Maple Turkey Sausage Patties(LC/DF/GF/SF)

Afternoon all, trust everyone has recouped from the after effects of watching the solar eclipse yesterday. I know a lot of folks were complaining of having headaches, eyes were burning, and feeling tired. If you’re still not feeling well I pray for speedy recovery soon, I know how draining those types of headaches can be. 

Yesterday I spent some time, post solar eclipse, making some breakfast meat for myself. I love maple flavored sausage, especially with extra maple syrup drizzled on top…mmmmm, the best! But carb wise it’s like the plague attacking my body, which is why I haven’t had that in quite awhile. I do miss regular sausage though…and bacon, deli ham, spam, kielbasa…😑I’ll stop. (Le sigh)

Most of what’s available in stores I can’t even trust. There are hidden sugars, preservatives, and msg in almost everything. I’m not being as strict with my anti-candida lifestyle as some folks have suggested. I still eat meat whereas others tend to become vegetarian. Nothing wrong with that at all, I personally cannot go without meat, which is why I think such things ought to be tailored for each person. There is no clear cut and dry protocol that will work for everyone. I’ve learned a lot in the last few weeks about the various candida protocols and have taken from each one customizing what I think will work best for me. So far, everything that I’ve been doing is helping and most of the die off on my chest has cleared up. PTL!! Since I have to resort to making my own breakfast meats, desserts, and meals, it does take a little extra time and effort, but the end results are worth it! 

I do want to mention that the maple flavoring is optional, I only added it because I personally LOVE it. 😍😉 However, you can use maple syrup if the carbs are not an issue for you. Ground chicken can also be used in lieu of ground turkey. Or you can mix ground turkey with ground hamburger, which I’ve done in the past when making meatballs. It’s just as good and the ground beef lends some fat to the mixture since ground turkey tends to be lean. 

What you’ll need: 

1 pound ground turkey

2 tsp poultry seasoning

2 tsp maple extract(optional)

1 tblsp granulated stevia(optional)

1/8 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp Cassia cinnamon(purchased from The Spice House)

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp Himalyan pink salt

Coconut oil, for cooking

Heat oven to 375*F, line sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium size bowl mix all the ingredients by hand thoroughly. There are a few methods with which you can make sausage patties. METHOD 1: on a clean work surface place a piece of wax paper down and add half of the meat mixture on it. Cover with another sheet of wax paper, then use a rolling pin to flatten out to desired thickness. Cut into 8 rectangular pieces and repeat with second half of mixture. METHOD 2: skip the wax paper all together and free form patties by hand. METHOD 3: on clean work surface lay down wax paper, place half of the meat mixture down and flatten out with hands to desired thickness. Use a biscuit cutter cut to shape the patties. Repeat with second half of the meat mixture. Cook in coconut oil over medium heat until browned on both sides. 

You can freeze these raw or cooked, I went ahead and cooked all of mine up to help cut down on my time in the kitchen each morning. I used wax paper to keep the patties separated and put them into a quart size freezer bag. 

Depending on the size and how thick or thin you make the patties will determine how many it yields. I was able to get 16 rectangular patties. The carb count for these is basically non existent. Using maple syrup would change that, so keep that in mind. If you decide to make these with maple syrup just remember to omit the granulated stevia. 

I had three this morning with a couple of egg muffins that I made, such a nice carb free meal! 

(Pictured above: Half of the egg muffins are dairy and meat free for me. The other half have ham, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese which are G-Man’s fave!) A simple and easy low carb breakfast that you can customize with any flavor and add ins. These were really fluffy, the almod milk added a nice light texture to these. I used cajun seasoning, turmeric powder, kosher salt, dried oregano, and dried parsley. Gave a good whisking and portioned it out to all the silicone muffin cups. Baked @375*F for 20 minutes, plan to make more to freeze. I love breakfasts that I can grab and warm up. Makes for a hassel free morning. 

Hope you give these sausage patties a try, play around with the seasonings and let me know what you think. I love getting feedback from you all! If you have any questions please email me at nightowlkitchen@yahoo.com. You can also follow me on Instagram: @nok_amandagayle, for more recipe ideas/inspirations. 

Have a blessed week! 

~Health Check Tuesday Celebration~

How can we not celebrate health this week?! Even if it’s just one good thing you’re doing today, be proud of that! It’s one thing that will help improve your life. Even if it’s just getting 6–8 glasses of water a day, opting for a salad instead of burger at lunch or dinner, or even taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Be proud of yourself 🙂

Health Check Tuesday came about as something that I wanted to initially use to bring awareness about PCOS to the masses. But over the last few weeks it’s morphed into sharing some of my weight loss triumphs and set backs, while encouraging everyone to continue on in their journey, which I love! No matter where we are in our health journeys we’re all heading toward the same goal::to become a better version of ourselves. We’re all striving to make changes that work for us and here on NOK Blog it’s important to emphasize good habits over any particular lifestyle, while also sharing the benefits I have personally received from living lower carb/alkaline. One of the things that PCOS women tend to struggle with is finding what works best for them. The temptation to find an easier solution is so great, especially when you’ve tried it all! I know, I’ve done most of it! I grew up on the food pyramid and ballooned. As a young adult I went to the more obscure and dangerous things such as laxatives, weight loss patches, thermogenic drinks, pills, starving myself, and it was all for naught.

The key I was missing in unlocking that door to losing weight, in a safe and natural way, was to stop depriving myself and just eat healthy food. I absolutely cannot tolerate much carbs. If I so much as go over 30 grams a day I start to feel tired, sluggish, and the numbers on the scale go up. When I over indulge and find myself in a food coma the symptoms get worse.

One of my fears when I began writing this blog a year ago was that people would EXPECT yummy comfort food all the time and that’s what I strived for. My health certainly took a turn for the worse the more I tried sharing the things that I *thought* people wanted from me. The weight I had lost came back with a vengeance and then some. That miserable sick feeling started to come back and I knew I needed to change what I was doing, but again worried that it would hurt this blog and folks would start losing interest.

I felt that people wouldn’t be interested in reading about my lower carb alkaline lifestyle, people could care less about my need to be gluten free, and most certainly didn’t want to push a particular mindset on others. But I’ve watched how those posts about lower carb recipes have gained views and visits from people all over the world, local readers telling me how much they have enjoyed reading my Health Check Tuesday posts and how they have learned so much about PCOS. That they never knew it existed until they started reading about it here. Let me tell you what an amazing feeling that is, to know you have just empowered someone with knowledge and they are sharing it with others and are now meeting other women who are struggling with this same condition! It’s almost surreal 🙂

So, in honor of today I want to look back at a couple of my favorite Health Check posts and want to encourage you all to share these with your friends and loved ones. They are really posts that everyone can benefit from so don’t think that people you don’t know someone with PCOS that they too wouldn’t enjoy reading something on here.

1. Healthy Check Tuesday: Positive Thinking—This post is full of steps in thinking and living more positively. We’re all living busier and certainly more hectic lives now than our parents ever did! What’s changed? We need to examine our lives, determine what can be cut out and what should be changed in order to make our lives simpler and yes more positive. It’s amazing how I much enjoy life when the wifi isn’t so readily accessible. Technology seems to be my downfall, when I let that little ipod device rule my day with it’s constant dinging, pinging, and ringing…letting me know when someone has liked, shared, or messaged me. When the wifi is out I’m not constantly picking it up to check what’s going on. For me, a positive change has been cutting back on my ipod usage. It’s amazing just how less stressed I feel, how much drama I miss out on, and happier I feel! Could that be the same for you too?
2. Health Check Tuesday: Memory Loss & PCOS–This piece was especially beneficial for me to write. I struggle a lot with remembering things. That was hard for me to admit since there are people who rely on me to remember certain things. When I forget I feel like I’ve just let the world down! I know that it’s impossible to actually do that, I’m just this speck on the map of the world, but still I hate that feeling that I’ve dropped the ball yet again. Sometimes it’s easy to disguise it when online, I can google or bing something real quick and go “oh yeah duh Amanda!” and go about my merry way with a conversation! But in person it’s a different story, even with a list of things I need to remember to do or ask someone I still find myself forgetting something along the way. At the end of the day I just remind myself, the world has not ended because I forgot, tomorrow is another day, and if it really mattered THAT much someone would have said something. In other words, don’t sweat it!

 

Today, I want to look at why bacon is the culprit in making so many PCOS women fat…but pasta is.

     V.      

18 years ago I would have argued how bacon was fattening, that pasta was healthier, and you would have found me with a plate of of my Mom’s spaghetti going to town like a mad woman. This is why I’m so thankful I learned a few years later just how wrong that mindset was for our family. The issue with carbs, specifically pasta/rice/potatoes/bread is that they raise the insulin levels dangerously and in turn that causes cells to pull in more fat which results in more weight gain.

But how is it then that bacon isn’t the culprit for weight gain?

 

I love these pictures, but still some might wonder where’s the evidence, I need the proof…give me more input!

To further break this down here’s a transcript from the smarter science of slim show that I stumbled upon not too long ago. It helps to explain this a bit better. The hosts of the show are Jonathan Bailor and Carrie Brown. I’ve started the quote after some back and forth chatter and picked up where Jonathan begins talking about the science of how fat isn’t the culprit of weight gain.

Jonathan: There is something that is really bad. It’s called ketoacidosis. That is a different thing, but as is common with things in the health world, if two words sound alike then people are like, oh well, ketoacidosis is horrible for you. Therefore, ketosis, which sounds like that word, must also be bad; it is not. They are two very, very different things.

So, ketosis – first of all, when you wake up in the morning you are in ketosis, because ketosis, very high level, just means your body is fueling itself using fat rather than sugar. That’s really all it means.

Carrie: How could anyone think that was bad?

Jonathan: Exactly. There is this mythology that your body requires carbohydrate. This is not an episode saying that we should all go on low carb diets; it’s also not an episode saying low carb diets are bad for you. They are absolutely not. In fact, they’re one of the most scientifically valid and studied ways of eating in the world.

But it is to say that this assumption that we have been told for the past forty years that 60-plus percent of our diet – excuse me, 65 percent plus of our diet should be carbohydrate because that’s the optimal fuel for our body is patently false. There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. There is such a thing as an essential amino acid, aka protein, and an essential fatty acid, aka fat. If you never ate a carbohydrate in your entire life, your body could fuel itself just fine via the process known as ketosis, aka burning fat as fuel. And it could also create all the glucose, aka sugar, it needs through a process that we talked about on the show “Gluconeogenesis” whereby protein is converted into sugar.

Carrie: So, we all want to be in ketosis then.

Jonathan: So, we want to be – it is absolutely critical that we give our body the ability to effectively fuel itself using fat. And that sounds obvious, but if our body is not good at using fat for fuel, keeping fat off our body is going to be extremely difficult. And this is why actually eating fat – we talk about it on the show a lot, how things that are intuitive aren’t always true. Right?

It’s intuitive that the earth is flat. Look outside; it looks flat. And if it wasn’t flat wouldn’t the people on the bottom fall off? We know there’s gravity; we know that’s not how the world works. And it’s intuitive that doesn’t eating fat make you fat? It is fat, you put it into your mouth and it just goes and sits on your hips, right? That is intuitive but it is wrong.

Here’s a better and a more scientifically accurate way to think about it. Okay? When you eat your body gets good at fueling itself based on what you eat. Makes sense, right?

Carrie: Right.

Jonathan: The more sugar you eat the better your body’s going to be at running off of sugar.
Because it’s like, this is the normal state for me, I better get used to this. Now think about how this works. If your body is best at burning sugar, meaning sugar is its preferred fuel source, for all intents and purposes your body does not store sugar. The only way to store energy on your body, practically – there is some level of glucose in your muscles and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah – but practically it’s in your fat. So, the way your body stores energy is through fat. But if you eat mostly sugar and your body is good at burning sugar, and prefers to burn sugar, then let’s say you eat breakfast and it’s a Pop Tart and orange juice, very common breakfast here in the States. Sugar, you basically had some sugar for breakfast. Well, in an hour your body has either burned through that sugar or more likely shuttled it off into your fat cells. So there is no sugar around, so your body needs energy. Well there’s no sugar around, so what’s it going to do? It’s going to make you hungry because the only way to get more sugar is to take some through your lips.

Carrie: Okay.

Jonathan: Now, think about if your body’s more accustomed to burning fat for fuel, and let’s say you have a delicious frittata with vegetables for breakfast.

Carrie: That was me today!

Jonathan: Exactly. Right? So you eat mostly fat. Most of your calories are coming from fat. You got some protein and you got some extremely healthy carbohydrate in the form of vegetables.

Carrie: Yum. It was delicious.

Jonathan: It’s delicious, so you get your calories, you get your nutrients, you get your energy and then when you – a few hours later, you’re sitting in the office or you’re sitting at the house, you’re sitting with your family and friends, and there’s no more energy floating around in the blood stream. Your body’s like, I need some more energy, and do you know what I like to use for energy? Fat. Oh hey. Good news; there’s some sitting right here on the hips. Or there’s some sitting right here maybe on the belly a little bit.

So the opposite of eating fat makes you fat; in fact, eating fat, helping your body to become conditioned at fueling itself off of fat, makes you better at burning fat. Because when you get into a state where you have a shortage of exogenous energy your body can just say, well, that’s okay, I don’t need to take any more fat through my lips. I can just eat it off my hips.

Carrie: The compelling reasons for not eating sugar just pile on and pile on. Don’t they?

Jonathan: Well, think about it, Carrie, it’s a, why is it?

Carrie: I can actually visualize what you just said happening in my mind, which is great, right? Because now every time I get that craving for sugar I’m going to go, nope, I don’t do that, because that’s going to help my body to think that sugar’s not the way to go and so I can visualize that; that’s super-helpful for me. Thank you, sir.

 

I absolutely loved his visuals! You condition your body to burn fat by eating fat. I know that isn’t going to sit well with most of you. Trust me, it took a lot of relearning for me to finally accept that after being told for years that bacon, olives, coconut, butter and yes eggs were all bad for me and I should eat those in extreme moderation. One of the first things I did after discovering a lower carb lifestyle was gorge myself on green stuffed olives! Oh yes, I think I ate half the jar in one sitting and I didn’t feel sick later on. In fact I felt pleasantly full for hours! Which was a new thing for me because I was having to eat every few hours and the weight was piling on like crazy! The first time I lost 50 pounds(I was 16 year old) people were beyond shocked when I told them how I was doing it. They were even floored when I told them that I was eating all these fatty foods and was losing weight hand over fist! So why didn’t I keep going? Life…I got thrown several fast curve balls and struck out one too many times. Wasn’t even allowed to walk the bases. When I finally was given the fourth chance to change my life I punted the ball and yes I’ve been running the bases ever since! (That’s the extent of my baseball knowledge, don’t go thinking I’m some fan…sorry, sports aren’t my thing lol)

I may not be dropping the weight like I did years ago when I first learned about this lifestyle, I’ve missed that golden opportunity, but at least I’m losing it. It’s going to take me longer this time to get to my goal weight(at least five years) but that’s ok too! The important thing is that I’m feeling better, I’m staying active, and there’s a little extra give in my clothes! How can anyone judge those results and say it’s all unhealthy?! That I’m doing something wrong and I need someone to take over my health for me? We’re not all cookie cutter here, therefore a cookie cutter lifestyle isn’t going to work for anyone. We have to figure out what works best for each of us and stick with it! Find new ways to spice it up, treat ourselves every once in a while(don’t call it cheating, that suggests it’s something bad, unhealthy, that should be kept a secret when it’s perfectly alright to have that special meal and stop when you’re full). Are carbs bad for everyone? No, but for the majority of Americans yes they are bad…toxic even. Should everyone jump back on the Atkins or South Beach diet wagon? Nope, in fact I don’t support either of those. They are both loaded with soy and not a healthy option for PCOS Cysters.

If you’re truly curious about what nutritional lifestyle you should be living I encourage you to take Dr. Joseph Mercola’s Nutritional Typing Test. I’ve taken it three times and get the same results. I’m a Protein Type, this is why a lower carb lifestyle works for me! All you have to do is enter your email address, he does not spam you nor will he sell your information to second or third parties. This is strictly to discover what nutritional plan you should be living. You are not obligated to buy anything, the test is free to take, all you have to provide is accurate information to get honest results.

My hearty thanks goes out to everyone who has liked and shared these Tuesday posts. I look forward to sharing more about my journey with you all and hope you continue to enjoy the lower carb/alkaline recipes along the way!

Change your mindset in order to see the results!

Protein for PCOS and Muscle Repair

Here’s a great article directly from an email I received from Insulite Laboratories:

WHY PROTEIN HELPS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST PCOS

Our calorie needs may drop as we get older but it doesn’t mean our protein requirements follow suit. This is especially true in light of the need to maintain strength to exercise regularly to better manage PCOS symptoms.

While the official Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein is the same for all healthy adults, there’s considerable evidence that older people need more. Elderly people tend to eat less food, putting them at risk of under-consuming protein.

When the body has too little protein, it breaks down muscle to get the protein it needs for other vital body functions, leading to reduced strength. Insufficient protein has also been linked to an increased risk of hip fracture.

The current RDA for protein is based on body weight: adults need 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight each day, with people who work out regularly having higher requirements.

To help preserve muscle, most experts advise older adults to aim for 1 gram of protein per kilogram. For a 150-pound person, that’s 68 grams of protein a day, an amount that can be found in seven ounces of chicken and 2 1/2 cups of milk or soy beverage.

One great thing about protein is that it keeps you fuller longer, especially when eating carbohydrates. I always combine the two together at my meals, and I suggest you do the same. How can you start eating more healthy protein choices today?

I loved that article, it’s great to read something that steps outside the realm of tradition.

Now for some additional information 🙂 I’ve recently gotten back to my workout routine, mostly walking with variations thrown in for interest. Every morning I workout before I have breakfast, and once I cool down completely, drink two cups of water, I’ll go and make a protein packed breakfast. Usually consisting of a meat (beef, turkey, chicken or pork) and eggs. Occasionally I’ll throw in some broccoli for added color but also for Vitamin C and to aid with digestion (I need all the help I can get lol). In the month I’ve been working out and having a protein breakfast every morning I have less pain afterwards. My calf muscles which seem to give me so much grief are hurting less when I can consume enough protein soon after my workout.

Think back to health class…

When you are working out, the strenuous activity can create tiny tears in your muscles. This is why you’ll feel it burning or hurting depending on the level of intensity. After a cool down most people grab a protein shake or will eat a high protein meal to help aid in the healing process of those torn muscles. Protein needs to be ingested within an hour after working out in order for to work properly in soothing sore muscles. You don’t have to have a big meal, but any of the following will do the trick!

• peanut butter on toast
• lean sliced turkey on a bagel
• a protein shake(preferably one that is soy free and low in carbs. Look up True Whey.)
• fish such as flounder, orange roughy, albacore tuna, crab and salmon with a little lemon on a salad
• eggs either hard boiled, scrambled, made into an omelet, or cooked over medium
• liquid proteins such as milk will move more quickly through your body(take care if you’re lactose intolerant)

Keep in mind that solid proteins will digest more slowly than that of liquid proteins found in a protein shake. I understand it’s common thought to consume post workout proteins with carbs, but if you’re trying to cut back on those, like I am, take care in what you choose to pair your proteins with. Make sure they are complex(oat bran, wheat germ, barley, maize, buckwheat, cornmeal, and oatmeal to name a few), protein bars are not always a healthy choice either. Sure they are convenient and easy to carry along, but they are chock full of chemicals, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners(which are neurotoxins), and full of empty calories if you’re counting. I look at protein bars as a snack item and not even a snack at that. Use them sparingly, don’t use them as meal replacements, and try to stick with bars that are relatively low in carbohydrates. Quest Bars are an excellent source of protein as well as all natural ingredients and they are low in carb!

As a woman of teal I strongly suggest staying away from anything with soy in it. Soy is a GMO crop, meaning it has been genetically modified. Rendering it unsafe for most human consumption. There are also phytoestrogens in soy, which doesn’t sound bad in and of itself. As PCOS Cysters we tend to run a bit low in our estrogen and you’d think that getting some plant estrogens would be an ok solution, right? I wish that were so, phytoestrogens are not real estrogens at all. They may seem like mammalian estrogen but their structure is quite different. PCOS Diva says,

Phytoestrogens in soy are not true hormones, rather they are similar structurally so they  act like hormones and can cause endocrine disruption.  They can bind with hormone receptors and can interfere with the production of hormones. They are 1200x less potent than human estrogens.  But if you are eating large quantities of soy it can become a problem.  Soy phytoestrogens are not weak. Drinking even two glasses of soymilk daily for one month provides enough of these compounds to alter your menstrual cycle.

 

From one Cyster to another, avoid as much soy as you possibly can. Soy in women can cause PCOS symptoms, cause abnormal hair growth on the face, back and chest, as well as lead to infertility. Men, soy isn’t any safer for you either. Research has shown that men who consume soy on a regular basis have a greater chance at being infertile, have higher levels of estrogen in their system causing breast tissue growth, slow down male hair growth patterns, and affect erectile function. Dr. Joseph Mercola, about the only doctor I trust anymore these days and a leader in natural health, has written several articles about the dangers of soy(Click HERE to read more). He strongly urges people to only consume fermented soy in small quantities, but even better to not consume ANY at all, especially if you are highly sensitive or allergic to soy. We have been duped for so long that it’s difficult to stop listening to what doctors, health specialists, and even what our own government is spouting. Anything that has been genetically modified you should always be wary of, if it’s not growing outside or has organic origins then don’t eat it.

By getting back as close to nature as you possibly can, you’ll be amazed how much better you’ll start to feel overall. Certain health disorders/diseases will begin to taper off and may even disappear all together. We were given dominion over the land, not to modify it, but to cultivate it and to provide for ourselves the rich bountiful harvests of each season!

Goodbye September…

Hard to believe that this is the last day of September. It has certainly been a full month, so thankful for everyone who has helped in spreading PCOS Awareness this month, for joining me speaking out and making sure pictures and articles get passed around. Just because this awareness month is ending doesn’t mean the work is done. We live with this on a daily basis and every day we can help make a difference in another woman’s life by spreading the word. At least once a week from here on out I will be posting on Health Check Tuesday/Teal Tuesday continuing this good fight against Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Please join me on Tuesdays, post your pictures, testimonies, questions, or links to more information about PCOS. If you don’t have a local support group, like me, let’s come together on here once a week and create our own support group. Encouraging one another to not give up, to not lose hope or sight of our dreams and goals. Let’s all welcome October with renewed vigor and positive outlook as the year winds down to a close.

Last week proved to be terrible for me, not motivated to do really anything for the blog or for fall. That’s just how things go some times. But this week I’m pulling out some of our favorite flavors of fall, trying out new recipes that I have found recently, and finish up my fall bulletin board. Most of it is handmade decor, free printable items that I was able to get in black and white and color it myself. My son has enjoyed it so far and is helping him to work harder in school 🙂 I don’t plan to change it up for a while, I might add some turkeys later on but for now it’s good the way it is.

In a couple of weeks I’m going to be baking up a lot of goodies for a Missions Conference that I’m attending. Right now I’m making my final decisions on what to take (leaning more toward some pumpkin scones to add to the snack table and making a simple chocolate sheet cake with homemade frosting on top as a dessert). Everything I plan to make will definitely make its way to this blog along with recipe reviews and even trying out some “new” vintage recipes to ring in the autumn season! So get ready for another fun and full month!!

Happy fall and have a blessed day!

Related articles

• No filter vs. filter. Despite my stomach issues lately and an ovarian cyst bursting last week, I woke up feeling and looking skinny….and I haven’t lifted in weeks. Teresa 1 – Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome + Endometriosis 0 (hashselfie.wordpress.com)
• Which of these zillion things could be causing my thinning hair? (ask.metafilter.com)

PCOS and the Endocrine System

This was a difficult post for me to write, it hits so close to home for me and I didn’t want to sound negative or rude. As always I only want the absolute best for all my Cysters and for them to experience the joy and happiness that I have been blessed with as a Mom. As a Woman of Teal (PCOS Cyster) I try so very hard to be the voice of encouragement to all my Cysters. It’s not easy seeing them suffer daily with the various symptoms of PCOS and at times it’s heart breaking knowing that some have gone most of their young adult life without knowing what it’s like to be a mother. I do count myself very blessed and undeserving of the child I have. Let’s face it, after being told by two doctors that I was never going to have any children unless it’s with medical assistance that left me pretty hopeless and certain that I would never know what it’s like to be a mother. God of course had other plans and while my choices led me to having a child outside of wedlock I do not regret any of it. I never knew such love could exist! However, it has come with a price…

You see, having PCOS isn’t just about my ovaries being affected, sure that’s a big part. I don’t ovulate like regular women, my uterus does not shed like it’s supposed to and I gain weight by just looking at food on the internet (I’d laugh but it’s not funny). PCOS is a misnomer for a broader issue. Stein-Leventhal is a name I’m still having to get used to. It’s actually more about the endocrine system as a whole rather than just pinpointing a certain factor.

Seeing this image makes me think of “the hip bone’s connected to the thigh bone”….ok back to seriousness 🙂 The endocrine system consists of  glands which secretes different types of hormones directly into the bloodstream. For a woman with PCOS, our bodies tend to put out more testosterone than the average female body does. This causes some to have male pattern baldness, abnormal hair growth on the face, chest, back, hands/knuckles, feet, etc. Some women experience very light monthly cycles while others go for months without a period at all. Not all PCOS women experience the same symptoms, many women suffer from an inability to respond to their own insulin (I know I do which is why I treat it with a lower carb lifestyle), rendering us insulin resistant. This is why some women with PCOS have diabetes and other health related issues. Knowing all of this now, I can see how it is affecting my own child.

I was never one of those women who pined for a child. I just thought it would never happen, why wish for something that wasn’t going to be? I didn’t want to set myself up for a heartache if I could help it. That didn’t give me the green light to be loose, in fact I remained a virgin until I was 21 and have had only one partner in my life. Being single and celibate these last ten years has taught me a lot and learning more about how PCOS not only affects me but also my child has caused me to rethink this “I want more children” idea.  Certainly if it is God’s will for me to have more children I will not say no, I’ll just have to rely more on Him to protect those children from related health issues. With the gluttonous research that’s out there for girls, young ladies, and women who suffer from PCOS, it’s made me wonder why hasn’t anyone looked into how it can affect boys and men? Why isn’t there just as much information out there alerting boys and men about how their Mother’s PCOS can affect them? It is somewhat out there you just have to use the right search engine terms.

When my son was six years old he pointed out something to me as I was drying him off after a bath. He asked why he was growing little hairs on his private parts. Alarmed, I took a closer look and every “mom bell” inside me was going off. Something wasn’t right. That night after he went to bed I tore up the internet trying to find out what could cause a little boy to be growing hair in that region at such a young age.

Precocious Puberty, the term I kept running into, mostly pertains to girls and very rarely boys…but what if his mother had a preexisting condition? I’m not one to run to the doctor for just anything, it has to be major enough where I won’t think twice about shelling out money we really don’t have. After his Pediatrician examined him and she voiced her concerns, she ordered some blood work to be done. I was on pins and needles till those results came back, and all the while I could only think “I did this to him.” I passed on my disorder in some fashion and it is beginning to slowly come out. Knowing that we needed to change his diet I stopped feeding him his favorite foods and went back to homemade alternatives. He wasn’t receptive to that at first but he now can’t get enough of the homemade versions. This has helped to eliminate as much soy as possible from his daily diet. Any endocrinologist will tell you that yes boys can be just as affected as girls, though in a different way. There is still cause for concern about insulin resistance, cholesterol issues, pre-disposition to heart troubles and strokes, and High BP.  They can also suffer from the same body shape(heavy in the middle). Which my son does, he’s always been a stockier child, somewhat reminiscent of his uncle, but as he’s gotten older I’ve noticed that he carries most of his weight in his midsection.  Again, alarms…blaring…flashing…danger Will Robinson, danger!

After the results came back normal showing there was not an increase of estrogen in his body I still told the doctor that I was not convinced that he was in the clear. She already knew of my PCOS and though she tried to console me, deep down this gnawing concern grew and now I wait for puberty to hit him.  Changing his diet by making most of his meals from scratch has helped to slow the abnormal hair growth considerably. If he wants chicken nuggets I have to make them at that time and try to keep some extra in the freezer. We don’t allow the typical childhood snack foods in our house because of all the chemicals, HFCS, and soy that’s in them. I know how those things have affected me and seeing as how I’ve passed on enough to him I don’t add insult to injury.

It’s a handy picture when teaching children about their endocrine system. It shows them what organs and glands are involved in a safe way without involving other questions about the sex organs (especially for smaller children).

Just last week my son proudly came into my bedroom after his shower and announced he’s growing armpit hairs. He said he was a man now–oy vey–upon closer examination and angling the light just right, I did see some very fine blonde hairs growing in his armpits. He’s nine years old, no doubt this is in thanks to the hormone laden meat we get from the store. I’m lucky to get him to eat what few things I can, he’s such a picky eater and unwilling to try new things. On top of the change in food, he’s also been stinkier, as in teenage stink, I’ve had him wearing deodorant now for about six months, and all the while this growing uneasiness continues. I tell him that it’s not normal for his age, and if it were normal then I wouldn’t be concerned.

What’s the point of this post? It’s mostly to my Cysters that I say this, and I don’t want it taken the wrong way because I’m not trying to be a Negative Nelly, it’s out of love and concern that I say this…don’t be so eager to have a child. Please think about what you could be passing on to your precious baby. About 40-50% of daughters (and sisters included) have the potential for developing PCOS, that doesn’t even include numbers for sons and brothers having potential endocrine issues as well. This is why it is so very important for all my Cysters to stick with a strict healthy lifestyle that once your child is of age you can begin to introduce those healthful fruits, vegetables, and various whole foods. Growing up eating that way is much easier than introducing it later in their life, which I have found out the hard way. Raise them to understand why they eat this way and be that positive reminder that it will help them to live longer, reduce illness in their life and lessen their chances for chronic or acute pains and inflammation.

See, I come from a family (through my Dad) that was riddled with reproductive issues and prior to my conception my own mother was having endocrine problems herself. My oldest sister had endometriosis after having one child, which she promptly had to have a complete hysterectomy in her 20’s and my brother has been the only one, that I know of, that hasn’t had any issues. So far, I am the only one in my family that has been diagnosed with PCOS. What does this mean for my son? How will it affect him in his teen years and adult life? Will he be able to have children? These are things that I don’t want any Cyster to have to question/endure, nor would I want any of you to ever blame yourself the way I have. I know it is possible for a PCOS woman to have children who do not have any endocrine issues at all, I’ve met them and have seen their beautiful family pictures, for them I am thanking the Lord for such mercies. For my childless Cysters, don’t be so hasty in wanting a child. Learn more about how this could affect your future daughter or son, what it could mean for your future grandchildren. I know what it is like to be without a child and what it is like to deal daily with how my PCOS is affecting him. As a parent we never want to see our children suffer, do what you can now to educate yourself so that you will know what needs to be done in case your darling child is afflicted with an endocrine disorder. 

I pray for all my Cysters to have health babies galore!

Here’s a bucket of baby dust to all my Cysters who are waiting for their turn at motherhood! Don’t ever stop believing!!

Be blessed!

 

Related articles

• Has Your Immune System Turned Against You? (Please pass on to anyone you know who suffers from PCOS) (nightowlkitchenblog.wordpress.com)
• PCOS my nemesis (healingsgate.wordpress.com)
• I have joined the PCOS FLAGO (fight like a girl team). What can you do to help? (marykeepingitreal.wordpress.com)
• Clinical Practice Guideline for Diagnosing Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (medindia.net)
• My story (pcospillfree.wordpress.com)
• Experts clarify conflicting criteria for diagnosing polycystic ovary syndrome (eurekalert.org)