It’s interesting, I think, the differences that some people see in PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)
I was just reading The Weigh We Were, and there are a few different articles that talk about people with PCOS who have lost a huge amount of weight – about 150lbs each or something. But one has the headline “Woman with rare condition […]” and the other, simply, “Woman with PCOS […]”
So which is it? Is PCOS only considered rare in Britain and Ireland? I know that when I was diagnosed at the PDEC in Portland as having PCOS, they told me it was rare. Only affects 5% of the female population. It seems that everywhere I turn now, I see women or weight-loss bloggers with PCOS, struggling the same as I am.
And yet I seem to be the only one not actively trying to do something about it. I have to make an appointment with my doctor. I have to ask him about prescribing me metformin again.
(When I was first diagnosed, I was prescribed The Pill and metformin, and I lost 38lbs~ with exercise. My diet didn’t change, because we had a healthy diet in the US anyway.)
If not just for my health, then to try and get rid of the fact that I look like I’m trying to grow a beard.
I'd say the world of weight loss kind of has the deck stacked – PCOS causes weight gain so probably just about everyone with PCOS is trying to lose weight.
But I wouldn't say PCOS is necessarily rare – 5% of women means one out of every 20. For example, redheads account for 4% of the population in Ireland, but you wouldn't exactly call them rare would you?
Ironically, I think I've seen very few redheads since moving to Ireland! 🙂 But I know what you mean.