The Flapper and PCOS

 

If you’ve told someone you have PCOS and their response was to look at you in bewilderment, raise your hand. I’ve yet to meet someone who was not a health care professional that knew what I was talking about when I said “I have PCOS” without me having to explain it to them.

And it’s not their fault. I didn’t know what this was before I was told I have it. But the crazy thing is, that even though so many people have never heard of PCOS, it’s estimated that approximately fifty percent of women suffer from this condition.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is described as a hormonal condition that causes enlarged ovaries, the little bulbs on either side of the uterus where eggs are produced. In addition, it causes cysts, fluid-filled sacs, to grow on the ovaries. Hence, polycystic. Sounds like a party, doesn’t it?

PCOS comes with all sorts of side effects. The condition throws hormones out of balance and causes women to produce elevated levels of androgens, which can lead to hirsutism (facial hair), hair loss, and acne. PCOS also affects your menstrual cycles, leading to irregular and/or heavy periods, as well as infertility. There are a host of other complications that can accompany PCOS, but those are topics for another day.

I will be completely honest with you and say that PCOS freaking sucks. I’m not throwing myself a pity party and trying to garner sympathy, I am just telling you a plain truth. It’s painful and uncomfortable and humiliating. For so many women, it’s a difficult thing to deal with hirsutism, as well as irregular menstrual cycles, and excessive acne. But then you take into consideration that it screws with your mental health big time. And then it can feel downright overwhelming.

If you have PCOS and you feel like you are losing your mind, then you are not alone. If you have PCOS and you feel incredibly self-conscience, then you are not alone. If you have PCOS and you feel hopeless, then you are not alone. If you have PCOS and you feel like you cannot catch a break, then you are not alone.

We live in a world that glorifies beauty and thinness and motherhood and being “strong,” which too often translates to “not struggling with mental health.” And I am telling you, if you have PCOS, then all of these are infinitely harder to obtain than it is for those who do not have PCOS. But the good news is that the world is stupid, and we don’t have to listen to what everyone else says. The best thing you can do is to learn what steps to take to improve your health and to focus on that.

If you think you might be suffering from PCOS, please, contact your doctor and have a discussion with them. I am not a medical professional, my writings cannot be a substitute for a diagnosis. I am merely a 21^st century flapper struggling with this most complex condition, writing about what it is really like to live with this.

There will be more talk of PCOS in the future, because I am just getting started. So stay tuned, kittens. Until next time…

–Miranda Atchley