PCOS

It's official... I have PCOS. Don't worry, it's not a big deal... it's no different than someone having a predisposition for this that or the other... There are different levels of severity too, and mine is not very prominent... I probably would never have known about it if my sister hadn't had a more severe case. It is Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome. It is mostly a hormone imbalance and an insulin resistance. My sister has more of the hormone imbalance... and I have more of the insulin resistance. What that means for me is that I only ovulate every other month, I'm 45% more likely to miscarry, I have a larger possibility of having multiples, my body doesn't create milk for any kids that I have, I'm probably going to be diabetic later, and it's extremely hard to lose weight. Everyone that I've talked to has said that if I eat like a diabetic and exercise then it's less likely to affect me as much.

These are just some of the ways that it's affected me so far, none of them too weird but enough all together to make me notice...
(1) I weighed 200 lbs when I graduated high school... that is before women's bodies are finished forming, and that was despite the fact that at the time I was weight lifting 3 times a week, running 3 miles 5 times a week and biking anywhere from 12-45 miles a week. I went to the doctor to get checked for thyroid problems or anything else that would be keeping me from being able to lose weight.
(2) It took me 4 years to lose 20 lbs.
(3) Jer and I had a hard time getting pregnant for the first time... true that was not all the PCOS, but I bet it was a contributor. Jer had something going on that he had to have a surgery done for and we were pregnant 3 months later.
(4) I haven't been able to produce more than about 2 oz of breast milk at a time for either of my kids no matter what supplements I took and dried up completely within about a month both times.

I'm glad to finally understand what's going on in my body...