PCOS - how did you find out and what did you do about it?

Reha · January 18, 2011, 2:23pm

Re: PCOS - how did you find out and what did you do about it?

My post is quite a long one, because well my PCOS journey is a long one and I’m still on it

I lead a relatively normal life in that department up until the age of 21-I say relatively, I have since found that if you start your period early i.e. before the age of 12 that is probably one of the first signs of PCOS. Mine started at age 10 and they were ridiculously heavy- but I put that down to my mum having really heavy periods too.Then we went to Pakistan for my sister’s wedding and when I came back I had a horrific outbreak of spots. I had had my teenage spots when I was 12 or 13, had scars, they had cleared up and was over that phase. But these were terrible, for 3 months I stupidly thought it was an infection I’d picked up in Pakistan and just kept using rose water, tea tree oil etc, and all this time they got worse. Around this time, my weight started to increase a bit- not much but noticeable, my periods disappeared and I started getting facial hair.
A family friend who suffers from PCOS suggested it could be PCOS and said it would be an idea to have it checked out.
I too went for blood tests, scans, more blood tests, see a consultant and yes I had PCOS. But I was told nothing could be done until I wanted a baby (am not married). I was put on antibiotics for 3 months for the acne and they cleared up but have left terrible scars that are not fading and I was also given Dianette.
This started off a downward spiral in my life . Dianette just made my weight balloon, I either had no periods or ones that never went, I was anemic, became severely depressed and my weight was just climbing and climbing. I was just locked in this circle of despair. My doctor took me off Dianette and put me on Metformin but she didn’t know enough about it so only put me on 500 mg a day when I have found out later that the minimum dose is 1000mg for PCOS to see any kind of benefits. I saw no results and eventually turned to alternative medicine i.e. homeopathy.
For 3 years I paid out £50 a month and I have to be honest, I did see slight improvement, but not much. However, my homeopath kept telling me I was definitely getting better and I believed her.
My doctor sent me for another scan to check on the situation and they discovered a 13 cm cyst! Which looked cancerous.
The next 6 months were terrible, full of tests and scans and more eventually they operated and it was benign. It was a relief but it was also a wake up call. This was 2 years ago
Since then I did my own research online. Soulcysters and fitsycsters are amazing forums and websites. I have learnt so much and I feel better because now I know. But it has taken 9 years to get here.
I am starting counselling, am on 1500 mg of metformin, have a diet and fitness regime and it’s slowly coming together Alhamdulillah. There’s a long way to go but Inshallah I’ll get there.

Sorry about the long post, I just thought it may help someone else, PCOS isn’t just something that effects your periods, it’s something that has an effect on so many aspects of your life and can cause so many conditions esp if it is left untreated. So please go and get yourself checked, there is a wealth of information on the internet and it may take time to find out what suits you but you will eventually. Also, I would like to advise everyone, if you do go down the alternative route- be careful and make sure you go to the doctor as well or else stories like mine aren’t uncommon.

Apologies again for the long post

The long post was informative as well as insightful…so no worries We need as much information and personal stories as possible. It helps to see others who have overcome PCOS and are doing well.

Waiting to hear more!