I think PCOS is a form of TMS (a rant)

[Ludmilla]

Hi everyone,

It's been some time since I last posted there. I just took the advice of trying to shift the focus away from my symptoms and as a consequence, some of them have almost entirely disappeared (sciatica, low back pain, knee pain). I still struggle with vulvodynia (this one reaaally bugs me) and some "soft" TMS equivalents like mild seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp and mild heartburn.

I also have been living with PCOS since I first got my period at 15. For those of you who may not be familiar with it, PCOS is a female endocrine disorder affecting 1 in 10 women and characterized by hormonal imbalances. Symptoms may vary but include : hirsutism, hair loss, anovulation and irregular periods, infertility, weight gain, acne, insulin resistance, and of course cysts on your ovaries (hence the name : polycystic ovarian syndrome). Conventional medicine doesn't really know where it stems from and only tells you to take Metformin (anti-diabetic drug) or IVF treatments if you wanna get pregnant.

For now almost 15 years I've been trying to get rid of my symptoms by going the natural way : specific diets, supplements, acupuncture, ayurveda... I do not have the worst case of PCOS but my period is very irregular and this is getting really stressful as my partner and I now want to get pregnant. We've been trying since June but I only ovulated once since then (I track my cycle) and well, it didn't take.

Thing is, I'm more and more convinced that this disorder is just a form of TMS on steroids. Proof I accumulated :
- while still irregular, my period is no longer hemorrhagic and I ovulated at almost every cycle I got since the end of 2019 = the time my relationship with my partner got serious and I fell deeply in love ;
- PCOS forums are just like back pain, IBS and other TMS-equivalents forums : full of fear, people recommending extreme diets, supplements, practitioners... and results are quite inconsistent ;
- most women with PCOS (like me) seem to suffer with many other TMS-equivalents : vulvodynia, IBS... Many of them struggle with anxiety and stress ;
- stress and anxiety are well-known to disregulate your hormonal balance ;
- lack of circulation in your lower abdomen, present in IBS, pelvic pain and low back pain, is definitely present in PCOS.

What do you think ?

 

[Spratster]

Wholly agree. Had a long term relationship with a girl who had PCOS, and her symptoms and regularity were 100% correlated with stress and her emotional stability, which apart from a couple honeymoon months at the start of the relationship, were both very poor, and correlated with huge mood swings, which caused more stress in the relationship, leading to a spiral. Other issues too. My sister has PCOS too and suffers severely from depression and other emotional issues, relating to trauma etc. also very likely connected.

As a man, my emotional state and TMS appear massively linked to my testosterone and hormonal balance too. When I am not suffering from any TMS, my libido and gym performance are excellent, when I’m repressing something, beating myself up, my sexual and athletic performance plummets. Same with most guys I can observe, they can only perform in these areas when they are happy in their relationships and their lives.