When I first became a vegetarian, it was more so because I wanted a change in my life after a break up, and that's the change I made. Some people cut their hair, and I make drastic lifestyle changes. However, I did not realize this change would impact my life in such a positive way. When I was fourteen, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). In the beginning, I did not talk about my diagnosis much because I did not want to bring attention to my symptoms. They were very embarrassing to me. I had hair growth on my face, acne everywhere, and all I wanted to do was lose weight (not that it was really necessary). I was bullied because of my hair growth, but I took it like a champ, and made fun of myself with everyone. Everything changed when my doctor gave me a magic pill, birth control, and things started to get better. Acne cleared up, I started getting my face threaded (talk about pain), and I joined track to push start my weight loss.Thought things looked better, I was still living with terrible periods, anxiety, and depression. But the symptoms people could "see" were gone, and that's all that mattered to me. It wasn't until about two years after I became vegetarian that I realized the real improvement in my "hidden" symptoms. I can't say that this is all due to vegetarianism, but since becoming vegetarian, my periods have become 100% less painful. I've gone from having 1-2 panic attacks a week - to 1-2 a month. I'm a lot more stable mentally (thanks also to therapy). As well, I've noticed great improvements in my skin that surpass the effects of birth control, and the hair growth on my face has slowed remarkably. I am a strong believer that your diet can have huge impacts on your health. I'm I'm not saying this will work for everyone, but if you do, or think you may, have PCOS your first step should be seeing a specialist and your second step should be evaluating your diet. The effects won't be instant, but give it a year or two and you will feel like a new person.