Every Woman With PCOS Needs to See This ☝️
My PCOS doctor checked my hormones every year. She never once looked at my ankles. Neither did my best friend's doctor. She's gone now. ======== Her name was Jessica. My roommate in college. My partner in crime. The only person who understood what it was like to live with PCOS. We used to sit up late in our dorm room, eating ice cream and complaining about the bloating, the weight gain, the facial hair. Jessica was the one who made me feel less alone about it. "We're in this together," she'd say. "We'll figure it out." She was 38 years old. She should still be here. ======== Jessica got diagnosed with PCOS when she was 22. Got put on birth control. Her doctor said it would regulate her hormones. Said it would help with the bloating. Said it was common in women with PCOS. It didn't. The fatigue she blamed on her hormones. The weight she couldn't lose she blamed on her insulin resistance. The swollen ankles she blamed on her period. Her blood pressure started creeping up at her annual checkups. Her doctor called it borderline. Said they'd watch it. Watched it for ten years. Jessica used to call me after those appointments. Frustrated. Saying her legs felt "heavy as lead" but her doctor said her tests were "normal." I told her the same thing every time. "If your doctor says it's fine, it's fine." I wish I could take those words back. The last symptom she mentioned to me was the shortness of breath. She said she got winded walking to her car in the parking lot. She thought she was just out of shape. She was going to start walking on her treadmill. Three weeks later she was gone. ======== It was a Monday morning. Her husband David called me from the hospital. He couldn't speak. Just sobbing. I drove a hundred miles in a blur. Got there too late. Massive heart attack. They worked on her for an hour. Couldn't bring her back. The cardiologist met us in the family room afterward. Exhausted eyes. Gentle voice. Said something I'll never forget. "Flui
