a year and a half and I am very grateful.
For those who don’t know, (up until a couple years ago, I didn’t either) PCOS stands for Polycycstic Ovarian Syndrome. It’s a hormonal disorder, not unlike diabetes, in that it involves insulin resistance. In addition to the blood sugar issues, there are quite a few more. Because of this problem, it triggers my ovaries to produce more testosterone than they should. My progesterone and estrogen are also out of whack, which leads to multiple cysts on my ovaries and prevents ovulation.
This can have lovely side effects such as infertility, hair loss or growth and a hard time of losing weight. It is important to note that you can have PCOS even if you’re thin.
Before going on birth control, I had longer cycles, but didn’t think much of it. Then I was on birth control for 7 years before we decided to try and conceive. I wanted to be off of it for a while to give my body a chance to get all those drugs out of my system before actually trying. My period was present for 6 months after I went off and then it stopped completely.
That first month when it didn’t return, I was convinced it must have been because I was pregnant. I was crushed when I wasn’t. I gave it a couple more months before seeking help. It was then that they diagnosed the PCOS. I was told that if I lost weight, my cycles may come back on their own. The key word there being “may.” I had been trying to lose weight for a year and had no luck. I didn’t want to wait so I began a treatment of metformin, which is a drug for diabetes that is really rough on your stomach, and then letrozole, which is similiar to clomid. I began to ovulate again and within a few months, I conceived my daughter. I know I am extremely lucky.
PCOS is no joke and I have no idea what’s going to happen with my body now. Since I’m breastfeeding, I know it can take a while for my period to come back anyway. I wonder if it’ll come back at all.
This blog is going to contain recipes, workouts, musings about my daughter, being a new stay at home mom and other things PCOS related. I hope you enjoy it!
For any family or friends reading this that didn’t know, I’m not looking for any sympathy. It is what it is and I’m just hoping to help others out there with the same problem and share stories and ideas!
Shout out to my new friends over at mypcosteam.com!
Glad to connect with another blogger. I had my second daughter back in March and still have not had my cycle back yet. Was getting worried but I have heard it can be after I nurse for it to come back. I usually nurse for about a year.
Glad to connect! I had my daughter in April. She's my first and my period hasn't come back either. I'm also breastfeeding. I do find myself wondering what will happen and if it'll come back at all though…and then what..?
Thanks for sharing this! I just found out about my PCOS a month ago, and I know that crushing feeling you talked about all to well… I knew I wasn't pregnant… I felt barren, which is weird because I have never had something alive in there before…. but thats why I went to the doctors. I was really hoping even though I felt “empty”
It can be really hard. I know I was lucky. A lot of women have it so much worse. I wish you the best of luck!!!