pcos_beauty_

A fake period, that’s what it is. All the signs:

➕Floor turning menstrual cramps
➕Extreme hunger and cravings
➕Tired yet unable to fall asleep
➕Breast swelling and tenderness
➕Depressed and irritable
➕Migraines than never go away
➕Abdominal bloating
➕Decreased s*x drive
➕Constipation or diarrhea
➕Acne flare-ups
➕Poor concentration
➕Joint or muscle pain

Literally ALL the signs of a menstrual cycle except actual 🩸

If you’ve ever experienced this, Sis, you’re not alone…I’ve been there 🫂

🔎 Here are a few possible causes of phantom periods also called a phantom flow:

▪️Endometriosis
▪️Anovulation
▪️Increased levels of stress
▪️Ruptured ovarian cyst
▪️Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
▪️Pelvic inflammatory disease
▪️Imbalanced hormones
▪️Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
▪️Certain medications and birth controls
▪️Pregnancy
▪️Changes in weight and nutrition

To prevent having a phantom period, work on maintaining a healthy weight and diet, reducing stress and anxiety, increase exercising, regulating your hormones and improving your sleep quality.


If you found this post helpful, share it with someone you believe needs this info and save it for reference the next time you’re having girls talk with your closest friends 🎀

Just a midweek reminder that you are capable of handling anything that comes your way! You got this sis 🎉

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Diets are never a one size fits all thing but for women with PCOS, this diet comes highly recommended by dietitians, nutritionists and supported by research.

I know we’ve all heard that it’s best to go dairy-free and gluten-free and that’s honestly a personal choice.

But, regardless of whether or not you do, ensure you eat foods that fall within these categories:

1️⃣ Organic
These foods tend to be produced under GMO free conditions, are hormone free and have little exposure to chemicals like pesticides that can further disrupt your hormones.

2️⃣ Protein Rich
Proteins are essential to help produce and repair cells in the body and needed to convert fat to muscle. ( I know many of us have heard about the importance of maintaining a healthy weight. This is best if your existing fat is converted to muscle)

3️⃣ Anti-Inflammatory
Chronic inflammation - a state of persistent activation of the immune system occurs when your body is always on the defense. Give your immune system some extra support so it doesn’t need to always be defensive by adding more anti-flammatory foods to your diet.

4️⃣ Low Glycemic Index
Foods low in glycemic index keep blood sugar levels steady and may help your body metabolise fat more efficiently.

❇️ If you have PCOS save this post so you can come back to it.

❇️ If you think it may help someone you know, feel free to share it with them.

Ever wondered if there’s a male version of PCOS? There is.

An imbalance in hormones which causes the increase of estrogen (female s*x hormone) in men is know as “Aromatase Excess Syndrome”.

Men with this condition tend to experience early growth spurt during late childhood or adolescence, breast enlargement, fast growing and developing bones, with short stature as an adult.

⚠️ But regardless, men with the condition tend to have little to no issues with fertility or having children.

When I first received my PCOS diagnosis I asked to be placed on birth control to regulate my hormones.

The gynecologist told me she’s not writing me a prescription, her actual words were “Go work on losing weight and come back when you’re ready to get pregnant”.

Some time after that I booked a visit to a different doctor for a prescription for birth control to regulate my hormones and again, he said no…go lose some weight.

Since then, I made subtle changes towards losing weight which has proven to be successful but, I have also attempted several things to lose weight which didn’t work even though they seemed to work perfectly for others.

🔍 Understand that with PCOS what works for others will not always work for you because your body AND hormones doesn’t operate the same way.

The keys to losing weight when dealing with are unlocked through doing the right physical activities and maintaining the right diet.

⚠️ Focus on keeping your body in motion, converting body fat to muscle, increasing strength and endurance while reducing stress.

Try any of this exercises for 2 weeks and I promise you’ll notice the changes in your body.

I’ve fallen off my fitness journey but this year we’re coming back full force 💪🏾

Believe it or not, this statement has some factuality to it and here’s why…

The food in this case bread, we eat for energy when mixed with saliva and other enzymes is transformed into glucose (sugar).

This glucose is what is used by the body for energy.

In order for the body to use glucose, the glucose needs to move from our blood stream and into our cells.

Now, our cells always have their guard up and logically, for glucose to enter our cells, the cell walls/ barriers of the cell needs to be let down.

which is an enzyme produced by the pancreas is the only thing which can cause our cells to let down their guard and so:
➕Insulin present, cell walls go ⬇️
➖Insulin absent, cells walls stay/ go ⬆️

When the cell wall goes down in the presence of insulin, glucose leaves the blood stream and enters the cell energizing it to carry out its function.

If the cell wall doesn’t go down because no insulin is present, the glucose (sugar) level in the blood will rise/ increase and this is what we call, high blood glucose (sugar) or diabetes.

⚠️ Now back to whether or not PCOS cause’s diabetes, well PCOS is a condition that alters the way enzymes (hormones) insulin included, are produced and this being said, if insulin is not sufficient, diabetes is the result.

BUT, not everyone with will develop diabetes and because there are other factors that can cause diabetes, your may be reversed 😌

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Since at the start of every year we make new year’s resolutions…let’s add health and wellness to the list for 2024✨

Here’s a list of common warning signs of PCOS often overlooked but should really be taken seriously:

1️⃣ Sudden Acne Breakout
Just in case you didn’t know that there are different types of acne, it’s todays fun fact 🤧
Hormonal acne is a real thing and is often an early warning sign of PCOS caused by elevated levels of androgens.

2️⃣ Constant Fatigue/ Tiredness
I’d be lying if I didn’t say I haven’t had days where I had to take a nap in the middle of the day 🥹 They’re called power naps for a reason because the Lord knew I needed energy!
While our sleeping habits, diet and active lifestyle or the absence of (myself included), can contribute to our energy levels throughout the day, which is why this is a symptom of PCOS often over looked, pay attention to your body. Being tired more than the norm is not the norm.

3️⃣ Sudden Weight Gain
I’ve always struggled to maintain a healthy weight and that’s why I’ve added losing a minimum of 25lbs to this year’s list of goals (This is actually a goal I add to my list every year 😅 but this year for sure sure we’re going to achieve it)!
If you realize that you’ve gained a great deal of weight in a short space of time and your eating habits or diet hasn’t changed much, your hormones may be the reason why and PCOS may be behind it.

4️⃣ Prolonged/ Irregular Periods
Haven’t seen my period in over a year 🤧
It’s often said that the first year of your menstrual cycle your period will be irregular but, it’s been years!

This was one of my greatest warning signs.

If you have an irregular cycle that’s difficult to track or your period lasts longer than the average 7 days, visit your general doctor for a checkup.

5️⃣ Extreme Hair Loss
It’s normal for your hair to break, meaning short pieces of hair is visible on the ground, your shirt or in the comb but, if the hair is the same length as your natural hair and comes from the root, you have a problem.

If you’re diabetic, insulin resistant or have PCOS then you most likely have heard of the medication metformin.

Commonly prescribed for persons with diabetes as a drug used to regulate the production of insulin, break down sugar in the body and manage weight, it’s side effects have left many users with mixed reviews.

Here are some things to consider before you add metformin to your PCOS treatment plan:

✨Pros:
➕Improves insulin sensitivity
➕Regulates menstrual cycle
➕Reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
➕Lowers androgen levels
➕Weight management

✨Cons:
➖Gastrointestinal symptoms ie nausea, diarrhea, cramps
➖Reduces vitamin absorption ie vitamin B2
➖While menstration and ovulation may regularize, fertility may still be difficult
➖Effectiveness in lowering androgen levels which cause some PCOS symptoms varies across individuals

🔊STORYTIME

So before my doctor officially diagnosed me with and I was just going off of what I researched on google…

I use to sneak and take some of my mom’s metformin tablets and while it worked to regulate my period, OMG❗️ honestly, the abdominal pain was NOT worth it 🙅🏾‍♀️

I had to go to the doctor 👨🏽‍⚕️

I told him I sneaked and took my mom’s metformin tablets because I self diagnosed myself with PCOS and GOOGLE HIGHLY recommended metformin and now I’m dying a slow and painful death 😭

He prescribed glucophage, a medication that’s similar to metformin (metformin is actually an ingredient) but it was gentler on my stomach and worked to regulate my menstrual cycle 😁

To this day idk how my mom doesn’t have any side effects taking metformin 🥴

✨ Moral of the story, metformin is not for everyone and consult your doctor before starting any form of new medication, regardless of how highly recommended it may be.

⬇️ Comment below and let me know if you’ve ever taken metformin and how it has worked for or affected you.

➡️ Follow for more information about PCOS

In honor of World Mental Health Day, here are some PCOS friendly tips you can use to improve your mental health:

1️⃣ Drink a warm, very flavor packed cup of your favourite tea. The best PCOS friendly teas are camomile, cinnamon, green and spearmint.

2️⃣ Move your body. For women with PCOS, the best way to get your heart rate up and your body moving are to engage in low intensity workouts like walking, yoga or pilates. My personal favourite is walking ☺️ with my earphones in, my favourite songs on repeat and a scenic stroll through my neighborhood.

3️⃣ Let out whatever it is that’s in your head. Personally, I say journal…it’s helps to clear your mind without letting others too much into your personal life. Reading over what you’ve written out loud also helps to give a new perspective on certain things. But other ways you can clear your head while improving your mental health are speaking with a trusted friend, family or partner, a therapist or supreme being.

4️⃣ Engage in a relaxing activities. If you know me, then you know I’m all for Sip and Paints! Wine, music and art! 💗 But other relaxing actives great for PCOS are long drives in the car on a scenic route, a 20mins soak in a bath or whirlpool bath with lit candles and low playing music, snuggled in bed or on the sofa with a really good best selling book, or lightly salted popcorn and a good Netflix series.

5️⃣ Sleep, sleep, sleep. Listen! Nothing beats snuggling under a blanket with the fan on high and the rain outside 🤗 But really, get some rest. Your brain deserves the break and your body appreciates the down time 💛

Do something today, to improve your mental health 💚

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The symptoms of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome usual presents themselves at the onset of puberty in females…somewhere around the ages of 12-15 years old.

The simplest way to describe exactly what the condition is, is to simply say it’s the production of excessive amounts of male hormones in females 🤷🏾‍♀️

🔍 Depending on the symptoms and how severe the symptoms are you can or probably can’t just look at a female and assume she has PCOS.

Confirmation of PCOS has to be done by a gynecologist after a series of tests, medical history revisions and analysis of symptoms present, however, if you or someone you know has any of the common symptoms identified it’s a sign that it’s time to book an appointment to speak with a gynecologist.

✅ While Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome has no cure, with the right changes to your daily routine you can live a long and fulfilling life and yes, with kids 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦👩🏾‍🍼

Even though PCOS is the leading cause of infertility in women and pregnancy 🤰🏾may be easier for some women than others it is still possible ✨

Follow for more information about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

To help increase PCOS awareness, share this post with someone you think it may help.