When Life gives you lemons, make lemonade! This is a very old adage that says that convert your adversities into opportunities. Time and again we come across fabulous stories of individuals who have turned their weaknesses into strengths and emerged as an inspiration for others. Here is one such story of a woman who not only did the same for herself but made sure she is helping other women overcome theirs. Meet Neha Sahu, founder of “Look Good in PCOS”- The Most Active PCOS Circle which helps in managing PCOS.

An MBA by profession, Neha switched to a career in health and nutrition after a successful corporate career, due to her immensely developed interest in the power of nutrition which helped her in her own PCOS journey.

Neha struggled with PCOS for nine years but it wasn’t until three years back that she started managing PCOS symptoms successfully. After learning to manage her PCOS symptoms naturally, she started an online PCOS women community a few months back to help them learn and explore their bodies and to provide them with science-backed information all on one platform. This community grew in no time. Now, she is working towards building an official one-stop information portal called PCOS School which will be up soon.

_{Focusing on actionable steps instead of focusing on what’s trending on the internet is what helps you in PCOS!}

_Neha

“It was in 2013 when it all started. I was always ignorant about the symptoms like only to discover one day that I have PCOS. Believe me, it becomes worse if you overlook it. I gained about 20 kgs in a matter of two years”.

But it was in 2016 when it really hit her hard when symptoms like acne, weight gain, and severe hair fall started surfacing. She had irregular periods always so that wasn’t much alarming but with this, she was forced to see a doctor only to get prescribed pills which left her shocked, hopeless, and depressed to know that she won’t be able to have a normal menstrual cycle without pills.

“Googling never helped. If I am honest, doctors weren’t a much help either and I think beyond a point you have to help yourself”.

Being completely clueless about PCOS, made it even harder for her to deal with it.

Neha took medication to manage her PCOS for about 2 years and started experiencing side effects like breathlessness, acne, headaches, and nutritional deficiencies which alarmed her and made her discontinue the medicines with the advice of experts. This was when she started researching and looking for more information on women’s health and managing PCOS.

“It wasn’t in 2017 that I changed my eating habits and moved to be more active than being a couch potato. And Voila! I started seeing results that motivated me to work harder and take better charge of my body. I completely went off medication with the help of experts and curated more actionable steps instead of what was trending on the internet”, says a happy Neha.

“I lost about 12 kgs of weight after I made the right changes; I have cleared my acne long back and still exploring to manage other symptoms as well. PCOS management is always an ongoing process. I think managing and controlling PCOS is a journey of self-awareness and self-exploration of your body. One piece of advice that I would like to give to all PCOS women is that- you cannot be ignorant about PCOS at any point in your life but be happy about the fact that it can be managed if you take care”.

What inspired her to build a PCOS community?

The Most Trusted PCOS Circle-“LookGoodInPCOS” is one of the most active and fastest-growing Instagram-based communities where Neha curates and post content on PCOS to help women clear their queries and doubts with regular and consistent engagement. She also conducts workshops, counsels women to understand their PCOS and provides support by connecting them with doctors and medical professionals, and provides them with genuine, authentic expert guidance.

When I started the community, the idea was only to share what worked for me. But seeing the immense trust and response from women, I felt more responsible and could not step back. I started connecting with various medical professionals to gather credible information on my page. I started doing live sessions with the professionals in various fields which might help women to gather some knowledge as a takeaway to their endless doubts about PCOS and its symptoms.

“The aim of my Instagram community is to create a platform for women suffering in silence to gain knowledge about PCOS from real-life experiences and learn to explore their own bodies. The agenda is to feel together and stay connected to each other through such platforms”, she adds.

What motivates her to carry on?

“The immense amounts of trust women have shown in me and the pain that I felt when there were no such communities or pages where I could learn when I was diagnosed. I struggled a lot to find that one good source of information, one good source to rely upon, and feel that I was not alone. I struggled a lot to find other women who could understand me and what I was going through. Sometimes all you need is someone to hear you”.

What are her future plans?

Neha is working on her venture, PCOS School, which is aimed to build a one-stop solution to all PCOS worries. Be it information, nutrition guides, workouts, getting medical advice, this will have it all and be up soon.

Women like Neha are a testimonial to the fact that there is strength in togetherness and when you share your knowledge you can help many others to change their stories and write their own happy endings.

Infano wishes her the very best.

This #MenstrualHygieneDay, #Infano along with #TheLogicalIndian, is addressing nuanced conversations on period centering on the well being of the menstruators as they power through every day. Share your thoughts about PCOS in the comments because your views can trigger an important aspect that we all need to know and talk about! #IPeriodMyWay #MHD2022