PCOS

How about that, I have a syndrome that has one of those cool ribbons to go with it.  Teal!!

On May 8, 2012 I finally received an official diagnoses that I have PCOS.  So what is PCOS?  It stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which is a hormonal disorder in women.  It causes an over production of androgens, facial hair, male-patterned baldness, ovarian cysts, missed periods, acne, oily skin, depression, mood swings, fast weight gain, infertility, insulin resistance, inflammation, skin tags, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and a few more things.  Seriously, right?  Thankfully a woman can have PCOS and NOT have all the symptoms.

Something else with PCOS is that if it is not treated you have an increased risk for endometrial cancer, diabetes and heart disease.  

So now with this information, the past 12 years of my life actually make sense.  No wonder it took me YEARS to have Olivia and why I can't seem to lose the weight.  It also explains the lovely acne that I am always battling and probably why I get moody.

I have spent the last two months researching all that I can about PCOS and treatments.  This is where my decision back in January (3 months before the doctor mentioned PCOS to me) to eat healthier and live a more active lifestyle became validated.  It has given me an increase motivation to do all that I can to prevent some horrible diseases.  

So what do I have to do?  Well I was prescribed a diabetic medication to control the insulin resistance.  This is where I am seeing a problem.  I know that there is no "cure" for PCOS but why are we only controlling the symptoms?  I want to overcome this and become healthier and not simply mask the problems.  I don't want to be given four different medications that will never treat this.

I have researched a natural supplement company that is geared towards PCOS.  I really believe that we have herbs and good foods for a reason.  (Let me state here that there is a time and place for pharmaceutics!)  I am hoping to take the natural route and see how I do.  There is a great website and forum where other woman have shared some great successes with these supplements (and many other things!).  It gives me hope!

The next thing I have to do is carefully watch my diet.  This can't be a diet I stay on for a few months or even a year, this has to be a lifelong change and it will take time!  I need to cut out all sugars (there are some natural sugars that are okay to have sometimes), preservatives, and anything artificial.  I must limit my carbs since they help with the insulin problems and the carbs I do eat need to be a low-GI carb.  I need to fill my diet with whole natural foods, fruits and veggies, whole grains, etc.  

Now for exercise.  I can't over-do working out and I must vary what I do.  A good cardio 2 to 3 times a week, interval training for 2 times and a good strength training or something like Yoga or Pilates 2 times a week.  

Now you can see why our life reset is even more important and I honestly do love that this is a confirmation of my desires earlier in the year to be healthier. With our resent move this is taking some time to implement, but I will!

A great blog that talks more about PCOS and what she did about it!     

Another site 

One more site

Reset

One thing that Ed and I have talked about before we made this move was that we are going to use this time (hopefully the next 18 mns to 2 yrs) as a reset for our lives.  We live pretty good lives to begin with; meaning that we try to be good honest people, live the gospel and be good parents.  But there is always room for improvement.  We want to use this time to build better habits.  Things like getting up earlier and going to bed earlier (essential for when Olivia starts school this fall), eating better (which is now a need and not a want after I was diagnosed with PCOS--that is another blog post), making sure we have our family scripture study, and so on.

So today I went on my first run.  Okay, maybe not my very first run as I remember one with my friend Julie who practically forced me to run with her for a whole 1/4 mile and I thought I was going to die.  This morning I was up nearly 2 hours before my family and ran 2 miles.  I did end up walking part of it, but it actually felt great.  I definitely need to go running with other people (just like I have to workout with other people) to keep me motivated.  I was too out of breath to participate in the conversation going on around me but like most things this will take time.

I am very happy to have started the first thing on our life reset! 

Life of a Pioneer

Today was our first day volunteering at This is the Place Heritage Park  (An 1860-1870 Pioneer Village) which went very well.  I was nervous on how well my children would do on a hot summer day for four hours.  Surprisingly they did very well; in fact I'll actually take them back with me next week.  I told them if they didn't behave they will stay home with Ed.  I want this to be an enjoyable experience for everyone.

A few weeks a go I attended a training where I was assigned my house (Anderson House) and soon after issued my clothing.  I've decided that if we really enjoy this experience and volunteer again next summer that I will be sewing my own clothing.  It's great that they have these items for us to use but my poor dress is covered with small holes, petticoat is no longer white and the dress is overall too big.

That brings me to researching period clothing which has turned to a whole Pinterest Board devoted to it.

So what did we do today?  After walking up to our house, we started on our chores.  We swept floors, washed windows and weeded the gardens.  In future weeks we will also be cooking on a wood burning stove.  Our shift actually went by very quickly!  The girls got to attend Pioneer School, ride the horses and visit the goats.  (One goat which was a little too frisky towards me!)

Moving

So I was kindly asked to start blogging again.  It wasn't my intention to stop blogging.  Life has been a little crazy the past two months.  This weekend we finally moved out of our beautiful huge house into an itty-bitty apartment near the University.  I have spent months selling and purging all our possession to get ready for this big move.

So the move...overall it's gone well up until the actual day of.  Because of space issues we had to move all of the boxes into the spare bedroom/future office.  And now I can't find anything.  I spent 2 hour trying to find shampoo so we could shower after a long moving day.  At this point, two days later, we still haven't found the toothpaste.  We did manage to find the girl's toothpaste...mmm nothing like brushing with fruity flavored paste!

Today we head back to our house to clean and finish moving the last few items.  Perhaps soon I'll post a picture of our apartment.