I was diagnosed with PCOS at age 15. For over a year, I’d suffered from heavy, painful menses or none at all. I’ll never forget a casual Friday when we got to wear blue jeans (ah the bliss!) and constantly changing pads and tampons. Yes, BOTH. Around fifth hour all hell broke loose. I bled through EVERYTHING: super plus tampon, maxi pad, underwear and jeans. I remember getting cloths to clean the stage I had been sitting on. It was humiliating.
I later received my diagnosis and was promptly put on the birth control pill and my cycles regulated.
Only I didn’t know that it was basically lulling my reproductive organs to sleep and running the show with synthetic hormones. My weight issues never resolved, I constantly felt ugly and I constantly worried about who would marry an infertile woman.
Eventually, things went from bad to worse. New insurance meant a new brand of pills and suddenly I had blinding headaches. It wasn’t safe to drive and the MRIs didn’t reveal anything helpful. My mom urged me to stop taking the pills because the package insert suggested this could be a side effect.
Lo and behold after a few days off the pill, the headaches were gone. I could see and drive again. Now, the work of healing my body began and finding a path to regular cycles and ultimately fertility.
Healthy Hormones, it is totally possible.
