Group tackles burden of misinformation, shame around PCOS

By Ebunoluwa Sessou

For 9 years, she waited. She watched friends cradle their babies. She endured questions from relatives, pity from neighbours, and cruel whispers down her back. “It indispensable beryllium her fault,” they said. Her husband’s household called her barren. She began to withdraw. Then came the depression. Then the suicidal thoughts once, twice, 3 times.

This was the communicative of Adekeye Waslat, but her communicative is not uncommon. Waslat is 1 of the implicit 2,500 women successful Kauthar Opeyemi Lawal’s online community, agreed by a communal thread: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). They are young, vibrant, and intelligent, but down their smiles are stories of heartbreak, rejection, and battles with their ain bodies.

Speaking with Vanguard, the convener of ‘Beyond the Symptoms’ conference, Lawal told Vanguard that her counseling acquisition birthed the thought down ‘Beyond the Symptoms’, saying that determination are excessively galore women who are suffering emotionally, physically, and mentally due to the fact that they bash not cognize what PCOS is oregon however to negociate it. And for those who do, they are often met with judgement and silence.

Silent struggle

According to Lawal, “PCOS is simply a hormonal upset that affects 1 successful 10 women of reproductive property with symptoms including irregular periods, excessive acne, value gain, and infertility, adding that the symptoms are lone scratching the aboveground down the stigmatisation involved..

“Quietly, women are battling suicidal thoughts, facing divorce, struggling with assemblage image, and depression. These are the existent wounds, and they are invisible.

“Waslat has been joined for astir a decennary with nary children. She had tried everything. Her husband’s household blamed her. She had acne each implicit her look and refused to spell out. She didn’t consciousness similar a pistillate anymore. She attempted termination 3 times earlier idiosyncratic referred her to us.

“The Beyond the Symptoms Conference 1.0 was calved retired of stories similar hers, stories of pain, isolation, and desperation. We bash not privation women to hold until matrimony oregon infertility sets successful earlier discovering they person PCOS. If we amended young girls early, we tin negociate the symptoms earlier they spiral.”

Early awareness

For Dr. Femi Omololu, Medical Director of Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, who represented the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, acquisition is critical.

“I person seen unmarried women outcry implicit infertility without adjacent knowing what infertility means,” helium explained. “Infertility is not a woman’s load alone. It’s a couple’s issue. And it requires patience, due diagnosis, and close information.”

“Even successful the best-case scenarios for steadfast men and women, determination is lone a 20 percent accidental of conception per cycle. We request to demystify these issues and halt the blasted game.”

One of the PCOS survivors, Seyi Amao, laminitis of PCOS Conquerors, reminded attendees that the travel is not 1 to locomotion alone.

“When I was diagnosed, I thought my beingness was over. But I recovered community. I recovered answers. I recovered healing.”

Her enactment supports women navigating PCOS done counseling, radical therapy, and education. “We assistance them instrumentality backmost control, starting with knowledge, followed by manner changes. PCOS is not a curse. It is thing you tin conquer.”

Healing Through Food and Support

A registered dietitian and laminitis of Khairo Diet Clinic, Mrs. Olajumoke Osunsanya advised that bully diets and nutritious nutrient are indispensable successful addressing PCOS.

“When you person PCOS, nutrient is not conscionable food. It is either healing you oregon harming you,” she said. “Processed foods, sugary snacks, skipping meals, these things tin marque your hormones spell wild. But erstwhile you commencement eating for your hormones, everything changes. Your tegument clears, your value stabilizes, and adjacent your periods go regular.

“Google cannot lick PCOS. “Only a nonrecreational tin assistance you make a personalized repast program based connected your body, work, and life. One woman’s repast is different one’s poison”, she said.

“Many men bash not adjacent cognize what it is,” Lawal says. “So erstwhile their wives summation value oregon conflict to conceive, they presume it is their fault. That ignorance is dangerous. We request men astatine the table. We request them to understand, support, and advocate.

“There is nary shame successful this diagnosis,” she adds. “No pistillate should consciousness little due to the fact that of her hormones.”

As the league wrapped up, women embraced, immoderate teary-eyed, others smiling for the archetypal clip successful a agelong while. The vigor successful the country was dense but healing.

For Lawal, this is lone the beginning: “I privation this question to reach...