Hello Loves,
It’s been SUCHHHH A LONG TIME!!!!! SUCH A LONG TIME!!! Admittedly, I have to say that I went through months of feeling uninspired and just not motivated to keep going with my blog responsibilities. As a result, I took a long but much needed break to really start doing some self work and reevaluating what my purpose and direction as a blogger/model/influnencer/professional would be. However, I’ll address all of that in another post to come. Today, however, I want to dive in specifically on something that I finally realize the importance of managing with PCOS: INFLAMMATION!
I HAVE A BAKER’S CYST BEHIND MY RIGHT KNEEE!!!!
Let me tell you! The pain of these cysts is REALLY REAL! Just the lack of mobility I’m experiencing has put my entire thought on wellness. I’ve never struggled with being able to walk up stairs, run, jump, or anything active. Having cysts behind the knee now changed the entire reality of that for me. Hearing my knee click, pop, and follow with locking up felt so surreal to me. In fact, when I went to the doctor, she told me that I was young to be experiencing this issue. That’s when I knew I had to start researching deeper to see what indeed was going on.
What is Inflammation? By definition, Inflammation is is a process by which the body’s white blood cells and substances they produce protect us from infection with foreign organisms, such as bacteria and viruses. … In these diseases, called autoimmune diseases, the body’s normally protective immune system causes damage to its own tissues. I know you’re thinking why would the party want to harm itself? Well believe it or not, the body does it all the time, especially if you suffer from Chronic Illness and Chronic Conditions.
In fact, inflammation is one of the number one causes of exacerbating the onset of disease. With PCOS, based on research, most sufferers have chronic low grade inflammation. Although, I know that, I didn’t take it as serious because I didn’t see the full impact happening until that is I got what is called Baker’s Cyst (also known as popelital cysts) behind my right knee. I was like how does this even happen? I don’t have arthritis, and no underlying knee issues, or any known tears to the tendons of my knee so how do these cysts just develop? Upon doing my research inflammation can cause an over production of synovial fluid in the knee which is what causes such cysts to develop. You know what’s linked to inflammation? Insulin Resistance. Why? Well dysfunctional sugar levels trigger inflammation, and since i’m not only Insulin Resistant, but Also Diabetic….. it is a recipe for inflammation.
I knew I hadn’t been as focused over the past few months on my nutrition as much as I should have been, but never did I see the signs that I would land myself in an attack on my body like this. So how do you know you’re suffering from Inflammation? If you’re not sure, here are a few symptoms if you have Inflammation occurring:
- Swelling
- Chronic Pain in joints and muscles
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Gout
- Extreme calf pain
- Redness
- Warmth in areas of the body
- loss or reduced function of extremities
- flu like symptoms (without actually having the flu)
So then I took it a step further, and wanted to know how can one test for inflammation. In addition to imaging studies like X-rays or CAT scans, a blood test looking for a protein called C-reactive protein (CRP) can be used to detect inflammation. When elevated, CRP can indicate that an inflammatory response is occurring in the body, though it can’t identify where the inflammation is. Several studies have found that people with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to have elevated levels of CRP compared to those without the condition.2
If you have PCOS, you may also have high levels of other markers for inflammation like oxidative stress, inflammatory cytokines, and white blood cells called lymphocytes and monocytes. All of these factors are involved in the immune response and are also found during inflammation. Elevated levels of CRP are also associated with diabetes, insulin resistance, and heart disease. All which are conditions which are more common in those with PCOS. The most stressful aspect of PCOS is that it’s almost a gateway illness for other comorbidities to develop. So me being diagnosed with both PCOS and Diabetes, I now realize that I need to not only watch blood sugar but have to take on a diet focused on anti-inflammatory foods. Additionally, I will have to advocate for more bloodwork and having doctor’s fully read and explain the results to me.
In 2020, On the blog, stay tuned as my primary focus for this years health journey is tackling inflammation as the root to disease. I’ve been really good at eating low carb, and taking supplements that combat blood sugar, but now after these cysts, I’ve learned my approach has to be revised….if I’m going to have the best life I can live while I’m alive. I will not only be discussing ways to treat these cysts, treat inflammation as a whole, what workouts that release the most stress from the body and so much more. So definitely stay tuned.
With Love,
LoLo
