PCOS in 250 Words

My entry for a contest to be the Face of PCOS, and the picture I attached.

PCOS has been my constant companion since the young age of 16.  The dark rings around my neck and at my knuckles and the hair on my chin were the outward evidence of an inward problem that would take me down roads I never even knew existed at that age.  I married an amazing man in January, 2005 who knew that having children wouldn’t be easy, but he loved me enough to not care.   On July 21st of that year, we found out that I was pregnant, but also that my PCOS had led to diabetes.   That bittersweet day changed my life.  I started taking insulin and other meds, but on August 8th, I miscarried our first child.  Since, we have had 3 other miscarriages, but in the midst of the pain, the loss, and the feeling of being “flawed”, we started doing foster care.  This path was not part of our “life plan”, but I don’t regret a single moment of it, and am even thankful for PCOS making me consider other paths to motherhood. Now, we are the very proud parents of a daughter who was adopted in 2009.  I started a sugar and grain free diet in January 2012, and since then, most of the crazy PCOS symptoms are dormant or manageable, but infertility still rears her ugly head.   I know that one day I will get pregnant and carry our child to term because I know that I have PCOS, but PCOS does not have me.