September4
The best time to start thinking about the betterment of your health is always TODAY. Now. But for starting this blog, I couldn’t have chosen a better time. September is National Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) awareness month. Over the course of this month, I will write more article on basics of this syndrome, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments and how to gain control over your symptoms. I will also include some posts on general women health. To kick off, here are some facts (don’t worry if you don’t understand any terms; I will write detail articles on every aspect of PCOS in this blog) and statistics.
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age. The name of the condition comes from the appearance of the ovaries in most, but not all, women with the disorder — enlarged and containing numerous small cysts located along the outer edge of each ovary (polycystic appearance).
- Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is the most common cause of female infertility related to the absence of ovulation
- Between 5 percent and 10 percent of females of reproductive age are affected by PCOS
- About 50% of women with PCOS get insulin resistance
- The exact cause of polycystic ovary syndrome is unknown.
- PCOS has been recognized and diagnosed for seventy-five years.
- PCOS is responsible for 70% of infertility issues in women who have difficulty ovulating.
- Studies have shown that approximately 40% of patients with diabetes and/or glucose intolerance between the ages of 20-50 have PCOS.
- In addition, some studies have found that if a mother has PCOS, there is a 50% chance that her daughter will have PCOS.
- The good news is that early diagnosis and proper education can help women lower all these risk factors and live a happy, healthier life.
I will start writing about the symptoms and treatments from tomorrow.
September1
Kellie Coffey song about wanting to have a child. Emotional. Powerful. Any one who has tried to get pregnant can relate to this song. I will write more about fertility, pregnancy, my own journey and what I learned, in the future. For now, I just had to share this…
August31
Welcome to PCOS Journal! 
Who am I?
My name is Madhu. I am a 29 year old female living in California. I came across the term PCOS, poly cystic ovarian syndrome at the age of 22. I stopped getting my periods and put on almost 40 lbs within 6 months. With my weight gain, lack of periods, body hair… the doctor suspected PCOS. But it stopped there… The suspicion was never proved. Because I didn’t have any cysts and there is no real test to actually find out if some one has this syndrome. After changing 4 doctors, 5 yrs of using birth control pills to get my periods and countless tests, I was finally diagnosed with PCOS almost 2 yrs ago using hormone panel tests. It has been a long and frustrating journey! First it started out as an annoyance of not getting regular periods… then came the embarrassment of serious weight gain… mood swings… depression… now the pain of not getting pregnant…
Why start this blog?
As I said it has not been a smooth journey and it is a never ending journey too! Won’t it be nice to have friends to share the journey with? That’s exactly what I would like to do with this blog! I will be sharing my story, struggles, success and failures, my research, frustration, treatments and opinions. It is difficult for others (people without PCOS) to understand how the symptoms can affect the lives of people with PCOS. As a female, it directly affected my self esteem. I felt ugly – over weight, hairy, not-so-cheerful and frustrated. Test results showing that I had almost zero female hormones and lots of male hormones didn’t really help boost my self confidence. Someone very close to me asked if I was becoming a male!! It hurt!
So is this going to be a whiny blog?
No. But I feel opening up to someone is the start of any healing process. I will be sharing my successes as they happen and the current news/developments in the PCOS world. And yes, I will also write about my failures… so that others can learn from it… I can learn from it… sometimes it is easier to think clearly when we talk about it to someone. It also helps to know that I am not alone in this! No one is alone in this struggle! We can support each other and create as much awareness as we can so that it will be a less painful journey for others!
Can we travel together?
A blog of this nature depends on feedback from you, my fellow Cysters, to keep it going and to improve. I welcome you to comment freely on any and all aspects of my blog through comments, email or twitter. I invite you to join me in my journey and I will gratefully accept any tips or advice or comments that you share with me.
If you like the information you see here please consider bookmarking this site or get regular updates via your favorite reader or email. Thanks for visiting and please visit often! Can we travel together?
