Hi, there. This is Dr. Rebecca Harwin, founder of Conquer Your PCOS Naturally. I sometimes get asked how I go into this PCOS thing, so I wanted to explain my journey and how I came to be doing what I’m doing now.
So early in high school, I was probably about 13, and I had lots of my friends all getting their period, and I guess some had pain, some didn’t. But it had happened, and I didn’t start getting my period until, well, quite late. I think probably I about 15 I had my first period. And then I had my second one when I was in high school. And it drenched my uniform because I couldn’t tell when it was actually going to happen. And then that was the last period that I had naturally for 15 years, which is quite a long time.
So when I was diagnosed, I was 17. We’d gone on holiday and we were down at Apollo Bay. And I had immense pain in my abdomen. And we returned to Bendigo, where I lived, and saw the doctor. And I had an ultrasound and was told that I had this thing called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. But no one could tell me anything about it. And most of the doctors back then, because it was a while ago, hadn’t even heard of PCOS, let alone be able to give me any advice at all. The doctor who diagnosed me actually diagnosed me on ultrasound alone, which you probably know is not how you’re supposed to be diagnosed. But anyway, it turned out that the diagnosis was correct.
Then came 17, and I moved to attend university in Melbourne. And I put on about 20 kilos within the first year of living away from home. There was stress and a change in environment, as well as a change in food. But once I gained the weight, it’d just become an issue. My period didn’t come back at all, as I said. I got acne, and I had excessive hair growth.
And I remember when I started studying Chiropractic, which was quite a number of years later. We’d have to go in and take these classes where we actually had to get down to our underwear. Because we needed to see the body and understand how it works, as well as what is connected to it. And I had to basically de-fluff myself. So I felt really, really hairy. Very unfeminine. And so I’d spend hours in the bathroom trying to strip all this hair from my body because I didn’t want anyone to be able to see that there was anything wrong with me.
So, I went to see an endocrinologist, and he just told me, “Oh, just lose weight and exercise more, and you’ll be fine.” And my experience in the experience of lots of women is that we’re blamed and we’re judged and we’re told, oh, well, it’s your fault. And, anyway, it’s pretty frustrating.
So, push comes to shove, and what I really wanted was to lose weight, get rid of the excessive body hair, regain some energy, and get my periods back would have been nice. And to feel like a woman. Feel feminine again. And it all came down to that pretty much. I didn’t feel feminine, and I didn’t feel lovable.
So, anyway, I was single for 13 years, and one of the things I learned from my husband is to love myself. And that started to change everything. So it was so frustrating. I couldn’t get the correct advice. I was just told to “Just eat less and exercise more.” The dieticians’ advice was also dangerous. What do they say? Eat six meals with carbs in them a day, or something that’s going to basically kill women with PCOS and diabetics quite quickly.
I kept getting told, just eat less and exercise more
I also went to the gym, I played netball five times a week, and I couldn’t lose any weight. So what I found was that the regular advice doesn’t work for folks with PCOS. So even if we train ourselves into oblivion and we try starving ourselves and we beat ourselves up, it’s not going to work. And it’s not our fault.
So, what I did was start attending seminars after seminars, and I read and researched. And I used myself as a guinea pig. I talked to other women with PCOS, and I listened to my patients because people have a lot of wisdom. They’ve been through a lot. And as I tried over the years, I’d miss pieces, and I didn’t succeed. And I remember with my period … like I said, it went AWOL for over 15 years. And I’d done everything, and I’d lost lots of weight, and I’d try really hard to be careful of my diet.
It didn’t work, and the last piece of the puzzle actually came when I was at an ACNEM (Australian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine) conference. They were talking about the importance of omega-3s and healthy fats. And I’ve been a vegetarian for 37 years now, since I was 13. So it ended up being the omega-3 fats that triggered my body, and I got a period, which was quite a shock to me.
It ended up being the omega-3 fats that finally triggered my body, and I got a period!
And I remember another time, I was in Melbourne. I’d just gone to another conference. And I had this sticky stuff in my knickers, and at 31, maybe 32, I had read about it. I was familiar with egg white cervical mucous and related concepts. But I hadn’t had any. So I got into my 30s without probably ovulating in my whole life.
And then I had other I guess challenges along the way. I determined that I needed a comprehensive thyroid panel and that I actually needed to have my thyroid function tested accurately. And that the results had to be within 1 to 2, 2.5 at max for TSH, because that’s linked to insulin resistance. But being able to get a doctor to test that was nigh-on impossible, and I was told, “Oh, that’s not the way the body works.” And all of this kind of stuff that you’ve probably heard many times from doctors as well.
So I worked really hard, and I didn’t see success with everything until quite late. Probably about eight years ago. And my husband would go on a diet, and he’d shed all the weight that he wanted to, really, really quickly. And that would be that.
I’ve just taken some notes, as there are a few things I didn’t want to miss. So let me find them. Okay. All right. So after I finally did lose weight and my period came back and my acne went away, and I remember going to a beauty therapist and having my legs waxed. And she said, “You’ve hardly got any hair.” And so that was the result of years of doing what I know how to do now. So I felt like I had a responsibility to others with PCOS who are struggling as well. And that’s why I wrote Conquer Your PCOS Naturally. And that’s pretty much why I do what I do.
Learning from what I did, I lost 26 kilos altogether. And I felt feminine instead of feeling manly. And healthy, and really importantly, I felt in control. And when I started sharing my journey, I still remember the first email, from a lady who had been trying to conceive for three and a half years. And from following the advice that I shared online, she succeeded. So she was due to get married, and the next step for them was IVF. But she didn’t have to. Knowing that I can make a difference is, in itself, a compelling reason for me to do this.
I felt feminine instead of feeling manly.
Then, a couple of years ago. I’ve developed chronic pain and a number of injuries. And I took some medications which are generally not my thing, but anyway. And then, over the course of the next couple of years, I gained 14 kilos. Because of what I’d learned over the years, I worked out what the driver was, though it took a little while. I’ve now lost that weight and kept it off.
So, if you have any challenges with your weight, are on medications, or have a limited capacity to exercise, then hopefully my journey—and this site—will inspire you.
Thank you for listening. I look forward to hearing about your successes.
From PCOS to perfect health, with love,
Dr. Rebecca Harwin
The PCOS Expert
Chiropractor & Bestselling Author of
Conquer Your PCOS Naturally
www.ConquerYourPCOSNaturally.com
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