Verity Conference, London 2013

Last weekend saw the PCOS charity Verity's annual conference take place. Held in a different city each year, the day is a chance for people with PCOS to learn about the condition from medical experts practising in the field, and provides a safe space in which to be open and candid with others about what you're going through. Verity work closely all year round with their team of medical advisers to produce brilliant information packs and a regular newsletter for members but being there at the conference adds an entire new dimension to the support they offer!

I went along to the Big Smoke to see what the conference had to offer. The day was rewarding but overwhelming and, as such, it's taken me a little while to write about it.

The conference was very central and I even squeezed in some night-time sightseeing!

Fresh off the train (and the tube and the muddled wandering around central London), I found myself at Dexter House near the Tower of London. Tucked away inside a palatial complex and guarded by imposing white gates, the venue housed smiling women in purple jumpers, who ticked off names and handed out goody bags. These women are the backbone of the charity and it's thanks to them the conference was even happening! I took my name badge and made a beeline for the free breakfast before things got going.

There were six main talks to attend, although with three of them you could choose only two of the set. Topics covered over the course of the day included: getting the best from your doctor, hirsutism, fertility, weight gain, the ins and outs of the menstrual cycle and the emotional ups and downs of having PCOS. Between lectures, there were stalls to browse, including the fantastic Armpits4August team, who raised half of Verity's total donated funds last year (and for whose fundraising campaign I renounced my razor this summer - more on that another time)!

The Armpits4August stall at the Verity 2013 conference

The thing about the day that really got me was that it felt like a safe space. At lunchtime (some low GI options were provided thanks to Verity and a very cooperative venue), a young group of us sat chatting away, starting off with the assumption that we'd all know what it was like to deal with some level of excess hair (although not everyone has this symptom!). Sentences began with tales of plucking, threading and shaving; questions were asked about relationships. We told and listened as everyone's experiences unfolded, and we knew were no longer alone. It's one thing to have frank discussions about your symptoms with close friends (and I'm lucky to have a brilliant and supportive set of pals in my life), but to share those chats with people who understand what it's like was something I hadn't even realised I'd been yearning for.

Three (of many) things I learnt at the Verity conference were:

• Fallopian tubes are amazing! During ovulation, an egg bursts through the ovary wall at whichever point is happened to be growing (ouch!) but the fallopian tube can detect where the egg is and uses its finger-like projections to "walk" across the ovary until it reaches the egg and sucks it up.
• The higher miscarriage risk we've all been warned about was based on old studies where the miscarriage was probably caused by the methods used to stimulate ovulation, and, as such, we most likely have only the same chance as anyone else of miscarrying (a question that was answered by Professor Stephen Franks).
• PCOS can sometimes feel isolating, but sometimes it can bring people together, too. And, you know what? Maybe I don't hate it, after all.