PCOS army

[Adedousis]

I applied for the army but I have been declined because I have polycystic ovaries irregular periods and I’d like to why that is an issue to them. Need some advice plz

[LisaEB]

You told them you have it or they tested you and declined you because you have it? Either way it should not stop you living a 'normal' life. I'd ask and then complain, sounds a little down the discrimination route if that is the reason.

[RGEB]

This is so crazy! I would definitely complain. Other than ttc I’ve had a perfectly healthy life with pcos I can’t see why it would make any difference to your career in the army

[Mistee]

There's no 'one size fits all' to this condition. Some of us can live a perfectly normal life, while some of us experience debilitating symptoms and complications.

From what I understand of applying to the British armed forces (which I'm sure is not as much as you as its been 28yrs or so since I concidered applying to the RAF) our military require you to be fit to fight in the front line whether the job roll you're applying for is front line or not and there are many PCOS symptoms would not be suitable for front line active duty. The military tend to have a blanket ban on certain conditions like this such as asthma and diabetes.

I can't see any grounds for complaint, but I'd certainly be wanting a conversation for more information. You need to find out if PCOS comes under a blanket ban or if there's specific symptoms that would affect your application - remember, there's a lot more to the condition that just irregular periods however imagine being on the front line and getting a period out the blue...theres not exactly much you can do about it and for some, it might not be much of a problem other than your walking/scrambling around with a blood stained crotch, but for others, the sudden onset of a period could mean flooding, a sudden drop in blood pressure, light headedness, dizziness and even fainting. Not to mention the debilitating period pain some suffer from. Not exactly great while facing off with the enemy in the middle of a war zone...

Now, if there are specific symptoms that are banned rather than a blanket ban you need to find out what these are and have your GP test you. For example, insulin resistance (IR) would be one of the major issues as it is very similar to diabetes and usually requires diabetic medication to manage it . If they state IR as a reason, ask your GP to check your insulin levels. Make sure to explain what you're asking for though as quite often GP's will test glucose levels to see if you're pre-diabetic and that's not the right test. Your actual insulin level will determine if you have resistance. If you have, yep, you're probably not getting in. If you don't have resistance and there's not a blanket ban then you might still have a chance....

Good luck, I hope for your sake it's symptom based and you're blood tests confirm your fit for the job! The complications of PCOS can be sh*tty enough to deal with without them screwing up your career plan!!!