Lately, I’ve really been struggling with PCOS as a topic. Granted, nearly eight (8) years ago I was diagnosed with the disorder, and have been dealing with it since I was a pre-pubescent girl. It is ever-present in my life, but nothing new and different has occurred with the disorder in regard to my health for many years. I think I’ve found that it remains somewhat in the background of my life now, as I am not trying to have children. I’m probably very uncommon, in that sense, when it comes to my experience with PCOS.

In 2005, I brought my love of publishing together with my focus on PCOS in my life, and started publishing PCOS Today. I’ve found it a struggle lately, though, to really get “excited,” (for lack of a better word) about PCOS as a topic of thought, contemplation or focus. It’s like I’ve hit an “I don’t care” plateau about it, and I’m not sure why.

I’ve spent a bit of time thinking about the “why,” and the only thing I’ve been able to come up with is the fact that it is inherently chronic and somewhat unchanging as a disorder. It’s like there’s a point I arrived at when I thought “Ok, I deal with PCOS. Big whoop.” And the thing is, I know that sounds callus…but on the other hand, I also question how relevant it is in my life (anymore) past the fact that, yes, I deal with it chronically, but other than the basic treatment I receive for it, it has only a moderate affect on my life.

I once polled some of my mass comm/public relations students about whether or not they felt that PCOS had any pull in the media or as a topic. Many of them said that while they believed the issues to be of importance (as well as the secondary problems it can lead to), that because PCOS was inherently non-life-threatening and presented in some lights as merely a nuisance (at least until someone tried to conceive), that it would never really get a toe-hold in mainstream media. It would remain grassroots. Then my mind asks…”well, should it remain grassroots? Is the topic of PCOS doing its best in that form?”

I also wonder if this is a result of age? I’m in my mid-30s, have decided not to have kids but am settling down, and I’ve become much more comfortable with myself as a person and as a woman. Maybe this needs exploring…the emotional aspects of dealing with PCOS as we age. I have to admit that I was very “gung-ho” regarding my health in my mid-to-late 20s, and the closer I get to 40 I’m finding myself becoming a little complacent about the same-said health. What I find even stranger is that I’m still quite interested in completing my book for teens dealing with PCOS — at least I can pass my experience along to young ladies just starting to deal with the disorder. 

I’d love to hear comments on this stream-of-thought.