My PCOS story
When I was in my early 20’s I was diagnosed with a hormonal imbalance called PCOS, which stands for polycystic ovarian syndrome. You would never guess by my looks that I had this because the only visible symptom for me was a little bit of acne. The only reason I even found out about it was because I stopped getting my period for six months which prompted me to go to the doctor.
However, what you couldn’t see were the emotional roller coasters, mood swings, and bouts of depression that would leave me crying myself to sleep at times. It didn’t help that I was in a very transient state in my life, after just having graduated university and feeling lost and confused about what career I wanted to pursue.
What is PCOS?
Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a complex metabolic and hormonal condition in which the ovaries are stimulated to produce excess androgens which can lead to acne, hirsutism (excess hair growth), and irregular or absent periods. This can make it difficult for women to get pregnant.
There is also a component of insulin resistance which can make it more challenging to lose weight and easier to gain weight. This is why many women with PCOS present with obesity or type 2 diabetes. The cause of PCOS is still still not entirely known but it is suspected that it has to do with exposure to anti-Mullerian hormone during pregnancy.
Treatment
The solution at the time for PCOS was to just go on birth control. Since I wasn’t planning on having children, this was fine for me and is what I used to manage the PCOS symptoms for the next 8 years or so. While the birth control kept the acne at bay, unfortunately it didn’t do much for my mood swings and emotions. Some brands of birth control even made them worse!
Insulin resistance
Being the curious nerd that I am, I started to do some research. I wanted to know what caused it and what the mechanism was. Basically I wanted to get to the root and learn more about it. Most of what I read at that time though talked about the link to insulin resistance, and the greater incidence of type 2 diabetes and obesity in women with PCOS. Since I was slender, exercised regularly and didn’t eat much processed foods it didn’t occur to me that this still applied to me. I already knew a lot about the beneficial effects of exercise on insulin resistance and how exercise can prevent the chronic diseases associated with PCOS, but I didn’t realise just how much of an effect food and stress could have on my hormones as well.
Fast forward to a couple of years ago when I finally started to question if it was really healthy to be taking birth control for so long. I had come across some info that discussed a few negative aspects to the pill so I decided that I would stop taking it to see if I could get my periods back naturally and manage my symptoms with diet and lifestyle alone.
So where does a plant based diet fit in?
I had already been completely plant based for a few months before I stopped taking the birth control, but it was still a rough transition. Since I had been on the pill for so long my body was confused and went into overdrive. Let’s just say things got worse before they got better! It didn’t help that I was living in a toxic environment, exposed to mold during this time as well, which also led to a gut dysbiosis called SIBO. It was a perfect storm of so many things going on in my body.
By nourishing my body with whole plant based foods though I was able to repair my gut. I moved out of the moldy apartment and am happy to say that my hormones are back on track.
My first cycle after the pill was three months long, then it went down to a couple of two month cycles, then roughly one month (about 35 day) cycles.
Never in a million years did I think I would be someone who would get excited about getting my period every month, but that is where I’m at and I’m not mad about it.
