It’s most women’s dream to become mothers, having their houses filled with chunky uncoordinated mini likenesses of themselves. The sounds of laughter and coos echoing throughout the house and the wanting to experience all their first moments in life, cameras locked in hand, ready to capture it all. Then there are women like me, members of the PCOS crew, whose realities may never be like the above described. But what is PCOS? The acronym stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. It’s a fancy term that means hormonal disorder. Sounds pretty basic, right? Well, there are some upsetting parts to this condition. One complication of having PCOS is infertility. The risk of developing endometrial cancer and diabetes are there too, but damn, infertility is on a pedestal by itself, well, at least to me it is. That’s like taking your whole womanhood away. Telling a 28-year old that having children may not be in the cards for her is very discouraging. I have tried different medications to no avail, so my other options are adoption or procedures like In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Though still discouraging to hear, my thought, however, is this. Miracles are still happening. If Sarah could give birth to Isaac in her old age, how hard could it be for God to make a young woman pregnant? So why not just trust God?

I usually hear you are very hairy for a girl. Uhm can you pronounce this for me; say the word HUR SUH TI ZM. Hirsutism is the excessive abnormal growth of hairs that is a result of high levels of male hormones. The culprit, excess androgen. It causes women to, let’s say, compete with men in the ”who is hairier Olympics.” And to add more problems as if there wasn’t already enough, excessive weight gain is another major headache. The rapid gaining and losing and gaining even more, is beyond unreal. I could exercise vigorously, maintain a healthy diet, avoid all my trigger foods and still be as big as a house. Some days are a little better than others; some days, I look a few pounds lighter and can fit into my jeans with ease, but then there are those lousy days where those same jeans can’t past my fat thighs. Forget about pulling it up to my waist; my tummy and hips have disputes with my pants. My pants would rather stay and mingle with my thighs than be buttoned near my hips and bulging tummy. They have a terrible relationship with each other, and I need to stop the two of them from arguing. It does not pair well with women already battling low self-esteem. Appearance is important, especially in this 21st century. I can’t tell you how many times I have to buy a whole new set of clothes simply because they can no longer fit. It is very expensive! those struggling with PCOS, I understand your frustration please know you are not alone.

This post is to shed light on the challenges faced by women with PCOS. So, if you should see a female who is overweight or gets emotional when you mention anything child-related, consider the following; She may have PCOS and is doing all she can to lose the excess weight. She is frustrated after having miscarriages, stillbirths, or not being able to conceive at all. To the women with PCOS, you are strong, you are beautiful, you are enough!