Fat, Sick and Doing the Research

In pursuit of changing her life, a young woman diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome discovers exactly what it means to have this disease and how to reverse the syndromes.

I have been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

What in the world is that, exactly. And better yet, how does it effect my health and over all well being. I have to do the research. No worries, I am a research fanatic. I find it soothes my soul. Besides, we should all want to acquire as much knowledge as we can about ourselves and the people and world around us. Knowledge is power. It provides the solution to our problem. Where there is a will, there is a way. And that's the marvelous thing about God, He made sure there is always a way out. We just have to find it, choose it and do the work.

So I am in stage: FIND IT!

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a common hormonal disorder amongst women. Why only women, well, you have to actually have ovaries to be diagnosed with PCOS. I swear women always get the short end of the stick. lol. If your ovaries are enlarged and is covered with small cyst, you will more than likely be diagnosed with PCOS. Is it a death sentence, absolutely not. Can it be reversed? Well, your Gynecologist will tell you that it is irreversible but treatable, however, according to RawRadiantHealth and other YouTube Bloggers- there IS a cure!

My Gynecologist, whom I love to death- was just basically doing her job after she diagnosed me with this horrible condition at the age of 24 and prescribed me Yaz and Metformin. I was definitely NOT taking Yaz also known as Drospirenone or Ethinyl Estradiol. O_o. No way Jose. By then, I had heard all about the horrific side effects and the many lawsuits that ended up as a result of it. I wanted no part in that. Besides, I wasn't sexually active so why would I fill my body with birth control. I truly believe that the Depo-Provera shot was the catalyst for my extreme weight gain. I'd rather be celibate than ingest myself with birth control.  But I did try the Metformin. Metformin is usually prescribed to those diagnosed with Pre-Diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes. My Gynecologist told me that PCOS causes women to develop diabetes by the age of 40, which can lead to a heart attack or a stroke. And you know what that means. Possible premature death.

I went to see my Primary Care Physician. He did a blood test on me. He tested my LDL and HDL levels. Which have to do with good versus bad Cholesterol. He tested my blood pressure and my sugar levels. He tested my hormone levels and every other level known to man. After which he handed me a good bill of health. I was healthy. But he warned me, I needed to loose weight. I was carrying way too much weight for my height and my age especially in my mid-section and it was only a matter of time before my testing would change for the worse. I wasn't worried. I was young and in college. I had way more important things on my mind to worry and care about then my wellness. Hey, he said I was healthy and my Gynecologist said I had til the age of 40 before diabetes would take over my life.

I'm 34 and I already have the symptoms.
I am just too chicken to revisit the doctor about it.

So what are the symptoms of PCOS? The symptoms are reflective of an imbalanced hormonal system. As if women weren't cursed enough. Too many male hormones floating around in a woman's body- that's the basis of PCOS. As a matter of fact, that is how PCOS is tested. Your OB/GYN test your androgen level, the female version of testosterone. Mines was sky high. This increase of a hormonal imbalance is brought on by the cyst that has set up camp on your ovaries. The exact cause of the polycyst are, well, unknown. Go Figure. I believe that the FDA approved birth controls and animal hormones found in our meats has a thing or two to do with it and the Food and Drug Administration along with their father Government is to embarrassed and afraid to admit it. Ok, back to the symptoms. There are many symptoms and they are different for each woman.

The symptoms generally includes infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods, some women loose their period all together - whoo hooo! Well, it seems like a good thing, doesn't it, but its actually not. Unfortunately, this symptom can cause cancer. Other symptoms are male patterned baldness, male patterned hair growth better known as a mustache or chin hairs, acne and unexplained weight gain in the upper body. All of these are reflective of high testosterone levels. But I think the worse symptom of all, that some women experience, is difficulty becoming pregnant. I had my son before the condition had a chance to fully develope and was grateful to God for that. When I was younger, I wanted 8 children, lol at my naive mind, but I was blessed with one. And he was a pleasure to raise.

At the age of 26, as my symptoms became more and more evident, I decided to loose weight. Weight gain played a huge role in the development of the condition. I loss hair at the crown of my head - embarrassing. I grew hair on my chin - embarrassing. I had adult acne - embarrassing. My periods was super irregular - annoying. My belly was bigger than my butt and breast - more annoying. I could actually feel the pain of the cyst irrupting on my ovaries - even more annoying. Fueled by a cruel comment from a pompous classmate, I loss 30 pounds following the Flat Belly Diet and exercising daily. I had stopped taking the Metformin because it caused me to have real bad gas cramps. Besides, I did not want to be locked in to having to take pills like an old person! I was young and healthy... somewhat. And I was convinced that anything could be cured in a Holistic way. A healthy diet of Raw Foods and Lean Proteins is the true cure for PCOS. No pills, no drugs, no side effects. That, I would later discover.

Another discovery: PCOS is linked to long term complications such as diabetes and heart disease. I was warned but I didn't take it seriously until now. Around the age of 31, I developed another symptom: tingles in my hands. It went away once I out-stretched my arms so I just brushed it off as a circulation issue. My hands would "fall asleep" with me as I slept with them tucked under my head and pillow. Its my favorite way to sleep. I had cold hands and feet because blood was not able to reach those areas. Never mind the fluid and fat that build itself up around my ankles, it must be another one of those many symptoms of PCOS. But hey, I have until the age of 40 before it becomes serious. Boy was I naive.

More recently, at the age of 34, I started having little short pains in my chest area. I also began periodically feeling light headed and clouded. I can't sleep for more than a few hours at a time. I literally have not had a full nights sleep in over two years. That's awful. I know I have to do something about it. My PCOS, bad eating habits and lack of exercise has caused me to become almost dead at age 34. I am no longer in denial but I refuse to accept this detriment to my health. As a matter of fact, I have faced my fear and scheduled an appointment to see a doctor. I will not let PCOS get the better of me! Good for me right.

Lets talk a little more about how PCOS can affect your health and well being. As I have said before, PCOS is linked to Diabetes. PCOS is a vicious, vicious cycle. The development of cyst on the ovaries, which researchers now believe is hereditary and can be linked to mutated genes, cause a hormonal imbalance. This imbalance causes an over production of the female version of testosterone which is called androgen. Androgen promotes the male pattern of fat distribution in the abdomen. Think about it for a second, God created the female to be curvy and have children. These curves are supposed to develop in the lower part of the body to cushion and protect the uterus which houses the fetus. And our curves also attract the male. Hubba Hubba. Men gain weight on top, women gain weight on bottom. Opposites attract. Have you ever seen a man with hips- yes, but its not attractive. Really, its not. -_-  Not only does abdominal weight gain take a toll on your self esteem but it causes insulin resistance. Excess fat dulls the cells sensitivity to insulin produced in our pancreas in order to process sugar into energy.

Here is the vicious cycle part: Fat is nothing but stored energy. If insulin cannot get into cells and process the sugar into energy it gets stored and we get fatter. And our high levels of androgen directs that fat storage into our abdomen and chest area. Fatal, because the more fat stored around our heart increases our risk for heart disease and also our cells continue to become less and less sensitive to insulin. The body responds by producing more insulin until there is an over-production of it. This excess insulin is stored. So now our bodies is storing everything and barely using anything for energy. We feel lethargic and lazy. We don't have the energy to exercise. We don't even have the energy it takes to sleep and repair. Our bodies become rebellious. So, the sugars seep into our blood stream, damage our tiny vessels and nerve endings. That's why people with a blood sugar issue have brown spots in the whites of their eyes. Tiny broken blood vessels. Now our body produces white blood cells to counter-act damaged cells, damaged nerves, veins and vessels. White blood cells are our little healers. It does so by causing inflammation, an internal balm that heals damaged areas. So not only do we have fat in places we shouldn't have fat but those areas also have become inflamed and we develop what is called low-grade inflammation which makes us appear fatter and weigh even more. The more weight we gain, the more symptoms are triggered in our bodies causing many dysfunctional results like tingles in our hands, pain in out feet due to destroyed nerve endings, pain in our chest, blood clotting, cholesterol accumulation, high sugar levels, high blood pressure which in turn causes more insulin resistance, more fat storage and more inflammation. A vicious, vicious cycle. And we all know the end result to all of this, right: Premature Death. 

It doesn't have to end this way. And for me, it won't.