This week on The Fertility Podcast, Kate is joined by a patient of hers, Alice, to talk about PCOS and how to live with it. This episode is a refreshing topic as Kate and Alice chat about looking after you first and trying to conceive second.

Alice, who has been trying to conceive for a while with her husband, came to Kate looking for a way to be able to live with PCOS. Together, they adopted the term ‘Project Alice’ which they both share is all about making sure that Alice is happy and healthy first.

In this ep, Alice talks about how her PCOS diagnosis turned her life around and has impacted almost every aspect of her life. She talks about how it took a toll on her not only physically but also emotionally. Alice explains how she struggled with the symptoms, the results of the diagnosis and the fear of the unknown.

Alice shares what her life was like before receiving the diagnosis and how she put her life on hold whilst she and her husband were trying to conceive. She talks about how she would put off holidays because she envisioned that she would be pregnant by then or weddings where she had hoped to be expecting. Alice then talks about how she felt when those events came and went and she wasn’t pregnant.

Together they talk about reaching out for help and support, how easy it was for Alice to find Kate, as well as what Alice wanted to achieve out of Kate’s consultations. She explains that she felt as though her future was uncertain and unclear but after a consultation with Kate, she found her future more clear and Alice was able to ask the right questions at her appointments and other things.

Coming to the end of this episode, they talk about PCOS weight loss injections and Alice’s journey with taking them. Although there is limited information and research upon these injections, as they are still a fairly new treatment, they seem to be having a positive effect on Alice. Kate and Alice go into a little more detail about these injections and what they are like.

Alice’s advice is to talk to everyone, to be open with not just those going through a similar journey to you, but also friends and family too. She shares that it can be quite lonely and that being able to share the burden can lessen the burden.

OUR SPONSOR:

We are delighted that the current series is being sponsored by Proceive who are kindly offering all listeners to The Fertility Podcast 15% off any Procieve purchase, when you use the discount code FP15.

Links to the article:

Carmina E, Longo RA. Semaglutide Treatment of Excessive Body Weight in Obese PCOS Patients Unresponsive to Lifestyle Programs. J Clin Med. 2023;12(18):5921. Published 2023 Sep 12. doi:10.3390/jcm12185921

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10531549

International PCOS guidelines - https://www.eshre.eu/Guidelines-and-Legal/Guidelines/Polycystic-Ovary-Syndrome

Vertity - https://www.verity-pcos.org.uk/

AskPCOS - https://www.askpcos.org/

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