#Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

[stateofcharles]

on behalf of (intelligent and educated) italian people, i’d like to apologise to all intersex people and to Imane Khelif in particular. our country is embarrassing and cannot help but undermine an athlete only to justify the cowardice and lack of sportsmanship displayed by our athletes. i hope for Imane to have great success through her career, we are proud of her!🫶🏻

i also wish people started to get educated on why there are women with higher testosterone levels, people who are women. not just intersex people, but for instance also women who suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition that affects between 8 and 13% of women.

again, my biggest apologies to Imane Khelif. i am so ashamed of being italian today

[demiboydemon]

So sad about the United Health CEO :( has he tried yoga?

[harlantisms]

Updated poll at the request of many! I’ve added PCOS specific options and removed the results button.

Please don’t vote if none of the options apply to you.

As before, if you are intersex and/or have PCOS and are a medical professional, please vote with the intersex or PCOS options.

If you aren’t sure your opinion please refrain from voting.

[potstism]

❤️‍🩹 my take on a PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) flag 🧠

clipart .png credit

i had been waiting from months to a year to see someone design a flag for PMDD since i'm not very confident in my own ability, so i decided to go ahead and bite the bullet with an attempt. this is currently planned to just be a draft and may be subject to change with new updated versions in the future.

TW FOR MEDICAL TRAUMA/ABUSE: although this topic is not very widely discussed, or at least doesn't seem to be commonly present, online among the disabled community, my personal experiences with PMDD have made acknowledging its existence as well as its consequences quite necessary to me. as of the time of writing this, i am 19 years old, and when i was 15 exactly this time of year (as well as the first similar incident a couple months prior), i had an intense hyper-emotional episode the week before my period that was so bad i ended up getting institutionalized at a psych ward against my will and have never been the same since. for years now, i've been on a birth control pill that suppresses my cyclical hormones and prevents my period from occurring most of the time.

before getting into the stripes' meanings, there are two factors to explain behind my thought process:

dark teal is considered to be the awareness color for this disorder, although i went with a light aqua color because i think it looks better with the pink, and it's in the same family so i believe it still works.

pink is meant not to represent femininity necessarily since uterus-owners can come in many different gender expressions, but rather fit with the vibe of internal organs, especially since pink is closely related to red which is how warm blood appears (and is a key element of uterine cycles).

as for the stripe meanings, here is my proposal for each single word:

awareness ─ suffering from premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a very real thing that happens to müllerian individuals everywhere. according to the cleaveland clinic, which i am an active visiting patient of, about 10% of people with our reproductive body types who are at least of minimum pubescent age may be affected by it. although it does not tend to be a risk toward physical health, it is often a deadly threat to our mental state and well-being, which can lead to suicidal ideation.

strength ─ i consider this to be an invisible disability, with most of the symptoms taking place within our internal worlds and fighting a constant battle with negative thoughts + emotions. in addition to this, physical symptoms also arise and can cause severe discomfort before menstruation even begins. all of this happens within the confines of our own homes, and we tend to suffer through it alone. people who do not have PMDD probably fail to realize how strong we have to be in order to get through this difficult time repeatedly & endlessly, despite their well-intended efforts.

diversity ─ this is intended to have multiple meanings, and to include anything i may not have come up with so far. for one thing, there are plenty of different experiences to be had with this disorder, such as varying levels of cramping + sickness or depression + anxiety. on another note, not only do our bodies each work differently (some may also have endometriosis and/or PCOS, which are also intersex conditions, as a double-whammy), but many of us do not conform to societal ideas of gender despite all having these parts in common. there are infinite possibilities to mix & match with presentation & identity, which is not limited by biology.

flesh ─ although many factors are involved in this process, including hormones, PMDD centers around the uterus, which is an internal organ. the flesh represents the physical aspects of this experience, and how we must take great care of our bodies in order to ease how we feel.

pain ─ there is so much physical + mental pain that builds around this disorder, which deserves to be recognized, sympathized with, and treated. the deep pink (to me) somewhat resembles what ibuprofen & benadryl pills look like; painkillers & antihistamines respectively (i'm not sure if anyone else needs the latter, but my skin's condition gets really reactive when i go through my cycle).

anyone is free to reblog/use accordingly, although you may have to be mindful of permission/credit with the uterus imagery from the source!

tagging for reach (it may not fit your gimmick exactly, so feel free to ignore if you're uninterested, or reblog somewhere else!): @idwl @satyrradio @spaghettimakesflags @obnebulant-mogai @caeliangel @intervex @arco-pluris @beyond-mogai-pride-flags @radiomogai @themogaidragon @neopronouns @mad-pride @disabilitypride

[mindblowingscience]

For a condition that affects at least one in ten women of reproductive age and is a leading cause of female infertility worldwide, we understand surprisingly little about polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). At present, treatment for the condition focuses largely on managing specific symptoms. Now a pilot clinical study led by Fudan University in China has found a pharmaceutical used to treat malaria shows promise as a PCOS treatment, shrinking oversized follicles and returning regularity to some participants' periods.

Continue Reading.

[disjournaled-scrolls]

Being very much intersex because of my PCOS is wild. Any time a "supportive" PCOS community is asked if someone could possibly count it as intersex, they become livid and insist that literally no one with pcos could ever be considered anything other than "standard XX AFAB SIF" and that it's shoving people into boxes to suggest otherwise. I just kind of have to sit there silently while they talk about how horrible it is for anyone with PCOS to want to call themselves intersex.

like oh actually!! haha no I definitely was very androgynous and masc for a little girl and was hated for it. yeah teehee hahahaha I get it no but I have an extreme excess of testosterone that left me at the center of endless ridicule for my entire childhood. yeah and the medical scrutiny/discrimination/urge to "fix" me too!!! I know right?? crazy!!! crazy how people who are intersex have a reason to call themselves that !!!

[yrfemmehusband]

Female reproductive health terms you should know!

(terfs not welcome)

Dysmenorrhea: Period pain that isn't normal, i.e. any pain more than Mild cramping.

Dyspareunia: painful intercourse

Oligomenorrhea: lighter, shorter menstrual flow.

Menorrhagia: heavier, longer menstrual flow.

Ovarian cysts: a mass on or in one's ovary, can be resolved on its own, or can remain and cause complications such as a rupture.

Polycystic ovary syndrome: a chronic condition causing cysts to reoccur on the ovaries and enlarging them. Symptoms include:

Irregular periods

hormonal imbalance

facial hair

weight gain

painful periods/ ovulation

infertility

People with PCOS are at higher risk for endometrial cancer, type II diabetes heart problems and high blood pressure.

Endometriosis: A chronic condition in which a tissue similar to, but different than, the endometrial lining grows outside of the uterus instead of inside. During menstruation this tissue sheds and has nowhere to go, thus irritating surrounding organs.

Symptoms include:

Irregular periods

Dysmenorrhea

Widespread pain

Painful ovulation

Vomiting, fainting, chills, sweating, fever and brain fog during menstruation

Infertility

Severe bloating

This also puts people at a higher risk for endometrial and ovarian cancer. There are four stages to Endo as it is a progressive disease, with 3/4 being more severe. The average time it takes to be diagnosed is 7 years.

Adenomyosis: A chronic disease similar and comorbid to endometriosis in which a tissue similar to the endometrial lining grows inside of the uterine wall. Symptoms are nearly identical to endometriosis but more difficult to detect.

Many people are diagnosed post menopause, by fault of the medical system, but it can and does develop much before then.

Ovarian cancer: cancer of the ovary(ies).

Endometrial cancer: cancer of the endometrium, the inner lining of the uterus.

Endometrial cyst, or chocolate cyst: cystic lesions from endometriosis.

Tilted uterus: the uterus is positioned pointing towards the back or severely to the front of the pelvis instead of a slight tilt towards at the cervix. Can cause painful sex and periods.

Pelvic floor dysfunction: inability to control your pelvic muscles. Comorbid with many things and is highly comorbid with endometriosis. Can cause pain and incontinence.

Vulvodynia: chronic and unexplained pain at the opening of the vagina.

Interstitial cystitis: a chronic condition where cysts form on the inside of the bladder and urinary tract and cause symptoms similar to that of a UTI.

Pre-eclampsia: a condition occurring in pregnancy where the blood supply between the fetus and the pregnant person is affected and can cause irregular blood pressure, swelling, and in more severe cases headache, nausea and vomiting, a burning sensation behind the sternum, shortness of breath and potentially death if untreated.

Endometritis: an infection or irritation of the uterine lining. Is not the same as endometriosis and is treatable but can cause pain, bleeding, swelling, general discomfort and fever, and more.

Pelvic inflammatory disease: an infection of the reproductive organs

Ectopic pregnancy: a pregnancy that is attached to the outside of the uterus. Can be fatal if left untreated.

There are many more I could probably add but if you see something missing, please add it!

[lumidotexe]

noticed my top abs slightly forming but then remembered I took a genetic lottery L.

proud of my progress but it makes working out twice as hard

[pcos-and-endo-awareness]

[lizzy019]

what is pcos?? you make it your whole personality lol (not in a rude way, just curious)

Haha yes I kind of do lmaoo I'm glad you're curious anon :)

PCOS is a hormonal imbalance in a woman's ovaries. The ovaries produce certain hormones (estrogen) that makes a woman... a woman.

Women with PCOS typically tend to have issues with menstrual cycles, and deal with (the serious issue being) infertility. Again, this is purely because the hormones are out of whack and don't correlate to the regular hormones being produced by the pituitary gland.

Now, some women including me deal with a lot more issues. A very common issue is excessive weight, more so called visceral fat. It's typically to do with insulin resistance, and it doesn't matter how much working out you do to get rid of it.

There is also a very common symptom which is excessive hair growth. Redirecting back to the hormonal issue, hair is typically founded in testosterone. Especially excessive amounts which means excessive testosterone, which is what the hormonal imbalance is.

I struggle with three of these issues 😭 my periods are so sporadic and crazy. I also am kinda fat and hairy 0.0 body dysmorphia who??

But all in all, it's not a very well studied syndrome. There isn't a cure, and it isn't preventable, but you could take inositol (over-the-counter or prescribed) to help with insulin resistance.

HOPE THIS HELPS, ANON <333

[an-ant-hill]

i love my pcos when it makes me hella androgynous and totally Gender™

but then period happens. i am dying. hellp. how many tampons an hour is normal again

can i remove these useless organs ples

[the-happy-pianist]

guys I don't think i can compression sock and hot water bottle my way outta this one

[guqqie]

hi! this is a little silly but i just wanted to thank you, you talking about pcos made me realize i have all the symptoms and today i was able to get the diagnosis from my doctor. i'd genuinely never even heard of it before (yippee for reproductive health information) but i was starting to think it was a little weird and you confirmed that for me

so less of an ask, and more of just a little note of appreciation <3

YO!! i’m so glad you were able to get your diagnosis!! it is so damn common yet so under diagnosed so i am glad me talking openly about it had taught others too! happy i could help :)

for anyone who doesn’t know PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome! it is an extremely common condition that affects how your ovaries work and most common symptoms of this is heavy/painful periods, irregular periods, facial hair and much more. an indication you have it is if you have more testosterone in your body than you should (it was the biggest sign for me and i still wasn’t diagnosed until two years later because my doctor didn’t know what PCOS was!!)

id recommend looking into it!! afab health is very overlooked! you knowing what PCOS is even if you don’t think it effects you, someone you know could be effected by it and not know about it! i only found out what it was from my mother’s hairdresser a few years ago!

[cillianmurphysdimples]

PCOS sucks.

Twisting cysts is fucking sore, dude.

[disjournaled-scrolls]

ohhh okay so feeling upset and needing support as an intersex guy with PCOS means you should NOT go on the r/PCOS subreddit. got it