About a month ago, I confided in a friend that I wasn't feeling well (and hadn’t been feeling well for a while). I told him that I was worried that I hadn’t had my period and was experiencing lower back pain when I was tired or stressed. He told me that I was being selfish by not
taking care of myself and strongly suggested that I make an appointment with a
doctor.
When I visited my gynecologist, Dr. Nancy Jasper, she told me that I had fibroids and a possible hormonal issue. She took blood and sent me to
have an ultrasound. The next day Chloe
insisted on coming with me to midtown “to support me" even though we were both unclear about what was going on. As the ultrasound technician moved the probe
around she silently made notations on the blurry image of my uterus and ovaries. Unable to deal with her silence, I asked her if she could see any fibroids. Her response was “no, I don’t see any
fibroids. Your ovaries look fine. Your doctor will discuss the results with
you.” A week later I went back to Dr. Jasper, and based on her interpretation of the results of my
blood test and ultrasound, she told me that I had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
What is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?
- PCOS is a very common disorder in which there is an imbalance of hormones.
- Women with PCOS have enlarged ovaries that contain small collections of fluid.
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| Photo:uofmchildrenshospital |
What are the symptoms of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?
- Infrequent or longer than usual periods
- Obesity/weight gain/ pot belly (due to the body's difficulty using insulin)
- Acne
- Depression or anxiety
- Loss of scalp hair
- Unwanted hair on other parts of the body
What can happen if PCOS goes untreated?
- Infertility
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Increased risk of heart attack
- Increased risk of endometrial cancer
I love this so much because too few women of color are talking about these issues!!! No one would believe me when I said I didn't feel well starting in 2010, including doctors. I would show up to my appointments with peer reviewed medical literature that supported my suspicions about my thyroid/hormonal imbalance and the doctors would dismiss me. My hair dresser was the only one who believed and that's because she had the proof in her hands: bunches of my hair that was falling out. As the result, I sort of have an open diagnosis that could either be PCOS, or like Kristina Brooke, Hashimoto's Disease(I am also into year 5 of this madness, and have gone through 5 doctors, none of whom has been helpful). I also know several other women who I believe are struggling with PCOS or Thyroid issues and are simply unwilling to grapple with themselves as physiological beings. They will do everything BUT see a doctor or medical specialist to address their poor health. They'll quote Iyanla Vanzant, leave a bad romantic relationship, have sessions with their pastors/counselors but won't see the medical specialist that can help them with their actual physical health, which leads me to wonder if many of us simply don't know how to deal with ourselves as organisms/animals or are afraid to do so.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, My healing didn't really start until I de-stressed (completely stopped engaging with anything and anyone that tried to steal my peace,I went to Cuba for 4 months to immerse myself in familial support and I started to do things I've always wanted to do) AND I totally changed my approach to food/living. I learned how to eat to live. Sarah Ballantyne's "The Paleo Approach: Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body" has been really crucial on this journey and if you're willing to work through some of the technical language, it will really help you understand what might be happening and how to resolve it. Since I have followed her advice, I'm only struggling with my hair of all those symptoms and have also been able to rid of other symptoms that were going to put me in an early grave(i.e. unjustifiably high cholesterol. But ironically adding healthy fats to my diet is how I brought the cholesterol down to optimal levels again).
And lastly, this conversation between Sula and Nel from Toni Morrison's SULA, has consistently given me a reason and technique for perseverance, even in the lowest points of this journey:
“‘You think I don’t know what your life is like just because I ain’t living it? I know what every colored woman in this country is doing.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Dying., Just like me. But the difference is they dying like a stump. Me, I’m going down like one of those redwoods. I sure did live in this world.’”
And now I'm done LOL