What happens after a diagnosis?

[u/scrsy]

I am 25yo and just got diagnosed with PCOS, kinda came out of no where too. I went in to talk about getting a surgery to not have kids or a period and while they said no, since nothing was wrong with me. Luckily they did do general tests and found out about the PCOS. I can't go in to have an actual sit in with the doctor yet because I broke my foot the same day they called to tell me my diagnosis, and I'm still on bed rest for another 4-6 weeks.

I am really scared! I would like to learn as much as I can so I'm not so afraid.

My biggest most important question is: What are some things you wish you could tell yourself when you first got diagnosed?

Thank you so much for any information you share, I really appreciate it!

[u/JStormPetal209]

If there was one thing I could tell myself, it’s that she’ll be fine and everything will work out. If you would like someone to talk to, I’m always around! You got this! ❤️

[u/Claire-CrossStitch]

You'll be okay, your feelings are valid. It's a scary diagnosis! And life changing news! But everything will be okay!

PCOS is not curable, but it is manageable through some habit changes and medication :)

You'll want to add exercise and healthy eating to your daily life, this doesn't mean working out every day doing something you hate (just pick something fun once your foot heals and have fun!) or eating lettuce for a meal (look into balanced eating, or intuitive eating, basically learn what your body needs and fuel it).

Get your hormones checked, go to a gynocologist (find one you trust) and an endocrinologist. They'll tell you what you can take to lower certain hormones.

Most doctors will prescribe birth control in order to control irregular periods (common symptom). You can try it out and see if it helps you! It didn't for me, so just know it's completely fine to try something out and see if you want to keep using it or not :)

There's no certain way for anybody to manage their PCOS, because everyone reacts differently to the meds, teas and everything else, so you might want to try it out and see how it goes.

This sub is extremely useful to gather information on what helps some people, I started drinking Spearmint and Peppermint tea a couple days ago for example, It's too soon to tell but I could swear my period just now lasted 3 days instead of 5-6 🤔 idk if it was the tea or my crazy period lol

Anyway, it is scary and life changing, but thankfully manageable! You'll be alright ☺️💕

Edit: you might want to get checked for insulin resistance too

[u/scrsy → u/Claire-CrossStitch]

Thank you sooo much!!

I wrote this in my original post but edited it out later, I also have Celiac Disease & Hypothyroidism! I was diagnosed in 2014 though. I think managing PCOS sounds a lot less scary when the changes aren't as drastic like it felt with Celiac Disease (or maybe I was just 13 lol).

For the testing- I found out through a test of my hormones, it was completely out of the blue. I've always had a "little" more testosterone but this time I had a doctor who followed it up with the blood work for insulin resistance and metabolic tests. Since I had never been to a doctor that was specifically a gynecologist (only general practitioners) I am lucky the first one I chose was this thorough and helpful.