PCOS Awareness Month: Lovely’s Story

To wrap up the month, we’re continuing our coverage of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) Awareness Month and and sharing your stories. We asked you, our community members, to share your PCOS stories and so many people generously stepped forward. This week, we’re sharing Lovely Namely’s story. Remember, we recommend that you see a specialist if you have any of the symptoms of PCOS or if you’ve been trying to conceive for more than a year, if under 35, or more than 6 months if you’re over 35.

My name is Lovely Namely and I’ve been living with PCOS- Insulin resistance for most of my teenage life into my adult life. I was diagnosed at 29 years old and it’s been a journey of pain, laughter, self-discovery, mental anguish and self-understanding. Being educated about PCOS Insulin resistance, it has cleared the Holland Tunnel of mysteries for me. It has brought some peace but still pain along with the peace because living with PCOS can be such a nightmare in many ways. Dealing with trying to find food to eat that doesn’t aggravate the symptoms. It’s complexity, its harshness, mental and physical distress makes it hard to live with at times.

Did PCOS affect your ability to conceive? How?

As far as conceiving, I really don’t know if I am fertile or not, because when I was 29, I became sexually active with my now husband. We practiced safe sex in the first year of dating. We have relations, but it’s like I don’t get pregnant. In the beginning it pained me because I used to desire children but now, I am like I have a period and just leave well enough alone and enjoy life. Yes, it does bother me because I am 33 years old and have not conceived once yet. He claims it could be him, BUT I KNOW that is not so because of the complications I STILL TO THIS DAY, go through with my body. If it is not broke don’t fix it, I guess.

What treatments did you try and what worked for you?

Well I’d love to go to a fertility team of doctors but cannot afford medical insurance. I’ve tried what I like to call the cheap version of treatments, medication. Which I am personally sick and tired of.

If you could give one piece of advice to PCOS sufferers, what would it be?

My advice to PCOS is EDUCATION, exposure of your issues and talking to others, as wells as more than one opinion of doctors. Its hell and a lot of running around, but peace and ease of mind when you know it’s not you, and doctors know what is going on and have a form of trying to help you. Education is important because you need to know what is going on with your body, figure out why and work with doctors on what steps to take. Prayer is another key in having inner peace going through these issues. If I did not pray, I would have never gotten this far in patience in find out what is wrong with me. Lastly mental stability, with all these hormonal issues, it’s hard to maintain a right or normal mind, because of the complexity and stress of these conditions.

If you have children now, do you think that your fertility difficulties made you a stronger person? A stronger couple? A stronger parent? Why or why not?

I would describe PCOS the nightmare of hell. The emotional warfare alone, is disastrous, having no period, and feeling like you have PMS 24/7 in your soul and mind is enough for any woman to feel insane and clinically depressed. Inside my mind, I felt like I needed and enema to cleanse out all of these clogged feelings and a regulation of hormones to set me free of the imprisonment of these syndromes. The way it affects my life, is being alone on earth, no one understands nor know what it’s like inside or to live like this. Seeing all your friends having children with no problem, the weight gain because your cycle is acting a fool again, the distance of loved ones because they do not understand the emotional and hormonal toll it takes on your body. When you’re depressed, everyone is like oh get over it. But how can one get over it, when your body is deceiving you again. I’ve learned to deal with it by writing poetry about the events of PCOS or feelings associated with it. It is important to find a form of therapeutic ways to deal with PCOS and it does not come over night.

I would like the general public to know that SUPPORT AND EDUCATION is the key in understanding the community of PCOS suffers. When we start acting weird, or crying or just self-isolation it is because of the symptoms and stress that PCOS takes us through. Regulation of hormones is important and a key make up in understanding women, in my opinion. I am already and emotional soul, so imagine when my symptoms kick in. When they start, I feel locked up inside, the inability to express myself, I cry, become slightly depressed and start hating my physical appearance because when I have no period, I become bloated like I am pregnant and I am not. I hate my skin tags because they become aggravated whatever I eat due to excess insulin in my body. I make too much of it. So I ask of all of you to please be more understanding and educate your mates, family and doctors. Also blogs and online community sites are helpful in discussing these issues and further educating yourself through another’s experience.

What would you like the general public to know about PCOS?

I would like for the general public to know about PCOS is that it’s not a disease but it’s a list, levels and form of different syndromes in different groupings. PCOS is not like having a cold; it’s like having different kinds, like cancer. Sometimes you may fall under a new category or more than one category.