My PCOS Experience
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Being diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) at a young age and navigating the newfound hurdles was challenging.
I got my first period when I was eleven. At the time, I didn’t know what was happening. I was never told much about puberty, what changes to expect or why I even had a period. Two years passed, and I didn’t get another period. That was when I finally saw a doctor, and I was diagnosed with PCOS.
PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is most commonly characterized by irregular periods due to a hormone imbalance. At the age of thirteen, this is what I understood to be the reason why I didn’t have a period. I was given medication and repeatedly told by my doctor to lose weight. Looking back at this time, what was especially confusing for me at the time was that I was offered birth control as a treatment option at the age of thirteen! Unfortunately, I did not receive education on how to help address my symptoms by other means, such as a PCOS-friendly diet.
But what are the other symptoms? Other than irregular periods, many people with PCOS can experience weight gain, acne, hair loss, or excessive (masculine) hair growth. I was unaware that these symptoms are because of PCOS, and the lack of knowledge, understanding and support for me as a young teenager made me believe that these symptoms were inherently wrong with me. Especially when experiencing bullying because of it, this affected my self-esteem and created body-image issues. Some people may say I’m lucky I don’t get my period regularly; I don’t have to experience cramps and everything horrible that comes with a period. But am I really lucky to have experienced all of this?
As I got older and gained more self-awareness and understanding, I slowly started to educate myself about PCOS. Moreover, learning more about my body over the years has been insightful and almost like a revelation, as sometimes I feel like my reproductive system can be foreign to me. An example of this was when I switched my PCOS treatment from progestin therapy to birth control. It came with more benefits but also new experiences that I had to navigate. During the progestin treatment, I had my period every third month, but I’ve been getting my periods regularly with birth control. I realized that my body responded differently to the treatments in ways I was not expecting with more regular periods. Currently, on birth control, I’ve been experiencing what are considered normal period symptoms, such as mood swings, nausea, etc. This brought on the anxiety of believing that these were side effects of my medication, rather than symptoms of a period as this was something new for me. Whereas with the progestin therapy, I did not experience any of this, which is why I thought my treatment experience would continue the same once I switched.
“Some people may say I’m lucky I don’t get my period regularly; I don’t have to experience cramps and everything horrible that comes with a period. But am I really lucky to have experienced all of this?”
When I began to gain more control over my symptoms and was learning about my body through my own experiences and research, having PCOS has made me realize that there should be more education through sex-ed classes and most importantly from doctors about such hormonal/reproductive disorders. I strongly believe that if there were more resources for me growing up it could have made my PCOS journey easier. In addition, I would have been more aware of my body’s changes and expectations since it works differently than others. And hopefully, sharing personal experiences like this will help grow conversations surrounding sexual and reproductive health.
