Olivia-marie reflects on life-changing PCOS journey
WHEN OLIVIA-MARIE looks into the mirror, she sees a beautiful, intelligent and free woman, a woman who is no longer disconcerted by having polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), having finally received the diagnosis.
From as early as 17 years old, Marie, a nine-to-fiver, blogger and poet, knew that something was off with her menstrual cycle. She had never experienced a regular period at that time and thought that some amount of normalcy should have kicked in by then. She was seeing her period every three months. It could only be regulated by birth-control methods.
Aside from the recognised sign of PCOS, she also had difficulty losing weight. “I had gained a lot of weight over a short period of time. And no matter what, I kept putting on more weight. No matter how well I ate or how much I exercised. So I Googled that and the missed period. And found PCOS,” she told Flair.
After extensive research, she found similarities in the symptoms and felt confident that she had finally found the answer. Nothing could break or shake this diagnosis except the dismissal from her doctor.
“I said to my general practitioner, ‘I think I have PCOS. What kind of tests do I need to do to confirm it?’ He sent me to do some blood tests and an ultrasound,” she recalled. Later, he revealed that one of her hormones was slightly out of range, but not enough to raise an alarm. She would later find out that it was an early detection of worst to come.
Fast forward to years later. At 25, Marie began showing signs of depression. Unable to get out of bed, unmotivated to shower, forgetful and gaining even more weight, Marie’s mother grew concerned, insisting that her daughter get a referral to see an endocrinologist. Her doctor, however, suggested that she visit a gynaecologist first. Upon hearing her history, the doctor immediately told her that she has PCOS.
“He didn’t even need to do the ultrasound. I had all the physical symptoms: receding hairline, sideburns, fat around my midsection, and a dark neck. And then when he did the ultrasound, he found polyps in my uterus,” she shared. That was her first and official diagnosis.
A follow-up with her new gynaecologist last year included doing blood work, which showed that she had cysts on her ovaries and hormones that were out of range. “I have high cholesterol, my blood sugar is high, and I’m prediabetic, all indicators of PCOS. So it’s been re-confirmed,” Marie added.
Life with PCOS has unravelled many of her triggers and traumas over the years. While she is grateful for the diagnosis, she wished her doctor was not as dismissive when she was 17. If it would have been detected earlier, she would have been getting treatment much sooner, thereby increasing the probability of avoiding the host of symptoms which followed suit.
She often grew sad at the constant negative remarks she received about her weight gain, an act that, given the local culture, was completely out of line and out of control. “People love to ask, ‘Weh me ah get suh fat ah guh?’. They commented on what I was eating, something they wouldn’t do to a slim person, and they assumed that I was lazy when I really was just tired all the time. Imagine always feeling tired no matter how much you slept or how well you ate,” she remarked.
Since being placed on medication, Marie has had a bounce in her step: one that is lighter and filled with energy and purpose. But the journey to that destination wasn’t easy. “I was put on Metformin, but had to be switched to the slow release one, so I wouldn’t get the runs.” The doctor doubled the dose with her blood sugar not going down far enough in the first six months.
“My sugar levels have come back into [the] normal range, and I have seen some improvements in my symptoms. I’m also on B12, so now I’m not as fatigued. I’ve also lost a little weight without any changes to my diet or exercise.” Additionally, she received Mirena, an intrauterine hormonal device, to prevent the lining of her wall from building up, which decreases the risk of uterine cancers. So she has said goodbye to mood swings outside of her monthly cycle.
As the writer for the If My Uterus Could Talk blog, the creative and PCOS advocate is happy to be campaigning for a community that is bigger in number than she initially thought. Appreciative that she could have identified those symptoms based on another person’s PCOS diagnosis, she finds joy in paying it forward by spreading awareness through information and support for those who need it.
PCOS differs from person to person. If you find that your symptoms aren’t identifiable in another person, and vice versa, don’t rule out the disorder.
Her advice to people who believe they have the illness is first to get diagnosed. “Taking the first step to get diagnosed can help you get treatment to manage your symptoms and increase your quality of life. Find a general practitioner or gynaecologist who will listen and take your concerns seriously and tell them what you suspect. It might not be PCOS, but at least you would have figured it out and got treatment. Then advocate for yourself. I know it’s hard, and you’re afraid, but you’re not alone, and you deserve care and ease in life,” she said.