Welcome to Teal Health!
Hi there - I’m Rachel!
I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and have been on a journey with learning how to work with my body, instead of against it. My PCOS story inspired me to become a health coach, and to share my journey. These blog posts are a reflection of my cumulative learnings with my own PCOS journey. What you’ll find here is a reflection of the fact that I’m a research nerd - things are science based, evidence-backed, or inspired . From everything I’ve read, and the people I have interviewed, I’ve been astounded by how many are suffering in silence with their PCOS. It’s why I started Teal Health with a couple of my classmates and friends while in graduate school at MIT. I share so that people know they are not alone. I share so we can lift up each other’s voices and demand change and demand more effective PCOS care.
When it all began
My journey with PCOS has been similar that of many with PCOS. I started exhibiting symptoms as an adolescent. Though I was active across multiple sports, and ate a healthy diet, I struggled with stubborn weight. I began to experience painful cystic acne, rapid weight gain, and menstruation cycles that were just as unpredictable as my moods. I was exhausted all the time, and had severe anxiety. When I was 18, my endocrinologist decided it was time to put me on a combination hormonal birth control pill to help with my irregular cycle and cystic acne. While I was thrilled to watch my acne clear, and it was wonderful to actually know when to expect my cycle, I couldn't help but feel like things weren't 100%.
“After going on the pill, I still had severe anxiety. I was still holding onto stubborn weight.”
The battle continued…
I had no idea what I was dealing with was a result of PCOS. I rationalized my doctor's approach with the hormonal birth control pill, and his declarations that my bloodwork was "normal". Year after year what I felt was minimized or dismissed, to the point where I too believed that everything was in my head, or that what I was feeling was not actually that bad. It went from doctors gaslighting me about my PCOS, to gaslighting myself about my own PCOS.
Fast forward 9 years after starting the pill. All I knew was my body in defensive mode. All I knew was the reality of forcing myself to push through what I was feeling to deliver results in what felt like sprint after sprint of life. It made me angry. And so one day I decided to dive into what PCOS truly meant for me and my body.
Enter Doctor Google.
Until the Awakening
I was shocked by how little I knew. I was shocked to learn of everything that PCOS could contribute to in one's body, and what it could one day lead to if not properly addressed. I was shocked to see validation in all I was experiencing, from stubborn weight, to fatigue, disordered eating, mental health complications, and severe body image issues. Thousands of patients experiencing what I was experiencing. Thousands of patients cancelling plans with friends, cancelling dates, hiding behind baggy clothes, because of PCOS shame and guilt. I was never educated about my own body and I felt betrayed.
“I was never educated about my own body and I felt betrayed”
I began to feel more hopeless the further I dove in. Anxiety. Depression. Chronic inflammation. Mood disorders. Fatigue. Cardiovascular disease. Metabolic syndrome. Type II diabetes. No cure, no cure, no cure. Infertility. Postpartum depression. Gut disturbances. Eating disorders. No cure, no cure, no cure. Head hair fall. Body hair growth. Inability to lose weight. Unexplained weight gain. No cure, no cure, no cure. Why didn't anyone care?
And the obsession with finding answers
I knew there had to be a better way to care for my body, to learn her, know her, and eventually, grow to love her. I searched for breadcrumb after breadcrumb of testimonials. For every 15 or so PCOS patients I spoke with, I stumbled upon one who, after many years of research, seemed to have figured something out. It wasn't about a magic pill that would solve our problems. It was about learning how to adjust our lifestyles to better meet the needs of our bodies. PCOS is a chronic condition, which means we need a long-term approach to best care for it.
PCOS is a multifaceted, complex syndrome, which necessitates a multidisciplinary approach to caring for our bodies. After all, and pardon me while I nerd out for a moment, but, the body is a system, is it not? And, humor me, if we change the inputs into a system (food, sleep, body movement, toxin exposure, stress), won't the resulting outcome of the overall system change? Won't that system's overall performance be directly correlated and even CAUSED by the inputs being placed into it? Inputs like stress? Stress, environmental toxins and chemicals? The rest it receives - sleep?! The movement it craves? No, I thought to myself. These people must be just far too hopeful, or their cases weren't severe. It's just too simple. Can't be it.
Answers that hit me in the face over and over again
Can't be it. Couldn't be it. Why wouldn't the doctors have told us? Why didn't anyone tell us? Hellloooo I'm sorry can you not see my facial hair from where you're standing? Yeah that is not there by choice. If FOOD would work, if SLEEP would work, if MOVEMENT would work, why didn't you tell me about it?! Can’t be it. Couldn't be it.
But testimony after testimony. They were far and few between, but OH were they there. And were their outcomes STARKLY contrasted with those who were only using medications. Regular periods. Pregnancies. Energy. ENERGY. What I wouldn't give to not feel like a sloth getting slugged in the head with a softball bat every morning. "You mean changing the way you eat to optimize for the way you feel, not for weight loss? Moving your body without running yourself into the ground, but moving to feel strong and energized? Sleep management and hygiene? Setting boundaries and not constantly operating in stress and survival mode? Training the body to relax? All of that worked for you?"
Yes, and yes, and yes.
Well I'll be damned. We have to tell people about this.
Teal Health, huh?
Let’s do this thing.
So here we are. Teal Health. Telling you that PCOS is not your fault. That there is hope. That you are not a lost cause. That you deserve better, that you deserve more, than a pill once a year with little to no explanation about what's going on in your body. We're here to tell you that the days of "Lose weight and take birth control" as a means of “treatment” for PCOS are a sign of the past. And we’re here to empower you with the knowledge you need to use your PCOS as a way to get to know your body and live your fullest potential.
