My PCOS Story

Up until now, I've shared only bits and pieces of my experience getting diagnosed with and subsequently working to heal my PCOS. Keeping in mind that my goal is to be a resource to YOU and that reading about others' paths toward healing PCOS has always been a huge help for me, I've decided to throw my proverbial PCOS story hat in the ring. Big disclaimer here: everyone's experience is different. I'm not a doctor nor health practitioner of any kind. But I'm always willing to share and hope this tale is of help.

Initial Symptoms

It all started with a single zit...DRAMA...but it's true! Let's call her Freda. Freda popped up above the right side of my mouth a few days before I traveled to my home town for my brothers' high school graduation in the summer of 2016. And don't tell her I said so, but Freda was a true monster. Before Freda, my skin was very clear. Sure, I'd have some pimples here and there, but they were always small enough that I didn't even own foundation or cover up! But Freda came, and she shook me. I hated Freda. Vehemently. I picked at her, failing to pop her and ultimately creating a huge scab just in time for a big, public celebration.

After that initial zit, the quality of my skin declined rapidly. I thought Freda was a fluke and I was WRONG. Within the next month, I developed full-blown acne along my jawline and upper cheeks. I spent a few weeks frantically trying topical solutions and was absolutely heartbroken. It's not my best quality, but I'm human, and I'm vain AF. At that time, I derived a ton of self-worth from my looks, and having them change so rapidly shattered my self-confidence.

The sudden bout of acne was the symptom that woke me up to the fact that something was truly wrong with my health, but looking back on that time now, I can see that there were many warning signs prior to my breakout. I had developed insomnia in the year leading up to that summer. My periods were irregular (a bit more on this: my periods have never fully disappeared, but I had been VERY regular, and all of the sudden, my cycle was >45 days long. I was confused AND taking a lot of pregnancy tests). I was constantly bloated and experiencing stomach discomfort. I would also get sick with a head cold, then stay sick for weeks or even months afterward. Apologies for the platitude, but hindsight is very much 20/20.

Research

I have a close friend who'd gone through issues with her own skin a few years prior to Freda's arrival. She'd cleared hers up, and I turned to her, mainly for sympathy. But I was extremely lucky that she also passed me Kimberly Snyder's The Beauty Detox Solution. Kimberly focuses on a vegan diet that pays close attention to food combinations writes convincingly about the connection between diet and overall quality of health.

As mentioned, I was mainly treating my acne topically until this point with no real consideration for the root cause of my skin issues. The BDS helped me think critically about what was going on with my body. Although I never switched to a completely vegan diet, I did start to consider how food and lifestyle might be impacting my health. I cut out dairy, alcohol, caffeine, and gluten in an effort to identify a food sensitivity. Around this time, another friend shared a podcast she'd recently heard. Jess Lively interviewed Alisa Vitti on her podcast The Lively Show and I sat down and gave the episode a bigggg listen. This was a HUGE turning point for me.

Alisa detailed her own journey PCOS, describing the way she healed her PCOS via diet and lifestyle adjustments. She explained that insulin resistance is at the root of many PCOS symptoms. Again, I'm not a doctor, but I will explain my own high-level understanding of this: People with PCOS do not process sugar well. We produce insulin that our bodies don't recognize, so we produce more insulin than is typical for most folks. Insulin is a hormone that impacts many processes and other hormones in our bodies. So when our bodies' insulin production is out of whack, we end up with imbalances elsewhere that can lead to missed periods, weight gain, skin issues, and many other PCOS symptoms.

A Holistic Healing Path

The podcast outlined some of this information and I immediately needed more detail. I headed straight to Alisa's blog and read her complete back catalogue. Once I was done there, I purchased a copy of her book, Woman Code and breezed through it.

For the first time, I felt I had a clear path forward. I was totally disinterested in taking birth control or other medication to resolve my symptoms. To me, birth control seemed like a bandaid, not a solution. Also, I'd had chronic yeast infections in high school and BC had contributed to their severity, so I was very much a PASS on the birth control. I was, however, interested in addressing the root cause of my PCOS. I continued minimizing gluten, dairy, alcohol, and caffeine but also took stock of how much sugar I was consuming. Turns out, it was a lot! I have many of the hallmark signs of insulin resistance: I often crave sweet things during and after meals, my energy dips considerably following sugar consumption, and unfortunately for the people around me, I get super HANGRY when it's been too long between meals.

So I worked to minimize sugar in my diet as well. I also focused on improving my sleep hygiene, cleaning up my beauty and household products, and reducing the amount of intense cardio in my exercise routine.

I started noticing little changes within about 2 months of adjusting my diet and habits. The stomach pain and bloating that I'd experienced most days for as long as I could remember improved drastically. My sleep patterns started to regulate. My cycle went back to its standard 29-30 days. And slowly but surely, my skin cleared.

Diagnosis and Frustration

My story is a bit different than many others I've heard and read in that I was almost positive that I was dealing with PCOS for almost 6 months before I sought a physician to confirm the diagnosis. I delayed my visit to the gynecologist because I was trepidatious about the healing protocol a traditional western doctor would prescribe. I'd heard many stories like Alisa's, in which a doctor implied that birth control or other medication is the only option to manage PCOS symptoms.

When I finally did see a doctor, she did exactly what I was worried about. She confirmed my diagnosis upon hearing my symptoms (no blood tests or ultrasounds were completed) and then recommended I start on birth control. When I told her I wasn't interested in getting on birth control, she essentially shrugged and sent me on my way. My medical chart from this visit actually says "refused treatment" on it!

Needless to say, this was an incredibly frustrating experience but it only made me more determined. I doubled down on my efforts. I had already started to see improvements in my health via diet and lifestyle changes, so I decided to stay the course, and I'm so glad I did.

Currently

It's now been over 2 years since my PCOS symptoms initially flared and Freda came-a-knockin' on my face's door. As of right now, my skin has cleared tremendously and my periods are generally regular. I do have months where I experience little set-backs, usually around the holidays when my sugar consumption is higher (ho ho ho). I also still break out and experience intermittent insomnia. But I experience all of this to a much lesser extent than I was two years ago. And when it comes to my skin, it's taken some time, but I now derive most of my self worth from the things I do and say, and how I treat the people around me, not via the way I look.

I'm also working with a Functional MD--a licensed physician who focuses on identifying and resolving root causes and views the body as a system, rather than focusing on treating symptoms. She's been incredibly helpful and much more willing to work with me to manage my PCOS symptoms naturally.

Overall, I'm incredibly proud of the improvements I've made. I'm dedicated to my own health, but more importantly, I'm passionate about spreading the word that there is a path to heal PCOS holistically. Every woman should do what is right for her. For some that will mean utilizing birth control and/or other meds to manage symptoms and for others, changes to food and lifestyle choices may make more sense. This is the path that's right for me, and I'm 100% committed to it.