A 15 year old girl sits in the doctors’ office, holding back tears as the doctor tells her something she has dreamed of for years is probably not going to happen without outside help. Her years of feeling insecure and wondering why she can’t lose weight like all the other girls, even though she did more exercise than them, are finally answered, but she feels even worse.
This was me almost six years ago when I was a freshman in high school. It’s a day that will be engraved in my memory until the day I die, because my life changed. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, better known as PCOS, a hormonal disorder that has been sweeping over GenZ females. The disorder was first described back in 1928 but has not gotten the attention needed until recently.
Cleveland Clinic describes PCOS as, “A common condition that affects your hormones. It causes irregular menstrual periods, excess hair growth, acne and infertility. Treatment for PCOS depends on if you wish to become pregnant. People with PCOS may be at higher risk for certain health conditions, like diabetes and high blood pressure.”
PCOS is a chronic illness; this is something that women who get diagnosed will have to live with for the rest of their lives. Nowadays we have medicines such as Metformin, Ozempic, Birth control and others, which are helping with the symptoms and side effects. Women are being able to live a somewhat normal life while also having to figure out ways to keep their symptoms under control.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “PCOS is one of the most common causes of female infertility, affecting 6% to 12% (as many as 5 million) of US women of reproductive age.” So what does this all mean? This current generation, GenZ, is the generation where most girls are getting diagnosed. It’s been a problem for generations, but we are just now able to get the research and medications made to help combat this.
The main question is: why are we just now able to diagnose this? The reason is because our health care research and health system in America has focused on men’s health since its inception. Women’s health has been pushed to the side and made a non-priority for too long. In Aug. of last year, we got our first ever study on feminine products that every person who has a menstrual cycle uses. These were invented back in the 1800s but in 2023 we got our first ever study! How can this stuff be happening?
There are millions of women before PCOS was first discovered who could have been helped and taken care of if people had done research they should have, but they didn’t. We could have probably had medications and a way that people can help manage their symptoms down to a science by now, instead of women being terrified and trying many different things that seems to make things worse. Research done by the NHS in the United Kingdom, and several other institutions, have found that PCOS is more than likely genetic. A medical article from 2011 suggests that PCOS could be caused by a change/mutation in the genes or by a genetic/chemical change in the womb. Women are born with this disease and don’t know it until they are going through puberty, but there are still signs that something is wrong.
One of the first telltale signs for me was not being able to lose weight. I was a child who was always playing sports and running around but always chubby. I got bullied a lot. Kids would make fun of me because I would run and play and still be bigger. I went to childhood obesity specialists and they told me to eat less, so I did. I ate less and continued to play sports and go to the gym with a personal trainer but still kept on the weight. I then started to grow hair on my chin and had multiple freak outs. This was around the time I started puberty.
It took years of insecurity and feeling like no matter what I did, nothing would change. Then I went to see my OB-GYN for the first time. She did tests and found out that her suspicions were right, I have PCOS.
Since then, I have been on a journey of figuring out what medicine works and what doesn’t. What diet and exercise works and doesn’t. It’s been a long journey but I finally found what has been helping me the best and my weight loss is slow but there. It has felt amazing being able to finally start seeing results for something I have been working on for over a decade, and I have also found people who have PCOS and it feels like I’m not alone.
Many famous women have also come out about having PCOS, such as Keke Palmer, Bebe Rexha, Daisy Ridley, Jillian Michaels, Victoria Beckham and many others. These are all women who have the same illness but are at very different stages and look different because PCOS is not a one size fits all. Some have a severe case while others have a more mild case.
The most common symptoms of PCOS are irregular ovulation, acne, excessive body hair growth in places women normally don’t and fatigue. If you have these symptoms, then go get tested, especially if you are having months to years of no menstrual cycle, as it increases your chance of ovarian cancer. Go to a trusted OB-GYN for these tests. Over 70% of cases go undiagnosed because women just ignore it.
Don’t ignore it, it’s better to be safe than sorry and get checked to see if PCOS has affected you. Remember, you are not alone, and there are millions of people who have PCOS and are ready to help and find more people to be friends with who share this chronic illness.
