PCOS: Part 1 (Detection)

Hi,

This is going to be the beginning of a series. I promise I will actually commit to writing the series this time. I think I need to vent more than anything.

Note: The following description has been restricted to the matter of this post. This description doesn’t include the fact that I am blessed with a wonderful family and some amazing friends.

If you are new to my blog or don’t know me at all – I would describe myself as the following: -

-          Had depression in teenage years

-          Was subject to bullying & harassment all throughout middle and high school

-          Had Binge Eating Disorder after university

-          Had irregular periods in my early 20s

-          Known to be moody (mood swings, depression, and anxiety)

-          Sleep problems in my early 20s

-          Always suffered from body image issues (however, less sensitive to that now)

-          Contain zero motivation to maintain a healthy lifestyle (suffering from chronic fatigue)

-          Always had excessive hair growth all over my body

-          Weak immune system (prone to getting sick at least 4-5 times a year)

-          Sensitive skin (I get boils, skin tags, rashes, in-grown hair infections etc. quite easily)

-          Low self-esteem (only feel at best when I play with makeup – because it's therapy to me)

I didn’t use WebMD to diagnose myself. These are true symptoms that I have experienced from my teenage years. Most of these symptoms persist in my life. Some of you as my loyal readers, might know that I have talked about bullying, weight-loss, weight-gain, body image, and a lot more on my blog over the last several years. Sometimes, you need to remind yourself of the older you to see how far you’ve come. This post is dedicated to some recent medical findings that took a toll on me.

One: I have been diagnosed with PCOS. Two: I diagnosed myself with PCOS years ago. My family doctor didn’t have the proof to support my claim. Every time I would go in for blood tests or ultrasounds, it would come back normal. I have undergone 5 ultrasounds and 4 blood tests over the last 3 years. I have seen different specialists and have had various opinions. I finally have enough information to share. I have been wanting to write this from weeks!

I don’t want to write a 3-page post, so I decided to condense it in parts. This will be Part 1: Detection.

Detection of PCOS:

My personal experience with detecting PCOS was when I found out about it through friends. When I heard their symptoms, I could relate to many of them. Suddenly, so much from my past medical history starting making sense. I have been borderline with hypothyroidism a few times. Every time I took a re-test, it came out normal. Same goes for Diabetes. My family has a history of Diabetes and I was warned by my family doctor years ago. I always had more body hair than anyone else I knew. My claims were always dismissed by my doctor. He would say, “South Asian women have hair.” When I complained of irregular periods, he would say, “It’s common – nothing to worry about.” When it finally got to a point where I wanted to prepare my body for family planning in the next 2 years, I set out to get answers. For doctors, my issues warranted a “reactive approach” such as giving me synthetic hormones to regulate my period instead of a “proactive approach” which would mean diving deeper into WHY my body is reacting the way it is. I decided to take matters into my own hands. I am guilty for putting on extra weight. But I began to understand, that PCOS is contributing to the weight gain in ways I didn’t know. Insulin is directly related to PCOS. I have a very unhealthy relationship with sugary foods. I started putting two and two together. The ultrasounds requested by my family doctor was generic pelvic and transvaginal. They did not request something specific to consider my uterus, and fallopian tubes. There came a time in 2016, where I started bleeding for months. I would have a period for 16 days and then spot for 10. It has continued since January 2016 until present. 

My mom, who has played a huge role in supporting me mentally and emotionally got me a reference to one of the best gynecologists in the area. During my first appointment, she looked at me said, “Before the end of this year (2017), I am going to get you answers.” She said that because I suffered neglect from my family doctor who really wasn’t focusing on the big picture. All I wanted was an answer as to what IS wrong for my periods to be disordered to this extent. I finally got an answer in January 2018. It’s a little too late, if you ask me. Had I received the attention I deserved from my family doctor in the first place, I probably wouldn’t have to waste 2 years going through what I did. But better late than never.

This is not to say that I can escape the blame for being in bad shape when it comes to weight. But I cannot even arrive to a conversation about symptom control or resolving issues when I was missing a diagnosis. It isn’t my doctor's fault that my tests kept coming back clear. But it is his fault because he kept requesting very generic testing instead of referring me to a specialist. I had a Hysterogram which revealed that there are little cysts present. Arriving to pain point #2 – it also revealed that I have a small “polyp” housed in my uterus. I didn’t even know what a polyp was until I was told I have it. I was told I can leave it or have it removed via surgery. I chose the latter after much research and obtaining opinions from various specialists. It’s a day surgery that will get rid of it. However, there is no guarantee of reoccurrence. It doesn’t really have a cause. It just appears– like a skin tag. For someone like me who is paranoid of visiting hospitals (I get queasy) – I was told I would be operated under anesthesia. Am I scared? Hell, yes. But do I have a sense of relief that I NOW know what was wrong all these years? Heck yeah! Do I wish that I had done something sooner instead of blindly relying on my family doctor? YES! I have learned a lesson here. You should be proactive about your health. When my parents used to go to their doctor even with the slightest of issues, I used to think they’re wasting their time. Little did I know – they were being responsible for their health and proactive with taking control of what COULD become bigger if left unattended. I know, a lot of you can relate to this. We let issues escalate. And then, cry about them.

It was different for me. I was actually crying for help but I just didn’t end up receiving the right recourse from the medical professionals I relied on. 

My apologies, this post is a little longer than I anticipated. This sums up the “detection” aspect of PCOS. In the next 2 parts, I will discuss body mechanics in terms of PCOS. In the final part of this series, I will discuss the resolve. It will include both modern science & Ayurveda. 

My request to you all is: please share your experience with PCOS/PCOD in the comments below. You can post anonymously under my blog link, if you do not feel comfortable with personal details. But I can really use some insight from your experiences. Thanks for reading!