A couple of years ago, after hell of a lot of back and forth with the doctor’s surgery, I was finally told that I have a condition called PCOS. For those of you that may be unaware, PCOS is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. It is a hormonal condition that can affect women of all ages and it has some rather nasty side effects.  

Since my diagnosis, I have been working hard to try and live the best that I can with PCOS and after reading a positive place, I figured that I would sit down and share what I know with you guys. I do just want to preface this by saying that I am not a medical professional, this is just what has worked for me…

Consult a healthcare professional.

I want to say this first, but I also do want to issue a word of caution. For me to get my diagnosis from the doctors for PCOS, it was a long and painful journey. I saw many different people and most of them were incredibly dismissive. However, I asked the hard questions. I probed them, asked to speak to different people and kept going until I got to a place where I was happy with the medical professional that I was dealing with. I feel very fortunate that I have the means to go private, but I know that isn’t the case for everybody.  

Eat the right things.

I would rather eat glass than live my life in a constant diet. Life is for living and I think that food is a big part of that. But that doesn’t mean that when you have PCOS that you can avoid eating the right things. Make sure that you are eating fibre, protein, reducing white carbs and all the other good stuff. There is so much that I could talk about in terms of nutrition, but those are the key things that I want to mention to you guys. Be mindful of what you are eating and seek professional help on what the right things are.

Exercise regularly.

PCOS makes you feel all kind of shit. Whether it is tired, lethargic and god knows what else. That can make the prospect of exercising seem incredibly daunting. However, please take it from me that it fucking helps. Whether it is your mindset, your weight, your stamina and everything else. Getting up, making that effort and moving your body helps. I am out of bed at 5:30am every single morning, even on weekends and putting in the hard work. It might not be changing the world, but it is fucking helpful.

Maintain a healthy weight.

Don’t come for me. I know that when you have PCOS, it makes managing your weight bloody difficult. Trust me, I have fought that battle for a very long time. However, when you get into that healthy weight range, there is no denying that the benefits are huge for PCOS. But please do not think that I am blind to how difficult a hormonal imbalance makes it to get your weight to a good place.

Think about hormone medication.

I know that over the last few months there has been a huge movement to get off hormonal contraception. I did the same. For me, I was on the mini pill for almost 16 years with no breaks due with heavy periods when I was much younger. However, after coming off the pill for a long time, I realised what ‘normal’ was to me and the truth was, I did better on hormonal contraception. For me, it helps to balance some of the crazy symptoms that I get due to my PCOS. Not to mention it hugely helps with my mental health.

Monitor your cycle.

Because a symptom of PCOS is an irregular cycle, I used to think that it was a waste of time tracking my cycle. It didn’t fall into a standard 28-day month, so I thought it was futile. However, since monitoring my cycle and tracking everything within the Flo app, I have learnt hell of a lot about my body, how it works and the various stages that I hit. Such as, I know the periods when I am ovulating, the level of bloat, my energy and so much more. It just helps to be in the know, even if it doesn’t fall within a standard cycle duration.

Stay informed.

When it comes to managing your PCOS, one thing that I always try to do is stay well informed. There is so much information out there and things are always changing and evolving the more research that is been done into the condition. I try to stay as clued up on everything as possible because essentially, who is going to are more about my health than I am? It doesn’t take much in order to stay well informed, just some careful research here and there.

Undergo regular blood tests.

One of the only ways that you can monitor PCOS, other than an ultrasound is by having regular blood tests. A medical professional will monitor a level called LH and if this sits within a certain bracket, you are deemed as having PCOS. By keeping a regular eye on this, it can help you to calculate if the work that you are doing is having a positive impact. In the past I have had blood tests via the NHS and private. Sadly, I have received better help through the private route.