10 months ago, I wrote about my experience being diagnosed with PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome. Read My PCOS Story to read about my journey from the beginning.
Many women reached out to me after I wrote this article telling me about similar experiences, friends, and family that also have PCOS, and that they will look into their own reproductive health and be proactive. Today, I’ll gladly continue the conversation that many women need to be able to have openly and unabashedly.
The Update
My symptoms have decreased over the last year, with my cycle becoming more regular (although not as regular as it was before), and I get MUCH less acne these days, practically no cystic hormonal acne. Maybe one or two pimples on my period in total these days. I think my symptoms were at their worst during my freshman year of college, so this descent has been a few years in the making.
This summer, I talked to an endocrinologist to get an update on how my body is doing. Of course, telehealth is the way of the world right now, so I met with a doctor over Zoom. I told her about the progression of my symptoms and she ordered some labs for me to do at my earliest convenience. I went to get the blood drawn two weeks later, and it was weird being in that chair again. Last year, I was poked and prodded with needles so often in pursuit of a diagnosis that getting blood drawn is nothing to me anymore.
I got my results back the next week. To keep it simple, I’ll leave the medical jargon out because my nurse barely explained it, I don’t understand all of it myself. The first thing she told me?
I don’t have PCOS anymore.
My initial reaction? I was happy, but then confused and sort of frustrated. All of that worrying just for it to go away a year after my diagnosis?
From the outside, my skin is better and my cycle has been getting back to normal although it’s still a bit different from before. Apparently from the inside, my testosterone levels have gotten lower, which has resulted in these things.
At this point, you might be wondering what I did to fix this?
To be honest, I have no idea.
What I can do is tell you what I did do and what I didn’t do that might have played a role.
What I DIDN’T do: Diet
I didn’t change my diet much. I was told by my first endocrinologist to cut out potatoes, corn, and peas from my diet. Peas were never in my diet (yUck), and let me tell you: I was not gonna stop eating french fries. Uh uh. Multiple YouTubers and Bloggers with PCOS say they’ve stopped eating carbs in general. Keto diets were advertised as the best diet for people with hormonal imbalances. I tried keto and I just couldn’t do it. I have never experienced hunger pangs the way I did when I only ate protein, fats, and leafy vegetables. The way a Five Guys burger with a lettuce bun does absolutely NOTHING for me?? Unacceptable. I’d eat three almonds and feel more full. Keto is said to be useful, especially for people with epilepsy, but PLEASE don’t try any of these fad diets before talking to a dietitian first. I talked to one last year, see my interview with her in this post here. Not eating carbs can be great for weight loss but detrimental to your health in other ways.
What I DID do: Diet
I stopped eating refined carbs such as white bread, white rice, and pasta and replaced them with whole-grain carbs like whole-grain bread, brown rice, and whole-grain/brown rice pasta. Everyone should do this anyway, regardless of how your hormones are moving. Cut out that sugar bread!
This was also at the cost of my social life, but eating out less has helped my body and bank account. One good thing about commuting in college is having more grocery stores around me than when I lived on campus and couldn’t access half the fresh produce that I can now.
What I DID do: Exercise
I went to the gym, yalll! Aren’t you proud of me? During my junior year I tried to prioritize getting back into the gym.
What I DIDN’T do: Exercise
I didn’t go regularly though, lol. I couldn’t justify going to the gym after classes when I had to do a research proposal, internship projects, 3 canvas quizzes, 2 chapters to read, and build Rome by 11:59pm each night. I would normally work out in the morning, but that didn’t work for my schedule as a commuting student this year.
Currently, I’m finding alternative workouts that I enjoy, like getting back into dance and playing tennis, as well as simply going out for walks. This makes working out feel like something fun that I get to do, not something that I have to do.
What I DID do: Weight
I’ve shed…ehhh…give or take 6-8 pounds in the past year. Shout out to stress 🙂
What I DIDN’T do: Weight
But people always talk about consistency: consistency in the gym and consistently eating clean. Nothing about my new habits have been that consistent, especially not working out, lol.
In summary, I’ve still got a lot of work to do to avoid PCOS coming back. To some degree, we don’t have complete control over our bodies, much less our hormones. If you are in a similar situation, don’t beat yourself up about it! Our environments and genetics play a huge role in our health outcomes. What we can do is focus on the things we can control, like our overall wellbeing. I’m eating less processed food, staying active, and getting my blood checked each year, and as a result, I “cured” my own hormonal imbalance. No birth control pills necessary.
Carpe Diem Question: What are you doing to check in on your physical health? What could you be doing more?
