Creators Get Real About PCOS/PCOD & How They’ve Come to Terms with It

I've seen my friends battle PCOS/PCOD up close, the medications, the sudden weight gain, the thick facial hair growth, stretch marks, pain, and endless periods. I never faced these struggles myself, and they often reminded me, sometimes jokingly, sometimes not, how lucky I was to have a regular cycle. I never knew what to say, and never had a response that didn’t feel dismissive.

Then one day, a reel popped up on my feed, a woman candidly sharing her fight with PCOD. Without a second thought, I ran to my friend, made her watch it, and said, “I got you a new best friend. Some who will relate to you more than I ever could.” Though it felt like my comeback in that moment, I saw what true validation looked like. 

For years, conversations around PCOS/PCOD hovered between acceptance and helplessness. But now, social media is shifting the narrative, with women openly sharing their experiences, irregular cycles, hormonal imbalances, and misdiagnoses, creating a sisterhood built on shared struggles and understanding. Speaking to SheThePeople, content creators reveal how this journey shaped them and how finding a community changed everything.

Creators Get Real About PCOS/PCOD & How They’ve Come to Terms with It

For Chandni Bhabhda, acknowledging PCOD was a desperate outcry. Talking to SheThePeople, Chandni shares the endless frustration, helplessness, and gnawing sense of isolation pushed her to finally talk about it. "I was troubled, genuinely troubled. It's very irritating that you're PMSing for two to three months straight, and you can't tell this to anybody. Like, I'm waiting, and every time, you're just, like, waiting patiently for your periods, and it's just not there. And then, you know, your hormones are fluctuating."

The physical changes took a brutal toll on her, making even the simplest acts feel overwhelming. The relentless weight gain refused to stop, no matter what she did. She found herself avoiding the outside world, unwilling to step out of her house. However, it wasn’t just her own insecurities haunting her. The internet was cruel. "Every other message in my DM is now like, ‘Oh, you know, you've gained a lot of weight.’" 

It wasn’t that she had never struggled with body image before, but this time, it felt different. "Earlier, if I gained weight, I would think, okay, I’ll fix my lifestyle. But now, even after maintaining my lifestyle, my weight is still going up. So, I was panicking. I kept asking myself, ‘Why is this happening? Why is this happening to me?’"

She thought she was alone in this suffocating cycle of hormonal chaos and self-doubt until she wasn’t. "When I put my experience on the internet, I realized, ‘Oh, is this happening to everyone? Everyone with PCOS is going through the same thing?’ Wow. I felt like, okay, I'm not alone."

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A post shared by Chandni Bhabhda 🧿 (@chandnimimic)

On her page, she also shared how she was initially misdiagnosed by her doctor, who mistook her symptoms for appendicitis and nearly scheduled her for surgery. Many women in the comments deeply related to her experience, opening up about their own struggles with misdiagnosis and the long journey to receiving the right treatment.

One user wrote, "Omg! Same, my doctor said it was appendicitis, and then it turned out to be PCOD! I was 13 then, it's been a decade." Another shared, "I have the same story! We thought it was appendicitis, but the pain was actually due to cysts, and I experience it every time."

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A post shared by Chandni Bhabhda 🧿 (@chandnimimic)

Speaking to SheThePeople, creator Sarah Sarosh emphasizes the need for a shift in the narrative, stating that simply accepting PCOS isn’t enough, there has to be a way to fight back. 

What troubled her most was the way PCOS had been normalized to the point of apathy. "I also feel like amidst body positivity and PCOS, it's become such a... not negative, but like mercy. Now people just want to say, 'You have PCOS. Accept it. Live with it. Be happy.' But it's not normal. We really need to realize that it is not normal."

The fast-paced, high-stress lifestyles of today have made PCOS so common that it almost feels inevitable. But for Sarah, that mindset is dangerous. "Yes, everyone has PCOS. But that doesn’t mean you just live with it. It’s like saying everyone has thyroid. Everyone has diabetes. So it’s fine. We'll just live with it. You can't. At the end of the day, it’s a disease."

Determined to change the way women approach PCOS, she’s made it her mission to prove that control is possible. "I wanted to start that movement. That yes, I also have PCOS. But I can get my periods on time. I can have clear skin. I am working on it. Every single day, I am working on myself. So don’t just live with it."

"I think that's something I've just become confident in sharing. I was working on myself all of last year. And I did not share any of that on Instagram. Because I felt like if I would, it would get jinxed. And people throw a lot of judgment also. Now I feel like I'm in a much better place. Even health-wise. And even mentally. I know what I'm doing. And it's working for me."

After trying every possible approach, from dairy-free diets to fitness regimens, she finally found what worked. "Now what I have is a lifestyle. I've done it for one year. I'm in a good place. And now I can encourage a full community to realize."

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A post shared by Sarah Sarosh (@sarahsaroshh)

Lastly, Sushma Pachouri Khadia isn’t just someone who battled PCOS, she conquered it, refused to let it define her, and emerged as an inspiration. Talking to SheThePeople, Sushma shared how PCOS challenged every aspect of her life, from motherhood to self-image, but she refused to let it dictate her story.

"After getting married, I got diagnosed with an unusual form of PCOS, in which you don't get fat but you stop ovulating, because of which you can't conceive a baby. I began with my treatment and got pregnant within that period of time due to the treatment. I wasn't able to continue with the pregnancy after four months," she revealed.

Doctors warned her against trying again, but she defied the odds. "I was sure that I wouldn't be able to get pregnant without treatments, but despite doctors advising against it, I got pregnant naturally again within three months." The second pregnancy was high-risk, and doctors recommended abortion. But Sushma made her own choice. "I chose to proceed, and miraculously, my baby was born healthy. Today, my son is 17, and our family feels blessed."

But the battle wasn’t just about becoming a mother, it was about reclaiming herself. "I was not happy with the way I looked, how my body looked. I fought with it." Hormonal imbalances, weight fluctuations, and self-doubt tried to take over, but she stood her ground. "I am 45 years old today, and when I look back at my journey, I realise that I started as someone who didn't like the way she looked in the mirror, but today I'm glad I took that step."

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Here's how Bollywood actors owned their PCOS/PCOD journey and fought back. If you're unsure about your symptoms or still questioning whether you have PCOS/PCOD, it's time to seek answers and speak up.

Watch the video where Dr. Sudeshna Ray, Senior Consultant Obs & Gyn, breaks it all down, or visit Gytree for expert guidance.