Find a PCOS specialist with Pollie and personalize your support

This is a guest post by Pollie, a women’s hormonal health marketplace. I almost never publish promotional content like this, but I think Pollie could fill a gap in the PCOS community. The average PCOS patient goes through 3-4 doctors before getting a diagnosis. Often it is more for quality care. With Pollie, you can get matched to your personalized Pollie providers in just 2-minutes here. All of Pollie’s specialists practice remotely and offer free discovery calls, and a discount will be applied toward your first appointment with the code DIVA upon signup.  *Note- I am not an affiliate and do not receive compensation for endorsement. 

Why see a specialist for my PCOS?

Navigating a hormonal imbalance like PCOS can be isolating and overwhelming. Upon a diagnosis by a conventional practitioner, many women will generally experience one of two paths: one, receiving little to no information, or two, being overwhelmed by the negative side effects this condition brings.

For this reason, many women turn to hormonal health specialists to help manage their PCOS symptoms. But, finding a women’s hormonal health expert is no easy feat, particularly if you are newly diagnosed and still educating yourself on what having PCOS means for you. If you have tried finding a nutritionist, health coach, or naturopathic doctor to help manage PCOS symptoms, you’ll know that it can take weeks or more to find a specialist you enjoy working with.

Unfortunately, many of us don’t have this time to dedicate to research. And even if we do, the rabbit holes of consulting Dr. Google and trying to find a practitioner on Instagram can be not just a frustrating and overwhelming experience, but an opaque process that makes it impossible to understand how one provider compares to one another.

Enter Pollie!

Meet Pollie

Pollie is a marketplace for women’s reproductive health disorders like PCOS.

They match women to hormonal health specialists with virtual practices in an effort to provide a personalized care experience for women.

In addition to providing a faster way to find 1-1 support for your PCOS, Pollie helps you find support that fits your style with their intelligent matching quiz. Consider the following criteria:

• Budget: Unfortunately, many hormonal health experts are not covered by traditional insurance (although, nearly all Pollie’s specialists are HSA and FSA reimbursable!). For this reason, budget is really important, and Pollie takes this into account for their members.
• Communication style: Are you someone who enjoys direct communication above all else (even if it means tough love!), or do you prefer someone who is consistently supportive and positive? These communication styles matter, particularly when it comes to issues as intimate as hormonal imbalances. If you don’t enjoy interacting with your provider, following a treatment protocol will be difficult. Which brings us to our next point-
• Treatment methods: PCOS is a lifelong condition, and even if we fall “off” the diagnosable spectrum at some points, most cysters will always need to keep tabs on whether their hormones are in balance. For this reason, embarking on treatment that you don’t enjoy likely won’t stick (e.g., if you’re a diehard yogi and are told to switch over to HIIT sessions, how long would you realistically stick to that?). The science is simple: we are more consistent in maintaining a habit when we enjoy it. Lifestyle modifications are key when it comes to managing PCOS and finding someone that will work with your goals and hobbies rather than against will undoubtedly set you up for better long-term success.
• Provider type: If you are looking for comprehensive labs, you will need to work with a provider who can prescribe and interpret this. Many naturopathic doctors (NDs) fit this bill, but a health coach may not. Likewise, an ND may not have the expertise to help you with your weekly and daily activity and goal setting, but a health coach would be perfect for this. The same goes for how holistically-inclined a provider is: some of us are in pursuit of conventional Western medicine practitioners while others are functional medicine veterans. Being aware of what type of provider you’re looking for is important when it comes to achieving your unique goals, and in some cases, it may even be beneficial to draw from the support of a “care team” composed of several specialties.

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to our hormonal health, and working with a provider that fits your unique situation and works with your goals is key to achieving lasting results. If you’d like to simplify your hormonal health journey, don’t forget to sign up for Pollie to get matched to your personalized providers and start managing your symptoms today.