MY FIGHT WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME
As a pcos sufferer I feel the need to raise awareness and reassure all the women ( My fellow Cysters) who have been diagnosed or may not know they have pcos but are suffering the mental torture of not knowing what is wrong with them. Everyones symptoms vary and may have different to mine.
In this post I will give you all the information you need to know about pcos and the symptoms but first of all i would like to share my story.
So here goes,
Hi my name is Ashleigh-Jay and I am 23 years old. I am from Staffordshire but moved to South Derbyshire in 2013. I am a 1-1 care giver in the hospital looking after individuals with advanced dementia, mental health illness, and sometimes addiction. But on the side of this I work on Power Of Positive my idea of picking people up somewhere to go to when they need some positivity or somewhere to relate and to go to if you want to relax and learn how to meditate through my Meditation course.
In 2012 i found myself having plenty of problems not having a period for over a year which in it's self was very worrying and made me feel not so womanly. I started to feel very depressed as I had many things going round in my mind.
I noticed lots of changes in myself, my hair was falling out very badly even though it wasn't major amounts it was enough to thin my hair out. Every time i had a bath id be covered in my hair which was very frustrating. Besides this, i would get bad shooting pains in my pelvis, bad spots, feeling very depressed, facial hair growth (others get it in other places) and by far the worst symptom was the rapid weight gain, I would only have to eat a chocolate bar and i'd put a stone on in weight so it felt. I gained 3 stone in space of 6 months. Partly my fault because I was a big comfort eater so when I felt depressed I ate. It was a vicious circle.
Enough was enough I decided to pluck up the courage and go and see the doctor, She was very good and booked me in for an internal scan and if you have had one i need not say anymore other than ''Holy Moly!''.
Anyway i saw the scan on the screen which looked like this...
This is not my image or scan. But an example of what my ovaries (both) were like on the screen. The lady asked me a few questions and confirmed that i had Pcos. The doctor gave me leaflets to read and said the only way to help would be to put me on a pill that would kill two birds with one stone which would regulate my periods and help with the unusual hair growth. This was fine I felt like I was getting some closure and I knew it couldn't be cured but I could manage it.
I did what I was told stuck to the pill for a few weeks but then I found that when I took them I was starting to get very bad chest pains and short of breathe. I went back and was told to instantly stop taking them and was put on a different pill.
After it sunk in and i'd read the leaflets I started worrying about my future plans to have a family. I had questions I needed answering because it was playing with my head '' can i get pregnant'', ''how hard will it be to get pregnant'' ''what if i can't get pregnant''.
I went back to the doctors which was a male! well he told me to stop being so silly and that I could get pregnant it would just take a little longer. This eased my mind and for years now I have just got on with it. I lost loads of weight in 2015 and yet again i am at the heaviest weight I have ever been struggling everyday.
Now I have other problems possibly related to pcos which is also very degrading.
Something called ''hidradenitis suppurativa'' which is another thing in itself but I personally believe it is related to pcos! It is painful i have it under my arms only at present which is very embarrassing for me..
This is my left and right arms. The doctors are not concerned and the pain is horrendous not to mention the ugly scars they leave.
But hey this is me and my story. There is not much awareness of pcos and not many people know of it or its symptoms.
But when you have it, you certainly know about it.
My message in this is very important and I have a few friends who I know have also been diagnosed with pcos.
Don't give up and don't train your mind to think you won't be able to have children. Lots of women successfully have children with pcos and it's important to know you are not alone.
PCOS INFORMATION
HIDRADENTIS SUPPURATIVA
