My PCOS Story
In 2012, I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). I didn’t really know what that meant at the time other than I had really irregular periods. I was told this might cause some fertility issues, but at the time, kids weren’t in my future.
That was until 2016 when I met Jay. Two years into our relationship, we started “trying” to conceive. And by “trying”, I mean we stopped preventing getting pregnant. But nothing happened.
I decided to discuss things with my gynecologist at my annual appointment and suddenly I was taking medicine to induce ovulation. We went through about 4 cycles of progesterone, letrozole, a shot in my stomach, repeat. Still nothing happened.
My doctor then prescribed me Metformin. I took this for exactly one day. Apparently, most people tolerate Metformin just fine, but some have serious gastrointestinal issues… I was part of that latter group. After only two doses, I spent the next two days with nausea, diarrhea, and anxiety.
That was the last straw. I told Jay how miserable I was and we agreed that medically treating my fertility issues was never going to work for us. It was adding stress to a situation that should be very exciting.
We decided that if we’re meant to have kids, it will happen naturally.
Now, that doesn’t mean there was absolutely nothing we could do! We knew that we should focus on being the healthiest versions of ourselves to increase our chances of conception. Jay was already working out regularly, but I’ve always hated the gym. We typically ate very well, but there’s always room for improvement, right? So, I started doing some research on PCOS.
It turns out, my doctor had little knowledge of PCOS. He never suggested changing my diet or doing certain types of exercises (ie low impact, HIIT) to reverse my symptoms. He didn’t even mention that losing weight would increase my chances of ovulating regularly. He actually told me that all women ovulate between days 14 and 17 of their cycle, regardless of how long their cycles are! ← 100% not true, by the way. Needless to say, I don’t see him anymore.
I didn’t need another doctor, I needed a lifestyle change.
Through my research, I found that there are different types of PCOS and that women with PCOS have varying symptoms and related diseases. One of the most common issues with PCOS is insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes. Most of the recipes and exercises I’ve come across are the same used for people with insulin resistance, so keep that one in mind if you’re doing your own research on ways to lose weight with PCOS.
Also, while researching, I came across an amazing 10-week online program that encompassed nutrition, exercise, and mental wellness just for women with PCOS. It was seriously life changing! Not only did I receive an arsenal of recipes, I also learned how to cook for this lifestyle. I can now change some of our favorite recipes to be PCOS friendly!
Changing my lifestyle helped me lose some weight and I felt like a new person!
It took me longer than 10 weeks, but in a few months my periods were becoming regular, though still not like clockwork (I doubt they ever will be).
Then suddenly, in March of 2021 – two years after we started “trying” – we were pregnant! The excitement of that pregnancy lasted exactly four days. I miscarried and we were devastated. The silver lining though was that we finally got pregnant! We were actually able to conceive! I HAD ACTUALLY OVULATED! Even though we had this terrible experience, we were excited that having a baby was even possible for us.
The months following were incredibly busy. We got married, we sold our house and moved to a new city, we traveled to NY to see family that we hadn’t seen in more than a year due to the pandemic and by the end of August, we were fully moved into our new house and more than a little exhausted. To our surprise, at the beginning of September we learned we were pregnant again!
Unfortunately, this pregnancy doesn’t have a happy ending either. I had quite a few complications and we miscarried at the end of October.
I know this sounds like a huge downer.
You might be thinking, “how can she be touting a PCOS lifestyle that doesn’t seem to be working?” But the thing is, it IS working. I AM ovulating. I have continued to get my period regularly and y’all, I got pregnant TWICE. Miscarriages are super common. I bet you know someone who has had one and has no known fertility issues.
It’s true that the risk of miscarriage is higher with PCOS, but I’m optimistic that if I continue to live this lifestyle, we will get pregnant again. This time it might just work out! And if it doesn’t, well… Jay and I will be just fine. Neither of us are DYING to be parents. We will be happy either way and stronger together with each thing life throws at us.
