Social Media Take Over!

Hey Cysters! Did you know you can see The Ovarian Chronicle content across 6 social media platforms? Here is where you can get connected and get involved in the PCOS discussion!

FACEBOOK

There are a couple ways you can connect on Facebook.

CLICK HERE to follow The Ovarian Chronicle's Facebook page!

CLICK HERE to join the private Facebook group. An ask anything, no judgement zone!

INSTAGRAM

CLICK HERE to follow us on Instagram!

TWITTER

CLICK HERE to follow us on Twitter!

LINKED IN

CLICK HERE to connect to my personal Linked In profile!

GOOGLE +

CLICK HERE to connect with me on Google +!

MY PCOS TEAM

CLICK HERE to join my team on My PCOS Team. This is a wonderful platform made up of thousands of women who have PCOS. Here you can share your stories, ask questions, find support, and so much more!

Thank you for your continued support and I hope your 2019 is off to a wonderful start!

💗 Jennifer

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2019!

💗 Jennifer

New Year's Firm Decision

The New Year is always one of my favorite times of year. Out with the old and in with the new. A time for change. A new beginning. And as a super goal oriented person, I start crafting my perfect list of New Year's Resolutions the day after Christmas. A resolution is defined as "a firm decision to do or not to do something." But when is our resolutions ever actually truly firm decisions? There are years that just the act of writing down my resolution with out actually doing it once was enough to appease my inner perfectionist, but then there was that one glorious year that I gave up drinking diet coke and all other sugary sodas for a whole 365 days and then some. What makes it stick?

The truth is that I have written about this (and given advice on it!) before and the answer is... I have no fucking clue. If I knew how to make resolutions stick, I would be skinny, a marathon runner, a 10 times better artist, a piano player, I would have a fat savings account and this exact blog would have maybe 40 more articles posted on it. The funny thing is that I have heard the answer many times before from doctors, health coaches, trainers, nutritionist, and so on... they have all said the same thing. Take it slow and make it manageable. Basically don't try and change everything at once and introduce a small amount of new things each day, week, and month, and eventually all your dreams will come true!

So why the fuck am I not a skinny millionaire yet!?! Well, probably because my resolutions have not really been firm decisions, they have been thoughts, wishes, and parts of really ambitious lists and schedules. There have only been a few significant things in my life that I have considered firm decisions. To go to and graduate college, to move to California, to work in animation, to adopt my dog, to move in and create a household with Sam, and to start an art & writing career. I can count those firm decisions on both of my hands, or just one hand if I had six fingers per hand. I know I have made at least 25 New Year Resolutions before and the majority of them I can't even remember. Well actually I'm sure at least 15 of those were to loose weight so that covers the most of them, and since I am like 8 pounds away from my heaviest weight ever, those firm decisions were obviously not firm enough. Just like my thighs.

So this year instead of making a New Year's Resolution, I am going to make a New Year's Firm Decision. Yes, it is the same exact thing as a resolution by definition, but my success ratings with resolutions is not that great and my firm decisions in life have been successful so far with hard work and dedication. A resolution seems to be fad to bettering yourself, but a firm decision is a life choice that you will achieve at no cost and that will continue for years to come.

I will be sharing updates on my 2019 firm decision through out the year once I thoughtfully plan it out. Please share what your New Year's Firm Decision is in the comments!

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and humorous 2019!!!

💗    Jennifer

TOP 10 WAYS I COMBAT PCOS - #10

OMG! I cannot believe there are only a few more days left of PCOS Awareness Month!!! I have been working on this list to share with you all, but then all of the sudden I woke up and it was September 26th!!! Where did the past week/month/year go!?! So I have carved out some time each day for the rest of the month to finally share my top 10 ways I combat PCOS!

*I have not been paid to advertise any products mentioned below. These are all products I personally buy and use.

10. Thickening Shampoo

I was never worried about hair loss until about age 32. I always had really thick hair, so my problem was always too much hair. But I started to see thinning in the front of my hair line and it made me worry. I also started to see a lot of breakage in the shower when I washed it. I tried out Loreal's Hair Thickening Shampoo and I have been loving it. There is an added bonus of it being sulfate-free. Sulfates are a chemical component in most cleaning products, especially shampoo, but it is so strong that it could make your hair brittle and prone to breakage according to dermatologists quoted in this SELF article.

I would love to hear what you all do to help with thinning hair. Please comment below and lets share our knowledge!

Check back later today to see what #9 on the list is! Thanks for reading!

💗 Jennifer

My new go-to place for PCOS Research

I am probably so far behind the times here, but I just discovered Google Scholar. From what I have read through so far, it seems to filter out all the mucky muck from the internet and just give you material that is backed with some sort of scientific evidence. With anything I write, I always want to make sure my research is accurate, and sometimes the internet can make that hard, so google scholar is now going to be my launching point for my research.

Wanna do some of your own research? Here are 4.530 Medical Studies, Journals, and Articles on PCOS in 2018 on Google Scholar!

Remember that you are in charge of your own body, so being informed is so very important when you have a disorder such as PCOS. Happy researching!!!

💗Jennifer

Spreading Awareness!!!

Hi Cysters! I hope you all have been enjoying PCOS Awareness Month and have been able to spread awareness to those around you. This has been a very special PCOS Awareness Month for me because I was chosen to be a PCOSAA Ambassador! I am so excited to get started spreading information to everyone who needs it. So what does being an ambassador mean? Well it means I get to go to events and talk to people about PCOS and provide them resources to get the proper tests to see if they could have PCOS. But that is only the start! There is so much more I have planned for my time as a PCOSAA ambassador. The first thing I am doing is raising money! This will give me tools to get started spreading information. I never ask for money for my blog, so of course, 100% of the money donated goes to the PCOSAA, specifically in this case for an ambassador kit that includes informational brochures.

If you would like to help me get started on my journey to help others click the link below to learn more and donate!

Thanks Cysters! Have a wonderful day!
💗 Jennifer

My PCOSAA Fundraiser!!!

New PCOSAA Article! Learning From the Pain

Hello everyone! Pain is something that women with PCOS live with everyday, but are you listening to your pain? Check out my brand new article on PCOSAA.org on how pain led me to a PCOS diagnosis.

 Click here to read the brand new article - Learning From the Pain

I am also introducing some new artwork as well! ACTUAL live footage of my uterus during menstruation... SCARY!!!!!

I hope the rest of your weekend brings you joy and comfort! 

💗 Jennifer

New artwork for PCOSAA.ORG!

My recent article at PCOSAA.ORG has been updated with some original artwork!

New article on PCOSAA.org!

There is a brand new blog post that I wrote up at PCOSAA. org!!! Click HERE to read some advice I have on dealing with unsolicited medical advice. 

Thanks for reading!!!

💗 Jennifer

http://pcosaa.org

Hugs to My Cysters!

Marion O'Varion has a hug for you all! Have a wonderful weekend! 

A Big Pain in the Boob

I am sure you have heard the term from a man, "I am a boob guy"... meaning that boobs are his favorite. Men love boobs, but to us women they are tools for when you have children and need to feed them... or when you need to get out of a speeding ticket. Boobs make "boob guys" pretty happy, but sometimes boobs are just a huge fucking pain. Literally.

Boobs can hurt for all sorts of reasons, one being muscle soreness from carrying those heavy things around, or from side affects from medication, but cyclic breast pain is the pain in your boobs that is related to your hormones and menstrual cycle.

If you have boob pain, check in with your doctor to make sure there is nothing serious going on. According to the American Cancer Society, there was estimated over 300,000 new cases of breast cancer in 2017. I have watched someone live through and survive the horrible disease, and it is not fun for anyone, so get checked early if you notice any changes in your boobs. There could also be some other funky things going on, remember your boobs are filled with milk ducts, so make sure all parts of the boob are a-okay.

I am not saying that boob pain means cancer or something serious, I am just saying keep an eye on your boobs. In most cases boob pain is just that... pain. I was super worried about my boobs when they hurt so freaking bad all the time. So I told my doctor and yes, you guessed it... it is all because of my hormones. I suffer from cyclic breast pain for approx. 20 days out of every month. The only way I can describe the feeling is that it is similar to the pain you have a day or two after a very strenuous work out.

I know many many women with PCOS can relate, and maybe women without PCOS too! So I am going to give you my top 2 things I do to combat boob pain.

#1: As much as possible, go without a bra. My boobs hurt the worse after stuffing them into a bra all day. The exception to this when you are exercising, then you should invest in a nice sturdy sports bra. Bouncing is bad for boobs! IT HURTS! Sorry boys!

 #2: Massage. It does wonders for the pain. You're welcome boys!

Pain is something that women with PCOS deal with every day, and knowing where the pain is coming from and why you are having it is super important. Get your proper check-ups and keep a journal if you suspect hormones to be the issue, that will help your doctor pin point the pain. As I learn more about my boobs and their pain, I will share any important information I find and any more remedies I have!

Don't forget to let your boobs free and show them some love!

💗 Jennifer

OH! And here is a great link to the Mayo Clinic's information regarding different types of boob pain. 

More About Me and Upcoming Posts!

Happy Sunday cysters! I am so happy to be writing today and share with you some more things about me and what I plan to do to help women with PCOS.

I started this blog at the beginning of the year to give myself a platform for my PCOS writing other than my personal Facebook newsfeed. I knew there are millions of women with PCOS around the world, and I wanted to be able to reach them without them also having to sift through pictures of my dog and updates from the Chicago Cubs game, which is primarily what you will see on my Facebook page. But then after doing some more research on blogging, I realized that people might actually want to know more about me and my everyday life. Yes I have fun educational stories, strong opinions, and  thought out research on PCOS, but things like my job, my relationship, my personal feelings, I have not really dug deep into on my public online platforms. Don't worry Sam, I won't be sharing all our business, but I am working on a structured blog post release schedule that will include more personal things about me in addition to the educational hoo-haa. That will give me the opportunity to reach woman on a regular basis with information on PCOS and my personal stories will hopefully help them relate a little more and remind them they are not alone.

So let's get this ish started! I am 34 years old, I live in Sherman Oaks, CA with my boyfriend, Sam, and our Chiweenie dog, Layla.  I studied liberal arts and fine arts in school, and then focused my education primarily on animation. I have been working in the animation industry for 10 years, and I am currently the design department Production Supervisor on the Emmy Winning television series "Bob's Burgers".

I feel like every creative person has a side hustle, and every once in a while I will get a freelance art work gig, but I have recently made writing/blogging a higher priority.  I mean, I guess you can say it is not really a "hustle" if I am making $0.00 from it, but you never know! Really I just love doing it and I feel like I have something important to say, so that is why I write. Check out some more of my work at PCOSAA.org.

PCOS has held me back my entire life, but somehow I have been able to get past my darkest days and build a life for myself that I am truly happy, successful, and comfortable in. A life where even though PCOS affects me physically, emotionally, and mentally every single day, I still love myself and feel so blessed every single day to have what I have in my home, relationship, family, friends, and job. My hope is that every woman can have that feeling.

So that's all you get! For now anyway. I am excited to share more posts on a more regular basis. Please check back weekly (or even better, SUBSCRIBE!) for more content, including another appearance from Marion O'Varion coming soon!

One last thing... Happy Father's Day to my Dad, Mike. You are still the coolest Dad out there!

Love you all and thanks for reading!

<3 Jennifer

My Big Creative Announcement!

Hi everyone! TODAY IS THE DAY!!!

I am so very excited to announce why I haven't posted in a while, why I keep telling all of you how excited I am, and why I have been so busy...

It is because I am one of the newest bloggers for PCOSAA.org!!!

A year or so back I started writing about my life with PCOS on Facebook and I ended up being pretty educational and maybe a  little funny in the process. I had a lot of fun with it, so I reached out to the PCOSAA, shared my writing them, started this blog, and now I am writing for an awesome non-profit organization who help bring awareness to PCOS... and I am so very happy to be a part of it!

My very first two articles have been posted and I am so excited to share them with my followers!!! You can read them at the links below...

Change - Transitioning to a Healthy Lifestyle with PCOS

I Can't Explain It - Learning to Talk About Your PCOS

Thank you all so much for the love and support during this creative journey of mine. Please leave your comments to tell me how you like the articles and what you would like to hear about next.

Have a comforting and healthy weekend!
💗 Jennifer

The Many Moods of Marion O'Varion