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I'm A Black Woman Living With PCOS, And For A Long Time I Didn't Know What That Meant

I started my period at the early age of 11 and since then I have been struggling with it and the excruciating pains that happen a week or two before its arrival.

Now, these pains aren’t your basic period pains; they are stabbing pains that would hit my ovaries and stop me in my tracks. I kept it to myself for years, however, at the age of 17 I thought to myself, “I better go to the doctor and look into this!” The doctor explained that it was probably ovulation pain, which is common, but just to be sure she sent me for an internal ultrasound. When the ultrasound technician finished he stated I was “all good”. I thought great, I was in the clear – only to receive a call from the doctor soon after asking me to come in to discuss my results. 

To my surprise, I was told that I had several cysts on both my ovaries and that I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome aka PCOS. It was explained to me I may not be able to have children naturally, but I wouldn’t know until I start trying. I was asked if I wanted to go on the pill, however, as I was having regular periods it wasn’t advisable. I was given a pamphlet and told to call a number for more advice.