Women take it upon themselves to raise awareness for PCOS because no one else will

Tired of being dismissed by doctors and blamed for their symptoms, women have taken it upon themselves to raise awareness for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) on social media.

PCOS is a hormonal disorder that is fairly common. Even though it could affect as many as 1 in every 10 women, very few people are even aware of its existence, and doctors may take years and years to diagnose the disorder. The two major reasons why PCOS is unknown and subjected to loads of misinformation are because it primarily impacts women and because a common symptom is weight gain. It’s well-known that the medical industry is severely biased against women and individuals who are overweight. Women’s pain and symptoms are frequently dismissed or not believed by medical professionals, who tell them their symptoms are in their head and that they’re faking their pain. Countless women have shared how they suffered for years with severe, life-threatening illnesses that went unnoticed simply because biased doctors refused to do basic testing.

People who are overweight are also frequently dismissed, as doctors immediately attribute every symptom they experience to their weight. There’s also a common misconception that every individual who gains weight is at fault for their weight gain, even though many find their weight is out of their control, especially when dealing with undiagnosed disorders. Hence, considering that those with PCOS are often women and struggle with their weight, patients with this disorder are finding it impossible to be believed and accurately diagnosed.

Women raise awareness for PCOS online

PCOS is a hormonal disorder that is under-researched. As a result, neither a cause nor cure for the disorder has been discovered yet, although there are treatments to help manage it. PCOS interferes with a woman’s ability to complete ovulation. Since the eggs aren’t released from the ovaries as they should be, sacs of fluid start to form over the unreleased, immature eggs. The symptoms caused by PCOS include irregular periods, infertility, and overproduction of androgens. Meanwhile, high levels of androgens can cause excessive hair growth, acne, and weight gain in women.

PCOS is most dangerous because it raises the risk of women developing even more severe health complications, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer. Despite the serious risks associated with PCOS, the disorder is still often ignored. Recently, women demonstrated just how fed up and frustrated they were with this lack of awareness when PCOS started trending on X. So far, #PCOS has garnered a staggering 14k posts from women sharing their experiences and fighting misinformation. Meanwhile, it appears the conversation was sparked by a simple viral post pointing out how alarming it is how many women struggle with the disorder.

It’s unsurprising that women are fed up, as the simple post also sparked waves of misinformation. The most common misconceptions about PCOS are that it is caused by birth control or weight gain, even though PCOS causes weight gain, and birth control is one of the most common treatments for the disorder. However, even wilder misinformation has circulated, as some users claimed the disorder is caused by women utilizing their “masculine energy.” Numerous fatphobic bigots also entered the conversation say the proven hormonal disorder doesn’t exist and is just a “fat excuse.” Then, there were also the men mansplaining the disorder and claiming they’ve found the cause and cure of PCOS that medical researchers haven’t.

Women, though, fought hard to keep the conversation going and demonstrate what PCOS really is like and how hard it is for them to be believed. Some women were denied a diagnosis for so long that they missed the point at which they could’ve received fertility treatments to fulfill their dreams of becoming parents. Others had to rely on Reddit to help them manage their disorder because their doctors cared so little.

Meanwhile, a major reason PCOS is so rarely acknowledged is that society is so desperate to hold onto its biases. Fatphobes don’t want PCOS to exist because it goes against their biased beliefs that overweight people are wholly responsible for their weight and deserve hatred for it. Similarly, acknowledging PCOS means acknowledging that women do develop disorders through no fault of their own and aren’t making up or responsible for everything that happens to them. Fortunately, women are getting tired of all the biases and misinformation, and speaking out to help each other navigate PCOS and to hopefully get the medical industry to start paying attention.