September is PCOS awareness month. According to the NHS, Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 1 in 10 women in the UK. Despite its commonality, there appears to be a lack of awareness and education surrounding it. The World Health Organisation estimates that, globally, up to 70% of women who have PCOS remain undiagnosed. This lack of awareness is something I would like to change.
A bittersweet diagnosis
It has been less than a year since my own diagnosis, but I will always remember the emotions I felt. The relief of knowing what was ‘wrong’ with me. The fear of what this meant for my future. The anger that no one had ever taught me anything about PCOS or the symptoms to look out for. Surely I should have known about a syndrome so common in women? It was quite the bittersweet moment.
During my second year of university, aged 20, I was getting increasingly fed up with my persistent acne, and increasingly anxious as to why my period had gone AWOL for nearly five whole months. I tried to call my GP to book an appointment, but week after week I was told there were none available for a “routine check-up”, and that I should call again next week. It wasn’t until I went home to Jersey that I was able to see my local doctor.
There was no leaflet with information or guidance, no signposting towards any form of support, whether I needed it now or in the future
Upon being diagnosed, so many things made sense. You see, I had had symptoms all along, ever since I first hit puberty, but I didn’t know what I was looking for. And that’s the problem. I then went down the rabbit hole of spending hours googling PCOS, which absolutely did not make me feel any better. But google was all I had. There was no leaflet with information or guidance, no signposting towards any form of support, whether I needed it now or in the future.
Sex education – or lack of
You might be thinking “why are you telling us all this?” and you’re right, I’ve only been talking about myself so far, but there are two reasons for this. The first is to resonate with any readers out there who may have had a similar experience to mine. The second is the whole aim of this article – to raise awareness.
I want you to think back to your sex education or PSHE classes. How old were you? What did they teach you? Now, when I think of mine, I can summarise it into the following: girls have periods, here’s how babies are made, and wear a condom because STIs are bad. Also don’t do drugs. Voila. You’re set for life.
Growing up, there was so much I had to learn about my body that I just thought ‘why did no one ever tell me this?’
Except we’re not. In fact, we know nothing. It is my absolute belief that we, regardless of sex or gender, deserve a much more thorough sex education that actually teaches us about our bodies. Growing up, there was so much I had to learn about my body that I just thought ‘why did no one ever tell me this?’ And PCOS is one of those things. Along with Endometriosis, a lot of women will experience some medical issues with their reproductive system at some point in their lives, and I think it’s so important that we are more informed on what to look out for.
So, what is PCOS and what are the symptoms?
As I mentioned earlier, PCOS is an acronym for polycystic ovary syndrome. For someone with PCOS, the follicles which envelope the eggs are underdeveloped, and as a consequence will often fail to release the egg. This is why one of the most telling symptoms of PCOS is irregular periods, as ovulation does not happen every month.
PCOS is also a hormonal imbalance. People with PCOS have an excess of androgen, which is a male sex hormone. This can cause acne as well as excess body, or even facial hair. PCOS is also linked to insulin resistance, the blood sugar hormone, meaning there is an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
PCOS is also a hormonal imbalance
Other symptoms include weight gain and difficulty getting pregnant. I know this all sounds a little scary, and I myself was overwhelmed by all this new information when I was first diagnosed, but it’s not all doom and gloom. Despite there being no cure, PCOS is in most cases quite manageable, with the hormonal pill being one of the most common treatment plans. Furthermore, most women with PCOS are still able to get pregnant, sometimes with the aid of a fertility treatment plan.
Hope for the future
With this article, I hope that every reader has learnt something new, or feels prompted to find out more. PCOS is just one of many health conditions that too few people know about, so I want to encourage people to talk about it more. You might not even realise that someone close to you has PCOS themselves.
I hope sex education will improve massively so that future generations grow up with a better understanding and awareness of how their bodies should - and shouldn't - behave.
I hope there will be more research dedicated to women's health issues, such as PCOS and Endometriosis, so that we can get closer to minimising their prevalence.
