One of the things I wanted to write about in here was my struggle with PCOS, because it is something that crosses my mind almost every single day. September was PCOS awareness month, what is PCOS you may ask? It stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and 1 in 10 women have it. There are so many different things that contribute to PCOS, but it is mostly women's hormones being out of balance and can cause cysts. It can throw off your cycle (or not have one at all), you can get acne, weight gain, facial hair, and many other things. It can also lead to heart disease and diabetes if you are not careful Sounds wonderful right?
One year ago, I had gone to the doctor because something strange had happened, my cycle had stopped for about 4 months. This was something that had never happened before, my cycle was always weird, but it would still come every month. After some tests my nurse practitioner had diagnosed me with PCOS. I had never heard of it before, I had no idea what it was or why I had it, so weeks of research began, and I found out a lot about it. I learned what to eat to lessen the symptoms, so I began a protein based diet and began to feel better on the outside and hopefully on the inside. However, PCOS does not necessarily go away, it is something that stays with you, you can make the symptoms less severe, but ultimately it is still something I will struggle to balance every day. I went on birth control to try and control my hormones, this was good for a little while, but began to make my system crazy once again. It is frustrating because it is not something you can control fully, you can try your hardest, but your body has a mind of its own sometimes. After I had found out that I had PCOS, I realized there are a lot of women close to me who have the same thing. I have been able to go to them for advice and even recipes, and it has eased my mind a little to know that I have them as support.
One thing that is uncertain is fertility, because PCOS is a hormone imbalance, many women struggle with fertility issues. Some women are lucky and are able to conceive, others try for years, and others are never able to conceive. This was the hardest part for me to come to terms with and is a touchy subject, it gets me emotional just thinking about it. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten upset because I do not know the road that I will have, my gut tells me it will be impossible. This upsets me even more because I know I will be a great mom, and I want to be able to give my husband a family he wants too. Although I do not know if I am fully ready yet, I do know that it will not be easy, but what is anymore in life? I try not to overthink this part of it, because I know overthinking it is not good either. It truly breaks my heart to know that there is a possibility I will never be able to experience what so many amazing women around me have experienced. It also infuriates me to see some women who have been so blessed to have children, but not appreciate them the way they should be.
Which brings me to today, one year with knowing I have PCOS, what's changed? I wish I could say a lot, the great thing about PCOS is that you gain weight sometimes for no reason it feels like (sarcasm of course). So although I stick to a protein based diet for the most part, my struggle with weight continues. This is one thing I want to have under control, and I hope as time goes on it gets a little easier. I know there are people out there suffering with things much more severe, but it is hard to look okay on the outside, but have so many different things going on in the inside. I still continue to read a lot on the subject, and I follow a lot of blogs with women who also have PCOS, this helped huge, especially since some of them have recently just had babies.
I am lucky to have an amazing husband, who has supported every little bump along the way and every crazy hormone outburst. I have accumulated a bunch of recipes that are PCOS friendly, and would like to post some from time to time. Even if you do not have PCOS, they are still healthy meals that are simple and take hardly any time at all!
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