I recently found out i have PCOS..

Hi there my name is Jacinta, I live in Canberra in Australia. I was recently diagnosed with Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome. Even though i had been having problems since i was 17 (im now almost 21). i didn't know much about it before i found out i had it but i did know that it can cause infertility. So when the blood tests came back that I had it i was completely shattered, i cried for days and days. What made me more upset is that they could have diagnosed it 3 years ago when all my problems started, i gained close to 15kgs in 3 weeks, my doctor at the time put it down to a sudden growth spurt. I went from being 65kgs to now 100kgs. How that can be normal I don't know, I also found out I am insulin resistant so I have been put on metformin to lower my levels. I started to worry when I hadn't fallen pregnant yet, I'll be completely honest and say that we never use protection, we have been really careless and I haven't fallen pregnant so i went and saw my doctor. They asked about my cycles and I haven't had a regular period cycle since i was 17 so they ran some blood tests and sure enough i have PCOS, they did an ultrasound to see the extent of it, my doctor said you can have PCOS and not have the cysts, i got my results yesterday and i have the cysts, my right ovary has a few but my left has lots. I have been put on Yasmin to stop the cysts forming. I am not coping with it all, many of my friends are either pregnant or have kids and I know that I am young and Im not saying that i want to be pregnant because they are, no one i know has this condition its always something that a friend of a friend has. I just want to be able to do the deed and fall pregnant.

I'm sorry if my post is all over the place, talking about it makes me really emotional still coming to terms with it all i guess. I would really love to talk with ladies who are going through the same thing and any advice is muchly appreciated :D

Hi there - firstly I am sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with PCOS. I too have the condition and I know that you will find lots of support on here. I am a lot older than you (37) and no-one diagnosed me with PCOS until I was 35 - even though I have obviously had the condition all my adult life! I know it is easier said than done, but try not to get ahead of yourself too much. There are many different treatments that can help with your fertility depending on what problems your PCOS causes (as all cases are different). In my particular case I fell pregnant with IVF and now have a beautiful 3 month old baby girl. But there are lots of PCOS women who fall pregnant without help or with clomid/ovulation induction so it does not necessarily mean that you would need IVF.

Let me know if you have any questions that I can help you with. It is natural to feel emotional about this.

Janie xxx

Hi Janie.

Thanks for your reply. I'm still getting my head around everything, i'm on a 3 month trial of metformin and yasmin. Hopefully my body takes to the both of them if not my doctor will suggest further treatment. I keep thinking why is this happening to me? i do everything right i don't do drugs i dont smoke and i don't drink very often. Do you have any problems with weight? What symptoms do you have/had when you got diagnosed?

Jacinta.

im so sorry you are feeling down. I too have PCOS. The weight gain sucks but hay, the way i look at it, is its managable. Its not like we have cancer, its just a hill in our road so to speak. I went on clomid to fall pregnant after 2 years TTC. I fell pregnant on the first cycle, so it can be done!!

Thanks mumma mia for your reply. I'm doing alot better now, i can go a whole day without bursting into tears. PCOS was always something that a friend of a friend had, i never thought i would have it myself. And the fact my insulin levels are really high and that if i hadnt of found out it could have turned into diabetes it was like being smacked in the face. But i am glad that there are other women out there who are like me, and i am glad that its not always doom and gloom and i will be a mother one day.

well now u know sweety, why u havent been falling pregnant. Do you fully understand what PCOS is? If not, u may want to visit the website. Ill head off and find it for u.

Hang in there ok. Most of us who have PCOS are going through some pretty crappy side effects of having it too. The acne is what drives me nuts and the weight gain. Or not to mention excess hair in places hair should not even grow. lol.

ill be back with some good websites.

some good sides are : www dot posaa dot asn dot au (dot meaning . )

and

www dot managingpcos dot org dot au


I forgot to add before, i also lost 12 kilos before falling pregnant. Most PCOS sufferers find weight loss increasing their risk dramatically for falling pregnant. N it did for me.

i was diagnosed with PCOS when i was 25 under similar circs to you - irregular "cycle" (if you could call it that) since i'd had my first AF at around 17. hormones all up the creek, heaps of cysts etc

i started metformin and had surgery to make my ovaries more responsive to the drugs. i found the met helped me with the weight gain (halted it - didnt make me lose any though). i used clomid and, unfortunately it didn't work

it took us 3.5 years or a bit over to finally fall pregnant with our beautiful 5 week old DD - but it did happen - we just needed help. as much as PCOS sucks, as mummamia said, it IS something you can work around. it's not fun having to have help, but if the alternative is no child, you just do what you have to....

good luck with the treatment - if you and your partner are wanting to have a child soon, don't let the GP keep you on the pill too long - it helps to regulate cycles when you're not trying, but is pointless if you are...

Thank you mumma mia your really sweet! When i was being tested for it (they also tested me for endometerosis) i researched both of them so i know a little bit. I've been talking to my doctor as well. I don't have many of the symptoms i dont have acne only the normal pimples, as for the hair i have lots of hair on my belly which is gross ill resemble my partner soon! and the weight gain sucks!

Briggsy's girl. My GP is certain the metformin will help me lose weight, he wrote down what i weigh now and in 3 months he will weigh me again. I was told that to fall pregnant i will need to lose weigh which is not a problem for me i will do anything. Although we dont want to TTC until my partner gets a promotion that way he will earn enough to support the 3 of us. My doctor just wants me on the pill until my cycles run regularly. Congrats on your little girl. That's what im worried about that it will take years to fall pregnant. But i guess its something i will have to come to terms with.

hun please don't hold your breath with the Met helping you lose weight - it's definitely not a done deal - the met only controls the insulin levels - for some, it's a welcome side effect but can come at a price (constant crampy upset tum etc).

you really need to make lifestyle changes - the BIGGEST one that i can suggest is changing your diet to low GI food - it makes all the difference. pre-pg i had some of the worst insulin resistance/sugar results the GP had ever seen (peak normal, insulin so high i was on the brink of hospitalisation for low sugars after 2 hour test) - due to changing to a low GI diet, and being really strict on this once pg, i've lost 20kg since before i feel pg. i automatically eat low GI now.

i'm not sure of your lifestyle - but make sure you make the food changes and up the exercise. weight loss doesn't guarantee you'll fall pg more easily, but for some PCOS sufferers even losing 5-10kg can be enough to help them resume a "normal" cycle and fall pregnant naturally


ETA - don't putundue pressure on yourself to have a weight reduction - getting yourself heallthy is more important than the number. if you fixate on the number, you'remore likely to go about making yourself lose weight in unsustainable ways (yo-yo dieting) - it has to be an overall change that you can sustain....

That's what my doctor has asked me to do. Along with my partner he's been really strict on me. I recently lost my job but when i get a new job my partner wants me to join a gym and go atleast 3 times a week and he will go for walks with me.

I haven't told many people about it, i have only told my 2 best friends, my mum and my sister.

My partner wants to tell his family even though they hate me, we had a huge argument he doesn't understand that telling them isn't going to help me in any way i don't want their pity.

But one thing i'll be happy about is a regular period (well im hoping so). The last 3 i have had were awful i bled for 21 days with the first then 16 with the second and the most recent was really heavy and i had the worst cramping. I also hope the pill will help with my mood swings i have been such a cranky pants i constantly have a go at everyone. Has anyone else been experiencing that?

be wary of the pill helping mood swings hun - i've been on it once, for a month, as part of ivf treatment - and i was THE biggest HAG! hope that doesn't happen to you

can sympathise on the long AF's - my worst (well the worst i could recall) was just after DH and I got together - it last for over 5 weeks - would almost stop and then start again. post pg bleeding is easier to deal with!

Oh, i hope that doesn't happen to me! i havent been on the pill before i was always too scared too but since i have PCOS i have to go on it to manage it. I'm pretty sure my partner would leave me LOL i have been absolutely awful to be around, the littlest thing makes me go on a huge rant.

I haven't started the pill yet i have to wait until the 8th thats when im due, thats if i get it if not my doctor wants me to take it then anyway.

I forgot to mention that a 18 months ago i had a ruptured cyst as well as appendicitis. While taking my appendix out they cleaned up the area. I was supposed to be all healed after 6 weeks but i still had rotten pains. I went to my doctor and they did an ultrasound to see what was wrong they thought maybe another cyst had burst but it wasn't my ovaries were healthy nothing on them but i had fluid in my pouch of douglas (that made no sense to me but stopped me worrying) so when they did an ultrasound last week i was surprised to see so many cysts had formed in 18 months.. its actually scary. The lady who did it did my first and she was shocked.

may i ask why are u on the pill if you are trying to fall pregnant?

yeah seeing them cysts on the screen is scary, my last scan i had for them (before Mia) i had 18 on one side and 12 on the other.

I'm not wanting to fall pregnant just yet.. my doctor wants to wait until my insulin levels are down, or back to normal. And he also wants my cycles to be normal. So this time next year i want to be pregnant, so when im healthy and have lost atleast 10kgs.

I was diagnosed in 2004 with PCOS we were ttc our first child. It was soooo hard for me to come to terms with. My other half was ready to go, and I was still coming to terms with the diagnosis. In the end I went on clomid to conceive both our daughters. With Gemma we fell preggers 2nd cycle on clomid, Jasmine was first cycle.

And yep I have all the classic traits of it, including weight, especially around my middle. BUT I have in the last 4 weeks lost approx 8kg! Its hard work, but it is acheiveable!

Oh and the most telling signs that I had it when I was officially diagnosed was the blood test results and ultrasound. I was riddled with cysts and my hormone levels were horrible. I have elevated testosterone and really really low progetorone levels. And my period is non existent and I don't ovulate.

I wish you all the luck in the world hun......................I hope you have a bub of your own to hold soon...........xxx

*twinkle* thanks for your reply. My partner really wants kids but he had left it up to me to decide when to start having babies.

We have been together 5 years so its not as if we are jumping into the deep end (although some of my friends think we are) it upsets me that the only thing stopping us is me and this condition.

My mum had trouble conceiving so i knew that i could also have problems but i didnt think i would have PCOS. I'm trying not to let myself get down about it but its not something you easily come to terms with, im happy now that i know why i have so much weight on me.

When i got the blood tests done they did a hormone test and they were normal which i find odd because i am so all over the place.

And thank you so much your really sweet i hope i have a bub soon too. And congrats on your 2 girls!

Hi Jacinta,

Great to see you have got heaps more information from people. My symptoms were secondary amanorah (sp?) - which is loss of periods. My cycles are so irregular it is impossible to predict when I will have a period - often it is 6 months or longer between cycles. I had an ultrasound done when I was finally diagnosed and I had 30 cysts on the right ovary and 30 on the left! So heaps of cysts! I also had a problem with my levels of FSH and LH - both hormones that help with the formation and release of an egg. Apparently the levels were the wrong way around if that makes sense - the one that was meant to be higher was lower. I also had some bone loss due to all of the years of no periods - that is also part of the reason that doctors put you on the pill if you are not currently trying to get pregnant - regular periods help slow down bone loss. In regards to weight gain, acne, insulin resitance and hair growth - I had none of those symptoms. So as you can see we all have the same syndrome, but with so many different symptoms.

GL with your journey.

Janie xxx

Hey Jacinta,

I'm another with PCOS. I was not diagnosed til i was 29yo. I always had irregular periods ranging from 45-50 days. I fell pregnant to DS within 6 months of TTC, i was about 65kgs. We had a hard time falling pregnant with DD, when i had all sorts of tests done, which showed a 6cm cyst on my ovary and a few smaller ones on the other. I was 80kgs. I went and saw an endocrinologist (hormone specialist), who told me that my current weight of 80kgs may be too much for my body to handle and that i had to lose some weight. I lost 10kgs before i saw him next and had to cancel my appt because i had fallen pregnant.
I now maintain my body to below 70kgs as i know that my body can't handle it.

I find weightloss hard and my weight sticks IYKWIM. I have a hairy upper lip, slightly hairy belly etc.. which i need to pluck (only my upper lip) regularly. I had severe acne as a teenager and used Roaccutane to cease it. Add i crave sugar all the time. And i have thrush all the time. My hormones are just out of whack.

So, just to give you some hope... I fell pregnant naturally twice. Give weightloss a try. It worked for me and it may work for you.

GL

Hi Janie.

Yes the ladies on here are wonderful, I am so relieved to hear that I am not the only one and hearing everyone else's symptoms and what they have to go through puts it all in a different perspective and it really is different for everybody. I definitely have loss of periods. I would too go months without one but when i did get one they would be so horrible, the PMS was double so instead of nausea i would throw up, the cramping were so bad i couldn't move, i would get headaches and really tired oh my boobs would get so heavy and so sensitive but thankfully i only felt like that a few times a year. What does bone loss mean? Does that mean your more prone to have a broken bone? I haven't heard of that one.

Hi Turkish Delight.

Sorry i didn't see your post until after i replied to Janie.

I've been told that my weight will affect my chances of falling pregnant. I dont have much extra hair, only on my top lip (only noticeable if you get close to my face, my partner laughs at me all the time...) and my belly. I am very moody though, i fly off the handle for no reason most the time and i am over emotional. I don't have acne which is surprising my mother had it terribly as a teenager and my father had it as an adult (my mother told me, i actually don't know him) Iv had a lot more breakouts lately than i usually have but nothing extreme.

I had bit of breakdown last night, my partners sister had a baby recently and because we arent speaking im not allowed to see him, he was born 5 weeks early so hes still in hospital.

My partner took photos of him and really wanted to show me, he was like a child getting all excited and i was mucking around and said your a proud uncle arent ya and he said well yeah and i said you will be a proud father one day wont you and then out of no where he started yelling saying that we cant have a baby now we cant afford it because im not working. I started crying. I said to him of course we can't right now, have you forgotten what i have. i said even if i wanted to get pregnant my body wont allow it.

I had been trying to keep it together i hadnt cried in days and by him saying that i just couldnt stop i cried for about 2 hours. When i finally calmed down he showed me the photos and i started crying again i want kids so badly.

Hey Jacinta.

I am so sorry to hear what you're going through! Sometimes having a good cry will help you to feel better.
It's hard when the people you want to understand, just dont. And especially when they dont appreciate what you're going through.
I was reading some of the other posts here, and my sister was taking the pill just for contraception, and it made her crazy! have you ever taken the pill before? I know sarah was really angry and crying alot, as well as just suddenly losing it.
Are you seeing a doctor again soon? I have been looking into possibly trying some alternative therapys.. was leaning toward acupuncture mainly. Maybe there is something out there that might help you?? Ill keep my eyes out for any possibilities while im looking and pass them on if i find anything!
A big hug all the way to you!

Katrina.

Hey Katrina.

No i haven't been on the pill before, I've always been a bit hesitant to go on it because of the side effects. I'm going on it to try and regulate my cycle. What pill is your sister on?

I will be talking to my doctor this week.. i just spent a good 20 minutes throwing my guts up i took the metformin like im supposed to with my dinner a few hours ago and its been giving me stomach aches but nothing like i just had. I just looked up side effects and they said that the symptoms are short lived so maybe i will feel like this for the first couple of weeks and it will die down.. i hope so :confused:

Hey Jacinta,

Im not sure about what brand of pill it was, but i know she has been on 3 different ones. I do remember her telling me that her dr said that some people are just affected by the pill no matter the differences, and she could make a choice to take it or not.

That said, she doesnt have pcos, or endo, and has never had any issues or problems with her periods or anything. So maybe the pros didnt outweigh the cons for her situation, but maybe it could help you to ask your dr about it, and whether a different one would help or not.

I also take metformin, the brand is diabex but im sure its the same thing.. and in the beginning i did feel a bit unwell, and also lost my appetite!
I still get a slight upset tummy but thats the worst of it, and i have been taking it for about 5 months.. it seems to be lessening the longer it goes on..

Maybe some panadol will help?

When you see the dr mention it to her and see what she says. My dr had warned me it might happen so i didnt worry too much.


Katrina.

I'm going to be on the Yasmin pill its used to regulate cycles and should even out my hormones so i'm not so moody and emotional. I haven't started it yet i start on wednesday, i'm due then but if i dont get it my doctor still wants me to take it.

Yes i am on diabex. I'm only taking 1 tablet a day then im getting bloods done again and if my insulin hasnt decreased ill be taking 2 a day. The first night i had slight cramping, the last couple of nights iv had a bit of an upset stomach but tonight i had this shooting pain in my stomach i was really nauseas and then started the vomiting. I feel a bit better now. Though i don't know if its the diabex but i havent been sleeping properly.. im usually in bed by 10 but iv been staying up really late and not sleeping very long.

Sorry i misunderstood! i thought you'd started the yasmin already! I hope it will help settle things down for you, and hopefully your bloods will come back good.

I have the same -- not sleeping! mine is from pain/sick feeling keeping me awake, is why i always need a nap when tilly naps! very frustrating.

No your right darl! and thank you i hope they come back all good too! would definitely make me feel better :D

Yeah that is the reason why i cant sleep i just feel reall uneasy and just cant relax because my stomach feels all tight. Though after my little episode last night i slept like a log but still feel a little weird in the stomach. I really hope that the feeling goes away.

Will keep my fingers crossed!!

Have you taken anything? has it worked?

I called the specialist today myself, and i made an appointment to see her on august 5th. Still a long way off, but at least i know i will be seeing someone definatly, hopefully it will help me to get through til then!
Definatly sorry that i let the referring doctor talk me into going public rather than private.. maybe things could have been moving a bit faster !

Hope you feel better xx

Thank you!

No i haven't taken anything, i'm feeling a bit better now after having some lunch.

I'm going to make an appointment today for my doctor and just double check that everything that i am feeling is normal.

I hope your appointment goes well! xx

Hi HUn,
Just found this thread. Hope things are going ok for you now.
We are all here to support you through this. I won't go into all the details of my meds etc as i did that in another thread :) but just wanted to say GL!
XX

Aww thank you that is so sweet!

I am so grateful to have met other ladies going through what I am going through, without all of your advice and your stories I wouldn't be coping. Since coming on here i feel like a huge weight has been lifted off me, i told a few friends and my family but none of them could tell me anything that made me feel better but hearing each of your stories has given me the strength and the hope to keep going on and I dont feel so sorry for myself.

Thank you all so much!! xxxx

Hi hun,
Don't give up hope, I am 24 and got diagnosed as having PCOS 6 months ago and I am now 4 months pregnant.
PCOS doesn't mean that you can't or won't fall pregnant.
I was going through IUI (Artificial insemination because I am gay and in a same sex relationsip) for 2 years and just after our 3rd attempt(6 mths ago) was told I had PCOS. I was 105kgs lost 5 kilograms, took my metformin for a month and started clomid (a tablet to make you ovulate) and the very next attempt fell pregnant, so yes it is possible :)
Keep your chin up. its nothing major :) Just another one of lifes little obsticles :)

:

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Hi hun,
Don't give up hope, I am 24 and got diagnosed as having PCOS 6 months ago and I am now 4 months pregnant.
PCOS doesn't mean that you can't or won't fall pregnant.
I was going through IUI (Artificial insemination because I am gay and in a same sex relationsip) for 2 years and just after our 3rd attempt(6 mths ago) was told I had PCOS. I was 105kgs lost 5 kilograms, took my metformin for a month and started clomid (a tablet to make you ovulate) and the very next attempt fell pregnant, so yes it is possible :)
Keep your chin up. its nothing major :) Just another one of lifes little obsticles :)

---

Hey Bee84.

Sorry for the late reply! Thank you so much that is so sweet! <3

I am coming to terms with it but now the metformin is making me sick so its making me all depressed again. I woke up this morning with the worst nausea i was dry heaving i had some breakfast but i still feel the same. Though i did start the pill on wednesday so it could be that :confused: the headaches are the worst i had bit of a nanna nap yesterday afternoon i just felt if i didn't lie down i was going to fall down.

Has anyone else experienced this while on metformin?

To make matters worse im supposed to go out tonight with my sister and my bestfriend. My sister is visiting from QLD and she goes back on tuesday.. i will feel bad if i cancel so im hoping i will feel better in a couple of hours.. :pray:

Yes. It took me about 4 - 6 weeks before i felt "normal" when i first started it. Its a massive change in your body so it might take some time. Try some ginger ale/ginger beer and/or chamomile to settle the tummy :)

Hi.

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2004 after 16 mths of trying to get pg. I must admit it was a HUGE shock!! I had always had irregular cycles since I started my periods at age 15. I thought this was "normal" and thought nothing of it untill i admitted to my MIL that we were ttc and that I thought it would take a while due to irregular cycles and picking the right day. It was her reaction to this that made me think this was not normal. My initial blood tests all came back normal. I am not over weight (if anything I'm on the lighter side 52-54kg). I have always and still do have a prob with acne more on my neck and lower face, and my 1st ultrasound abdo was apparently normal.

It was only when the fertility specialist did a vaginal U/S that the cysts were apparent. We had treatment with IUI (with clomid) and concieved our daughter on the 1st go! So its not all doom and gloom.

I also heard that being on the pill can help by stopping more cysts from forming. So after I had my daughter, I went on it (as we didn't want to have a surprize at the time), and I tried 3 different types of the pill and none of them i was able to tolerate. So I gave up in Aug 2007. I found myself feeling very hormonal while on the pill, and one of them had me with AF for 2 wks then a 2 wk reprieve, then AF 2 wks... and so on. Then another left me with no AF at all and bloating which I didn't like either! So all the best with the pill, I hope you can tolerate it.

Also, just a word of encouragement, my cousin was also diagnosed with PCOS, and after 2 yrs of trying naturally, she concieved. She found out she was pg on her honeymoon so it was a lovely surprize for her. I also have met a few people who have had PCOS and had help to get pg with #1 and then have no probs getting pg with subsequent children.

All the best with that future family:D

Jellybean18.

Oh bugger. Well i guess atleast it will eventually go away.. :crossfingers:

Hi there,

I combated my severe endometriosis and PCOS about 5 years ago when I started seeing a Naturopath instead of a GP & 'specialists'- the latter which had me on a merri-go-round of synthetic drugs and repeated surgery.
My naturopathic treatment consisted of a combination of herbal and homeopathic remedies, probiotic supplementation (friendly bacteria), detoxification from candida and heavy-metal toxicity (present in most PCOS sufferers), and a strictly alkaline, low GI, dairy-free and wheat-free diet. I have stuck to this diet since, going off it only for special occasions and my conditions have not returned.
I now also eat organic where possible and avoid food additives (Check out the book Additive Alert by Julie Eady, and learn how they can affect your hormones).

Within the field of natural medicine, the contraceptive pill is not considered a valid 'treatment', but rather a band-aid approach to mask symptoms by temporarily realigning hormone levels with synthetic hormones. Natural medicine practitioners believe the contraceptive pill exacerbates PCOS and endometriosis - particularly where your fertility is concerned, as the pill is designed to stop you ovulating, and hence render you infertile.
If you wish to eliminate PCOS for good, I strongly suggest you aim to address the root cause of the problem rather than cover it up with a drug- if you know what I mean.
Having been down this road before, it is my not so humble opionion that you need to get out of the conventional system of medicine and treat the root causes with natural medicine and extensive dietary modification.
I also recommend the book by Francesca Naish - The Natural Way to Better Babies; Preconceptual Care for Prospective Parents. You will find alot of info in there that will assist with your condition.

Please send me a private message if you want more info - I have hardly elaborated here and there is alot more I could tell you!!

XXX

Hi Jellybean18.

Sorry i didn't see your reply when i replied to the last comment!

Thank you so much for your story, it seems like a lot of us have had problems since day one.

I used to be on the lighter side as well but when i was 16 i just started gaining weight really fast, and i was completely shocked when the doctor i went and saw told me that it was normal. Being 16 i didnt quite know the seriousness of it all so i just brushed it off as normal.

Not many people i know (not even my mother or my MIL) about PCOS so no one offered any help instead i had a lot of horrible things said about me, my best friends father saw me at the shops one day and he went home and told her that i had gotten "fat". I was completely shattered, i couldnt understand why i gained so much weight and being told by a male, or having one call me fat made me quite depressed.

I dropped out of school because i couldn't take the rumours going around about me, a few people said i was pregnant a few said i was doing drugs and others just called me fat. I became very depressed to the point i stopped talking to people and only spoke to my boyfriend (my now fiance) i had a big falling out with my mum so i couldnt confide in her, my sisters couldnt relate to me so talking to them was hopeless. By the time i turned 17 i gained a total of 20kgs. I started talking to my mum and she said she was worried at how fast i was gaining weight but nothing ever was done about it she just told me to start exercising.

3 weeks after my 17th birthday and 2 days before new years eve i was in a horse riding accident. Messed up my right arm quite a bit (compound fracture to my right forearm, dislocated elbow and fractured wrist) So if things weren't bad enough for me i now had to live with 2 massive scars on my arm and the pain of the metal plate and screws in my arm. I got even more depressed and more withdrawn. I don't think i left the house for about a month, and when i did people would stare and i felt like a freak. Me and my boyfriend fought a lot, i would start fights for no reason, i was moody constantly.

Finally, i'm not sure what happened but i started to cope with everything. I became really good friends with my boyfriends sister and i could confide in her and she sort of understood what i was talking about. She kept telling me to see another doctor but i always put it off.

It wasn't until a week after i turned 19 that one night i had a rotten stomach ache, i put it down to food poisoning so i made myself throw up to try and make it better but it only made it worse. When the pain wasn't gone by morning i went to the hospital and after 4 hours of sitting in the waiting room the doctor thought i had appendicitis so they operated. When i woke up i was told i had appendicitis as well as a massive ruptured cyst on my right ovary. I would have thought they would have picked up on something but no they sent me home.

It wasnt until about 6 weeks ago that i knew something was really wrong. I was at work (i was a sales assistant at diana ferrari) and i got this really horrible pain in my stomach i thought it was gas (sorry if TMI) so i just brushed it off but then when i couldnt bend over or pick up a shoe box without feeling like i was going to pass out from pain, eventually my manager sent me home. I went to the doctor and that is when he asked about my medical history and he wanted me to go all the way back to when i was a teenager (i was thinking yes finally someone will help me) i told him everything and that is when he mentioned PCOS and endometerosis he ordered a blood test and an ultrasound and a month ago i was diagnosed with PCOS.

Sorry if its really long.