Bravelets For The PCOS Foundation

"The mission of the PCOS Foundation is 'to spread awareness through public and professional education programs in order to improve the diagnosis and decrease or eliminate the lifetime risk associated with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)."

This cause is personal for me as I have suffered with PCOS since I was 13 years-old.  I remember being 13 and spending a week in the hospital.  I was in so much pain and the doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me.  I wasn't diagnosed then but instead went many years having cyst rupture after cyst rupture after cyst rupture along with a ton of other health issues. I was diagnosed with PCOS 18 years ago after a major cyst rupture and surgery.  I didn't really understand it then, all I knew is that I was in pain and tired of the hospital.  It wasn't until after I got married and my husband and I started talking about having kids, that I really started to research it.  I knew from personal experience that women with PCOS had a higher rate of infertility and/or miscarriage, so that brought me to a point of wanting to understand it better.  Now that I was married, I wanted to be healthy and for once, smart about this.

I have come a very long way on my journey.  It's been frustrating, painful (emotionally and physically), enlightening, moving and brave.  I have met and spoken with some of the most amazingly brave women you will ever meet who brave this PCOS journey alongside me.  We cheer one another on, encourage one another and work with one another on bringing awareness to this very serious illness!  Two weeks ago my husband and I finally got the answer to why I continue to miscarry.  After years of so many questions, it all came down to one hormone that my body doesn't elevate enough during pregnancy.  Once the pregnancy hits a certain point, the baby doesn't make it. Now with an amazing PCOS specialist helping me to naturally get my levels where they should be, hopefully one day soon, I can carry a baby to full term.

 

To show your support, please visit Bravelets and purchase your favorite bravelet and show you support the PCOS Foundation!

I also added my Give Grace tattoo because showing myself grace is a huge part of my journey.  You can read more about that here.

No matter what you struggle with and no matter what your journey is.  

I pray you find your BRAVE in it! 

Infertility Awareness Week

This week is Infertility Awareness Week! This week is near and dear to my heart as we have battled infertility after getting off fertility meds and multiple miscarriages. For any woman out there going through this, my heart goes out to you! It's a tough battle but it's a battle that we can stand together in! I was diagnosed with PCOS about 16 years ago. At the time I was diagnosed, they really didn't have answers to some of my questions. It wasn't until I got married and we started talking about starting a family that I started to research and ask questions. Since then, I've made it my mission to get answers and understand PCOS better. I have learned SO much about PCOS and it's led me to a conclusion that most of the health problems I have had have been a result of PCOS. One of those being my heart condition. Women with PCOS are twice as likely to have heart disease. Crazy that I have struggled with heart disease and had no idea it was linked to PCOS.

If you have PCOS, do everything you can to get informed! Learn about it, ask questions and most of all GET HEALTHY! For more information, you can visit http://www.pcosaa.org/!