Health and wellness update.
So since I last posted, I got some more blood work done. My testosterone levels were within normal range but on the higher end of the range indicating and consistent with PCOS.
I literally could cry now that I have a diagnosis.
I will say, I do think everything happens for a reason, no matter how painful that thing may be.
If I was diagnosed with this last year I don’t know if I would’ve started amitriptyline which has been a game changer for my anxiety and for my IBS and also for my migraines.
I also believe that I was meant to get my IUD taken out last year even though there wasn’t a specific reason to get it taken out at the time. However, something in me just knew it had to come out. And because it was taken out, my periods have now shown to be super irregular which is literally one of the criteria for PCOS. My doctor even told me that my birth control was probably masking the PCOS for years.
Now that I have been diagnosed with PCOS due to my irregular periods, higher end testosterone levels, and hirsutism, I have now started on treatment.
This treatment is currently Metformin which will help get my insulin resistance in order, which is a huge factor in PCOS patients. I will say, it’s been a little bit rough. The first few days I was extremely tired and pretty dizzy. I also started to feel a bit more depressed which was super odd. Then I upped the dosage from 500mg to 1000mg and that night I had an anxiety attack for like 2 hours, so the next day I stopped taking it. I then informed my doctor of what was happening and she said that they most likely weren’t related and to go back down to the 500mg for now. I did that and am feeling okay so far.
I do have to say though that my fatigue is drastically starting to improve and my sleep is also improving. It’s just crazy how when one thing is not working properly in the body, it starts to impact other parts of the body and functionality causing those to then get out of whack.
I’m excited to see where this journey takes me next.
I am getting a transvaginal ultrasound done on 5/19 and tilt table test done on 5/22. So that is going to be a not very fun week for me. However, I am looking forward to finally getting some more diagnoses.
I will say (again) chronic illnesses are not for the faint of heart. it’s an incredibly tough journey mentally and physically. Every single day I have to push myself to get up, to work out, to make food for myself. I know that sounds like first world problems but people who are otherwise healthy have no idea the mental and physical battle it takes to do some of these things everyday. I honestly miss back when I was younger and didn’t have a care in the world. I could just do what I wanted to do, go on a bike ride when I felt like it or go over to a friends house whenever. Now it’s like I think about am I going to feel well enough this day to make it over to the friends house? Or will I have the energy to do the laundry tomorrow. It’s an incredibly tough existence that most people don’t have to live through. I would never wish this on my worst enemy.
All I do know is that I will keep fighting to figure out what exactly my body needs… do I need less of this medicine or more of a different one? It’s consistently being a guinea pig to figure out the correct concoction to get me back to equilibrium.
I will keep fighting because I want to fall in love again… I want to work in a steady position at a job… I want to be able to drive myself down to my brother and sister in-laws place… I have so many more things that I want out of this life, big and small, and I will figure this out. I know I will.
(Picture is from Dexter, MI, USA.)