Photo by Erol Ahmed on Unsplash
What do you know about PCOS? And why should we care?
For me, full disclosure - not a lot until 3 days ago when I decided to write a blog post on this menstrual condition for the PCOS Awareness month. All I know is that it is one of the causes of infertility and one of the main symptoms are irregular menses or lack of ovulation.
We should care because knowledge is power. And every women, (even men), should be armed with knowledge of what’s happening in their body, and not made to be ashamed of it.
PCOS is short for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which is a menstrual condition in which the ovaries produce an abnormal amount of androgens or male sex hormones ,that are usually present in women in small amounts, thus causes hormonal imbalance which disrupts a women's menstrual cycle.
Read about PCOS Awareness Month here
When I started my IVF journey, that was the first time I became aware of other menstrual conditions that affect fertility, like endometriosis, adenomyosis, PCOS, fibroids, menorrhea (absent of period), menorrhagia (heavy bleeeding) etc.
That is my truth. It’s partially my fault. Yes, the adults in my life never talked about menstruation, and so I didn’t bother learning about my menstrual health because it was something we don’t talk about. (And it’s still a taboo and shameful topic in today’s society.)
And then I had a near health scare when I was 21, was diagnosed with CIN, (my first pap smear showed abnormal bleeding), had a cone biopsy of of my cervix , and thankfully it was benign. And then a few years later, I found out that an ex-colleague, one year younger (we were in our 20s) - died from cervical cancer.
And so since then, I made a point to see my gynae whenever I noticed something strange in the neighbourhood down under. But one thing was missing - there was no one I could talk to about this.
So I wished there were more education and awareness around menstrual and fertility health, growing up.
The knowledge would have made me less scared and maybe more empathetic towards my fellow female tribe. It would have made me want to embrace my period as a time of rest, It would made me want to take care parts of myself that cannot be seen, and needs to be taken care of.
In reality, we only start looking and worrying when things go wrong, right? We live life, not knowing, completely checked out, and pretend there’s no suffering in life. You know, like I used to tell myself - if it doesn’t impact my day to day life, it doesn’t cause me to lose money - why worry?
And that’s okay.
That’s why we are here. That’s why I’m writing this post, which is aligned with one of my new missions for my blog - to bring awareness to feminine issues especially menstrual conditions that affect women's reproductive health.
For research purposes, I started reading real-life stories of women living with PCOS, and I thought why not collate a list - so others can have a chance to learn from other “Cysters” and advocate for themselves if they suspect they have PCOS. I'll let them tell you what's it all about.
It's time.
In today's blog, you will get to know:
PCOS (what is it, the diagnosis, symptoms)
List of stories (Read a story, Watch A Video, Listen to a Podcast, PCOS Pregnancy Success stories)
PCOS Resources in Singapore
Yoga and PCOS
“PCOS is much more than a period problem. It’s a whole body hormonal condition that can last a lifetime”
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
What is it Really?
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS is associated with enlarged ovaries containing multiple immature follicles "many fluid-filled sacs" (Follicles are fluid-filled sacs that house and release eggs.)
Polycystic literally translates as “many cysts" ; however despite the name, you do not actually have cysts if you have PCOS.
PCOS results in a substantial hormonal imbalance, which is not generally the case with ovarian cysts. Some women may have PCOS and presents no symptoms. It is also possible for healthy women to have multiple ovarian cysts or polycystic ovaries without suffering from PCOS.
Read this for the difference between ovarian cysts and polycystic ovaries
PCOS is more than a menstrual condition - is a metabolic, endocrine and reproductive disorder that affects 1 in 10 woman of child-bearing age, and symptoms can show up in girls as young as 12. It disrupts a woman’s hormone levels and way of life.
DIAGNOSIS
A diagnosis of PCOS results only when two of the three following symptoms are confirmed (this is also known as the Rotterdam criteria):
Irregular menstruation or ovulation, or lack thereof, is defined as no menstruation for at least three months, or 35+ day menstrual cycles. Irregular ovulation may result in more buildup of the lining of the uterine walls (endometrium) in between menstrual periods, often causing heavier periods with higher levels of pain and discomfort.
Elevated levels of androgens , which are a group of hormones critical to reproductive development — the most well-known being testosterone. While androgens are sometimes called “male” hormones, they’re produced in people with ovaries too — and testosterone in particular has an impact on everything from body composition to insulin sensitivity. It physically manifest as symptoms such as excess facial or body hair (hirsutism)
“Polycystic” ovaries are enlarged and contain multiple immature ovarian follicles (12 or more on one side).
Main symptoms
irregular periods (late periods/ too many days of bleeding)
Anovulation (no ovulation)
hirsutism (excessive body & facial hair)
acne
hair loss
blood sugar imbalances (caused by production of excess insulin)
weight gain
obesity
reduced fertility
Emotional symptoms — depression, anxiety and poor self- esteem
Increased risk of diabetes and heart-disease
Living with PCOS: Real-Life Stories
Read a Story
Sasha https://resolve.org/my-life-with-pcos-a-personal-story/
Bella (Singapore) https://www.theaffirmativepeople.com/post/journey-with-dean-ng-bella-pcos
Karagan https://thesmooco.com/blogs/blog/my-pcos-success-story
Elizabeth https://cherokeewomenshealth.com/2021/04/my-life-with-pcos-a-patients-story/
Naomi https://myloworld.com/blogs/real-life/living-with-pcos
Nicole https://magazine.medlineplus.gov/article/pushing-through-life-with-pcos
Georgia https://www.natracare.com/blog/what-pcos-looks-like-a-true-story
Bailey https://treatment.shesyncs.com/my-pcos-reversal-story-q
Celebrity Stories with PCOS https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/health/a38171906/celebrities-with-pcos/
https://www.genesisfertility.com/blog/8-celebrities-with-pcos/
Collection of Stories https://helloclue.com/articles/cycle-a-z/getting-diagnosed-with-pcos-personal-experiences-and-advice
Collection of Stories https://weconceive.com/library/fertility-diagnoses/living-with-pcos-real-stories-from-women-finding-hope-in-the-diagnosis
Collection of Stories https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-28/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-women-on-life-with-pcos/9607494
Collection of Stories https://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/1122917/living-with-pcos/
Watch a Video
Kate (Video) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EASxlRrbvbM
Anja (Video) - https://www.facebook.com/peppysupport/videos/429542562257352/
Torri (Video) https://www.brut.media/us/health/living-with-pcos-ce1d3624-b58e-4c5b-bc0b-c15a5707b9ef
Preetipls (Singapore) https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=637867373546360
Listen to a podcast
PCOS Pregnancy Success stories
Velda Tan (Singapore) https://www.smartparents.sg/pregnancy/when-you-are-pregnant/celeb-mum-be-velda-tan-ill-tell-my-daughter-not-quit-school-unlike
Julie https://www.pollie.co/blog/pcos-pregnancy
Courtney https://www.acog.org/womens-health/experts-and-stories/the-latest/getting-pregnant-despite-pcos
Victoria https://www.yourfertility.org.au/victorias-pcos-stor
Alice https://www.yourfertility.org.au/alices-pcos-story
Tania https://theribbonbox.com/fertility/natural-conception-pcos
Jamie, Kayla, Kendall, Jessica, Krystal, Farnaz, Jaymes https://smartfertilitychoices.com/pcos-pregnancy-success-stories/
PCOS Resources in Singapore
Unfortunately , I didn’t find a lot of resources or support in Singapore context. What I found close to home that is helpful is this group in Malaysia called My PCOS I Love You, and I’ve put the link below.
FB Group - Online Support Group (PCOS SG) (though it doesn't seem active at the moment.)
A thesis written by Quek Liu Ting in 2018 entitled "Exploring the Experiences of Women Living With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (WLW-PCOS) In Singapore's Context" by, which is a good read.
Recently in 2022, there was a play about PCOS titled “Lotus Root Support Group” starring local actresses Shannen Tan and Miriam Cheong, both of whom suffer from PCOS. They say they have a video-on-demand recording of the play will also be released in the second half of March. (PS I’ve reached out to see if it’s available to view if anyone’s interested?)
And from the FSS fold, these IVF warriors Velda Tan, Kristen Kiong, and Josephine Foong, who has spoken on occasion, about their PCOS diagnosis. (And our lovely Kristen is doing IG Live Talk on the 28th Sept. I will update with the link once it’s available.)
Can Yoga help with PCOS?
So far conventional medicine can only treat the symptoms not the cause.
Most of thse PCOS warriors or Cysters as they like to call themselves, "live with the diagnosis", use a multi-prong approach of a healthy lifestyle, weight loss if overweight, and targeted therapy such as hormones and medication.
From a holistic perspective, addressing the stress levels would be a step towards treating emotional symptoms like “negative feelings about being female and feeling subordinate or inferior” and elevated hormone levels nsulin levels which can be exarcebated by stress etc.
So yoga can help - research has shown that yoga can be helpful for PCOS; several studies show that it’s more beneficial than other forms of exercise, in reducing the physical and emotional symptoms.
I will go into more detail of Yoga for PCOS in future posts, but for right now, just to keep this post shorter (it’s already too long :)), if you are interested in using yoga as a tool to treat your PCOS symptoms, just start doing yoga, j start going for classes, attend meditation sessions or youtube has alot of ideas too.
I hope this was helpful for you as it was helpful for me, learning about PCOS from the “Cysters.” I will update this post if I find more stories, and if you have a link to share, please connect with me at hello@sophiexsanders.com
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