Gettin' all Jerry Springer on yo' asses

Here's the thing. There's something I have been keeping to myself. OK -- there's a few things but one of them, I've been inspired to write about. I'm seriously afraid of being overly share-y. There is indeed too much sharing going on, what with Girls Gone Wild and Dr. Phil and all.

But this one, I think, maybe, in my wildest dreams, it might help someone else. Because no one ever talks about it. It's just not done by nice girls in a polite society. But I'm tired of nice and frankly, I think it's about time someone talked about it.

I have something called Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 5-10% of women of childbearing age have PCOS.

Among other things, symptoms include:

• infrequent menstrual periods, no menstrual periods, and/or irregular bleeding
• infertility or inability to get pregnant
  
• increased growth of hair on the face, chest, stomach, back, thumbs, or toes
• acne, oily skin, or dandruff
• pelvic pain
• weight gain or obesity
• type 2 diabetes
• high cholesterol
• high blood pressure
• male-pattern baldness or thinning hair
• patches of thickened and dark brown or black skin on the neck, arms, breasts, or thighs
• skin tags, or tiny excess flaps of skin in the armpits or neck area
• sleep apnea

In short, it sucks ass. No wonder that women with PCOS never talk about it. Frankly, it's humiliating. Or at least embarrassing. In many women, it makes them feel less than female.

If you have any of these symptoms, you might want to check with your doctor. Seriously.

Recently, in poking around through some medical journals (which I do for fun - not. ). (OK, maybe a little.) ( Ew.) I found an article linking women with PCOS and bulimia.

What a freaking revelation that was!

It seems that along with all of the other symptoms of PCOS, many women with the disease who also have a risk for an eating disorder seem to head full tilt into bulimia.

Fascinating.

Anyway, that's all the sharing I'm doing today. For more information, you can check out these journal articles or websites.

Today's Dietitian
Gynecol Endocrinol. 2006 Jul;22(7):388-94
Gynecol Endocrinol. 2004 Aug;19(2):79-87.
BMJ. 1999 Jan 30;318(7179):328.
Gynecol Endocrinol. 1995 Jun;9(2):113-7.