It's so crazy to me how four letters, PCOS, make everything make so much sense. I have not been diagnosed with it yet, but I am quite sure that I will be. I have had a rather tumultuous life which has caused me to be without health insurance more often than with it, and thus, it is not my habit to go to a doctor even when I do have insurance. In any case, I wanted to post my story (the reasons I believe I do in fact have PCOS) if for no other reason than it get it off my chest.
I seemed to go through puberty somewhat early, developing breasts and growing hair at about age 8, but I did not get a period until I was 15 years old. I partly think that the reason I got it then was that I had lost a lot of weight (by 12, I was 180 lbs at 5'3"... but when I was 15 I had gotten down to about 135). I got maybe 3 periods during the next year and a half... they were not particularly heavy, but each lasted about 3 weeks, which I thought was unusual but I was definitely too embarrassed to tell anyone about it. The last period I got was in Feb of 1996 (which I remember so specifically because I had planned to have sex with my boyfriend on Valentine's day that year, but alas, I suppose God had other plans!).
I then went all the way until about 2001 without any sign of menstruation, at which point I had one episode of very light bleeding that lasted about 3 days. I didn't even need a tampon or pad. I didn't know what to think, but I didn't have health insurance, and since I wasn't dying, I certainly wasn't about to go to an emergency room about it.
Again, no sign of menstruation for years. Then, in 2006 I began to have very light bleeding. It still continues. There is no pattern as far as I can tell to when it begins and ends or the length of time it lasts. Sometimes I will bleed very very lightly (i.e., no need for tampon) for 7, 8 weeks at a time. Other times, I will bleed enough to need "lite" tampons for about a week. Sometimes I don't bleed at all for a week, or 3 weeks, or 5 weeks. I have tried to mark a calendar, but there is seriously no discernable pattern to it. Soemtimes I think I'm clear, then I have sex with my husband and notice bleeding the next day. (However, sex is never painful or anything like that.)
I've definitely got the hirutism aspect. I pluck my chin every single day, wax my upper lip and sides of my face every couple of weeks, and I would have more hair near my nipples than my husband does if I didn't pluck it.
I also have the weight issues that so many on this forum post about. I am currently holding at 250lbs (again, I'm 5'3", so I wear about size 22/24). It takes SO MUCH for me to lose even one pound that I really don't even try any more. The last time I tried was in 2004, and I went to the gym about 5 days/wk, 45 min of cardio every time, and a weight circuit 2 times/wk, and lost 10lbs in 6 months. Needless to say, it's hard to stay motivated to keep on doing it when there is so little in the way of results.
So now here I am. Thankfully, I am not TTC, nor do I think I'll ever want to be, so that's one less thing to worry about than a lot of you. (Best of luck to you all, btw.)
I am very encouraged by this site. I have learned about Metformin (which seems like it could help) and this gives me a reason to go to a Dr. (I am currently WITH health insurance... woohoo!) I also think I may try a BCP, but I have heard that Met and BCP cancel each other out??? I don't know. In any case, thank you all so much for being here and sharing. I would have let this go on and on forever if you all didn't let me know I'm not alone and that there are things that can be done to help me.
I don't know how quickly I'll be getting to a Dr. (my health insurance just kicked in last month and I am not sure about how to navigate this crazy world of co-pays and what dr's I can go to, etc.) but I will definitely update once I do go.
I totally agree about the four letters making complete sense! It makes me realize that I really wasn't crazy these last few years like I thought I was. What a relief! I hope you get your dr. appointment and it goes well. I was diagnosed after I went for a preconception appointment with a new OBGYN. He was great and he predicted PCOS before any tests, then confirmed it. Anyway, best of luck!
PCOS makes me make sense 
