I have not been your typical girly girl, rather a princess tomboy. Tomboy for most of the time and a princess when I wouldn’t want to get my hands dirty. But I haven’t been in touch with my femininity much, either. Besides, I’ve always been rather content my periods were rare, short and not painful. It was quite practical because being an athlete on while having my period bothered me and affected my performance.
It wasn’t until my late twenties that I have been diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). It’s a hormonal imbalance that lots of women suffer from. It’s just not that talked about. Many of them possibly don’t even know they have it. But then I found a partner that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and we started thinking about having a family. Suddenly, I was petrified thinking that it might not happen to us. Ever.
PCOS brings along many side effects and it can further down the line lead to difficulties to conceive. So, before I go on my ramble how I tame it, here’s a fact: once I learned how to live with it, I was also able to conceive easily.
Here are some things I do in order to keep my hormones in check.
I have always been athletic, so exercising does not represent a fuss to me, it rather relieves it. A good 10 to 15 minutes a day is my treat. I do have a two-year-old who demands more of my attention, but sometimes we even manage to work out together. Going on long walks is a great way of exercising also.
Nutrition–You’ll hear women with PCOS talk about how vital it is. Just don’t beat yourself up about it. Find healthy routines that work for you and stick to them as diligently as possible. I know that avoiding dairy products and sweets all together helped me a great deal. But once I feel like my body needs them, I indulge a little, too.
Know your body and which of the four phases you are currently going through. There are numerous apps available that can help you with it. You might have heard of cycle syncing. It is when women sync their lives according to the phase they are in their cycle. There are 4 main phases: menstrual, follicular, ovulation and the luteal phase. In any point during those phases our energy levels differ, willingness to socialize differs, hormone levels are at different balances, dietary needs and restrictions change, and our sexual desires change. Living with those changes, rather than fighting them, enables you to live your best life.
So, looking back, I’m quite sad I only thought about this recently. But, on the other hand, better late than never. Are you experiencing similar problems? How are you coping with them? Would you be interested in reading more on the topic? Let me know in the comments below. Looking forward to hearing from you.