 Thankful to know my problem...
My name is Edie and I just joined today. I have been diagnosed with PCOS since 2003, but have had the symptoms since I was a very little girl. From the time I can remember, I've had severe stomache problems, very hairy arms (tough for a little girl to deal with) and was always a little chubby. The doctors always said it was just gas or I was constipated or something. Even when I was little I knew that there had to be another answer...I was confident of when I had to go to the bathroom! It bothered me so bad when they would say it was pretty much just my imagination. Well, anyway, after being troubled with stomach problems during my entire childhood, I entered puberty, but never had a period on my own. Then, whenever I went to the dr, they would just say "oh, your period must be starting" and that would be the end of it. THey seriously kept telling me that for like 6 years! I was too embarassed to confront the doctor about the fact that i might have a real problem, so I researched online quite a bit and pretty much convinced myself that my problem was PCOS. I had all the symptoms other than acne. I kept getting sick too, not just my stomach, but everything! I had bronchitis and strep throat more times than i can remember. I was still too embarassed to ask, but one day I got sick with another stomach ache, but it was way more intense than normal. I seriously thought I was going to die! I went to the emergency room at midnight that night and they said I needed my appendix out. There was a problem though...the surgeon was on vacation. (i live in a small town with only one surgeon) So i was sent two hours away for surgery. We left at about 3 am and got there at 5. By that point I couldn't even sit without being in excruitiating pain, so i seriously had to lay on the floor of the waiting room while my mom filled out the paperwork. So they got me in and by then i was hyperventalating out of control so they gave me I think 6 shots of morphine but it didn't help. I'm sure the nurses thought i was crazy for being so nuts just about an appendix... Anyway, they took me into surgery and what was supposed to be a half hour surgery turned into a 4 hour one! When they were in there they saw that both of my ovaries were just covered in cysts...and to make matters worse my right ovary had a torsion (my falopian tube wrapped around my ovary and cut off the circulation and killed it...that is what was causing my extreme pain, it apparently became infected). They ended up removing the right ovary and coterizing the left one to get rid of the cysts. When i woke up all i remember was hearing them say something about my ovaries and I was so scared. I was still under the drugs so i was totally out of it. When I came to the dr told me and I was in shock. It actually made me feel a lot better to know what the problem was, but at the same time, I didn't want it to be true because I had researched PCOS and knew that that meant I might not ever have kids, especially with only having one ovary. After I recovered, they put me onto birth control pills (which still make me sick) to help with the periods. Everything went pretty good that year (except for the tummy aches from the meds) so I went to the dr in my hometown to get a refill. I explained to him that I have PCOS and that I had an ovary removed and all that stuff. His response..."yeah...we kind of thought you had PCOS (he tried saying the full name but totally messed it up) but we weren't sure". I was SOOOO livid! How can you think something like that and NOT tell them! But anyway, I got over that and got a new Dr. Now I'm still on birth control, but I'm trying to find a better alternative. I'm in college and having a hard time with my weight, and I dont like getting tummy aches from the meds, so I want to try to find something that will help me feel better. I am thankful though! I'm so thankful to know that I have a problem, so I can take responsibility for myself instead of relying on poor answers from drs.
Edie | 
Glad you found your way here. I'm so sorry for all that you've been through. I hope that you find the right Dr. and something that works for you.
Meredith
