Other Options May 10, 2010

I know there are other birth control options out there that don’t involve taking a pill every single day. But I can’t use them. Why? Because I’m not taking them for the birth control aspect, I’m taking them for the hormones that make me not PMS 24/7, basically I’m taking them for my PCOS. Now the reason I can’t use the other options (IUD, or the one that goes in your arm) is because they all only use Progesterone, and me I need the estrogen progesterone mix! I understand that the companies who make these other options probably haven’t considered women with my (our? Anyone else kinda miffed about this?) because in comparison with women who have “normal” cycles we barely rate on their radar. Which means they don’t feel that there are enough of us to warrant the expense of developing something for us. Or atleast I think that’s the reason it’s entirely possible that they have looked into it and couldn’t find any way to get the two hormones to work…but somehow I doubt that.

The other thing that kinda makes me mad is that most doctors refuse to give a woman who hasn’t had children these options. And places like Planned Parenthood refuse to give a woman one unless you’ve had 2 or more kids! I’ve read the literature on them, yes there are some risks but the pills have risks too. And they are relatively easy to remove so why the heck can’t women who haven’t had kids yet, or may not ever want kids have them? Because having babies is apparently the one thing every woman should aspire to.

But if you think about it, giving it to women who don’t want to have children makes more sense than giving it to a woman who is thinking of children in the near future. And that’s the end of that rant, wasn’t sure if it should go on here, but here it is.

Diagnosis Frustration March 24, 2010

While commenting on a previous post, I remembered back to when I had never heard about PCOS, and was just a confused teenager in high school whose friends had all gotten their period and I hadn’t.  On top of that, I had the joy of little hairs springing up where they shouldn’t be.  As if the teenage years aren’t awkward enough!

Eventually I had a talk with my Mom, and she took me to the doctor.  After running tests and discovering that my hormones were out of whack, I was sent to an endocrinologist.  This awful doctor told me to lose weight, like I had never heard that before as a chubby teenager, and prescribed birth control pills to me.  Well, the pills made me so sick, and most of my mornings were spent throwing up in a bucket on the way to school. (Sorry to gross anyone out.)  When my Mom called and spoke to the Dr., her response was that I needed to toughen up, and she refused to change my medicine, or even go another route, even though the BCP did nothing to start my period.  Thankfully my Mom never brought me back to that doctor. It was years later that I found my wonderful Dr. that diagnosed me with PCOS, and actually sent me to a specialist that truly understood.

A big part of this blog is for those that have PCOS, have recently been diagnosed, or think that they may have it.  My advice to you is that you don’t let anyone tell you to “toughen up” or tell you anything that you don’t like or agree with.  There is a lot of ignorance out there about PCOS, so please do your own research, ask questions of fellow cysters (like us, ahem…lol), and most importantly don’t give up.  The ladies of this blog know first hand the frustrations that come with PCOS.  Just know that you are not alone, and we are always here for advice, or questions, or just to listen.  We are not doctors and may not know all the answers, but we would love to help you find them.  That’s what we’re here for.

Becoming a Cyster March 21, 2010

As I said in my other post, I was diagnosed with PCOS at 17, but we suspected I had PCOS for a little over a year before that. What happened was, while we were living in Tennessee my mother discovered I wasn’t having periods. Now this had been going on for some time, and she really hadn’t noticed because I have three older sisters so all the female supplies were being used. When she found out I hadn’t had a period in more than a year she took me to the doctor. After asking a ton of questions the doctor handed my mom a single sheet of paper that had a brief description of PCOS as well as the suggested treatment options. Then the doctor scheduled an ultra-sound to see if I had cysts. This doctor didn’t order any blood work as far as I remember, just the ultra-sound. So I went and had it down and it showed no cysts. So the doctor decided, as 99.9% of doctors do in Tennessee for young women, that she would prescribe birth control and I’d be just fine. Didn’t do the blood tests that were mentioned on the sheet, didn’t talk about the other medications.

Well mom wasn’t exactly happy with this and since we knew we were going to be moving in about a year we waited. Well we moved to Iowa that summer in late June, early July. I started school, got a job, and was pretty much a hermit for the first half of the year. Then in February she made an appointment with a local family practitioner, Dr. Holsinger. We went in, got all the paperwork done to establish me as his patient and did the whole family history thing. Well when the doctor comes in to see me mom tells him what the doctor in Tennessee said and why we hadn’t gotten me treatment there. So he asks me all the same questions as the other doctor did and then he immediately puts me on birth control along with ordering blood tests to see what my hormone levels and other things were doing. He also explained that after the tests came back we’d decide on where to go next, he also wanted to see me in a month to make sure we didn’t need to change the birth control dose. Well about a week later we get a call about the tests, I was showing all the levels that pointed to PCOS (I can’t remember what all the tested). So after about a month we went back in, and he put me on Metformin. Again we waited a month and he ordered some more tests about a week before I was supposed to come in again to check my potassium levels along with my insulin levels. The showed normal so at the next visit he put me on Spironolactone. And again we waited another month. At the next visit he said he didn’t need to see me for another six months and that I’d lost weight. Over that summer I lost 21 pounds, and went from a size 20 womens to a size 18 regular. Then the weightloss stopped and I’ve stayed in the 230 pound range ever since.

So anyway, now I’m 21, and I still take all three of the medications and they’ve helped with my symptoms. Though when I moved out here to Montana I had a bit of trouble finding a decent doctor. And I still get questions from people who see what medications I take, “Are you diabetic?” No I have PCOS, “Oh is that like Borderline Diabetes?” Not really. Get’s a bit annoying when people haven’t heard of something that I know is becoming more and more common, or at least more and more recognized, in women.

Barbara