1. Let’s start with the classic: What’s your worst, funniest, or most awkward period story?

I can't remember any funny ones! But an awful one that really sticks out is I got my period on the ferry to Mototapu for our 7th form school camp. The worst timing possible. My periods were always incredibly painful. I was doubled over in pain and couldn't move, in front of everyone. I had to be put into a van and missed out on the hike to the campsite. I remember feeling so embarrased and thinking 'why me?'.

Also PSA: Period Cups are fantastic but can be a hazard for the forgetful. I nearly started a fire one day when I popped my cup on the stove to boil & sterilise, but got distracted by work and remembered nearly an hour later. Came back to find a black pot with no water, and a cup that had started turning to ash...!

2. What have you demystified about your female body that you wish you knew when you were younger?
1. Painful & heavy periods aren't normal - they are a sign. Your body is trying to tell you that somehting is wrong. 

2. Your cycle is linked to so so many parts of your body, and can be the reason for a lot including weight gain, mood swings, bloating, IBS, acne...

3. Have you been diagnosed with a women’s health condition (like endometriosis, PCOS, PMDD, etc.)? If so, how did you know something wasn’t right, and what was your journey like to get answers?

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2020, while trying to get pregnant. I was then also diagnosed with unexplained infertility and then went through countless fertility treatments & other treatments before finally getting pregnant via IVF in 2023. 

4. What was your diagnosis experience like?
PCOS
I went to my GP after a few months of very irregular periods post coming off the pill. She was fantastic and immediately sent me for numerous blood tests & a scan. From there, she confirmed I had PCOS and referred me to Fertility Associates to get help. I remember feeling very confused and scared, as I had never heard about PCOS before. Would I ever have children? What does this mean for me in the future? Would I become overweight and super hairy? Would I get diabetes? As I started researching more about it, I realised that it was responsible for so many symptoms that I had faced through my life including yo-yo-ing weight, awful acne, excessive hair growth, mood swings, painful periods, painful ovulation, outrageous bloating...and being on the pill for so many years had just delayed me from truly understanding my body, and fixing the issues. I felt frustrated. And also like I had let myself & my husband down, as now I was 'broken' and it would not be easy to start our family. 

Infertility

When we were referred to Fertility Associates, we jumped straight into getting treatments. My husband & I are both problem solvers and results driven. We immediately wanted to do everything we could, as quickly as we good. At first, we were told it would be very straight forward. Having PCOS just meant I ovulated irregularly. Therefore, I needed to take medication to help me ovulate (Ovulation Induction). But, after doing this 4 times, it became pretty clear that things would not be that straight forward for us.. in the years that followed I had countless tests including an HSG, and we did four rounds of IUI and then went on to have four IVF retrievals, 3 transfers, and a miscarriage, before finally getting our miracle. We were told it was unexplained infertility, and likely due to very poor egg quality on my end. We had actually found a potential egg donor and were about to start that unconventional method to creating our family, when somehow we found out we had managed to make one normal embryo, our only one. And it had stuck. 

5. How has your condition changed your daily life?

Infertility has made me so much stronger as a woman, and also made my marriage stronger. It has shown me resilience. And unlocked a passion and purpose for me to share my story, help others, and make these conversations more normal and less taboo. If I can make one person feel less alone in their own journey, I feel that it has all been worth it. Not to mention we wouldn't have our precious daughter without out all this, and she is such a blessing and has become our world. 

However, it has also robbed so much. I am still triggered by so many reminders of some of the hardest years of our life, and it still sometimes feels all consuming, even though we are out the other side. I am so scared about going through it all again as we would love to have another child.

I am trying my best to ensure PCOS doesn't change my life. I want to learn how to get my symptoms under control, and am slowly getting there. But at times it felt overwhelming, unfair, and frustrating and still does. I wish there were more straightforward answers. And I wish there wasn't so much competing information out there. But I have faith that things will change, and resources like The Cyclist are a fantastic step forward! 

6. What symptoms made you think something wasn’t right with your body?

It's sad to say, but back then, the only reason I looked for help was because my irregular periods meant I was struggling to use the cycle tracking apps to help me get pregnant. All the other symptoms I was facing were just 'normal' to me. I didn't know enough about women's health to realise there was something wrong, and I didn't simply have to deal with all of that. Thank goodness for the very proactive GP that helped me, rather than brushing it all under the rug and telling me to 'keep trying'. 

7. Have you tried anything that has helped you manage your symptoms?

PCOS

When I was first diagnosed, because we were so focused on starting a family, I put dealing with PCOS on the backburner and put all my focus into trying to get pregnant. While in the midst of so much fertility treatment and all the hormonal drugs, all these symptoms were just exacerbated, but I put up with them as a means to an end. Interestingly, when I finally got pregnant, and while breastfeeding, I felt like a brand new woman. My skin was glowing. I was no longer constantly tired. My weight was constant. My moods were more consistent. My libido was back to normal. It's like my hormones were finally balanced and everything was working as it should. Then, when my daughter turned 9 months old, I got my period. And things went downhill from there - all my old symptoms returned with a vengeance. And over the last 6 months I have spent time really addressing these symptoms and have finally got my cycle back to a normal length and my symptoms more under control! I have used a combination of:

- Acupuncture (Hannah & Annika at Glowbody are fantastic)

- Supplements - Myoinositol & Iodine & Magnesium

- Changing my diet - high protein breakfast to help regulate my blood sugar in the morning

- Switched to low intensity exercise (yoga & pilates)

8. What’s one thing you wish more people understood about women’s health?

Your cycle is this fantastic diagnostic tool to let you know if everything is right with your body. Use it!

9. If you could tell younger you one thing about your body, what would it be?

What you're facing is not normal. Go and get help. Your 30 year old self will love you for it. 

p.s: Use period cups/discs & period undies. You'll never look back.

10. When your body feels hard to live in, how do you take care of yourself?

I remind myself of the amazing things my body (and mind) has survived, and what it has given me. It's pretty bloody incredible (pun intended!). 

I went from someone who used to faint at a blood test and had never been admitted to a hospital, to someone who had blood tests weekly and sometimes daily, and had countless procedures and surgeries, and I was O.K!

I tell myself that if I could get through the last few years, I can get through anything. 

I tell myself that being strong & looking after myself, sets the best example for my daughter. 

I tell myself that I have such a strong village of family & friends who are always there to help & support me. 

And sometimes none of that is enough, and I go for a walk, spend an hour to myself at Pilates, or park up on the couch with some Netflix or a book, or hug my daughter and melt at her smile.