Silent About PCOS No More

Millions of women and teenage girls in the U.S. suffer from PCOS, a disorder that is the primary cause of infertility in women of child-bearing age according to U.S. News and World Report. Sadly, 50% of these same women are never diagnosed with PCOS because their symptoms are often misdiagnosed, and therefore, improperly treated.

At age 27 I almost become one of these statistics.

For six months, I went back and forth to different doctors who couldn’t explain my missed periods and intense mood swings. Then one day—a day I’ll never forget—a doctor told me that I had numerous cysts on my breasts and ovaries and that my ovaries had also increased in size.

While that bad news alone would have been enough to handle by itself, I was also informed that I had PCOS, a disorder that I’d never even heard of. Boy, was I terrified, and I had so many questions: “How did I develop this disorder? Is there a cure? Who can help me? What do I do now?”

While my story may sound grim,

I’m actually one of the lucky women. Even though it took six months to properly diagnose me with PCOS, I was, in fact, diagnosed. Millions of other women aren’t so lucky; they live their whole lives with PCOS, but never know it. That’s why PCOS is sometimes deemed the silent killer: left untreated, PCOS can lead to diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

Please know that I don’t tell you these stories to scare you.

Instead, I want you to know that you are not alone that there is hope. As a Health Coach who works exclusively with women recently diagnosed or living with PCOS, my goal is to provide you with the information you need to know to speak to your doctor about your own symptoms.

Your symptoms may include:

missing or painful periods, mood swings, cystic ovaries, severe acne, and excess hair growth, among others.

While PCOS can seem terrifying and the symptoms overwhelming, please understand that if you or someone you know is diagnosed with PCOS, it is possible to live a life free of many of the embarrassing and sometimes painful symptoms associated with the disorder. I’m proof of that.

Immediately after I was diagnosed, I started studying nutrition with an emphasis on PCOS management. I learned how to manage my PCOS symptoms by trial and error because 15 years ago there wasn’t a lot of information available about the benefits of diet and lifestyle changes to manage PCOS symptoms like there is today.

Now, I can say with confidence that my PCOS symptoms have been dormant for the majority of the last 15 years because of diet and lifestyle changes. I’ve come a long way from the terrified young woman in the doctor’s office at age 27 who’d never heard of PCOS to the successful Heath Coach I am today, working exclusively with PCOS patients just like you.

I truly believe you are your best health advocate. The more you know about PCOS the more opportunity you have to speak to your doctor about this silent disorder that, sadly, goes undiagnosed in too many American women.

I hope this post has inspired you to start seeking freedom from your PCOS symptoms. For more of my PCOS tips, sign up below. And, if you know someone with PCOS who could benefit from this post, please share it with them.