Having Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) can be a real nightmare. While not life-threatening, the condition causes all kinds of unwanted side effects: painful ovarian cysts, acne, excess body hair, and more. It's a nagging kind of pain that never goes away. It's just, well, there to remind you you're alive because it hurts like hell. Since my initial diagnosis a few years back is, I've learned that there are some things people say to women with PCOS that really don't help the situation. At all. Not even a little bit, you guys. In fact, those comments, more often than not, just make us feel worse and more helpless than we already did.
Before I was officially diagnosed, I experienced severe pelvic pain. When I went to my doctor for an exam, he discovered a cluster of small ovarian cysts. Much in the way menstrual cramps can leave you on your bathroom floor in the fetal position all day, the pain from growing cysts (or even some that have ruptured) is diabolical. Those who haven't experienced it may not comprehend the amount of pain you're actually in, even passing it off as "not that big of a deal," when it so is.
Luckily, I was able to relieve some of the discomfort by having my right ovary removed and by taking medication. However, as long as my reproductive system is in place, I will always be susceptible to more cysts, all those nasty PCOS side effects, and all the things people feel fine saying to me because of it.