Notjustateaboy - NotJustATeaboy

people don't understand just how fucking validating it is to have someone at your job finally understand your chronic illness, know what you are going through, give you advice on it, and actually help you. I am so used to advice that does nothing and puts a bandaid on a broken arm and I don't understand how I feel right now.

having PCOS is some special kind of hell only a biological woman will ever have to deal with. you'll basically be told that you're at risk for cancer, diabetes, you're infertile, you'll get hirsutism, your hair is thin, your periods painful and irregular, you're constantly tired, constantly hungry, you're always in some kind of pain or discomfort, you might eat less than you need and still gain weight.

you'll be told the only thing you can do about it is diet and exercise, which is fair, it works, but you literally are at risk for high insulin resistance and fatigue as symptoms. you can only swim against the current. now, you can also take birth control pills but they don't solve any of your real problems, they just hide them and if anything the second you stop taking them your health will get worse.

And did I talk about mental health? well, you're at high risk for depression, anxiety, insomnia, and eating disorders. fun right? and it's not some obscure disorder, 10% of women have PCOS. It's a common ailment, you'd think it's well-researched, that OB-GYNS are experienced in treating it, or at least empathetic. Right?

No, literally no. Nobody cares, you have to be your own doctor, go to Reddit for information, and look up research papers. You trust tiktokers more than your medical providers because the best they're gonna do is tell you to take a pill that won't be that effective, diet, and come back when you're pregnant. Oh, your pain is unbearable? Just take some paracetamol. You can't seem to lose weight? Get a grip, you just need to eat 0 carbs and exercise every day, and lift weights. Get some laser treatment for your facial hair while you're at it. You're tired all the time? Doesn't seem that serious, everybody is.

Or worse. Oh, your labs come out fine, you're fine. You have a healthy BMI, what are you worried about? You get a period every 40-ish days so it's not that bad. Not that you're barely eating, exhausted all the time, in severe physical pain, and emotionally distressed. You'll be able to have kids! Cheer up!

And all this? Because the medical industry doesn't care about women.

Whew, I’ve really been debating whether I should make this post or not, but I’ve decided that it is my civic duty as a fellow cyster to bring awareness and maybe help others understand or even recognise the symptoms and what it means to have PCOS

I could hit you guys with all the official terms and statistics, but I will let the pictures do the talking on that

I personally just thought that I should share my story and how I got diagnosed with PCOS, and how I’ve been managing since then

So, I got my first period when I was 10. Which is quite early, but it never really bothered me. I always had a very regular menstrual cycle, from the number of days I menstruated, to the length of each phase.

Well, that all stopped when I was almost 19. My periods stopped being regular, I even went 3 whole consecutive months without even ovulating once. I was always irritated, I gained a lot of weight, my skin was horrible and I just wasn’t really on top of my game in general.

But I just kept telling myself that everything would be fine. I floated through 2 years of my life without knowing if I would be getting my period each month. I didn’t understand why I was always so hormonal and I kind of started hating myself.

So this year, in the very beginning of july, now at the big old age of 21, I decided to go to the OBGYN. I was honestly scared shitless, but I was trying to gaslight myself into thinking that it would be all fine. Except it ended up not being all fine. Because I got diagnosed with PCOS.

Now, I don’t know about other OBGYNs, but mine didn’t particularly care to explain stuff to me, just gave me my papers and told me to get a bunch of tests done to find out my root cause. My regular doctor just gave me a pamphlet for dieting with diabetes/IR and basically told me to just figure things out on my own.

I think it’s honestly disgusting how little healthcare professionals seem to care about a condition that affects so many afab people. There isn’t a cure, because nobody cares to find a cure.

Well, they should.

Everyone should.

Living with PCOS isn’t easy. I have mental breakdowns about it on the weekly. I hate having to restrict what I can eat so much.

And I hate that it is worth it. I hate that I actually feel better when I don’t eat dairy, I hate that I actually feel awful physically when I eat carbs. It’s not fair.

And I hate that my sickness affects the most important (to me) aspect of my life: my fertility.

I have never not wanted children. Becoming a mother is the biggest dream I had since I was a kid. It’s my life purpose. And I might not ever get it.

But I can’t let my PCOS rule my life. I am me, first and foremost. Chronic illness or not.

And I really hope that every woman struggling with PCOS can look into the mirror at the end of the day and find beauty in what she sees.

You are beautiful.

You are strong.

You are loved.

JUST 👏 BECAUSE 👏 A 👏 WOMAN 👏 IS 👏 COMFORTABLE 👏ENOUGH 👏 IN 👏 HER 👏 OWN 👏 SKIN 👏 TO 👏 WEAR 👏 REVEALING 👏 OUTFITS 👏 DOESN’T 👏 GIVE 👏 ANYONE 👏 THE 👏 RIGHT 👏 TO 👏 SEXUALLY 👏 HARASS 👏 HER 👏 PASS 👏 IT 👏 ON 👏