THE STRUGGLES OF PCOS – MY PCOS RANT

 

 

PCOS or PCOD stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome / Disease. Both are the same thing.

PCOS is a hormonal disorder that affects 5-10% of women in the world today.

There is no one cause to pinpoint for PCOS. Unbalanced hormones, bad lifestyle, stress, and genetics all play a role in causing PCOS.

 

 

 

Symptoms of PCOS are irregular menstrual cycles, complete disappearance of cycle, rapid weight gain, difficulty losing weight, excessive male hormones in the female body leading to male-pattern hair growth (read gross), acne, mood swings, anxiety and even depression.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. If left untreated these cysts in the ovaries can get worse leading to no ovulation which means infertility.

PCOS not only affects the ovaries of a female. It affects the entire body. The mind is especially tough one to conquer if going through this disease. Wait, there’s more. Females with PCOS are at also high risk of developing insulin resistance, type II diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease as well.

 

 

Haven’t we all been dealt a great hand?!! Read my rant on the daily struggles that we “Cysters” face on a daily basis:

Insane Cravings

 

 

I am not even kidding on this one. It is effing insane. Cravings mean I want carbs and sugar and it is like I have lost control of my mind and body at the same time. I see my hand pick up a whole cake and stuff it in my face. It’s not me!! At the same time, I have died a few deaths from the inside because of the guilt and shame. But I can’t stop myself. Know what I mean? It’s not that normal people don’t have cravings but it is so much worse with PCOS. DAMN YOU Hormones!!

 

 

Satiety? What’s that?

 

 

This is just a vicious cycle. Carb cravings-carbs eating-hunger still remaining. LOL. But that’s not all. Even protein and fat fail to satisfy me immediately. Why you ask? Because my brain like the rest of my metabolism has become slow and just forgets to release the satiety hormone “Leptin” on time. Hence, I end up eating up an entire buffet before feeling anywhere near full.

 

 

Slow Metabolism

 

 

Slow! So Slow. I can physically feel it being so so slow. I literally feel like yelling at my digestive system to hurry the hell up. It can be frustrating. But there is a tiny ray of hope. It gets better with diet and exercise –two things we do not want to do. HAHA.

 

 

Mood Swings

 

 

Swings?? Swings is an underrated term for this. Seriously. Think of the biggest roWrller coaster in the world. Yeah!! It is more like that. I have had random cries at every imaginable place. I once cried in a mall in the middle of a shopping spree because one of my nails broke (Spoiler alert: Your nails and hair get brittle if you have PCOS.) At first you won’t notice your mood changes. You will just feel crappy one second and happy the next, but mostly crappy. Once you start noticing your mood patterns something even funnier happens. A certain part of your brain actually knows that you are having a mood swing. Yet you cannot seem to have any control over it happening anyway. Life is just GREAT!

 

 

Weight Gain

 

 

Girl, I don’t even wanna go there. I can eat one slice of pizza and literally gain two kilos overnight. Okay. Fine. I lied. I ate the whole pizza. But still. How is it that my body is gaining 4-5 times more weight than an average person? And then some doctor comes and tells me with PCOS it is very difficult to lose any weight even if you try hard. Thanks a lot LIFE for punching me so hard in my fat belly.

 

 

Painful Cycles

 

 

Now, I don’t know if all Cysters face this issue. Pretty sure they don’t. If you don’t consider yourself lucky. Rest of us know at least partially how going into labour must feel like. I, myself, have insanely painful cycles and for the first two days getting outta bed is a real struggle. However, it has gotten a little better once some of the weight started coming off.

 

 

Acne, Hair Growth and Some Other Awesome Things

 

Although my acne is almost completely gone now, I know how it feels to have severe acne, ladies. Been there, faced that. My skin problems however were never very severe and I know some of you CYSTERS have a horror show issues to deal with. Taking care of your skin is as important as the inside of your body. When you look good, you feel good. Correction:  You at least feel a little BETTER. And by the way, what is up with hair growth? My hairline is receding, my head is balding and at the same effing time hair on the rest of my body (eyebrows, upper lip, underarms, legs) is just outta control. Just tell my hair to grow on my head for ONCE. Coming to another awesome thing brittle hair and nails. Do you have brittle hair and nails that just break randomly? Why yes, I do sir. Hair health deteriorates with PCOS and nails just lose their strength? Elasticity? Whatever, that is. I can’t EVEN.

 

 

Body Image Issues

 

 

This is the nuclear bomb of all our struggles. Body negativity, body image issue, ashamed of your body, body inferiority complex, you can call it what you want. I am telling you, this is the worst. Beautiful ladies inside and out are struggling so hard to grapple with this issue. And this is what takes a toll on all of our minds. Women who are overweight or obese (with or without PCOS) are fat shamed and handed out a lot of negativity with regards to their body shape and size. This leads to low self-esteem, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and in some severe cases even suicide. The only thing I can say if you are struggling with such an issue reach out to friends, family, a professional or even an online community of like-minded individuals. Keep yourself sane and remember you are important MOST OF ALL. If you are someone who is seeing a loved one deal with body image issues, don’t just sit and watch. Take care of them, remind them of their positive traits and keep them on the right track.

My fellow cysters can understand what I am ranting on about. And these are only some daily struggles that I am talking about. Long-term consequences are much more severe.

Life with PCOS is hard. So, all we ask is you don’t judge us and hand out “advice” if you know nothing about this disorder.

With a positive attitude and go-getter mindset, this condition can and does get better. To those who are familiar and unfamiliar with these disease, I would highly recommend adopting a healthy lifestyle and exercising regularly to remedy this disorder or keep it at bay. These are the only way to overcome PCOS since no one has found a magic pill for it yet. Seriously Scientists? What are you people doing?

Jokes apart, one final reminder to my fellow cysters. There is no shame in having a disorder or a heavier body type. You don’t have to have skinny model bodies to be healthy. Just strive to keep yourself at an ideal weight to fight off this disease and be healthy and fit for the sake of your future children. 🙂