A Chinese Medicine Doctor's Journey with Undiagnosed PCOS

And what a roller coaster of a journey it has been. 

About a year ago, at the doctors office, he was reviewing a recent ultrasound I had looking for the “monsters” causing me so much discomfort and pain in my abdomen, and casually mentioned, “O yeah and you have PCOS”. A little taken aback and shocked, I asked how we knew that, and he mentioned the classic “string of pearls” evident in my left ovary. No hormonal testing, we weren’t even looking for PCOS/PMOS, just a casual hand out of the diagnosis as if it was an after thought. 

My Undiagnosed Menstrual & Gut Issues 

I was getting the ultra sounds to check on the super fun habit my right ovary had developed where it liked to make ovarian cysts that sometimes explode. And look for anything else that may be going on resulting in the IBS discomfort, severe bloating, and flares of pain throughout my abdomen. As a Doctor of Chinese Medicine, and long time nutrition and digestive health nerd, I had tried countless supplements, Chinese Medicine formulas, and diet regimes trying to isolate the cause of all my gastrointestinal and abdominal distress. Nothing else was found in the ultrasound. 

I’ve spent my entire life since I was 17 on some sort of gut health exploration and healing mission. Every elimination diet, cleanse, protocol aiming to address some aspect of gut health to see if that's where my extreme bloating, pain, and yo-yoing mid-section weight gain could be resulting from. While studying Chinese Medicine in my graduate program, I tried so many classic Chinese herbal formulas, out of curiosity for myself and to see what they may feel like for my future patients. Sometimes my abdomen felt better, easier to eat, less pain, less bloating, but I still felt off somehow. My whole life I had been blaming myself for my discomfort, feeling broken and pathetic, losing self confidence, body image shame, and generally feeling like a failure that after decades of studying holistic health & nutrition, reading books, being active, trying everything, and going through a Masters program and Doctorate program of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, I still didn’t feel healthy. 

The first time an ovarian cyst exploded, I assumed it was another flare of pain from my digestive system in the lower right quadrant of my abdomen. Maybe my appendix was infected, or my ascending colon somewhere, I didn’t even consider my reproductive organs. Until my roommate at the time decided the amount of pain I was in was ridiculous and she took me to Planned Parenthood to make sure my IUD wasn’t trying to escape. 

Symptoms of My Undiagnosed PMOS/PCOS 

I was currently on my second IUD, the minimal hormonal type that prevents me from having regular bleeding cycles. Because ever since my first period, my cycles have never been regular. Going to college and beyond, some girls had a theory that those of us with irregular cycles were just naturally less fertile and the chaos was just a normal thing we had to deal with. Gynecologists brushed it off calling it stress. I couldn’t handle all the surprise periods, missing periods, pregnancy scares, and trying all the different kinds of birth control. I felt like I was just along for the ride, holding on for dear life on the hormonal rollercoaster. Fed up, and wanting to feel more in control of my life I opted for the IUD. 

My whole adult life I had assumed irregular cycles were normal, and I was just a wonky woman. Digestive stress, unexplained severe bloating, and my lower belly pooch that never disappeared and fueled my lack of self confidence, was all my fault somehow no matter how hard I tried. And then in more recent years, the constant hair shedding and fear of going bald. 

Until that extremely casual side bar notification of a PCOS/PMOS diagnosis. 

As a life long nerd, I immediately jumped into researching all about PCOS/PMOS and felt a huge sense of relief, and was laughing at myself. Decades of obsessing over gut health and I was soooo close but had never made the jump to looking at hormonal health. Even when we studied reproductive health in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine school, I had been so used to having the IUD I truly forgot what a cycle even was. I never even thought about hormones. Now I know that gut health and hormonal health are closely intertwined, but it was a huge relief to finally be validated that something else had been going on all this time, and all of my efforts were not “failures”, I just didn’t know the root cause of what I was experiencing. 

How Elix Healing Supports My PCOS/PMOS Journey

And then Elix came into my life, and what a massive blessing that has been. Looking at my Chinese Medicine pattern diagnosis, the root cause, and finding a formula made for me, instead of the cabinet of various supplements, has done more wonders than the years of pills and powders I had been trying. 

My Elix PCOS/PMOS Plan 

• Morning: I take a double dose of my custom Cycle Balance formula every morning, along with 3-5 dropperfuls of Craving Support. Craving Support has done wonders to return my metabolism back to feeling like I did in my 20’s and reduce so much of the random bloating and digestive discomfort I was so used to experiencing.
• Daytime: I keep my Daily Harmony on my desk and love adding it to my green teas during the day. 

As much as I love herbal medicine, staying consistent with Chinese herbs can feel like a part time job with having to boil down raw herbs for hours, not to mention the teas usually taste like burnt dirt or bitter sticks. Elix takes care of this for me. When it comes to healing hormonal imbalances with Chinese herbs, consistency is key, and the formulas at Elix make it incredibly easy for me to stay consistent with my herbal protocol. 

My PCOS/PMOS Period After Cycle Balance 

My cycle is predictable for the first time ever, the bloating is rare, my digestive system feels stronger, the full body puffy that had been growing all over years is finally shedding back down, self confidence is up, pain in my lower abdomen is gone, and then my hair stopped shedding.

But the biggest difference is understanding, feeling validated and seen by the herbs, and not carrying around the self blaming and self hatred for a hormonal imbalance that wasn’t my fault. Now that I have a better understanding of what is going on in my body, I know exactly what I can do to help myself heal, and reduce and remove symptoms. I have my life back, and self-love in a way I haven’t given myself in years. I love working with Elix community members for this reason, supporting them through their healing journeys, as I’ve been there and know how much Chinese Herbal Medicine can help those with PCOS/PMOS. 

Dr. Ashley is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, a Holistic Nutrition Coach and Herbalist. She currently resides on a homestead on the Nature Coast of Florida.