What Is PCOS?: Understanding The Symptoms And Diagnosis Of This Common Health Condition
The irregularity of a woman’s menstrual cycle can often be overlooked and even dismissed as an insignificant occurrence. However, when symptoms like absent or infrequent periods, excessive acne, abnormal facial hair growth, and infertility come into play, it may be a sign of an underlying health condition to pay attention to, such as PCOS.
What Is PCOS?
“PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; however, the name is a little misleading,” Tianna Trinidad, a registered nurse, PCOS hormone coach, and founder of Love Served Warm tells xoNecole.
“The hallmark symptom of PCOS is not polycystic ovaries as the name suggests, but instead menstrual dysfunction.” Trinidad says, “PCOS is a hormonal disorder that affects women most commonly after the start of their menses until menopause,” where there is an increase in male androgens (or hormones) and, in some cases, cysts (fluid-filled sacs) on the ovaries, as well as fertility issues. According to studies, up to 80% of women with PCOS struggle with menstrual dysfunction or painful or irregular periods, with signs of the condition appearing as early as adolescence.
“PCOS is a hormonal disorder that affects women most commonly after the start of their menses until menopause.”
While the exact cause of PCOS is not fully understood, Trinidad says that it is commonly linked to “a combination of genetic and environmental factors” that can be passed down within one’s family line, but the source is still unknown.
What Are The Symptoms of PCOS?
Women with PCOS may experience trouble sleeping, mood swings, trouble getting and/or staying pregnant, and constant fatigue. And while the primary signs of PCOS show up differently for each woman, some of the most common symptoms include:
- Irregular Periods: “Some women may experience cycles that are prolonged, while others may not experience a cycle at all. Some women may experience extremely heavy and painful cycles accompanied by large clots, while others may just lightly spot,” Trinidad says.
- Hyperandrogenism: According to Trinidad, when a woman has an imbalance in her male and female hormones, this can result in an overproduction of her male hormones, leading to excess facial hair and body hair (hirsutism), acne, male-pattern baldness or thinning hair.
- Insulin Resistance: “This is when the body's hormone insulin is not working effectively, [which] leads to high blood sugar levels in the blood, which in turn dramatically increases a woman’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes,” she says. “This is why PCOS is also known as diabetes of the ovaries.”
- Weight Gain:“PCOS weight gain is known to affect women specifically around their stomach area, and this weight is extremely difficult to lose despite all efforts with diet and exercise due to the imbalance of insulin, aka the growth hormone.”
Managing PCOS Through Diet & Lifestyle Changes
For those looking to manage their PCOS while optimizing their overall health and well-being, Trinidad suggests finding support from women who know and understand life with the condition. ”Oftentimes, I see women give up because they are trying all of the fad diets and sketchy supplements from brands they find on TikTok,” she says. “By finding someone with experience, you can cut out much of the fluff and get straight to the results.”
This can be done by:
Committing To A Balanced Diet:
“Have a balanced diet that includes nutrient-rich foods. Learn about the two different types of carbs, such as complex carbs (whole grains, legumes) instead of refined carbohydrates (white bread, sugary snacks). Add lean protein, like chicken, fish, and tofu, into your diet and make this your macro goal for each meal. Lastly, add healthy fats, and don’t skip out on fruits and vegetables."
Moving Your Body:
“This doesn’t have to be an intense workout session. Moving your body to your favorite jams or walking for 20 minutes after dinner can help you lower your insulin levels and lose weight with PCOS. Working out too intensely can stress out your stress hormone, cortisol, and make your hormone imbalances even worse.”
Choosing Low-Glycemic Index Foods:
“Foods with a low glycemic index (GI) are digested more slowly, and they do not break down into high amounts of sugar. Low glycemic foods can also help reverse insulin resistance by helping to balance your blood sugar levels.”
Managing Stress:
“As much as I know we are tired of hearing it, you have to learn to manage your stress levels. Chronic stress can make hormonal imbalances worse by increasing your stress hormone cortisol which can have a domino effect on impacting your other hormones and causing imbalance.”
Black Women & PCOS
PCOS disproportionally affects women of color, and Trinidad says that while she isn’t opposed to mainstream medications that are commonly prescribed to women with PCOS, conventional medicine typically targets the symptoms and not the root cause. “I believe it’s dangerous for women to not be educated about the potential side effects of these medications or informed that they do not, in fact, fix the root cause,” she shares.
“Instead, they put a temporary bandaid on the symptoms until you stop taking the medication, and your symptoms can come back worse than before.”
The Benefits Of Balancing Our Hormones
In order to reach a place of balance with one’s hormones as it relates to PCOS, Trinidad says that certain dietary and lifestyle changes must be put in place in order to reverse your symptoms. “Our hormones are tiny messengers that tell our body what to do and when to do it,” Trinidad explains. “The benefits of having balanced hormones range from having improved mental health, healthy pregnancy, absence of mental fog, and appropriate sleep cycles so that you can wake up refreshed.”
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- Black-Owned Supplement Brands To Add To Your Wellness Routine ›
- These Foods Can Help To Regulate Your Period (Better) ›
- Why You're Growing Hair On Your Chin & What You Can Do About It ›
- Living With PCOS As A Black Woman ›
- How PCOS Strengthened This Couple's 4-Year Marriage ›
- How I Reversed My PCOS Symptoms Naturally ›
Aley Arion is a writer and digital storyteller from the South, currently living in sunny Los Angeles. Her site, yagirlaley.com, serves as a digital diary to document personal essays, cultural commentary, and her insights into the Black Millennial experience. Follow her at @yagirlaley on all platforms!
Exclusive: Dreka Gates Talks Farm Life, Self-Mastery, And Her Wellness Brand
Dreka Gates is making a name in wellness through authenticity and innovativeness. Although we were introduced to her as a music manager for her husband, Kevin Gates, she has now carved out her own lane outside of music as a wellness entrepreneur. But according to Dreka, this is nothing new.
In an xoNecole exclusive, the mom of two opened up about many things, including starting her wellness journey at 13 years old. However, a near-death experience during a procedure at 20 made her start taking her health more seriously.
“There's so many different levels, and now, I'm in a space of just integrating all of this good stuff that I've learned just about just being human, you know?” Dreka tells us. “So it's also fun because it's like a journey of self-discovery and self-mastery. That's what I call it. So it's never-ending.”
Courtesy
If you follow Dreka, then you’re familiar with her holistic lifestyle, as she’s no stranger to promoting wellness, self-care, and holistic living. She even lives part-time on a Mississippi farm, not far from her grandmother and great-grandmother’s farm, where she spent some summers as a child.
While her grandmother and great-grandmother have passed on, Dreka reflects on that time in her life and how having a farm as an adult is her getting back to her roots. “So the farm was purchased back in 2017, and it was like, ah, that'll just be a place where we go when we're not touring or whatever,” she said.
“But COVID hit, and I was there, and I was on the land, and I just started remembering back to going to my grandmother's during the summertime and freaking picking peas and going and eating mulberries off the freaking tree in the bushes.
“And she literally had cotton plants. I know some people feel weird about picking cotton and stuff. She had cotton plants and I would go and pick cotton out of her garden. And she had chickens, and I literally just broke down in tears one day when I was on the farm just doing all the things, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh. I'm literally getting back to my roots.”
"I literally just broke down in tears one day when I was on the farm just doing all the things, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh. I'm literally getting back to my roots."
You can catch glimpses of Dreka’s farm life on Instagram, which shows her picking fruit and vegetables and loving on her animals like her camel Eessa. Her passion for growing and cultivating led her to try and grow all of her ingredients for her wellness brand, Dreka Wellness. However, she quickly realized that she might be biting off more than she could chew. But that didn’t stop her from fulfilling her vision.
Watch below as Dreka talks more about her business, her wellness tips, breaking toxic cycles, becoming a doula, and more.
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It never fails. Whenever the topic of me and my super long bout of abstinence comes up in conversation, one thing that people ask me is how in the world was I able to pull it off? That is a book within itself, but what I will say, as it relates to this article and the 10 women who contributed to it, there is something very empowering about abstinence, especially when you enjoy sex as much as I do.
It teaches you about self-control. It teaches you how to learn (more) about what your needs are beyond the obvious when it comes to holistic self-awareness, relational connection, and even sensual pleasure. It also teaches you how to tap into deeper levels of your femininity — and spirituality — and all of this can cause you to feel good about yourself in a way that’s very different from any other decision that you may make as it relates to your overall health and well-being.
Hey, you don’t have to take my word for it, though. Take a moment to check out what these women had to say about what going without sex, for a season, did for them. It just might surprise — or even inspire — you.
*Middle names are always used by me so that people can speak freely*
1. Andrea. 29. Abstinent for Six Months.
“The sex with my ex had me so f-cked up. In a good way, kind of, and then in a f-cked up way too. The best way to explain is, we had been together for three years, and before him, I hadn’t had an orgasm before; with him, I had multiples, almost every time. A first orgasm is like a first hit of a drug — it’s so addicting that you’ll rationalize all kinds of reasons to stay in something that isn’t working otherwise. That was us. When we broke up, we still kept having sex, and that was making me feel worse about myself because I knew that I deserved more than just a sex high.
"So, I cold turkey stopped to get back to me — and I’ve needed more than a couple of months to do that. No more sex with him has made me get back to me: who I am and what I really want. It’s made me see relationships and sex differently. I’m still figuring it out, but to get back control of my heart and my body has been good because I know that next time, I will be in better control of how I feel about a man — and how he makes me feel. I won’t compromise either one. Not settling is sexy to me.”
"I won't compromise either one. Not settling is sexy to me."
2. Jameela. 44. Abstinent for Three Years.
“My husband was my first. A part of the reason why we divorced was sex-related — we just weren’t in sync that way. After six months of therapy to heal, I went on what I call a ‘sex adventure’ to see what I really wanted from intimacy. After I got the answers, I decided to be abstinent because I also wanted to see how my new understanding of my sexuality lined up with who I was after the divorce. The adventure lasted for about a year and a half. I’ve been abstinent for double that.
"It wasn’t on purpose, it’s just…once you know who you are, what you like, and what you need — when you know it for sure, you’re not anxious. My marriage had me anxious because I knew that something was missing. Now, I know what that was, and I can wait until the whole package comes along. I think men knowing that ‘I’m good’ is what they find to be really sexy. I know I would.”
3. Waylen. 37. Abstinent for Seven Months.
“The most attention that I would give my body was during sex. Yes, I’d bathe and do the basic stuff — I mean that I wouldn’t make the time to ‘love on me’ the way I would expect my partners to. That caused something to be missing during sex, so I decided to take a ‘time out’ to see what I was going without. Trying different scents, seeing what colors I like to see myself in, creating romantic evenings at home with nothing but me, some flowers and throwback R&B, exchanging cotton sheets for silk ones, giving myself vaginal massages — how do you expect someone to make love to you when you don’t even do it? Abstinence has been a sensual and satisfying experience.”
4. Leeyah. 50. Abstinent for 16 Months.
“I think all women should be abstinent at least once or twice in their lifetime. Our culture makes us feel like all we have to offer is a pretty face and a vagina a lot of times — we need to get off of the ride and remind ourselves that we have a lot of players and plenty to offer. My first year was about getting over an ex. This year has been about celebrating me. Some of it has sexual components to it. I’ve done vaginal mapping. I get facials for my vagina. I buy lingerie for myself. You’ve gotten me into doing sex journaling, and that has taught me a ton.
"I’m seeing someone now, and we do tantric breathing together, which teaches me how to release and restrain my sexual power. Abstinence reminds me that sex is a part of who I am, not all of it — and that the people who should have sex with me should treat me that way. That makes me feel like a sex goddess.”
5. Jaya. 41. Abstinent for Two Months.
“Somebody should’ve told me how hard this abstinence sh-t was going to be. Damn! I’m only doing it because the past three sex partners I’ve had? The sex was trash, and they weren’t anything to write home about either. It’s easy to blame everything on someone else, but if I’m always choosing men I have to fake it with, what does that say about me? I’m using abstinence to show me that. What I’ve gotten so far is I don’t prioritize my pleasure like I should.
"Girl, I’ve had more orgasms with this damn rose in my nightstand than any d-ck this year. If I’m not faking it alone, I damn sure need to stop with these dudes out here. Let’s see what I learn next month. After that, I think I’m done. Ain’t no point in doing this if I’m gonna end up homeless from snapping at work and losing my job. [Abstinence] is showing me some things. I won’t lie.”
6. Raddix. 37. Abstinent for Two Years.
“My abstinence journey started out as a bet. One of my guy friends bet me that he could hold out longer than I could; the prize was a vacation on the other person’s dime. Are you surprised that he gave in after five months, and I’m still going strong after two years? It was on the trip that he paid for that I decided to keep going.
"I went to Hawaii and got pampered for 10 days. It made me see myself in a different way because pampering is such a sensual experience, and even though I’ve had good sex, I haven’t felt pampered during any of it. No sex makes me want to bring that into it. I’m ready to have sex again, but if you can’t make me feel better than a Hawaiian massage, even with your voice and words alone — I’ll pass. I've gone this long. I'll wait."
7. Brenn. 26. Abstinent for One Year. (Kind Of.)
“Abstinence is a fascinating topic because, shouldn’t we ask people what kind of abstinent they are? I’ve gone without intercourse because I needed a break from birth control. I have a latex allergy, so I do the shot. But don’t think that I’m not getting ‘munched on’. Are you crazy?! I don’t know why oral doesn’t get more props. Orgasms without the risk of pregnancy is next level! And girl, being ‘served’ like that? You are gonna feel sexier than ever!”
8. Milan. 33. Abstinent for Nine Months.
“Nine months is on purpose. I figure that the amount of time that it takes to create a child is a good amount of time to recreate myself. For years, I was the kind of woman who found validation in my sexuality because if there is one area where I know I am excellent, it’s there. But there’s more to who I am than that, and I needed to go without sex to come to this space.
"Having sex made me feel sexy. Not having sex tapped into a sensuality that I needed to explore by myself. Now that I think I’m ready to have sex again, partners will be with a woman who’s explored other areas of herself — they will experience parts of me that I’m just getting to see. It will be a deeper experience. I love that for me — and for them.”
9. Elizabeth. 39. Abstinent for Seven Years.
“You know when you told me that abstinence makes you pickier? Girl, you ain’t neva lied! If you had told me 10 years ago that I would be going without some good ‘D’ for multiple years, I would have been the first to cuss you out — but here it is, seven years later, and I’m still going strong. I can’t tell you that I haven’t had some ‘kisses down below’ or that I don’t enjoy ‘returning the favor,’ but I haven’t been ready to let another man inside of my body, in that way, yet. Self-restraint shows you that you really are the prize. You’ve got to earn this, baby — when the right man does, it will pay off.”
10. Michelle. 40. Abstinent for 3-6 Months. Annually.
“Something that I’ve been doing for the past six years is making sure that I go through at least one season a year of abstinence — season means spring, summer, fall, or winter. One year, I did it because I wanted to cleanse out everything while I was doing a detox, which I also do once a year. I just felt so purified that I decided to make it an annual thing.
"There’s something about purging all of that energy out of your system that’s so freeing to me because, when there is nothing in you but you, it creates a level of self-confidence that you can’t get another way. Seven years later, no regrets. Abstinence reminds me to prioritize me. Damn, it doesn’t get sexier than that…does it?”
Sis, I totally cosign. It really doesn’t.
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