New Revelations

I finally made a doctors appointment with a legitimate doctor (unlike the old Vietnamese man who would prescribe me the same antibiotic for everything...). My new doctor is a gem. I have been having very painful Moons since I've been off of birth control (+/- a year or so). So, my first appointment with her she did a pap for me on the spot and then gave me a referral to go have a pelvic ultrasound done to really check everything out. I've had many pap smears because I have always been somewhat of a hypochondriac concerning my lady parts, and always seemingly unnecessarily because nothing has ever been abnormal, or so we thought.
My ultrasound tells a different story. I have a genetic condition called Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). It seems to be fairly prevalent in North America (15-20/100 women). It means a lot of things:
My ovaries are covered in cysts.
These cysts cause irregularities in how my ovaries can produce necessary hormones. They cannot produce as much estrogen and cause an excess of the "male" hormone androgen.
This hormone imbalance has the potential to cause all sorts of negative side effects: Glucose intolerance (diabetes), infertility, acne, bouts of depression, severely painful periods (due to the tendency for cysts to burst with ovulation and menstruation).
We never caught it before because my menstrual pain was being regulated by birth control which helps to shrink the cysts...Though they will never fully go away.
I also have a uterus with a mild bicornuate configuration, in other words, my uterus is shaped like a heart. This is kind of cute, it would just cause more complications if I ever did want to get pregnant.
All of that being said, I found myself in a bought of depression after receiving this news. I have never really had a certain desire for having children. If I ever do want a child I would strongly consider adoption over pregnancy anyhow (why have more children when there is already a child out there needing your love?). But, somehow, being told that you may not even have the option is never an easy thing for a woman to hear, regardless of her reproductive desires.
I have since been trying to focus on my acceptance of this information. I think its cool that I have excess androgen...It explains my small breasts and muscular frame and why I had such severe acne as a teen (and still battle mildly with it as an adult)...and I can run faster and jump higher than the average hormonally balanced woman ;)
Perhaps I am a genetic mutation that is just begging to be a part of human evolution.
I feel as though I subconsciously knew this all along...My body was just finally able to tell me in a physical way when the mask of BC was lifted.
I go to see an endocrinologist in a few weeks. He might suggest that I go back on BC or undergo some other sort of hormone regulation...I'm not sure what I will decide to do. Perhaps there is a more natural route I can take.
But, as of right now, I am focusing on taking life day by day and accepting who I am. So far so good.


My Heart Shaped Uterus