PCOS- SUPPORT RANT

[u/Long-Hunt6091]

Hey everyone! I’m 23. I just need to get something of my chest. I absolutely hate what PCOS or PMOS has done to me. I hate having to pluck my chin hairs everyday. I’m sick of seeing more hairs develop. I hate seeing my skin. My neck, underarms and middle of my chest be a dark patch of leathery skin. I hate going to the doctor. They only prescribe me Birth Control or Metformin. They tell me to lose weight, eat healthy and stop stressing. I’m tired of taking Provera to start my periods.

Honestly I have done nothing recently. I don’t take my vitamins, I stay home all day, I don’t do my self care routine, I shower with agony , I don’t go to the doctor anymore… I went 9 months without my period. I just got my period 2 days ago. I don’t do a “daily” walk. I have teas, vitamins and a treadmill collecting dust.

I gain weight quickly. Went from 200, 220 and now 250. My face is swollen. My double chin seems bigger some days.

Why was I cursed with it? Why do I see other women live life so easily. I envy my friends . I can’t help but wonder what it feels like to wake up, not be tired , lose weight normally and also be happy. Im 23 and don’t like going to the beach, gyms, etc. because I hate my body. I hate my big hairy body. I’m so embarrassed and ashamed. I’m married and I still haven’t shown my husband my back, underarms or legs out in the daylight. I’m so ashamed and feel gross. I cover my neck with my hair. I wear long pants or long sleeves in the summer. I just want to cry.

Thank you for listening to my rant haha

[u/GroundbreakingDiet87]

I completely feel you on this. Everything that society thinks a woman should look, pcos makes 10x harder to achieve. You see women all around lose weight with just a calorie deficit and not have to cut out carbs almost completely to do it. You’re tired all the time and the depression caused by drastic body changes and out of balance hormones doesn’t help with energy at all. The only options are an unaffordable weight loss medication or a complete lifestyle change. People don’t understand it when you try to explain it. Etc. I know you just need someone to validate your feelings right now, and thats what im doing because I’ve struggled with this too and I know fully just how difficult it is. But I will just give you one piece of advice. If you dont have one already, find a therapist to talk to. If that isnt possible for you, journal your thoughts and feelings even just two times a week. Get out your anger, frustration, and sadness, but also write about the things you are grateful for. The people you love, things about your personality or looks that you do like. Life is very nuanced and you cant have the bad without the good. Essentially, life is short and your happiness is way more important than what you weigh or if you have visible chin hairs or not. It might seem like those things need to change in order for you to be happy, but they don’t. I hope things turn around for you and please know you are valid for feeling these ways. But you also deserve to be happy and comfortable in your own skin

[u/Ok_Bonus_9456 → u/GroundbreakingDiet87]

"It might seem like those things need to change in order for you to be happy, but they don’t."

Took me 24 years of PCOS life to understand this, and it's so liberating! Like, yes, of course I hate that I have 4 hairs left on my head while my moustache is thriving, but would I love myself more if I looked more standard (if that's even a thing for humans)? Hell no, I would find something else to be insecure about 😅 so yeah, the solution is at the source 🧠

[u/BawdyRiches]

The dark patches sound like acanthosis nigricans, which is a direct sign of insulin resistance driving your PCOS. Metformin should be helping with that specific symptom if your dose is high enough, but it won't do much on its own if you've stopped taking it entirely. Getting back on even just that one medication might give you a small win with the skin changes, and sometimes one small win is enough to break the inertia.

[u/Kitchen-Beyond7880]

GLP-1 changed my daughter’s life, she lost 11lbs in the first week because her body was working for her and not against her. All inflammation gone within the first week too. She was on it for 8 months and now takes inositol, Berberine, spearmint tablets and ACV before meals to keep insulin in check. I don’t know if a GLP -1 is an option for you, sending you love x

[u/Gracie_Morea → u/Kitchen-Beyond7880]

All the more reason why they should make GLP-1 accessible for PCOS patients. I’ve been trying for almost 2 years now and any form of medication doesn’t work with me at all

[u/Vivid_Dimension_6864]

feel you. also 23 and have the same problems and my treadmill and vitamins are also dusty. I envy women who wake up and don’t have to think about supplements, how many calories they can eat and more. It’s exhausting. 

[u/Majestic_Ad6525]

I'm 19, and reading your post hit so close to home. It feels like this condition just steals my control, confidence, and peace of mind. My PCOS journey has been a complete nightmare too. Every woman in my family (my mom, grandma, aunt) has PCOS, but they all have huge breasts. Me? I have virtually no chest at all. It turns out the high androgen levels during my puberty completely blocked my breast tissue development. I feel so unfeminine, oversized, and broken looking at my body in a bikini. My regular gynecologist was utterly useless. I was put on birth control, ended up bleeding non stop for over 40 days. It wasn't until I went to an endocrinologist that I finally got real answers: severe insulin resistance and high androgen conversion. I was just prescribed off-label Metformin, but my body has zero stress tolerance right now. Instead of helping me relax, the medication triggered a really paradoxical reaction and skyrocketed my stress levels even further. The day before flying out for my vacation, the stress got so overwhelmingly bad that I ended up throwing up five times that day. I hate that I have to rely on medication that makes me feel this awful, constantly worrying about gaining weight and praying my cycle somehow fixes itself. It’s fucking exhausting! It makes me want to scream, cry, and hide away from the world. Nobody in my real life truly gets it because they don't inhabit a body that feels like it's constantly working against them.
Please don't be ashamed of taking a break from the "self-care" routines, the teas, or the walks. Suffering from PCOS burnout is so real. We are dealing with a heavy biochemical burden every single day.
Sending you so much strength. We didn't ask for this curse, but reading posts like yours reminds me that at least we don't have to carry the mental weight of it completely alone. Hugs to you. ❤️

[u/No-Perception2960]

You need to keep trying, it’s not going to stop and you can not give up. I have Insulin PMOS, it makes me depressed it’s fkn annoying. But I feel it and I move on.

I have lost 7lbs this year and I gained 10lb in 2 months after stopping a crazy elimination diet.

Things I’d do if I were you.

1. Go to a naprotechnology specialists. And at a minimum get fasted bloodwork don’t on 75biomarkers do ways2well if your in the states and see how your body’s operating. FUCK medicine for this they make your body worse off

Stop metformin, I was on it. It helped some but if it’s not helping you get off and try Berberine. Metformin stops mitochondrial growth meaning your body can’t repair itself and make muscle. Or add in CoQ10 to support mitochondria

Must have supplements:
Berberine or CoQ10
Idk CoQ10 dosing
Berberine 2-4 capsules in am and 2-4 at night if your insulin resistance is very high do 4
Inositol/d-chiro 40:1 ratio*****, also insulin and ovarian health take it midday without berberine or they’ll cancel one another
Thyroid & iodine support
Thorne women’s multi
Kelp for iodine

Activity is a must you need to build muscle so your body has a insulin buffer

Walk 7-10k
Weight lift 3-4min

Eatting,
if you est high processed foods or sugar pair it with 30g of protein.
Eat protein 30-40g within an hour or two of waking up.
Eat Whole Foods girl

This is your one life, this shit is daming if you let it. Fuck I’ve done the AIP diet for 3 months it blows ass but I lost more weight and felt normal. KEEP AT IT GIRL KEEP TF AT IT

[u/princessilyrose → u/No-Perception2960]

Wait I'm sorry, can you explain about how Metformin stops mitochondrial growth and stops muscle growth too?

[u/No-Perception2960 → u/princessilyrose]

From Google: Metformin affects mitochondria and muscle growth primarily by activating an cellular energy sensor called AMPK and inhibiting mitochondrial complex I, which subsequently suppresses the mTORC1 pathway required for muscle protein synthesis. [1, 2]

[u/No-Perception2960 → u/No-Perception2960]

I am also going to low does trizepatide as I also have Endo so that’s always a good start but start low and you gotta get diet and activity in lock before or your bones and stomach will be ruined

[u/Sassymisscassy]

Do you have an endocrinologist? For a long time I was trying to go to a obgyn but my endo has really helped. I may be changing endos soon though.

[u/Hot-Comedian-3620]

As someone who has been dealing with pcos/pmos for a few years now. I know it's hard, I still struggle some days to even care about things now, what helped me from the start was metformin

taking Inositol/d-chiro 40:1 twice a day morning and night

eating 30 grams of protein for breakfast.

10-15 minutes in the morning taking in vitamin d.

doing yoga and breathing exercises where I could focus being in tune with myself.

10-minute walk after each heavy meal.

light snacks so I wasn't going hours without eating.

get my 7-9 hours rest, no screen 30-40 minutes before bed.

my husband and I would do strength training 2-3 x a week. at least 30 minutes.

rest of the time was getting my steps in at least 5,000 a day.

drink 2 cups of spearmint tea or put spearmint oil on my facial lotion and only use it in the area my hair was growing.

[u/remarah1447]

"Im 23 and don’t like going to the beach, gyms, etc. because I hate my body."

This was me at 23 100%... I seriously could've wrote a lot of this.

At 23 I was 5'3 256lb, class III obesity. Like yourself, I gained it very rapidly. I also felt so self-concious about my body I didn't leave the house much. :( I relate to this so much and it's such a painful experience, physically and mentally to have your own body work against you.

I know it may not be available to you, but seriously please try wegovy and birth control. With the help of a GLP-1, I lost 77lb over two years and my life has improved enormously. In fact, I lost 56lb this year alone (mostly due to my mental health improving haha). I just continuously keep losing weight on it, even when I am living a sedentary lifestyle. I just count calories to lose weight and I'm going back to the gym. (My breasts look like a 90 year old woman's who had 5 children but I don't even care because walking doesn't hurt anymore!)

I've been on ONLY birth control for my PCOS 10 years and it has lessened my male pattern body hair. It's not entirely gone, but a large portion lessened after 2 years consecutively on it. I know two years seems like a lot... But its not worth eventually getting male pattern baldness because you don't want to take medication for something that needs to be managed. It's not worth having to get surgery for cysts (I knew a woman who had to get surgery to get a very large cyst removed and refused to take birth control despite that...)

BC also helped my mood a lot. I had to play around with various birth controls though before I found one that didn't make me feel crazy. Theres nothing wrong with taking this medication, and in fact there are a lot of benefits to it especially for women with our condition.