Copyright © 2007 • All Rights reserved
Written by Rachel Holbert
My lifelong battle with PCOS started when I was eleven years old. My menstrual cycle was irregular from the start. I rarely ever needed to “use” anything, and my period only came once every couple of months. Around the time I was in 7th grade I started growing hair under my chin. I refused to wear my hair up because of this.
Rachel's Story Dealing with PCOS
When I was 17 I had my first visit with the gynecologist and was “diagnosed” with PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disorder), which is now called PCOS. My doctor made this “diagnosis” because of my irregular periods, excess weight in the middle, and unwanted hair growth. I was not given any blood tests to check hormone levels, but walked out with a prescription for birth control (which is still an immediate go-to for “treating” PCOS), and many questions.
I spent a lot of time online searching for as much information as I could find about PCOS. At 17 I found out I would probably have a difficult time getting pregnant, and that was heart breaking. As I got older I discovered the big weight struggle that can come with PCOS. As I mentioned, I had always been overweight.
When I turned 19 I was quickly gaining weight due to working at pizza place and a suddenly sedentary lifestyle. At 20 I started Weight Watchers and lost about 30 pounds over a year. I eventually gained it back while still trying hard to lose, but it wasn’t working.
At 23 my ex-husband and I decided to start trying to get pregnant. I knew this could be a difficult endeavor, but if we were successful it would be worth it. I spent the first year simply trying to see if I ovulated, which I didn’t. During this first year I was still trying to lose weight. I had a very active job, worked out 5-6 days a week and watched what I ate. I still managed to gain 55 pounds after going off of birth control.
After the first anovulatory year I went to see a gynecologist who helped me through three cycles of Clomid and Estrogen. I ovulated on the second cycle, but did not get pregnant. After the three cycles of Clomid I had to stop the fertility treatments because we did not have health insurance and it was becoming too expensive.
For the next year I took my temperature everyday, checked mucus, monitored everything, took ovulation tests and many pregnancy tests, only to find I never ovulated again and obviously never got pregnant. I did get prescribed Metformin when I was 25, and a few months later my husband and I split up, so I went back on birth control. The Metformin-Birth Control combination helped me drop a fast 15 pounds (fast for me, it was over 3 months), and I finally had a regular cycle for the first time in a few years.
Now I am waiting to get back on both medications and realizing that as I get older my symptoms only get worse. I’m getting hairier, fatter and have high cholesterol, high blood pressure and signs of Insulin Resistance. It’s been a tough, frustrating and embarrassing road, but I’m determined to get my PCOS under control.
I spent a lot of time online searching for as much information as I could find about PCOS. At 17 I found out I would probably have a difficult time getting pregnant, and that was heart breaking. As I got older I discovered the big weight struggle that can come with PCOS. As I mentioned, I had always been overweight.
When I turned 19 I was quickly gaining weight due to working at pizza place and a suddenly sedentary lifestyle. At 20 I started Weight Watchers and lost about 30 pounds over a year. I eventually gained it back while still trying hard to lose, but it wasn’t working.
At 23 my ex-husband and I decided to start trying to get pregnant. I knew this could be a difficult endeavor, but if we were successful it would be worth it. I spent the first year simply trying to see if I ovulated, which I didn’t. During this first year I was still trying to lose weight. I had a very active job, worked out 5-6 days a week and watched what I ate. I still managed to gain 55 pounds after going off of birth control.
After the first anovulatory year I went to see a gynecologist who helped me through three cycles of Clomid and Estrogen. I ovulated on the second cycle, but did not get pregnant. After the three cycles of Clomid I had to stop the fertility treatments because we did not have health insurance and it was becoming too expensive.
For the next year I took my temperature everyday, checked mucus, monitored everything, took ovulation tests and many pregnancy tests, only to find I never ovulated again and obviously never got pregnant. I did get prescribed Metformin when I was 25, and a few months later my husband and I split up, so I went back on birth control. The Metformin-Birth Control combination helped me drop a fast 15 pounds (fast for me, it was over 3 months), and I finally had a regular cycle for the first time in a few years.
Now I am waiting to get back on both medications and realizing that as I get older my symptoms only get worse. I’m getting hairier, fatter and have high cholesterol, high blood pressure and signs of Insulin Resistance. It’s been a tough, frustrating and embarrassing road, but I’m determined to get my PCOS under control.
In 8th grade I started waxing the hair. This lead to a lot of self-esteem issues, of which I already had a ton, because I had always been overweight and got teased a lot as a kid. As I got older I started growing unwanted hair in other places as well. It only got worse.
