Egos Part 3: Implications of PCOS and what to avoid saying to someone with the condition!

You're not waiting for stars to align, just your hormones!

PCOS has torn me into shreds through the years. It's robbed me of what's considered to be the best years of my life. I am entitled to complain about my PCOS. Anyone who has it is. Although I don't shout it from the rooftops, occasionally, you need to vent. I mentioned in a previous post, PCOS is a debilitating condition. Left untreated, your life is at steak. It's an invisible chronic illness that whilst can be helped, is incurable.

"You don't look unwell! How can you be suffering? There's so much worse you could have!"

Yes, to those who state the above, maybe you're right. I don't have cancer but I am sure at a higher risk of the Ovarian type. I am at higher risk of heart disease and diabetes conditions due to the insulin deficiency that contributes to weight gain and obesity. 

I'm not dying but everyday I am lethargic as they come and fighting to stay as active as someone my age should be. The menstrual cycle is literally no problem to deal with but the symptoms leading up to it are astonishing. 







I don't have bad skin but I have to stay on the contraceptive pill to keep it at bay and I still have hyper-pigmentation marks as a result of having acne due to PCOS. 

The pill will protect me from pregnancy right? It's a good job I don't hold any desire to have my own offspring because PCOS can altogether stop or slow your fertility altogether. Not to mention the horrendous side effects I have to endure caused by the contraceptive pill. 

Ah. I'm not actually overweight right? Well since consuming the pill, it has been a battle to stay the size I am. Just live a healthy lifestyle yes? For years I have lead a healthy lifestyle. As far as I am concerned, I have stepped up to the mark concerning my well-being.



I have significantly reduced my average calorie intake, drink water daily, exercise in moderation and eat my greens every week. I rarely drink alcoholic beverages, never took an illegal substance and I've not touched a cigarette. Yet still, it's a fight to keep my metabolic system in tact.

I could continue and explain the details of other symptoms and pains of the condition but we would be here all day.

I am infuriated with the stigma that comes with hidden illnesses, whether they are mental or physical. I am surfeited with bothering to justify and explain the condition to most. The other person will always turn it back on themselves and even insinuate that I am emphasising my condition and how they feel no need to discuss or "complain" about any of their conditions - hence why I find it's best to say nothing at all. You open up (which for me is a rarity because I try to take my mind off PCOS ) and you're essentially scolded for it due to self righteousness.

My partner is the only person I speak to about the condition in depth.

Every single person is different and the same applies to those who have the same or similar conditions. No two PCOS sufferers are the same, the symptoms differentiate for each person. I would never imply I understand the pain of someone who has a condition different to mine or the same. I can't and never will be able to fully delve into the minds/anatomy of someone else.

It would be wise to think before you speak. You never know someone's situation or their life story, no matter what information you've stored and what they have already told you. Tip: Just let the person confide in you. Acknowledge what they've said. Refrain from the cliche "I understand" and assure them that you're listening and don't make it a competition about who's illness is worse and so forth.

Click here if you want to read up the signs and symptoms relating to PCOS. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional before undergoing treatment.


Image sources:

eCard 1

eCard 2

PCOS Meme

eCard 3

PCOS Info