The DTA Podcast

Ep. 07: Noa's story & living with PCOS while being told to "just exercise and eat better"

• Amy Milne • Season 1 • Episode 7

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0:00 | 36:04

In this episode, Amy is joined by Noa, a 23-year-old college student from Chicago living with PCOS. At 13, she and her identical twin sister gained 50 pounds overnight with no change to diet or exercise. After a year and a half of being dismissed by general practitioners—told to just exercise and eat better—a gynecologist finally put the pieces together. It turns out PCOS runs in her family. Her twin, older sister, and mom all have it too. Now at 23, Noa is an expert in her own treatment, piecing together knowledge from TikTok, Mayo Clinic and years of trial-and-error with medications, and laser hair removal. She describes navigating her PCOS alongside depression, ADHD, and shares a story about a burst ovarian cyst that happened while traveling abroad.

Key Components

  • How four women in one family all have PCOS and didn't know it: The moment Noa realized that the overnight weight gain, hair loss, and irregular periods weren't just about her.
  • When doctors dismiss you for a year and a half — the frustration of being told to diet and exercise when something medical is actually breaking down in your body.
  • A burst cyst in Barcelona that taught her more than any doctor did, and how she didn't find out what actually happened to her until months later when she read about it in a romance novel.
  • How Noa built her own treatment plan from the internet. She used male Rogaine, a laser device, birth control pills, and self-education to keep herself functioning because doctors didn't have answers for her.

"First, figure out what your biggest problems are with PCOS. Book an appointment with a gynecologist who specializes in women's health. Don't take the answer of 'just work out and diet'. It's a lot more than that."

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🤘 Podcast produced by Binge-Worthy Studio


For informational and entertainment purposes only — not medical advice. We're here to get loud, not to play doctor.

SPEAKER_00

All right, I am very excited to welcome Noah to the show today. Noah, welcome to the Down There Aware Podcast.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you for having me on.

SPEAKER_00

You're Noah without an H, which I love. Um so, Noah, we're just meeting each other for the very first time today. You are a very good friend of a colleague of mine, Stephanie, and you learned about the podcast through her. And so tell, introduce yourself. Who are you? Where do you live? Give us the deeds.

SPEAKER_01

So my name's Noah. I live in Chicago. I have a very big family. We're six, so I have three siblings. One is a twin sister who's identical. Um we love to travel. We go all over the world all the time. My parents just got from Vietnam the other day. Um, and I live in Chicago and I'm and I'm a college student.

SPEAKER_00

All right, amazing. Okay, so you're a twin, an identical twin. What is that like?

SPEAKER_01

It's really weird. There's definitely been some weird instances. Like I took over her job at some point. Um, and everybody kept thinking that I was her, and they were like, Oh my god, you're back.

SPEAKER_00

And I'm like, no, different person. Oh my gosh, that is so great. Is there anything? Did you ever trick your parents? Were you ever able to trick your parents when you were a kid?

SPEAKER_01

We definitely have tried. Like if some if they yell out one of our names, the other one's like, yeah, even though they're not even home.

SPEAKER_00

It's like we've always got your back kind of situation. Crazy. Um, what are you doing in school?

SPEAKER_01

I'm studying interior design. We've moved around a lot. So it's always just been a dream of mine to help people really create their own home, their forever home.

unknown

Cool.

SPEAKER_00

And you mentioned you traveled a lot. So has that impacted your decision to be in interior design?

SPEAKER_01

Uh, it definitely has. I've seen so many different styles and so many different places that that, like in Barcelona, what they taught me, I'm sure, is gonna be a hundred percent different from this year in Chicago.

SPEAKER_00

Right. I bet. How is Barcelona?

SPEAKER_01

Amazing, oh my god, amazing city, all the landmarks, like everything, and then also the needs of travel to other countries in Europe.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, as you say that as you are in the United States right now, and travel is not easy currently. Um, amazing. I can't wait to see more of what you're doing. I think uh we just finished at renovation about a year ago, and um I absolutely value the experience of an interior designer. I don't think my husband and I would have survived our reno if we did not have the talent of our amazing um interior designer. So that's so exciting. And so you speak of coming from a big family, as much as I would love to talk about travel and your family and all those good things, we're here on the Downlay Rover podcast because we're talking about stuff happening below the belt, and you happen to suffer from PCOS.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, so PCOS stands for polycystic ovarian syndrome. Um, there's very much like different things that could impact different people in different ways. The parts that I suffer most from is cormoid imbalance, um, which means I usually have um lower hormones, so I am prescribed birth control to help regulate that. I don't really get my periods otherwise. Um, I suffer from insulin resistance. So do most women with VCOS, so sugars and stuff like that. A lot of women are like pre-diabetes or even diabetes. My older sister got diabetes because of how her body works with insulin resistance. Um I'm pre-diabetes. Um, I was a couple of years ago, and my twin sister is pre-diabetes right now. Um, and also there's the actual cysts. Some people it does affect, some people it doesn't.

SPEAKER_00

Wow. And how did you how did you know you had it? So I mean, I love, I don't love that you have this, but I love that you actually have a diagnosis because there's so many women, especially women as young as you, that suffer and have not gotten answers. So tell me a little bit about um what happened for you to find your way to a diagnosis and how did you get that diagnosis?

SPEAKER_01

So it took a while, it took about a year, year and a half. Um, I mean my twin sister were the were like sticks of little girls at like age 12, 13. And then suddenly over a summer, we each gained like 50 pounds. We weren't changing anything about our diets, about our exercise, anything like that. And suddenly we gained like 50 pounds for no reason. Um, and then we got our periods and they weren't normal either. Um, so it took a while. We went to multiple different doctors until one day um my mom said maybe we should take you to a gynecologist or something to like really find out what's causing all of this. Um, so they tested and they did like blood tests and stuff like that, and they showed that our her our hormones were all out of whack and that our sugar was higher and cholesterol was high. So it's very much like uh we waited for a while, we saw different doctors. They basically said just start exercising, start a diet, like uh so it took a couple of doctors' visits like that for us to be like maybe we should see like a different doctor, a specialist.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, how did that make you? I I wasn't laughing at you. I was la like I laugh out of frustration of just like, oh, how like there's there's a medical, there's a reason, you know, why, like you said, you were a sick of a human, and 50 50 pounds isn't I ate too much on the weekends and I haven't walked for a while.

SPEAKER_01

And it was like in the span of three months, like it came just out of nowhere suddenly. Like we had to get whole new closets and everything. It was like, what is happening? It was like this overnight change.

SPEAKER_00

And that couldn't have felt good as a young woman, as a young girl.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely not. I'm still struggling with body image to this day, and as are most women. Um, so it's still taking some work to get through it, but uh at some point you just have to realize your body is the way it is because it helps you function and go through the day-to-day, and it's that's the function of it, and it's beautiful in any shape or size.

SPEAKER_00

I love that, Noah. That's very mature of you, even though you could be like, Well, that sucks. Because I'm sure there's probably times where some of that does suck. Yes, because um, I mean, it can suck and two things can be true at the same time. It can suck and you can still have a really good image of yourself because you should. You are beautiful and it is your body and how it is working for you. And when you go to a doctor and someone just tells you to exercise and eat better, um, you might want to punch a wall when someone says that to you. You know, just lightly, like maybe like, you know, because that doesn't put us in jail if we punch walls, right? Um, it's beautiful that your mom, well, a couple of things there. It's beautiful that your mom, you know, you were able to go to your mom and that she believed in you to help you. And you mentioned your twin sister as well. So both of you are struggling with PCOS.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Um, so we both found out at roughly the same time we both had that weight gain and change over the summer. Um, so we realized it must be something genetic. And that's when my um mom and my older sister got tested as well, and they also found out that they had PCOS as well. So we found out that it's apparently it's like a dominant hereditary thing.

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_01

So out of four in the family, four of them have it.

SPEAKER_00

Oh my goodness. And is that if you and I'm still learning about PCOS, is that and then I know neither one of you are neither of us are doctors or what have you, but in your ex so what you've been told it is hereditary?

SPEAKER_01

That is what I've been told, yes.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. And are symptoms the same for your for your twin and then for your older sister and your mom? Like just stepping back and looking at this illness affecting all of you. What are some of the similarities you see? What are some of the differences that you've experienced as a family suffering?

SPEAKER_01

The similarities I find that a lot of them aren't like actual like body differences. So, like we all have excess hair on our bodies, we all shed a lot, like our hair is thinning constantly. Wow. Um, my older sister has diabetes, my twin sister is pre-diabetes. I managed to get my sugar levels normal the past couple of years without the help of medication. Um, and then my mom also is pre-diabetes, but she's been working out and losing weight a lot recently. So she is definitely getting towards being like healthy.

SPEAKER_00

So you're not only just dealing with uh one illness, you're dealing with multiple illnesses and effects on your body. And they all are feeding each other or not feeding each other. How so what what does it feel like for you to have PCOS and be struggling with the other things? Like what does that for someone who's uh listening who maybe thinks they have PCOS, and while we're all different, and while we're not doctors, what is what is that experience like for you in terms of having this?

SPEAKER_01

There are definitely some things that I feel like affect one another. Like I'm honestly constantly in like a state of discomfort, like pretty much no matter what I eat, my body hates it. Like I like carbs, sugars, anything like that. It's just really rough on my body. So like sometimes I tend to avoid it, but like that's also not a very sustainable way of eating. No, um, and then like uh IBS, that might be TMI, but oh IBS.

SPEAKER_00

Nothing's TMI because we all need to know because if none of us talk about this stuff, then we can't help each other out.

SPEAKER_01

So it's all good. IBS is very much a thing with PCOS because of the insulin resistant and the hormone resistance and the hormone imbalance. Uh the body just really doesn't like a lot of things, and there's really nothing to do about it besides either learn to live with it or like find the right medications for you. Like my sister takes um a drug called metformin, which is constant, which is usually prescribed to help with like blood sugar and lowering it, um, and it helps with that insulin resistance. Personally, for me, it didn't work, so I stopped taking them. But for her, they do work, so it's really kind of testing and trying out different things that help you, like for hair loss, like there are different creams and stuff that work amazingly well. Like, I dye my hair all the time, and I still have hair all the time.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, you've got a great like for for those listening, you've got incredible like purple and diffusia. I love it. And do you do that because like have you always dyed your hair? Is this something because of what you've so is this part of the identity you've come into as a woman with PCOS?

SPEAKER_01

So it's kind of both. Um, after I did dye my hair a couple of times in high school just because I was like, maybe people focus more on my hair than the rest of my body, and that's kind of where it started. And then it kind of became a little bit more of like a way of expressing myself, like having fun, choosing my favorite colors, and like just taking a couple hours, playing a show in the background and dyeing my hair. So it's become more of a comfort to me to do rather than something to help distract from the rest of me.

SPEAKER_00

Right. You've got a beautiful attitude about it. I mean, it would have like as you shared it, came from a place of like your body transforming overnight, basically. And, you know, and when you're a young woman and we all know that, you know, still in high school and all those types of things, people aren't always kind. We're not always kind to ourselves. It doesn't even mean we could be surrounded by the most beautiful human beings who make us feel beautiful, um, but we're not always kind to ourselves. And, you know, when you don't, when your body is out of control and you have no control over it, it can really play, can really play some messed up games with us.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, when you have something that really doesn't have a cure, you find your own ways of like finding the bright sides in it. Like for some people, it might be like booking an appointment to go get their mustache waxed or something like that. So it really depends on what makes you feel better.

SPEAKER_00

Fair. And does your twin dye her hair or what does what does she do?

SPEAKER_01

She dyes her hair occasionally. She doesn't go as wild as I do. Um, but her hair is red right now, and she's marking, but she's gonna go back to just brown like highlights in a while.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. And how how have you found your care? Like it sounds like obviously there's four of you, so there's power in numbers. Um, and especially it sounds like you've got a mom who's leading the way along with some very strong young women. Um, so yay, mom, and yay, you guys. What have you, you know, was it easy to get the diagnosis? Did you just walk in and say, like, hey, we've got this? And someone was like, Yes, check that box. What what was your journey to your diagnosis?

SPEAKER_01

So, with general practitioners, we found that it wasn't as much something that they paid attention to, like that they were mostly about the overall body health rather than looking for a problem uh for a solution or diagnosis for an obvious problem.

SPEAKER_00

Hence they looked at immediately like go exercise and eat back.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly, yes. Right. Um, and then we found with gynecologists there were some that were able to help and some that weren't. The first one we went to was not able to diagnose us because we didn't have any like actual cysts at the time. Um so that's and so they did like an ultrasound and stuff. So based on that, they couldn't determine that that we had PCOS. But the next doctor kind of put it all together and and put it together into a diagnosis.

SPEAKER_00

And then you were able to get some care and some relief. Do you live like are you in pain all the time, aside from all these ancillary like hair loss, hair, like it sounds like you lose hair where you want it, and you gain hair where you don't want it, which is also not overly helpful. Um the human body is just a mess sometimes.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it really is. Um, yeah, it's it's kind of just finding ways to alleviate the discomfort. I'd say it's more discomfort than pain. Okay. I did so I hadn't read much on PCOS back when I was diagnosed. I was only 13. Um and I didn't know like how to change any of what the doctor was telling me that my body was going through. Um, so I did find at some point like a book that I read a scene in it, and I was like, that sounds really familiar. And it was a romance book, nothing medical related or anything. Uh and the female protagonist had PCOS. And she said that at some point she felt like a sudden sharp pain, and she had to go to the ER, and like her boyfriend drove her there. And the doctor told her that she had a polycystic ovarian cyst that had exploded, and basically there's nothing you could do about it. They basically only gave her pain medication, and it was like it'll go away in a while, but there's nothing to do about it. Um, and I was like, that sounds like exactly something I went through in Barcelona, where I literally just randomly was hanging out with my friends. We were about to go out, and suddenly I like fell on the ground in pain. And I was like, what is happening? And I thought I had like appendicitis or something. For sure. I don't have like I I don't know if travel insurance will cover this. Right. I have to go to the doctor, to the ER. Um, and I ended up just like lying in bed in pain for hours and hours until it finally went away. And then months later, I found that scene in the book and I was like, that's what happened.

SPEAKER_00

Right. And do you and what you said there, which I think is so powerful, is you didn't go to the you knew something was wrong, and you didn't go to the doctors because you weren't sure if in another country you could get help, which is so heartbreaking as well, because you just laid there in pain and you might have been able to get painkillers. And you know, when we when you don't know why it's happening, because you didn't at the time, like you just said, you didn't know what was really happening, and you were afraid to go to the doctors because of health care. Like women are always struggling with this stuff because at least once a month, if not more or less, or whatever we're potentially struggling with, we likely need care wherever we go. And you didn't get care that time. Sounds like you had a good friend who was hanging out with you though.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Um, we were gonna go out, but she was also supposed to fly out the next day. And I was like, don't even worry about it. Like, right, I'll like I'll go home. Lay here until I feel better. Yeah, I'll keep you updated. I'll let you know that I'm still alive. Don't worry about it. I was like, get on your flight.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Well, did you at least figure out that if you could have gone to the did you check in? Like, now are you away? Like, now do you pay attention to these things in terms of when you're traveling because you have PCOS?

SPEAKER_01

So I managed to get my in my health insurance in the US um to pay for like an online doctor's visit. Um, and they basically said, because like they couldn't like examine me in person or anything, they basically said, like, if it continues for like the next couple hours or like more than a day, then try again and we'll see if there's anything we could do for you. Uh but it doesn't sound like you have appendicitis, so it might not be something that's urgent right now. Right.

SPEAKER_00

Right. If it's this, go get care. If it's everything else that has to do with just being a woman, just suffer through it. Basically, yeah. Right? That's awful. And so you came home from Barcelona and then you read the scene in the book, and you were able to at this point, did your sister so at this point, did anyone know what they had? Like, did your mom or your older sister know, or was it when you read it in the book?

SPEAKER_01

Nine years ago. Um and I only had this happen like a year and a half ago. So I wasn't even aware that I had any cysts. I didn't have any the last time that I got checked. Um I had an ultrasound, so I was completely unprepared.

SPEAKER_00

Right. And no one really educated you on what may happen or this could be a thing, or get medical insurance because you have PCOS when you're traveling, because you might have a burst cyst. Like it's crazy. There's no guidebook.

SPEAKER_01

It really is, yes. But I've definitely fastened like a lot of like help online reading about it and kind of just figuring out what works best for me. Like part of the hormone imbalance is lots of breakouts from stress and stuff like that. Like I'm suffering from one right now, but I know how to like take care of my skin in a way that it's gonna heal in a couple days. Um, so it's definitely about shuffling and juggling all the different ways.

SPEAKER_00

And it sounds like a full-time job.

SPEAKER_01

It definitely can be. I definitely have a large collection of like self-care items that need to be applied.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. What are some of your for someone who's listening and you know, it what are some of your favorite, like what are some of the things you use that are favorites that work? What do you think about it?

SPEAKER_01

For my hair, I've heard a lot of success from other people about it as well. Um, it's like Rogaine, like the men's version basically, and specifically using the Matt's version because the women's version is weaker and doesn't help as much.

SPEAKER_00

Right? It's like I take um I'm in uh surgical menopause, and so I take testosterone and similar, the testosterone I take is androgel because they're and it's male testosterone, because we don't actually, while we make our own testosterone, we don't have a product that mimics it yet. And I'm sure you're putting rogaine on your head in the box is instructions for a man, just like what I'm putting on the male woman. Right. Yeah. And then the testosterone bottle I have literally shows like where to put it on your man's body. I'm like, so I'm not, I don't have those body parts. Like it's crazy. But how did you learn that? Like, where did you discover that using the male version was better than the female version?

SPEAKER_01

So I was just kind of scouring like a bunch of different websites because I'd heard of Rogue before. And I was like, Yeah, okay, well, this is for men's. So the women's is probably better for women's. And then I was reading the ingredients and I was like but the women's has has a lower percentage of the active ingredient and the Vins has more but I need more hair and I specifically would like more hair here versus here versus and then I saw a TikTok video I can't remember who spied but it was some sort of doctor um female doctor who said like uh yeah don't buy the female version buy the male version because that's a lot better and it'll actually work for you and I was like okay I guess that was a good call great so male rogueine is helping with hair what else have you got on your list um laser for facial hair really helps and like going to an actual laser place is extremely expensive like especially with not how fast my like my hair grows because I have right too much testosterone. Okay so buying a device for like 150 bucks saves thousands of dollars and like I can get rid of all my facial hair all the other body hair that grows too fast so I found that to be a lifesaver especially in the summer.

SPEAKER_00

I bet. And so when you so I still want to hear about more of your tools but your your hormone imbalance with PCOS is your body is making too much testosterone?

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00

Or is that part of it for you? And too little estrogen okay so do you take estrogen then to help balance that?

SPEAKER_01

So I take birth control pills. That's what's prescribed for it.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01

Um and that's what I found that most people have like have been prescribed in the past for it because it doesn't because it just adds more estrogen it doesn't necessarily lower the testosterone but it brings the estrogen back and helps bring back the periods which I used to not get them for like three to six months at a time sometimes even more so it helps at least with that and to balance that a little bit okay and does the pill make you feel okay like I know there I mean for myself and for others the pill um at least for me later in life put me into a drug induced depression and so I knew I was like not myself.

SPEAKER_00

But up until now the pill is working for you.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah the pill has been working my periods have gotten regular um I do have depression unrelated to that though.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01

So like but it kind of makes me feel wacky a little bit at times just because of that like crossing of the two for sure. But I found that it's a lot I don't feel as good without the breath control just because everything's relatively functioning period wise.

SPEAKER_00

Right. And do you take any progesterone? I do not know. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

And has that ever come up in conversation in terms of needing it or not having enough or not really it's been more of the lower estrogen higher testosterone um the not having periods the not being able to eat things a lot um blood sugar I was prescribed something for that but that didn't work for me and now my blood sugar is just normally regular I'm not pre-diabetes anymore or anything without the help of medication.

SPEAKER_00

That's great.

SPEAKER_01

And what are some of the other things that you use so we've got rogaine we've got the laser what else have we what else have you um I feel like you've got all the things I think that birth control is a very important thing but it really depends on who it's or because it can either help or harm like the first brand of birth control pills that I was taking was eventually banned in the US um and then I and I found that the newer one is just better for me. It's it works better with regulating my periods and my and my hormones. So I'd say finding something to help with that or hormone imbalance whatever it is is definitely like one of the for me top priorities because I don't have as much cysts as other people do.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. And are period when you have your period are they painful?

SPEAKER_01

Um they can be painful typically around like day three, four they're extremely heavy like it's really bad. But it's I wouldn't say painful rather than uncomfortable okay so I also get nauseous a lot with on my periods and stuff which is also kind of connected to the breath control but I find that the pros are better than the cons.

SPEAKER_00

Right. Like it sounds like you literally have spent most well like the last 10 years from the time you're 13 to now 23 in terms of just trying and like trial and error what's going to work what's going to make you feel the best that you can yeah absolutely with the limited resource that's out there. What does does it hinder having like does it hinder life?

SPEAKER_01

Does it like how do you feel in terms of your day to day so I'm pretty much always like I'm always nauseous all the time pretty much no matter what I eat, what I drink anything like that. I'm pretty much nauseous 247. Um so there's nothing I could do much about that. Um but I do find that it gets it's easier to deal with at some point. Some people take like antacid or something like that to help with that. I just don't want to add more like medication or use to what I'm already taking just to not mess anything else up. And then the facial hair bothers me a lot. The laser that I've started I started a couple months ago and it's really been like an amazing transformation. Like I feel so much better. And then just like making sure that you're eating relatively well making sure like exercises I found out that there are exercises that do work for losing weight with PCOS.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01

But there are some that but most don't so they say that hit like high intensity impact training works a lot better to help lose weight with PCOS specifically rather than like I don't know an hour yoga or something. Like it needs to be it needs to be something relatively high impact but short bursts to help with the weight loss or just to keep in shape and fitness.

SPEAKER_00

Right. Well and it's just even I'm sure to like feel awake and to feel alive and to you know because when your body is literally managing so much from the PCOS to the insulin resistance to the you know when it's growing hair or like doing all those things that's your body working all the time like it just feels you know like I picture like cartoon characters and just like every not that you're a cartoon but you know what I mean like it's um like the one show on all the feelings um the one movie on all the feelings I can't think of the name right now but I just all I picture is like all like similar to that and just in terms of all the things that are happening in your body which inside out yes inside yes and I just that was all emotions which I'm sure dealing with what you're dealing with there's a significant amount of emotions and then I just picture all these other you know little colorful characters that are just like messing with everything else in your body. Yeah absolutely it does feel that like that sometimes that's crazy. And does it impact so it impacts how you feel about yourself despite the fact it sounds like you've got you've got your head around it a little bit. You did mention some depression is that do you think that's tied and you can talk about whatever you want or don't want um is that tied to the fact that you have PCOS and all the things that are happening in your body and how it affects you?

SPEAKER_01

So I personally decided to try dealing with my depression just through therapy without medication just because again I don't want to have to rely on even more medication. Like I also have ADHD so like even more to that so it's just like dealing with it and just figuring out like how to get through it without having to rely on medication.

SPEAKER_00

Right getting the help I mean I think that's that's very brave. So many people don't so the fact that whether it's medication or therapy or both or you know it's all a very personal decision but it's it's phenomenal that you're doing all the work like for a young woman you've got some answers which doesn't always I mean it sounds like there's still lots of answers to be found and I mean you've had to look to TikTok and the internet and all the things like well you've got doctors it sounds like some of the best help you've found on your own.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely and honestly I haven't even delved into like the problems that people might have get and like with pregnancies and stuff. And like that's a later down the road thing that I'm gonna have to learn all about separately. Right.

SPEAKER_00

But that's something that a lot of women deal with as well yeah I mean all you can do is deal with what you've got right now at 23 years old how can you know it you want to start this beautiful new career in interior design. You want to travel you want to live and you don't want this illness to take you down. Yeah absolutely the goal is what would make my life as good as it can be in the time that I have I love that I love that that's beautiful. What would you say to the 23 year old who's listening right now or the young woman who's listening right now and sees themselves in you what would you what would if we were if you were talking to them right now what would you say to them in terms of what should they do first? I would just say from your perspective.

SPEAKER_01

I would say first figure out what your biggest problems are with PCOS if you haven't even been diagnosed yet but you think that you have PCOS book an appointment with a gynecologist or something so not a general practitioner or somebody who specializes in women's health and can really tell you exactly what you need to do, what you need to take what you need to work on and don't take the answer of you just need to work out and like do a diet like it's a lot more than that no matter what they say.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah fair um I think you're an incredible resource I think you're an incredibly strong young woman I it thank you for sharing your story if someone I know someone's listening and going wow noah I need to talk to you how can they do that?

SPEAKER_01

So you can reach me on my Instagram my handle is noah give seven N O A G I V seven uh and I'm always happy to talk to anybody who might need help who thinks they might have PCOS sending you resources like websites anything like that the Mayu Clinic I found is especially helpful. They have lots of information on their website about it.

SPEAKER_00

Amazing well Noah this has been enlightening and beautiful and I wish you didn't have to battle all of this I feel for you and your sisters and your mom were in good company in terms of having to manage these female issues and um your voice matters and I'm really grateful that you took the risk and joined me today on the podcast. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01

I was happy to be here thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00

Awesome thank you